All software systems we build use some sort of configuration files. These configuration files change depending on the environment in which your service/system is deployed. They allow us build a single deployable unit that can be deployed in multiple environments without any code change. We just change our configuration file depending on the environment and provide our service path to an external location where the configuration file exists. And, our service uses the configuration file to bootstrap itself.
Configuration files become unwieldy if not managed well. Incorrect configuration values is one of the major reasons for system downtime. Most teams don’t write tests for their configurations so a lot of times bugs are discovered in higher environments.
I was also seeing the same problem in one of my projects. There was a lack of clarity on which configuration properties change between different environments and which remains the same. Also, in a local and lower environment I don’t mind database credentials in my configuration files but for a higher environment I don’t want them to be present in the code.
Continue reading “Structuring Spring Boot Microservices Configuration”
Shekhar Gulati 