An event type is a reusable catalogue entry for a class of Kafka topics. It bundles predefined characteristics—such as compaction, retention, and serialization—so a new business event can adopt an appropriate pattern instead of defining every setting from scratch. section 10.1.3
This creates an architectural boundary between business-event design and topic configuration. The catalogue can also include technical topics, such as repartitioning intermediates produced by Kafka Streams or Apache Flink, because governance, compliance, monitoring, and operational visibility still apply. section 10.1.3
A useful event-type definition can standardize:
- Compaction, retention, and value serialization. section 10.1.3
- Schema usage and compatibility strategy, including backward, forward, or full compatibility. section 10.1.3
- Required headers, key rules, producer acknowledgments, and consumer offset-commit strategy. section 10.1.3
