Theory and Foundation Forming a Common Understanding

Abstract

Terracotta is Java infrastructure software that allows you to scale your application for use on as many computers as needed, without expensive custom code or databases. But Terracotta is more than this twenty-six-word definition. If you have picked up this book, you are looking for a deeper understanding of the technology and where to use it. To achieve that understanding, we must first break down the jargon surrounding scaling, clustering, and application architecture. In Chapter 1, we will spend some time defining terms and then explain the value Terracotta provides to applications. This will help us to build a shared understanding of the target audience of the technology.