Projection Patterns
Comprehensive guide to building projections and read models for event-sourced systems.
When to Use This Skill
- Building CQRS read models
- Creating materialized views from events
- Optimizing query performance
- Implementing real-time dashboards
- Building search indexes from events
- Aggregating data across streams
Core Concepts
1. Projection Architecture
┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐
│ Event Store │────►│ Projector │────►│ Read Model │
│ │ │ │ │ (Database) │
│ ┌─────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────┐ │ │ ┌─────────┐ │
│ │ Events │ │ │ │ Handler │ │ │ │ Tables │ │
│ └─────────┘ │ │ │ Logic │ │ │ │ Views │ │
│ │ │ └─────────┘ │ │ │ Cache │ │
└─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘2. Projection Types
| Type | Description | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| Live | Real-time from subscription | Current state queries |
| Catchup | Process historical events | Rebuilding read models |
| Persistent | Stores checkpoint | Resume after restart |
| Inline | Same transaction as write | Strong consistency |
Templates and detailed worked examples
Full template library and detailed worked examples live in references/details.md. Read that file when you need the concrete templates.
Best Practices
Do's
- Make projections idempotent - Safe to replay
- Use transactions - For multi-table updates
- Store checkpoints - Resume after failures
- Monitor lag - Alert on projection delays
- Plan for rebuilds - Design for reconstruction
Don'ts
- Don't couple projections - Each is independent
- Don't skip error handling - Log and alert on failures
- Don't ignore ordering - Events must be processed in order
- Don't over-normalize - Denormalize for query patterns
