blocbased

Blocbased is a design philosophy and architectural approach that organizes software systems as assemblies of discrete blocks. Each block represents a cohesive unit of state and behavior with a well-defined interface, enabling blocks to be developed, deployed, and evolved independently. Blocbased emphasizes modularity, clear contracts between components, and predictable composition by assembling blocks into higher-level functionality.

The term is used in various contexts and is not tied to a single formal standard. In practice, blocbased commonly overlaps with component-based and service-oriented thinking, and it is often contrasted with monolithic or tightly coupled architectures. Some practitioners describe blocbased systems as graphs of interconnected blocks governed by a block registry or contract layer.

Key characteristics include encapsulated state, explicit interfaces or contracts, and support for composability through well-defined dependencies. Blocks may be implemented as libraries, microservices, or UI components. Communication between blocks can use message passing, events, or contracts; many blocbased designs rely on versioned interfaces to enable safe evolution and hot-swapping of blocks. A block registry or dependency graph helps discover and wire blocks at build or runtime.

Blocbased has found use in front-end frameworks that model UI as reusable components, data processing pipelines, and modular back-end services. It also intersects with ideas from data-block storage and content-addressable systems, where data is stored and retrieved in fixed-size blocks. It is distinct from the BLoC pattern in Flutter, which focuses on business logic components within a UI layer.

Challenges include management of block versions, governance of interfaces, potential overhead from inter-block communication, and the risk of over-modularization. Proponents argue blocbased can improve testability, maintainability, and reuse, while critics caution against fragmentation if governance and tooling are weak.