Apache Kafka’s real-time data processing relies on Kafka consumers (more background here) that read messages within its infrastructure. Producers publish messages to Kafka topics, and consumers — often part of a consumer group — subscribe to these topics for real-time message reception. A consumer tracks its position in the queue using an offset. To configure a consumer, developers create one with the appropriate group ID, prior offset, and details. They then implement a loop for the consumer to process arriving messages efficiently.
It’s an important understanding for any organization using Kafka in its 100% open-source, enterprise-ready version — and here’s what to know.