3 ms·

With idempotence, you shift the problem from "deliver X exactly once" to "make it seem like X was delivered exactly once". In most systems, exactly-once is real

With idempotence, you shift the problem from "deliver X exactly once" to "make it seem like X was delivered exactly once". In most systems, exactly-once is really "effectively exactly once".

paxys 4y ago
That's my point. You are simply converting the problem to a new form, not actually solving it. Hey here's a solution to the halting problem – always assume yes, and then figure out the edge cases. How do you do that? Well that's on you, I did my job. In a distributed system that needs exactly-once delivery, implementing perfect idempotence is equally impossible.
- nawgz 4y ago
  Idempotency - famously complex. No one has ever successfully implemented it, great point.
  - paxys 4y ago
    If you don't think idempotency can be complex then you haven't really worked on serious distributed computing problems.
    - nawgz 4y ago
      If you don't think your analogy is a miss then you haven't really read any serious literature.
- burnished 4y ago
  Converting a problem to a new form that you know how to better solve, or at least hope is more tractable, is a time honored mathematical and CS tradition