C4 model
The C4 model: context and container diagrams
Context, containers, components and code: four levels of a single model, each answering a question the level above it raised. A convention rather than a notation, which is exactly why it travels.
3 articles19 min read
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What is the C4 model?
The C4 model in one article: what context, container, component and code diagrams each answer, who each level is for, and why C4 defines what to draw rather than how to draw it.
7 min read
Read in order
C4, one level of zoom at a time
- 02Container diagramWhat counts as a container, how to label the technology and the protocols, and why the container diagram is the level most teams get the most out of and most often skip.Structure diagrams6 min read
- 03C4 vs UMLWhy C4 and UML are not alternatives, what each one actually provides, where they overlap, and how to draw a C4 level in UML notation without breaking either.Modelling practice6 min read
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