monolith
1
7.1
- noun
- /ˈmɒnəˌlɪθ/
- Specialized
- Many developers find it challenging to manage a large monolith that combines multiple functionalities into a single system.
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Watch on YouTubeIf we're looking at this as the all seeing, all knowing, you know, sort of monolith of tech that provides us with answers, we have a lot of problems to solve.
- If we're looking at this as the all seeing, all knowing, you know, sort of monolith of tech that provides us with answers, we have a lot of problems to solve.
Examples
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Building a new application as a monolith can lead to difficulties in scaling and updating specific components independently.
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People need to wrap their heads around the fact that the banknote monetary scheme is a global monolith.
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You know, if if you think of it as this monolith, then it can't change.
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Just something to consider when grouping a nation of 85 million together as a monolith.
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So while Facebook is a monolith, he argues it will eventually suffer a fate similar to Friendster and MySpace.
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They start off as a giant, black, haystack-shaped software monolith, then evolve outwards into "Open Source," and finally, to the Sun logo.
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The team's project was a monolith that required extensive testing before deployment, as all features were interconnected.
Synonyms
A very large object made from one piece or an organization that cannot change easily
How Modular
- Specialized
1
6.6
- Specialized
1
7.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
monolith = mono + lith
Although the classical elements suggest a literal meaning like 'single stone', the software sense is a specialized metaphor and the root 'lith' is not a recognizable English word for most learners.
Etymology
Monolith is used in technology with the same idea from Greek mono- ('one') and -lith ('stone'). So a software monolith is one big, single block of code instead of many small parts, like one huge stone rather than many pieces.