If you’ve been writing PHP code in the last five to ten years, there is a high probability that, at some point, you’ve started working with queues. It could be that your team started using queues for async jobs like notifications or data relays to external tools based on user actions. Regardless of why or how you were introduced to them, queues clearly add great value to any application structure. However, if your experience with queues has mostly been limited to Redis or SQS, then you’ll be very happy to learn more about Apache Kafka. Whether it’s real-time data streaming or event-driven integration, Apache Kafka can provide enterprise-level support for any application or set of micro-services. by Matt Lantz