Composition Root

Design patterns / Clean architecture patterns
image

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

//client code
var app = ShopApp.Loud();
app.UseCase.Place([("pen", 2), ("lamp", 1)]);
app.UseCase.Place([("chair", 1)]);

//a second root builds the same use case differently
var night = ShopApp.Quiet();
night.UseCase.Place([("lamp", 1)]);
Console.WriteLine($"saved {night.Orders.Count}");
//printed: order 1001 for 225
//         no chair
//         saved 1

//entity
record Order(int Id, int Total)
{
    public int Payable =>
        Total >= 200 ? Total - Total / 10 : Total;
}

//gateway
interface ICatalog
{
    int? Price(string sku);
}

//repository
interface IOrders
{
    void Save(Order order);

    int Count { get; }
}

//output port
interface IReport
{
    void Say(string text);
}

//use case: asks for its parts, never builds them
sealed class PlaceOrder(
    ICatalog catalog,
    IOrders orders,
    IReport report)
{
    private int nextId = 1001;

    public void Place(
        IReadOnlyList<(string Sku, int Count)> items)
    {
        int total = 0;
        foreach (var (sku, count) in items)
        {
            if (catalog.Price(sku) is not int price)
            {
                report.Say($"no {sku}");
                return;
            }
            total += price * count;
        }
        var order = new Order(nextId++, total);
        orders.Save(order);
        report.Say(
            $"order {order.Id} for {order.Payable}");
    }
}

//adapter
sealed class MemoryCatalog : ICatalog
{
    public int? Price(string sku) => sku switch
    {
        "pen" => 30,
        "lamp" => 190,
        _ => null,
    };
}

//adapter
sealed class MemoryOrders : IOrders
{
    private readonly List<Order> rows = [];

    public void Save(Order order) => rows.Add(order);

    public int Count => rows.Count;
}

//adapter
sealed class ConsoleReport : IReport
{
    public void Say(string text) =>
        Console.WriteLine(text);
}

//adapter
sealed class SilentReport : IReport
{
    public void Say(string text)
    {
    }
}

//composition root: the only place that sees every layer
//at once, and the only place where an adapter is built
sealed class ShopApp
{
    private ShopApp(
        ICatalog catalog,
        IOrders orders,
        IReport report)
    {
        Orders = orders;
        UseCase = new PlaceOrder(catalog, orders, report);
    }

    public PlaceOrder UseCase { get; }

    public IOrders Orders { get; }

    public static ShopApp Loud() => new(
        new MemoryCatalog(),
        new MemoryOrders(),
        new ConsoleReport());

    public static ShopApp Quiet() => new(
        new MemoryCatalog(),
        new MemoryOrders(),
        new SilentReport());
}


A composition root is the only place where the layers are connected and the adapters are built; the rest of the application only asks for its parts.
Read more

The problem. A use case needs a catalogue of prices, a store for orders and a way to report. If the use case creates these parts itself, it names adapters of the outer layer and depends on them. A test cannot give it other parts. If every part of the program builds its own parts, nobody sees how the application is connected.

The idea. A composition root is the only place where the layers are connected and the adapters are built. An adapter is outer code that implements a port, the interface that the inner layer declares. The use case only asks for its parts through ports and never builds them. The root knows every layer at once, and that is its job. All other code keeps the dependency rule: inner code never knows outer code. No framework or container is needed: the root is plain code at the start of the program.

How to read the example. The use case asks for three ports: a gateway for prices, a repository for orders and an output port for reports. The outer layer has adapters for them: a catalogue and a store in memory, a report that prints and a report that says nothing. The example builds the application twice. In the first build the report prints: the client code places order 1001, with 225 to pay, and an order for an unknown item. The second build has the silent report, so its orders print nothing. Only the count of saved orders shows that they were saved. The use case is the same in both builds.

When to use it. Every application has one composition root, at its start; a test may have its own small root with fake adapters. A short script without ports needs no root.

A common mistake. Creating an adapter inside a use case, even once. The use case then depends on the outer layer, and the root no longer shows how the application is connected.