http://ayende.comAyende @ RahienCopyright (C) Ayende Rahien 2004 - 2021 (c) 202660I can give two good reasons for asynchronous order processing. 1. Resilience, you can bring down any part of your order processing system but still keep capturing orders. 2. Smoothing out processing spikes, if captured orders are queued for processing you can smooth out the load on your order processing system. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment10http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment10Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:31:40 GMTNice! I like your post, simple and to the point. I think Amazon is one of the best website out there. 5 minutes is a very reasonable time. Yet I imagine that little window allow the server to process the request in a much efficient manner. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment9http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment9Tue, 14 Jul 2009 22:19:45 GMTO'Reilly Safari also uses the same trick for downloading PDFs. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment8http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment8Tue, 14 Jul 2009 17:07:10 GMTI think where this type of architecture is difficult for people to understand is in typical forms-on-data and search scenarios. For example: Google does not show a "processing your search" page - you simply enter something and the results appear. Similarly, if you enter some bit of data to a form and click 'save', you expect it to appear next time you refresh the list. For example, when you add an item to your cart on Amazon, it appears instantly in your cart. These are the sort of transactions that can be a bugger in a medium load app, but that I still can't get my head around writing asynchronously. As somebody interested in ESB tech, but struggling to apply it, what I'd really love to see is a reference app like Nerd Dinner or Rob's MVC Storefront re-done with these concepts. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment7http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment7Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:38:52 GMTchecking how something is done in general is standard practice for me, but you also have to know when to follow and when to lead. I think Amazon does a lot of things well, but wouldn't follow their example in every case or circumstance. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment6http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment6Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:25:11 GMTAsynchronicity is how the world works! The fastest any feedback loop can operate is at the speed of light. Porting everything over to ESB has made my life a lot easier. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment5http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment5Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:12:55 GMTI hate to say it but I have won several UI arguments recently with "Let's see how google handles this." And then finding an example of what I was talking about in the google environment somewhere.. either mail, docs or reader... http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment4http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment4Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:50:52 GMTI use Amazon a lot to sway thinking/get buy in on design decisions. There are very few things Amazon does wrong IMHO. I rarely hear complaints from friends/family about the way the site works. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment3http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment3Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:26:11 GMTThere's a big difference between pointing out a good reason to do something, showing that it's done on a popular website, and arguing from authority. If Amazon had a crappy website that was badly designed and had no functionality, then your argument would have no weight. However, when you go to an expert in the field of something and use their arguments, it's not an argument from authority, or at least not a bad one - it is perfectly valid, because that person/entity has the knowledge and understanding of the field. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment2http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment2Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:00:47 GMTThis vampire fascination is something new, isn't it? Hope your recent vacation wasn't anywhere near Transylvania.. http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment1http://ayende.com/4068/asynchronous-order-processing#comment1Tue, 14 Jul 2009 11:27:20 GMT