Enroll Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/kafka-for-developers-data-contracts-using-schema-registry/

In the world of real-time data streaming, Apache Kafka has become a dominant force. However, effectively managing the data that flows through Kafka topics can be a challenge, especially as applications evolve. This is where the “Kafka for Developers – Data Contracts using Schema Registry” course on Udemy shines.

This course is a deep dive into building robust Kafka applications by leveraging AVRO as a data serialization format and utilizing Confluent’s Schema Registry. If you’re looking to understand how to ensure data consistency, handle schema evolution gracefully, and enforce data contracts between your microservices, this course is an excellent choice.

The course is highly practical, focusing on hands-on coding rather than just theory. You’ll start with the fundamentals, understanding why serialization is crucial in Kafka and exploring different serialization formats like AVRO, Protobuf, and Thrift. The instructor provides a clear introduction to AVRO, explaining its popularity and benefits when used with Kafka and Schema Registry, and guides you through creating your first AVRO schema.

Setting up a local Kafka environment using Docker is covered, allowing you to immediately start producing and consuming messages. The course then walks you through building base projects for your applications using both Gradle and Maven, demonstrating how to generate Java classes from your AVRO schemas. You’ll learn to build AVRO producers and consumers in Java, solidifying your understanding of the core mechanics.

A real-world use case, the “CoffeeShop Order Service,” is introduced, where you’ll build AVRO schemas and implement Kafka producers and consumers for it. The course delves into important AVRO concepts like Logical Types (Timestamp, Decimal, UUID, Date) and the internal structure of an AVRO record. Crucially, it tackles the critical aspect of schema changes and how they can break consumers, then introduces Schema Registry as the solution.

The heart of the course lies in its comprehensive coverage of data evolution using Schema Registry. You’ll learn about different compatibility techniques – Backward, Forward, Full, and None – and how to apply them to ensure your applications can adapt to changing business requirements without breaking. Schema Naming Strategies are also discussed, highlighting their impact on application events.

Finally, the course culminates in building a complete Spring Boot Kafka application that integrates with Schema Registry for data evolution. You’ll create a RESTful service to publish events, demonstrating how to receive data via a REST interface and then publish it to Kafka using AVRO.

Overall, “Kafka for Developers – Data Contracts using Schema Registry” is a well-structured, practical, and highly recommended course for any developer working with Kafka who wants to build scalable, maintainable, and resilient data streaming applications. It provides the essential knowledge and hands-on experience to confidently implement data contracts and manage schema evolution effectively.

Enroll Course: https://www.udemy.com/course/kafka-for-developers-data-contracts-using-schema-registry/