Introduction
Every developer, whether you build applications or backend services, encounters two distinct types of data problems: transactional and reactive. The need to store and retrieve application state is a quintessential example of a transactional data problem. Conversely, when you're processing events or consuming data from external sources, you're confronted with a reactive data problem.
Knowing which problem you're up against is crucial to selecting the right tools from your developer's kit. It’s important to determine what type of data problem you are dealing with to choose the right tools and approaches for implementing a solution. After all, using a hammer for a screw job can leave you with more than a few cracks to mend.
In this post, we'll guide you on how to differentiate between transactional and reactive data problems and pick the right tools and strategies to solve each of them.