Um estudo sobre diferentes arquiteturas para aplicações mobile na nuvem

Abstract

In the current technological scenario, there is a significant demand in the software market for the development of applications, whether they are web or mobile. With the emergence of cloud computing, a variety of architectures with different proposals and technologies have also been revealed. This panorama offers system developers access to various technological combinations, raising questions about the choice of the best set and consequently, the construction of the best architecture.

The objective of this research was to analyze and compare three different software architectures for mobile applications prepared to be hosted in the cloud, focusing on specific evaluation criteria. Initially, the evaluation was carried out in terms of modifiability, that is, the software's capacity to be modified or adapted to specific situations was measured, for example, the need to include a non-existent field in the relational and non-relational database. Subsequently, the software's reliability was evaluated with an emphasis on fault tolerance, analyzing how the product maintains the consistency of information in the presence of potential issues. Finally, security, focused on confidentiality, was also investigated to understand the degree to which the system ensures that data is exclusively accessible only to properly authorized individuals. This study also considered the advantages of having one's own back-end and the use of a messaging service, although these criteria were not analyzed with the same systematic rigor as the others.

Thus, after making comparisons based on the established criteria, results were obtained that empirically describe the positive and negative aspects of each proposed architecture, in order to provide choices based on these aspects, thus assisting in the decision on which architecture to use in the software development process for mobile devices with cloud technologies.

Overall, the results of the comparison indicated that direct access to a managed storage service, such as Google Firebase's Firestore, enhances modifiability and offers more efficient management for handling request failures, in addition to ensuring the confidentiality of user information. On the other hand, the use of one's own back-end provides total control over the infrastructure and code, as well as optimizing the application's long-term costs. Finally, it is highlighted that the use of a messaging service can provide greater scalability and high data availability.