The basics of porting

Originally, Buildroot offers a limited number of packages. It makes sense — there is everything you need, but any other packages can be added.

To add a package, create 2 description files, an optional checksum file, and add a link to the package in the general package list. There are hooks at different stages of the build. At the same time, Buildroot can recognize the needed type of packages:

This is a post about first steps and first pitfalls in modernization of old enterprise application using "supersonic subatomic java" quarkus as it is positioned by RedHat.

Initial setup

In the end of 2019 I was invited to work in a project in our company, where an old monolithic application should be split into micro-services. Basic reasoning behind this decision was, that framework which is used in application is near to it's end-of-life. The application should be rewritten in any case. If it should be rewritten in any case, why not to split it into micro-services?

Since last 10 years, I was working mostly with java and we had in the project specialists with java knowledge, we have decided to give java-based frameworks a try for back-end functionality.
OK, let's use spring-cloud for that purpose, was our first thought. But then, we have had a look onto quarkus, which has been released in the end of 2019. We have decided to give it a try, keeping in mind building of native applications using GraalVM.

Native applications from our perspective could give us following benefits:

• shorten start time of container
• reduce resource consumption of container and application

We were aware about possible drawbacks of this solution:

• no experience in our team with quarkus framework
• significantly less amount of available feedback from community, since this is very young framework