What is the Strangler Fig pattern and why is it considered suitable for modernizing critical legacy monoliths when a 'big bang' rewrite is too risky? Provide a concise definition and explanation of its core philosophy.

Which of the following are core benefits of adopting the Strangler Fig pattern for legacy system modernization? Select all that apply.

When identifying a suitable feature or bounded context to extract first using the Strangler Fig pattern, which characteristic is most desirable?

Explain the role of a proxy or router (e.g., API Gateway, reverse proxy, service mesh) in the Strangler Fig pattern implementation, and describe how it facilitates gradual traffic diversion.

The final step in the Strangler Fig pattern is (5) the old functionality, which involves removing or decommissioning the corresponding parts from the legacy monolith once the new microservice is stable and handles all traffic.

Consider an e-commerce monolith where customer authentication is handled by a legacy module. Describe how you would apply the Strangler Fig pattern to modernize this authentication module, outlining the key steps from identifying the feature to strangling the old functionality.

Which of the following are significant challenges or considerations when implementing the Strangler Fig pattern? Select all that apply.