Which of the following best describes Microservices?

Microservices represent an architectural pattern that focuses on developing applications as a collection of loosely coupled services. This approach allows each service to be developed, deployed, and scaled independently, leading to greater flexibility and resilience in application design. By breaking an application into smaller, self-contained services, microservices can communicate with each other over standard protocols, which facilitates easy updates and modifications without affecting the entire system.

This architecture contrasts sharply with traditional monolithic architectures, where the entire application is tightly interwoven, making it harder to scale and maintain. The loose coupling of microservices also allows teams to work independently on different services, enhancing productivity and accelerating delivery timelines.

The other options do not align with the definition of microservices. For example, a type of database operation for loading large datasets pertains more to data management strategies rather than architectural frameworks. Similarly, a protocol for securing web services focuses on communication security rather than application structuring, and a method of integrating legacy systems deals with system interoperability rather than service-oriented design.