Schema Registry

A practical example

Example: a checkout service publishes "order.created" events using schema version 3 from the registry, while the email tool consumes the same version and is notified when version 4 is registered.

What to evaluate before investing

• Confirm which serialization formats the registry supports, such as Avro, Protobuf, or JSON Schema.
• Check whether it enforces compatibility rules at registration time or only detects them.
• Ask how consumers are alerted when a new schema version is published.

Limitations and tradeoffs

Tradeoff: a registry adds operational overhead and a dependency; small teams with few event types may find versioned documentation sufficient at first.