DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices

Maxime André; Marco Raglianti; Anthony Cleve; Michele Lanza

doi:10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103

DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices

Maxime André, Marco Raglianti, Anthony Cleve, Michele Lanza

Research output: Contribution in Book/Catalog/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

53 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Adopted by companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify, the microservices architectural style is now well established. Aimed at facilitating software evolution, it is renowned for modularizing a software system into microservices, implemented in various technologies. Regarding databases, practitioners opt for polyglot persistence: Each microservice is responsible for its own database(s). This influences how the architecture is implemented. The decoupling and heterogeneity of microservices and their databases spread data access points throughout the codebase, complicating program comprehension and code-data co-evolution. Developers' feedback reveals their struggles to obtain a holistic view of data access in such architectures. We present Denim, a tool that enables users to identify data access points in microservices and visualize them in an interactive treemap. Using real microservice applications, we illustrate how this tool can be used for software evolution tasks. https://figshare.com/s/6f1d970b87b7ebce939f?file=54914249

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025
Subtitle of host publication	Tool Demo track
Publisher	IEEE Computer Society
Pages	900-904
Number of pages	5
ISBN (Electronic)	9798331595876
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103
Publication status	Published - 2025

Publication series

Name	Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025

Funding

Swiss National Science Foundation through the project a-FORCEa (SNF project) 232141

Funders	Funder number
Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung	232141

Keywords

microservices
databases
evolution
DENIM

Access to Document

10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103

Andre2025c_DENIMExploringDataAccessinMicroservices_ICSME2025ToolDemo
2025 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
Submitted manuscript, 3.56 MB

Cite this

André, M., Raglianti, M., Cleve, A., & Lanza, M. (2025). DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices. In Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025: Tool Demo track (pp. 900-904). (Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025). IEEE Computer Society. https://doi.org/10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103

@inproceedings{0ffba401eef74202afa04b877e3458a9,

title = "DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices",

abstract = "Adopted by companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify, the microservices architectural style is now well established. Aimed at facilitating software evolution, it is renowned for modularizing a software system into microservices, implemented in various technologies. Regarding databases, practitioners opt for polyglot persistence: Each microservice is responsible for its own database(s). This influences how the architecture is implemented. The decoupling and heterogeneity of microservices and their databases spread data access points throughout the codebase, complicating program comprehension and code-data co-evolution. Developers' feedback reveals their struggles to obtain a holistic view of data access in such architectures. We present Denim, a tool that enables users to identify data access points in microservices and visualize them in an interactive treemap. Using real microservice applications, we illustrate how this tool can be used for software evolution tasks. https://figshare.com/s/6f1d970b87b7ebce939f?file=54914249",

keywords = "microservices, databases, evolution, DENIM",

author = "Maxime Andr{\'e} and Marco Raglianti and Anthony Cleve and Michele Lanza",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 IEEE.",

year = "2025",

doi = "10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103",

language = "English",

series = "Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025",

publisher = "IEEE Computer Society",

pages = "900--904",

booktitle = "Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025",

address = "United States",

}

André, M, Raglianti, M, Cleve, A & Lanza, M 2025, DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices. in Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025: Tool Demo track. Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025, IEEE Computer Society, pp. 900-904. https://doi.org/10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103

DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices. / André, Maxime; Raglianti, Marco; Cleve, Anthony et al.
Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025: Tool Demo track. IEEE Computer Society, 2025. p. 900-904 (Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025).

Research output: Contribution in Book/Catalog/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

TY - GEN

T1 - DENIM

T2 - Exploring Data Access in Microservices

AU - André, Maxime

AU - Raglianti, Marco

AU - Cleve, Anthony

AU - Lanza, Michele

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - Adopted by companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify, the microservices architectural style is now well established. Aimed at facilitating software evolution, it is renowned for modularizing a software system into microservices, implemented in various technologies. Regarding databases, practitioners opt for polyglot persistence: Each microservice is responsible for its own database(s). This influences how the architecture is implemented. The decoupling and heterogeneity of microservices and their databases spread data access points throughout the codebase, complicating program comprehension and code-data co-evolution. Developers' feedback reveals their struggles to obtain a holistic view of data access in such architectures. We present Denim, a tool that enables users to identify data access points in microservices and visualize them in an interactive treemap. Using real microservice applications, we illustrate how this tool can be used for software evolution tasks. https://figshare.com/s/6f1d970b87b7ebce939f?file=54914249

AB - Adopted by companies such as Netflix, Amazon, and Spotify, the microservices architectural style is now well established. Aimed at facilitating software evolution, it is renowned for modularizing a software system into microservices, implemented in various technologies. Regarding databases, practitioners opt for polyglot persistence: Each microservice is responsible for its own database(s). This influences how the architecture is implemented. The decoupling and heterogeneity of microservices and their databases spread data access points throughout the codebase, complicating program comprehension and code-data co-evolution. Developers' feedback reveals their struggles to obtain a holistic view of data access in such architectures. We present Denim, a tool that enables users to identify data access points in microservices and visualize them in an interactive treemap. Using real microservice applications, we illustrate how this tool can be used for software evolution tasks. https://figshare.com/s/6f1d970b87b7ebce939f?file=54914249

KW - microservices

KW - databases

KW - evolution

KW - DENIM

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105022435562

U2 - 10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103

DO - 10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103

M3 - Conference contribution

T3 - Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025

SP - 900

EP - 904

BT - Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025

PB - IEEE Computer Society

ER -

André M, Raglianti M, Cleve A, Lanza M. DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices. In Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025: Tool Demo track. IEEE Computer Society. 2025. p. 900-904. (Proceedings - 2025 IEEE International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution, ICSME 2025). doi: 10.1109/icsme64153.2025.00103

DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices

Abstract

Publication series

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

DENIM

RAINDROP: Cross-stack adaptation in edge-able microservices applications

Automated Database Schema Evolution in Microservices Applications

Cross-stack Adaptation for the Edgification of Microservices Applications

41st International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution

Università della Svizzera italiana - USI

SofinaBoël Fund for Education and Talent 2024 fellowship

Cite this

DENIM: Exploring Data Access in Microservices

Abstract

Publication series

Funding

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Research output

DENIM

Projects

RAINDROP: Cross-stack adaptation in edge-able microservices applications

Automated Database Schema Evolution in Microservices Applications

Cross-stack Adaptation for the Edgification of Microservices Applications

Activities

41st International Conference on Software Maintenance and Evolution

Università della Svizzera italiana - USI

Prizes

SofinaBoël Fund for Education and Talent 2024 fellowship

Cite this