workflow-orchestration-patterns

To design a saga pattern for distributed transactions, you separate workflow logic from activities and implement compensation logic for rollback. This approach manages multi-step processes like e-commerce orders, ensuring each step is reliably executed and can be compensated if an error occurs.

In Temporal, workflows contain deterministic logic that orchestrates the overall process state, while activities handle non-deterministic operations like external API calls. This separation ensures durable execution and allows long-running processes to survive infrastructure failures without breaking state consistency.

You build resilient distributed systems with long-running processes by using durable workflows that survive failures. By modeling long-lived entities as independent workflows and utilizing fan-out/fan-in patterns for parallel execution, you achieve fault tolerance and reliable microservice orchestration.

You handle async callbacks and human approvals in workflow orchestration by integrating with external systems via signals. Signals allow workflows to pause and wait for external inputs or manual approvals before resuming execution, ensuring durable state management throughout the waiting period.

Determinism constraints for Temporal workflow logic require that workflows execute predictably given the same inputs, avoiding non-deterministic operations like random number generation or direct database access. Adhering to these constraints ensures state consistency during replays, while activities must be designed idempotently.

You should use workflow orchestration for microservices when managing complex distributed transactions that require compensation logic, or when coordinating parallel execution across multiple services. It is essential for long-running processes like payment and fulfillment, where infrastructure failures require durable recovery.