
Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture
by Martin Fowler · first published 2002
87mentions
34recommended by
76HN commenters
2009–2026first – last mentioned
45% recommend46% neutral9% critical
Why HN recommends it
Catalogue of concrete backend patterns and the theory behind them, still relevant years after publication. Suits developers moving from small systems to large, multi-layer business applications.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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…consider : - Design patterns : elements of reusable object-oriented software (Gang of four) - there are people who swear by this and turn it into their hammer for which everything becomes a nail. - Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture (Martin Fowler) - Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code (Martin Fowler and Kent Beck) - Growing Object-Oriented Software, Guided by Tests (Steve Freeman)
on “Ask HN: I have a mental block designing software. Time to quit?” ↗Refactoring by Martin Fowler and Kent Beck. Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler. Domain Driven Design by Eric Evans. Growing Object-Oriented Software, guided by tests by Steve Freeman and Nat Pryce.
on “Ask HN: What are the most fundamental books on computer science?” ↗…rely on the kind of engineering culture you want to foster and how much effort you want to put into release engineering. I implore you to read Sam Newman's "Building Microservices" and Martin Fowler's "Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture." Skip Eric Evans' DDD book; even Evans himself says that Newman's book is a better treatise on DDD than his own.
on “SRE for single-tiered software applications” ↗This one is supposed to be good: Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture, by Martin Fowler http://www.amazon.com/Patterns-Enterprise-Application-Archit... I am trying to do the same thing as you, and I recently ordered this text based on a recommendation from a mentor.
on “Ask HN: best resources for enterprise data / IT architecture” ↗Martin Fowler's _Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture_ is excellent. Remember, the best architecture is minimal architecture, because architecture is the fundamental, hard-to-change patterns in your code. So learn architecture, but also learn how and when…
on “Do Not Learn Frameworks – Learn the Architecture” ↗…where you have more say in how the system is designed in the beginning. Take on more responsibility in how different modules/components interact. Also read up on design patterns - including the book Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler (and read his blog/site too). Much of architecture is focusing on the parts of the system that have high risk and making them less risky, usually these are the parts where the systems…
on “Ask HN: How to plan your career for an Architect role?” ↗Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture by Martin Fowler helped me make the jump from small systems built for myself to large, sophisticated systems built for others. The Mythical Man Month by Fred Brooks really helped me learn to think about…
on “Must Read CS Books For Self Self-Taught Programmers” ↗so obviously false. go read martin fowler's _patterns of enterprise application architecture_.
on “ORM is an anti-pattern” ↗I would if I had time. Or they could just read the chapter of Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture that they took the name from - it's the chapter right after Active Record :) Page 165. Martin Fowler went into a decent amount of depth in describing the pattern. His site also has a decent summary available…
on “The State of Ruby ORM” ↗Martin Fowler's Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture was a great read. It goes into a ton of patterns and theory. It's worth a read, even though it's branded for the enterprise.
on “Great books for learning modern web application architectures?” ↗…have to scroll all the time and cant place physical bookmarks. As for your last question (what I read and can recommend): Tech: - Design patterns : elements of reusable object-oriented software - Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture - Code Complete 2 - Clean Code - Pro ASP.NET MVC (if you're into MS stuff like me) - Scrum and XP from the trenches Marketing/business: - Business model generation - Purple Cow - Permission marketing…
on “Ask HN: Do you read programming books? What are some good ones?” ↗"Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture" by Martin Fowler made a big difference for me at the time. Also, "Domain Driven Design" by Eric Evans. Both have a focus on high level architecture. Of books that are more on the craft of programming,…
on “Ask HN: What books had the greatest effect on how you structure your code?” ↗…source products or picking up a few books on enterprise software design. You can skim through the academic theory, if you're already familiar with it, and concentrate on extending their code examples. Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture - by Martin Fowler Domain Driven Design - by Eric Evans
on “How Can I Take My Coding Skills from Intermediate to Expert?” ↗Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture Enterprise Integration Patterns Just start reading some Martin Fowler books, you will be up to your ears in patterns in no time :)
on “Ask HN: What overlooked class of tools should a self-taught programmer look into” ↗1. Head First Java 2. Refactoring: Improving the Design of Existing Code 3. Patterns of Enterprise Application Architecture
on “Ask HN: What are the 3 programming books you learned the most from? Mine” ↗