
The Importance of Idempotency in Distributed Systems
Introduction to Idempotency Imagine you’re at a coffee shop, and you order a latte. You hand over your money, but just as the barista is about to take it, the power goes out. When the lights come back on, you’re unsure if your payment was processed. So, you try again. In a non-idempotent system, this could result in you being charged twice. However, if the payment system is idempotent, it ensures that even if you try to pay multiple times, you’ll only be charged once....