modets

Modets are small, self-contained software units designed to encapsulate a single capability, with clearly defined interfaces, intended to be composed to form larger applications. They emphasize portability, deterministic behavior, and sandboxed execution to minimize cross-cutting concerns.

The term modet is a neologism formed from module and etude, used mainly in theoretical discussions of modular design. It is not tied to a specific technology stack and is described in software design literature as a thought experiment illustrating how discrete units can be composed while maintaining isolation.

Key characteristics include single responsibility, explicit interfaces and contracts, versioning, dependency isolation, sandboxed runtime, portability across environments, and a lightweight packaging format with a manifest. A modet typically provides a small set of functions or services, interacts with other modets through a stable API, and can be updated independently from the rest of the system.

Implementation often involves a minimal runtime container, an interface or API layer, and a packaging method for distribution. Modets may be loaded dynamically by an orchestrator or embedded at build time; they commonly rely on standard data formats and messaging schemes to enable interoperability across platforms and languages.

Applications include rapid prototyping, education, and architectural exploration, where modets demonstrate how feature sets can be assembled from composable, replaceable units. Notable considerations are governance, version compatibility, security, and performance overhead. See also: plugin architecture, microservices, software components, module federation, containerization.