Workflow Engines
Workflow engines are software systems that automate and orchestrate business processes or technical workflows by defining, executing, and monitoring sequences of tasks or steps. They manage state transitions, handle dependencies, and ensure tasks are completed in the correct order, often integrating with various services and systems. These engines are crucial for implementing complex, repeatable processes in applications, such as order processing, data pipelines, or approval systems.
Developers should learn and use workflow engines when building applications that involve multi-step processes, require coordination between different services, or need to handle long-running operations with error handling and retries. They are particularly valuable in microservices architectures, business process automation, and data engineering pipelines, as they improve reliability, scalability, and maintainability by decoupling workflow logic from application code.