about this book
An architect’s role involves choosing how systems communicate, and one proven method for coordinating distributed work is through events. Several technologies exist, each with trade-offs in reliability, flexibility, and integration complexity. Apache Kafka is a widely adopted, open source event-streaming platform that started as a messaging system and has grown into an ecosystem for real-time processing, backed by durable event storage. But while Kafka is powerful, its adoption isn’t straightforward. Most tutorials and books focus on code and configuration, neglecting architectural and design questions crucial for success. This book fills that gap by focusing on architectural choices—fit, event design, patterns, and governance—ensuring deliberate Kafka adoption.
Who should read this book
Kafka for Architects is for software architects, technical leads, and developers who need to understand Kafka at a system level—how it operates and how to fit it into broader architectures. You do not need to know any specific programming language or technology stack to benefit from this book, but a basic grasp of distributed systems concepts, general architecture principles, and some experience delivering enterprise projects will be helpful.
My goal is to equip you with the insight to evaluate Kafka’s role in your architecture, make informed trade-offs, and design solutions that last, regardless of the tools or languages you use.