While the conversation around monorepos sparks the interest of more people every day, there are still many misconceptions and doubts surrounding the idea of putting all code into a single version control repository. My goal here is to analyze software development workflows without ignoring the human factor and the status quo (most likely a poly-repo setting) so that, after watching this talk, you can ask the right questions when deciding whether or not a monorepo might be suitable for your team, organization, or company.
Interview:
What's the focus of your work these days?
I'm acting as the tech lead for the IBM BAMOE Tools team, which is heavily based on the Apache KIE (incubator) project, where I'm a committer and member of the PPMC. Mostly, but not limited to, the 'kie-tools' monorepo.
Over the last four years, the monorepo has evolved from hosting a few TypeScript packages to hosting packages based on Java, Maven, Go, and Python. At its peak, a few dozens of developers contributed to the monorepo simultaneously across different teams.
What technical aspects of your role are most important?
Keeping everything stable for users and welcoming new people to contribute to Apache KIE (incubator) while maintaining the rapid pace of innovation we have are two of the things I consider most important.
How does your InfoQ Dev Summit Boston session address current challenges or trends in the industry?
Codebase organization is an endless debate, but I expect to offer some insights based on my experience so people can make more accurate decisions about their own projects.
How do you see the concepts discussed in your InfoQ Dev Summit Boston session shaping the future of the industry?
Version control systems and tools are a cornerstone of software development, and they've been constantly improving. Historical limitations are being removed and with that, the sprectrum of choice widens considerably, making it hard to navigate the possibilities and tame complexity to keep focused on what matters to people's projects and organizations. It's a known fact that codebases tend to mirror its organization structure, so looking at it with a fresh perspective might reveal paths to solving problems that were seemingly too hard.
Speaker
Tiago Bento
Principal Software Engineer @IBM Business Automation Manager Open Editions and Apache KIE (Incubator) Committer
Tiago Bento is a Principal Software Engineer at IBM and Committer at Apache KIE (incubator). He’s an experienced Java and TypeScript developer working on Open Source business automation projects based on standards like BPMN and DMN.
