The latest articles on DEV Community by Michael Kipkorir (@michael_kipkorir_5c3a815b). https://dev.to/michael_kipkorir_5c3a815b https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=90,height=90,fit=cover,gravity=auto,format=auto/https:%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Fuser%2Fprofile_image%2F3509583%2F7e2bce3d-a941-4c0e-ad55-92dc081b5386.png https://dev.to/michael_kipkorir_5c3a815b en Michael Kipkorir Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:33:24 +0000 https://dev.to/michael_kipkorir_5c3a815b/beginner-guide-for-apache-kafka-k42 https://dev.to/michael_kipkorir_5c3a815b/beginner-guide-for-apache-kafka-k42 <h2> Introduction </h2> <p>What is Apache Kafka?<br> Apache Kafka is an opensource, distributed-event streaming platform designed for high performance data pipelines, streaming analytics and data integration.</p> <p>Think of it as a high speed message hub for your data.</p> <p>It lets applications publish, store and subscribe to streams of records in real time.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fwgxgzh2fehd8gfjle87x.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fwgxgzh2fehd8gfjle87x.png" alt=" " width="268" height="188"></a></p> <h2> Key concepts in Kafka </h2> <p><strong>1. Producer</strong><br> It is an application that sends messages to Kafka topics.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fjfptki479jyrg3372xzz.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fjfptki479jyrg3372xzz.png" alt=" " width="386" height="130"></a></p> <p><strong>2. Consumer</strong><br> An application that reads message from Kafka topics.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fc7yu6bfpn0vp0m86jnfs.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Fc7yu6bfpn0vp0m86jnfs.png" alt=" " width="363" height="139"></a></p> <p><strong>3. Topic</strong><br> A category or feed-name to which records are sent. Think of this as a channel.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Frftqh8xrlw6aza6fpxl4.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Frftqh8xrlw6aza6fpxl4.png" alt=" " width="311" height="162"></a></p> <p><strong>4. Broker</strong><br> A Kafka server. Multiple brokers form a Kafka cluster.</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Folzn6w6k386uly5vqx9k.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Folzn6w6k386uly5vqx9k.png" alt=" " width="311" height="162"></a></p> <p><strong>5. Kafka cluster</strong><br> A group of Kafka brokers working together</p> <p><a href="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Flztv23t9wfuh3rnr5rif.png" class="article-body-image-wrapper"><img src="https://media2.dev.to/dynamic/image/width=800%2Cheight=%2Cfit=scale-down%2Cgravity=auto%2Cformat=auto/https%3A%2F%2Fdev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fuploads%2Farticles%2Flztv23t9wfuh3rnr5rif.png" alt=" " width="254" height="198"></a></p> <h2> Kafka use case </h2> <p>Imagine an e-commerce platform: </p> <ol> <li>Producers - Checkout service, inventory services, payment gateway</li> <li>Kafka - Handles all events.</li> <li>Consumers - Analytics dashboard, fraud detection systems and email notifications.</li> </ol> <h2> Conclusion </h2> <p>Apache Kafka is a backbone for real-time data streaming.</p> dataengineering kafka python