Architecture, distribution and integration
Application/container responsibilities — C4-style
Inside the system: the deployable containers (apps, services, stores) and their responsibilities.
c4.container@1New DDN source
Why use it?
This is the map a new developer uses for the first week.
When it helps
Onboarding, ownership reviews, deployment planning.
How to read it
- Each container owns a responsibility you can state in one line.
- Connections name the protocol and direction, not just "talks to".
What you need
- The containers
- One-line responsibilities
- The protocols between them
Things to check
- Do not list libraries as containers — they are not independently deployable.
- Do not let a container have no stated responsibility.
Scope of this diagram
C4-style equivalent; deployment detail belongs to the deployment view.
Work with the converted example
- Open the viewer and select
container. Inspect the rendered view and its source. - Open the designer. Keep the selected profile and inspect its legal palette and property controls.
- Change one displayed title or an appropriate data value. Apply the edit and check the resulting diagram.
- Run the verifier and review its diagnostics before moving complete content into review.
- Download your edited DDN source to retain the change.
The example uses the indentation-based ddn-next-1 dialect. The language guide explains reusable definitions, dotted data rows and explicit property blocks.