Domain-Driven Design

by Eric Evans

  As was discussed in Chapter 5, the underlying technology may constrain your modeling choices. For example, a relational database can place a practical limit on deep compositional object structures. In just the same way, there must be feedback to developers in both directions between the use of the REPOSITORY and the implementation of its queries.

  Implementing a REPOSITORY

  Implementation will vary greatly, depending on the technology being used for persistence and the infrastructure you have. The ideal is to hide all the inner workings from the client (although not from the developer of the client), so that client code will be the same whether the data is stored in an object database, stored in a relational database, or simply held in memory. The REPOSITORY will delegate to the appropriate infrastructure services to get the job done. Encapsulating the mechanisms of storage, retrieval, and query is the most basic feature of a REPOSITORY implementation.

  Figure 6.21. The REPOSITORY encapsulates the underlying data store.

  The REPOSITORY concept is adaptable to many situations. The possibilities of implementation are so diverse that I can only list some concerns to keep in mind.

  • Abstract the type. A REPOSITORY “contains” all instances of a specific type, but this does not mean that you need one REPOSITORY for each class. The type could be an abstract superclass of a hierarchy (for example, a TradeOrder could be a BuyOrder or a Sell-Order). The type could be an interface whose implementers are not even hierarchically related. Or it could be a specific concrete class. Keep in mind that you may well face constraints imposed by the lack of such polymorphism in your database technology.

  • Take advantage of the decoupling from the client. You have more freedom to change the implementation of a REPOSITORY than you would if the client were calling the mechanisms directly. You can take advantage of this to optimize for performance, by varying the query technique or by caching objects in memory, freely switching persistence strategies at any time. You can facilitate testing of the client code and the domain objects by providing an easily manipulated, dummy in-memory strategy.

  • Leave transaction control to the client. Although the REPOSITORY will insert into and delete from the database, it will ordinarily not commit anything. It is tempting to commit after saving, for example, but the client presumably has the context to correctly initiate and commit units of work. Transaction management will be simpler if the REPOSITORY keeps its hands off.

  Typically teams add a framework to the infrastructure layer to support the implementation of REPOSITORIES. In addition to the collaboration with the lower level infrastructure components, the REPOSITORY superclass might implement some basic queries, especially when a flexible query is being implemented. Unfortunately, with a type system such as Java’s, this approach would force you to type returned objects as “Object,” leaving the client to cast them to the REPOSITORY’S contained type. But of course, this will have to be done with queries that return collections anyway in Java.

  Some additional guidance on implementing REPOSITORIES and some of their supporting technical patterns such as QUERY OBJECT can be found in Fowler (2003).

  Working Within Your Frameworks

  Before implementing something like a REPOSITORY, you need to think carefully about the infrastructure you are committed to, especially any architectural frameworks. You may find that the framework provides services you can use to easily create a REPOSITORY, or you may find that the framework fights you all the way. You may discover that the architectural framework has already defined an equivalent pattern of getting persistent objects. Or you may discover that it has defined a pattern that is not like a REPOSITORY at all.

  For example, your project might be committed to J2EE. Looking for conceptual affinities between the framework and the patterns of MODEL-DRIVEN DESIGN (and keeping in mind that an entity bean is not the same thing as an ENTITY), you may have chosen to use entity beans to correspond to AGGREGATE roots. The construct within the architectural framework of J2EE that is responsible for providing access to these objects is the “EJB Home.” Trying to dress up the EJB Home to look like a REPOSITORY could lead to other problems.

  In general, don’t fight your frameworks. Seek ways to keep the fundamentals of domain-driven design and let go of the specifics when the framework is antagonistic. Look for affinities between the concepts of domain-driven design and the concepts in the framework. This is assuming that you have no choice but to use the framework. Many J2EE projects don’t use entity beans at all. If you have the freedom, choose frameworks, or parts of frameworks, that are harmonious with the style of design you want to use.

  The Relationship with FACTORIES

  A FACTORY handles the beginning of an object’s life; a REPOSITORY helps manage the middle and the end. When objects are being held in memory, or stored in an object database, this is straightforward. But typically there is at least some object storage in relational databases, files, or other, non-object-oriented systems. In such cases, the retrieved data must be reconstituted into object form.

  Because the REPOSITORY is, in this case, creating objects based on data, many people consider the REPOSITORY to be a FACTORY—indeed it is, from a technical point of view. But it is more useful to keep the model in the forefront, and as mentioned before, the reconstitution of a stored object is not the creation of a new conceptual object. In this domain-driven view of the design, FACTORIES and REPOSITORIES have distinct responsibilities. The FACTORY makes new objects; the REPOSITORY finds old objects. The client of a REPOSITORY should be given the illusion that the objects are in memory. The object may have to be reconstituted (yes, a new instance may be created), but it is the same conceptual object, still in the middle of its life cycle.

  These two views can be reconciled by making the REPOSITORY delegate object creation to a FACTORY, which (in theory, though seldom in practice) could also be used to create objects from scratch.

  Figure 6.22. A REPOSITORY uses a FACTORY to reconstitute a preexisting object.

  This clear separation also helps by unloading all responsibility for persistence from the FACTORIES. A FACTORY’S job is to instantiate a potentially complex object from data. If the product is a new object, the client will know this and can add it to the REPOSITORY, which will encapsulate the storage of the object in the database.

  Figure 6.23. A client uses a REPOSITORY to store a new object.

  One other case that drives people to combine FACTORY and REPOSITORY is the desire for “find or create” functionality, in which a client can describe an object it wants and, if no such object is found, will be given a newly created one. This function should be avoided. It is a minor convenience at best. A lot of cases in which it seems useful go away when ENTITIES and VALUE OBJECTS are distinguished. A client that wants a VALUE OBJECT can go straight to a FACTORY and ask for a new one. Usually, the distinction between a new object and an existing object is important in the domain, and a framework that transparently combines them will actually muddle the situation.

  Designing Objects for Relational Databases

  The most common nonobject component of primarily object-oriented software systems is the relational database. This reality presents the usual problems of a mixture of paradigms (see Chapter 5). But the database is more intimately related to the object model than are most other components. The database is not just interacting with the objects; it is storing the persistent form of the data that makes up the objects themselves. A good deal has been written about the technical challenges of mapping objects to relational tables and effectively storing and retrieving them. A recent discussion can be found in Fowler 2003. There are reasonably refined tools for creating and managing mappings between the two. Apart from the technical concerns, this mismatch can have a significant impact on the object model.

  There are three common cases:

  1. The database is primarily a repository for the objects.

  2. The database was designed for another system.

  3. The databa
se is designed for this system but serves in roles other than object store.

  When the database schema is being created specifically as a store for the objects, it is worth accepting some model limitations in order to keep the mapping very simple. Without other demands on schema design, the database can be structured to make aggregate integrity safer and more efficient as updates are made. Technically, the relational table design does not have to reflect the domain model. Mapping tools are sophisticated enough to bridge significant differences. The trouble is, multiple overlapping models are just too complicated. Many of the same arguments presented for MODEL-DRIVEN DESIGN—avoiding separate analysis and design models—apply to this mismatch. This does entail some sacrifice in the richness of the object model, and sometimes compromises have to be made in the database design (such as selective denormalization), but to do otherwise is to risk losing the tight coupling of model and implementation. This approach doesn’t require a simplistic one-object/one-table mapping. Depending on the power of the mapping tool, some aggregation or composition of objects may be possible. But it is crucial that the mappings be transparent, easily understandable by inspecting the code or reading entries in the mapping tool.

  • When the database is being viewed as an object store, don’t let the data model and the object model diverge far, regardless of the powers of the mapping tools. Sacrifice some richness of object relationships to keep close to the relational model. Compromise some formal relational standards, such as normalization, if it helps simplify the object mapping.

  • Processes outside the object system should not access such an object store. They could violate the invariants enforced by the objects. Also, their access will lock in the data model so that it is hard to change when the objects are refactored.

  On the other hand, there are many cases in which the data comes from a legacy or external system that was never intended as a store of objects. In this situation, there are, in reality, two domain models coexisting in the same system. Chapter 14, “Maintaining Model Integrity,” deals with this issue in depth. It may make sense to conform to the model implicit in the other system, or it may be better to make the model completely distinct.

  Another reason for exceptions is performance. Quirky design changes may have to be introduced to solve execution speed problems.

  But for the important common case of a relational database acting as the persistent form of an object-oriented domain, simple directness is best. A table row should contain an object, perhaps along with subsidiaries in an AGGREGATE. A foreign key in the table should translate to a reference to another ENTITY object. The necessity of sometimes deviating from this simple directness should not lead to total abandonment of the principle of simple mappings.

  The UBIQUITOUS LANGUAGE can help tie the object and relational components together to a single model. The names and associations of elements in the objects should correspond meticulously to those of the relational tables. Although the power of some mapping tools may make this seem unnecessary, subtle differences in relationships will cause a lot of confusion.

  The tradition of refactoring that has increasingly taken hold in the object world has not really affected relational database design much. What’s more, serious data migration issues discourage frequent change. This may create a drag on the refactoring of the object model, but if the object model and the database model start to diverge, transparency can be lost quickly.

  Finally, there are some reasons to go with a schema that is quite distinct from the object model, even when the database is being created specifically for your system. The database may also be used by other software that will not instantiate objects. The database may require little change, even while the behavior of the objects changes or evolves rapidly. Cutting the two loose from each other is a seductive path. It is often taken unintentionally, when the team fails to keep the database current with the model. If the separation is chosen consciously, it can result in a clean database schema—not an awkward one full of compromises conforming to last year’s object model.

  Seven. Using the Language: An Extended Example

  The preceding three chapters introduced a pattern language for honing the fine detail of a model and maintaining a tight MODEL-DRIVEN DESIGN. In the earlier examples, the patterns were mostly applied one at a time, but on a real project you have to combine them. This chapter presents one elaborate example (still drastically simpler than a real project, of course). The example will step through a succession of model and design refinements as a hypothetical team deals with requirements and implementation issues and develops a MODEL-DRIVEN DESIGN, showing the forces that apply and how the patterns of Part II can resolve them.

  Introducing the Cargo Shipping System

  We’re developing new software for a cargo shipping company. The initial requirements are three basic functions.

  1. Track key handling of customer cargo

  2. Book cargo in advance

  3. Send invoices to customers automatically when the cargo reaches some point in its handling

  In a real project, it would take some time and iteration to get to the clarity of this model. Part III of this book will go into the discovery process in depth. But here we’ll start with a model that has the needed concepts in a reasonable form, and we’ll focus on fine-tuning the details to support design.

  Figure 7.1. A class diagram representing a model of the shipping domain

  This model organizes domain knowledge and provides a language for the team. We can make statements like this:

  “Multiple Customers are involved with a Cargo, each playing a different role.”

  “The Cargo delivery goal is specified.”

  “A series of Carrier Movements satisfying the Specification will fulfill the delivery goal.”

  Each object in the model has a clear meaning:

  A Handling Event is a discrete action taken with the Cargo, such as loading it onto a ship or clearing it through customs. This class would probably be elaborated into a hierarchy of different kinds of incidents, such as loading, unloading, or being claimed by the receiver.

  Delivery Specification defines a delivery goal, which at minimum would include a destination and an arrival date, but it can be more complex. This class follows the SPECIFICATION pattern (see Chapter 9).

  This responsibility could have been taken on by the Cargo object, but the abstraction of Delivery Specification gives at least three advantages.

  1. Without Delivery Specification, the Cargo object would be responsible for the detailed meaning of all those attributes and associations for specifying the delivery goal. This would clutter up Cargo and make it harder to understand or change.

  2. This abstraction makes it easy and safe to suppress detail when explaining the model as a whole. For example, there could be other criteria encapsulated in the Delivery Specification, but a diagram at this level of detail would not have to expose it. The diagram is telling the reader that there is a SPECIFICATION of delivery, and the details of that are not important to think about (and, in fact, could be easily changed later).

  3. This model is more expressive. Adding Delivery Specification says explicitly that the exact means of delivery of the Cargo is undetermined, but that it must accomplish the goal set out in the Delivery Specification.

  A role distinguishes the different parts played by Customers in a shipment. One is the “shipper,” one the “receiver,” one the “payer,” and so on. Because only one Customer can play a given role for a particular Cargo, the association becomes a qualified many-to-one instead of many-to-many. Role might be implemented as simply a string, or it could be a class if other behavior is needed.

  Carrier Movement represents one particular trip by a particular Carrier (such as a truck or a ship) from one Location to another. Cargoes can ride from place to place by being loaded onto Carriers for the duration of one or more Carrier Movements.

  Delivery History reflects what has actually happened to a Cargo, as opposed to the
Delivery Specification, which describes goals. A Delivery History object can compute the current Location of the Cargo by analyzing the last load or unload and the destination of the corresponding Carrier Movement. A successful delivery would end with a Delivery History that satisfied the goals of the Delivery Specification.

  All the concepts needed to work through the requirements just described are present in this model, assuming appropriate mechanisms to persist the objects, find the relevant objects, and so on. Such implementation issues are not dealt with in the model, but they must be in the design.

  In order to frame up a solid implementation, this model still needs some clarification and tightening.

  Remember, ordinarily, model refinement, design, and implementation should go hand-in-hand in an iterative development process. But in this chapter, for clarity of explanation, we are starting with a relatively mature model, and changes will be motivated strictly by the need to connect that model with a practical implementation, employing the building block patterns.

  Ordinarily, as the model is being refined to support the design better, it should also be refined to reflect new insight into the domain. But in this chapter, for clarity of explanation, changes will be strictly motivated by the need to connect with a practical implementation, employing the building block patterns.

  Isolating the Domain: Introducing the Applications

  To prevent domain responsibilities from being mixed with those of other parts of the system, let’s apply LAYERED ARCHITECTURE to mark off a domain layer.