Strangler Fig Pattern

Definitions

1. A migration strategy where a new system is built incrementally around an existing legacy system, gradually replacing its functionality until the old system can be decommissioned. Named after the strangler fig tree that grows around its host.

   In plain English: Replacing an old system piece by piece with a new one, instead of doing a risky big-bang rewrite.

   Example: "We're using the strangler fig pattern to migrate from the PHP monolith — each new feature goes in the Node service, and we proxy the rest."

Related Terms

• Webhook vs. Polling
• Event-Driven Architecture
• State Machine
• Event Sourcing
• Hexagonal Architecture
• Init Container
• API Gateway Pattern
• Pub/Sub
• Aggregate
• CQRS
• Clean Architecture
• Feature Parity
• Backend for Frontend
• Regex
• Lot's Wife Anti-Pattern
• Code Migration