IntegrationAdvancedcdcschema-evolutionversioning
Design Change Data Capture envelope schema evolution without breaking consumers
Real World Scenario
Adding custom fields to Account CDC breaks downstream Avro schema consumers in production Kafka pipeline.
Expected Answer
• Schema registry with backward compatible field additions only
• Consumers ignore unknown fields forward compatibility
• Never rename CDC fields without dual-publish period
• Version header in transformed event envelope v1 v2
• Contract tests consumer against sample CDC payloads in CI
• Coordinate field adds with warehouse dbt model updates
• Document breaking change policy 90-day notice
Follow-Up Questions & Answers
Click to expand — each follow-up includes a direct, interview-ready answer
Main difference: use case and scale. Schema registry with backward compatible field additions only. Consumers ignore unknown fields forward compatibility. Pick based on your integration pattern and team capability. CDC schema evolution is API versioning—treat ChangeEventHeader like public contract. Optimize for scale and operational observability.
Architect Perspective
CDC schema evolution is API versioning—treat ChangeEventHeader like public contract.