What exactly does it mean, what kind of problem does it aim to solve, and in what scenarios is using inversion of control considered appropriate or not?
When I first encountered inversion of control, I was working on a tightly coupled Java app where components created and managed each other directly.
It quickly became a mess to test and maintain. IoC flipped that model — instead of components instantiating dependencies, something else injects them. It solved the problem of dependency hell and made testing with mocks much easier.
For me, it’s always a go-to in large, layered systems where flexibility and loose coupling matter.
I used to write a lot of code where every class controlled its dependencies. Then I tried building a modular plugin system, and it became clear I needed inversion of control.
By giving up control to a container, the system became more maintainable and extensible. But I wouldn’t use IoC for small scripts or simple tools, it introduces complexity you don’t need unless the architecture demands it.