What is Pub/Sub (Publish-Subscribe)?
A messaging pattern where senders publish messages to a topic and any number of subscribers receive them.
Why It Matters
Pub/sub decouples services so publishers do not need to know who receives their messages, making systems more flexible.
Real-World Example
A payment service publishes an 'order paid' event, and the shipping, email, and analytics services all receive it independently.
“Understanding terms like Pub/Sub (Publish-Subscribe) matters because it helps you have better conversations with developers and make smarter decisions about your software. You do not need to be technical. You just need to know enough to ask the right questions.”
Related Terms
Message Queue
A system that stores messages between services, ensuring they are processed even if the receiving service is busy.
Event-driven Architecture
A design pattern where components communicate by producing and reacting to events rather than direct calls.
Microservices
An architecture where an application is built as many small, independent services that work together
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Related Terms
Microservices
An architecture where an application is built as many small, independent services that work together
Event-driven Architecture
A design pattern where components communicate by producing and reacting to events rather than direct calls.
Message Queue
A system that stores messages between services, ensuring they are processed even if the receiving service is busy.
Monolith
An application where all features are built and deployed as a single unit
Static Site
A website with pre-built pages that are the same for every visitor
SSR (Server-Side Rendering)
Generating web pages on the server for each request, then sending complete HTML to the browser