Document Message: Seamless Data Structure Exchange

A Document Message pattern is used to transfer a data structure between applications in a decoupled manner. Unlike Command Messages that instruct an action, Document Messages carry data payloads representing documents or records.

Use Cases

• Data Integration: Exchanging data entities like customer or order details between business applications.
• API Responses: Returning complex data structures as responses to API calls.

How

Choose a common data format (e.g., JSON, XML) for the document messages. Structure the message to include both the data and metadata necessary for the receiver to understand and process the data correctly.

Benefits

• Interoperability: Facilitates communication between heterogeneous systems by using standardized data formats.
• Clarity: Carries complete data structures, making it self-contained and easy to understand at the receiving end.

Potential Pitfalls

• Data Overhead: Large documents can introduce significant data overhead, impacting network performance.
• Schema Management: Requires careful management of data schemas to ensure compatibility between systems.