Software Architecture Patterns: MVC, MVP, MVVM, MVVM-C, and VIPER differ in their approach to separating data, presentation, and user interaction concerns.

Introduction :

The Most trending and buzzing technical architectures are MVC, MVP, MVVM, MVVM-C, and VIPER are all software architecture patterns that aim to separate concerns and improve maintainability in application development. They differ in the way they divide responsibilities between components and handle user interaction.

Explain complex systems with simple terms

These architecture patterns are among the most commonly used in app development, whether on iOS or Android platforms. Developers have introduced them to overcome the limitations of earlier patterns. So, how do they differ?

- MVC, the oldest pattern, dates back almost 50 years
- Every pattern has a “view” (V) responsible for displaying content and receiving user input
- Most patterns include a “model” (M) to manage business data
- “Controller,” “presenter,” and “view-model” are translators that mediate between the view and the model (“entity” in the VIPER pattern)
- These translators can be quite complex to write, so various patterns have been proposed to make them more maintainable

MVC (Model-View-Controller)

MVC is the most basic and widely used architecture pattern. It separates the application into three main components:

• Model: Represents the data and business logic of the application.
• View: Handles the user interface (UI) and displays data to the user.
• Controller: Acts as an intermediary between the model and the view, updating the view when the model changes and handling user interactions.

MVP (Model-View-Presenter)

MVP is an evolution of MVC that addresses some of its shortcomings, particularly the tight coupling between the view and the controller. In MVP, the presenter is responsible for preparing data for the view and handling user interactions, while the view remains passive and only displays data.

• Model: Represents the data and business logic of the application.
• View: Handles the UI and displays data to the user.
• Presenter: Acts as an intermediary between the model and the view, preparing data for the view and handling user interactions.

MVVM (Model-View-ViewModel)

MVVM is a pattern that introduces the ViewModel, which acts as a bridge between the model and the view. The ViewModel is responsible for exposing data from the model in a way that is consumable by the view, and it also handles user interactions by updating the model.

• Model: Represents the data and business logic of the application.
• View: Handles the UI and displays data to the user.
• ViewModel: Acts as an intermediary between the model and the view, exposing data from the model and handling user interactions.

MVVM-C (Model-View-ViewModel-Coordinator)

MVVM-C is an extension of MVVM that introduces the Coordinator, which is responsible for handling navigation between different screens or views within the application. The Coordinator decouples the navigation logic from the ViewModel, making the application more modular and maintainable.

• Model: Represents the data and business logic of the application.
• View: Handles the UI and displays data to the user.
• ViewModel: Acts as an intermediary between the model and the view, exposing data from the model and handling user interactions.
• Coordinator: Handles navigation between different screens or views within the application.

VIPER (View-Interactor-Presenter-Entity-Router)

VIPER is a more complex pattern that breaks down the application into smaller, more focused components. It is particularly well-suited for large, enterprise-level applications that require a high degree of testability and maintainability.

• View: Handles the UI and displays data to the user.
• Interactor: Handles data retrieval and manipulation, encapsulating business logic.
• Presenter: Acts as an intermediary between the view and the interactor, preparing data for the view and handling user interactions.
• Entity: Represents data models, encapsulating data attributes and behavior.
• Router: Handles navigation between different screens or views within the application.

In summary, MVC, MVP, MVVM, MVVM-C, and VIPER are all architectural patterns that aim to improve code organization and maintainability. They differ in the way they separate components and handle user interaction, making them suitable for different types of applications and development teams.

Here is a table summarizing the key differences between the patterns:

Pattern Responsibilities

MVCModel: Data and business logic

MVPModel: Data and business logic

MVVMModel: Data and business logic

MVVM-CModel: Data and business logic

VIPERView: UI and data display