Chapter 4. Analyzing streaming data
This chapter covers
- In-flight data analysis
- The common stream-processing architecture
- Key features common to stream-processing frameworks
In chapter 3 we spent time understanding and thinking through the importance of the message queuing tier. That tier is designed to gather data from the collection tier and make it available to be moved through the rest of the streaming architecture. At this point the data is ready and waiting for us to consume and do magic with. In this chapter you’re going to learn about the analysis tier. Our goal is to get to know the underlying principles of this tier, and in chapter 5 we’ll dive into all the ways to use this tier to perform magic on the data. With that frame of reference in mind, consult our navigational aid in figure 4.1 to make sure you’re oriented with respect to the flow of data.
Notice in figure 4.1, unlike in chapter 3 which discussed the input and output of the data, here we’re only going to concern ourselves with the input. We’ll hold off on talking about where the data goes from this tier until the next chapter. After finishing this chapter you’ll know the core concepts found in all the modern tools used for this tier and you’ll be ready to learn how to perform various operations on the data.
Grab a quick coffee refill, and let’s get going.