A channel is a named communication path through which messages are sent or received. In event-driven architecture, producers publish notifications to an intermediary channel, while consumers process them independently and asynchronously. section 1.1.1 section 2.2.4
An AsyncAPI channel defines:
- Name—the identifier used to refer to the channel. section 2.2.4
- Description—the business-purpose explanation for the channel. section 2.2.4
- Address—the protocol-specific destination; in Kafka, the address is the topic name. section 2.2.4
- Bindings—implementation properties such as a Kafka topic’s partition count. section 2.2.4
Customer 360 channels
A Customer 360 design defines a customerProfile channel for storing customer profile information, addressed to CUSTOMER_PROFILES, and a transactions channel addressed to TRANSACTIONS. Both Kafka bindings initially specify nine partitions, leaving room for later experimentation. section 2.2.4
Figure 1.2 The EDA style of communication: systems communicate by publishing events that describe changes, allowing others to react asynchronously.
Shows how channels mediate event publication and asynchronous reactions between independently operating systems. section 1.1.1
