March 3, 2026
Boxes vs Features: FIGHT!
Simplifying Application Architecture with Modular Design and MIM
Dev world split: Is MIM the chill way to build apps or just a new buzzword
TLDR: A dev proposes MIM, a simple split between app logic and the plumbing to cut complexity and improve testing. The comments erupt: fans say it clarifies old ideas; skeptics call it a rebrand with extra boxes, memeing acronyms while debating shipping speed vs. architectural sanity.
A new post touts MIM—“Module Infrastructure-Module”—as a back-to-basics way to build apps by splitting the “what the app does” from the “wires and databases.” The author swears it’s not a revolution, just a tidy name for patterns that lower mental load and make testing easier. Cue the crowd: half cheering, half rolling their eyes. One camp says MIM finally connects the dots between big-picture design and day-to-day code. The other camp shrugs: “Isn’t this just Clean/Hex/Onion with new stickers?” See the original post.
The drama gets spicy fast. “Stop inventing acronyms and start shipping,” snarks one commenter, while another fires back that naming things helps teams think clearly. Memes explode: LEGO bricks everywhere (“MIM is adult LEGO for apps”), and someone posts “Mother, I’m Modular” with a GIF of tidy boxes. Microservice fans claim it fits their world; monolith loyalists say it’s perfect for one big codebase. Skeptics say infrastructure modules add extra hoops; fans say it keeps business rules pure and testable. For non-nerds: this is about keeping the recipe separate from the kitchen so swapping ovens doesn’t ruin the cake. Verdict? Useful idea, polarizing vibe, maximum comment-section energy.
Key Points
- •The article introduces MIM AA, an architecture based on Modular Software Design that structures applications into independent Business-Modules.
- •For complex business logic, infrastructure-related code is separated into Infrastructure-Modules to reduce cognitive load and improve maintainability.
- •MIM AA emphasizes principles such as High Cohesion, Low Coupling, Information Hiding, Separation of Concerns, Testability, and architectural-level DIP.
- •The approach is compatible with testing practices like Test-Driven Development and the Chicago School of Unit Tests and aims to compete with Clean/Hex/Onion architectures.
- •MIM AA is applicable to microservices, monoliths, modular monoliths, CLI apps, DDD and non-DDD systems, but is not suited for trivial or strict resource-constrained embedded environments.