In this podcast episode, they discuss event-driven systems and architecture, including the challenges they bring. They explore the benefits of event-driven architecture such as durability and flexibility. They also touch on topics like choreography vs orchestration, event sourcing, and cloud-based workflow solutions.
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Quick takeaways
Event-driven architecture enables services to react and perform actions based on real-world events within a dynamic flow.
Choreography and orchestration are two approaches for event-driven systems, each with its own trade-offs.
When implementing event-driven systems, organizations should consider various messaging infrastructure options to select the most suitable technology.
Deep dives
Event-driven architecture and its definition
Event-driven architecture refers to a system or application where different parts communicate or collaborate using events, which represent occurrences within a given domain. These events can include actions such as creating an account, debiting an account, or the departure of a flight. The definition resonates with the guests, who note that event-driven architecture models real-world asynchrony and events, enabling services to react and perform actions based on these events within a dynamic flow.
Choreography and Orchestration in Event-driven Systems
Choreography, considered an asynchronous approach, involves loosely coupled services reacting to events independently and without the presence of a central orchestrator. Services in a choreography-based system are autonomous and react to events as they occur. On the other hand, orchestration involves a centralized orchestrator directing the sequence of actions across multiple services in a pre-defined manner, resembling a conductor in an orchestra. Both approaches have trade-offs, such as ease of understanding and managing complex processes versus flexibility and autonomy.
Choosing the Messaging Infrastructure
When implementing event-driven systems, organizations have a variety of messaging infrastructure options to consider. Cloud vendors often offer hosted services like Pub/Sub systems, which provide scalability, different paradigms, and messaging capabilities. Additionally, there are open-source frameworks like Watermill and platforms such as Temporal, N-Service Bus, and Mass Transit that facilitate event handling, message consumption, and activity orchestration in event-driven systems. Organizations can weigh the latency, throughput, delivery guarantees, and other requirements of their channels to select the most suitable messaging technology.
Evolution and Adaptability in Event-driven Architecture
Event-driven architecture and systems should be viewed as continuously evolving to meet the needs of growing businesses and changing market conditions. As new requirements emerge, software design should adapt to accommodate them. This flexibility allows services to react to events, modify workflows, and introduce new services without disrupting existing systems. Organizations should embrace a culture of change and strive to find the right balance between choreography and orchestration, leveraging each approach where it fits best within their context.
People-centric Approach in Software Architecture
While technology plays a critical role in software architecture, it is essential to prioritize understanding and solving human problems alongside technical challenges. Architectural decisions should consider organizational structure, development processes, and team dynamics to build systems that are loosely coupled, easily understood, and align with the business needs. Rather than solely focusing on technology platforms, organizations should invest effort in defining the problem, evaluating criteria, exploring multiple solutions, and making informed decisions. Improving communication, collaboration, and adaptability among team members is essential for successful software development.
Event-driven systems may not be the go-to solution for everyone because of the challenges they can add. While the system reacting to events published in other parts of the system seem elegant, some of the complexities they bring can be challenging. However, they do offer durability, autonomy & flexibility.
In this episode, we’ll define event-driven architecture, discuss the problems it solves, challenges it poses & potential solutions.
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