Microservices are quickly becoming the de facto development method for cloud and third platform technologies, due to their ability to form more robust, malleable and scalable applications, according to open source software company Warewolf.

Compared to more monolithic, traditionally-structured applications, which are layered and difficult to separate, microservices are individual components, performing specific tasks and making up a larger whole, the company explains.

Using microservices, developers can make alterations without affecting the broader application stack, and in this way it is easier to test and deploy more features and resolve errors without major technological halts, Warewolf elaborates.

This abilities are increasingly important in an evolving application architecture landscape, in which "applications must be highly scalable, highly available and run on cloud environments [and] organisations often want to frequently roll out updates, even multiple times a day," says Microservices.io, an informational Web site about the technology produced by Chris Richardson, software architect and founder of microservices application platform start-up Eventuate.

"Microservices are a true revolution in both development and how applications operate," says Barney Buchan, CEO of Dev2, a company developing for Warewolf.

Warewolf stresses that the technology is easy to integrate with existing and legacy application infrastructure.

The company on Monday announced the release of Warewolf Version 1, the latest iteration of its software which "allows developers to use a visual, flow-based, drag and drop environment to design and create microservices, and then call those microservices from directly within their applications".

Existing users can continue to use Warewolf's core, free aspect, or get 30 days' free trial access to all new tools and features via Microsoft's Azure marketplace.