Cqrs

Go Architecture Patterns Series: ← Previous: Event-Driven Architecture | Series Overview | Next: Event Sourcing → What is CQRS Pattern? Command Query Responsibility Segregation (CQRS) is an architectural pattern that separates read operations (queries) from write operations (commands). This separation allows you to optimize each side independently for better performance, scalability, and maintainability. Key Principles: Command Model: Handles writes, updates, and business logic validation Query Model: Handles reads, optimized for data retrieval Separate Data Stores: Optional use of different databases for reads and writes Eventual Consistency: Query model may lag behind command model Single Responsibility: Each model focused on its specific task Independent Scaling: Scale read and write operations separately Architecture Overview graph TB subgraph "Client Layer" Client[Client Application] end subgraph "Command Side" CommandAPI[Command API] CommandHandler[Command Handlers] CommandModel[Command Model] WriteDB[(Write Database)] end subgraph "Query Side" QueryAPI[Query API] QueryHandler[Query Handlers] QueryModel[Read Model] ReadDB[(Read Database)] end subgraph "Synchronization" EventBus[Event Bus] Projections[Projections/Denormalizers] end Client -->|Commands| CommandAPI Client -->|Queries| QueryAPI CommandAPI --> CommandHandler CommandHandler --> CommandModel CommandModel --> WriteDB QueryAPI --> QueryHandler QueryHandler --> QueryModel QueryModel --> ReadDB CommandHandler -->|Events| EventBus EventBus --> Projections Projections --> ReadDB style CommandAPI fill:#fff4e1 style QueryAPI fill:#e1f5ff style EventBus fill:#e8f5e9 style Projections fill:#f3e5f5 CQRS Flow Pattern sequenceDiagram participant Client participant CommandAPI participant CommandHandler participant WriteDB participant EventBus participant Projection participant ReadDB participant QueryAPI Note over Client,QueryAPI: Write Operation Client->>CommandAPI: Create Order Command CommandAPI->>CommandHandler: Handle Command CommandHandler->>CommandHandler: Validate Business Rules CommandHandler->>WriteDB: Save Order WriteDB-->>CommandHandler: Success CommandHandler->>EventBus: Publish OrderCreated Event CommandHandler-->>Client: Command Accepted (202) Note over EventBus,ReadDB: Background Synchronization EventBus->>Projection: OrderCreated Event Projection->>Projection: Build Read Model Projection->>ReadDB: Update Denormalized View Note over Client,QueryAPI: Read Operation Client->>QueryAPI: Get Order Query QueryAPI->>ReadDB: Query Read Model ReadDB-->>QueryAPI: Order Data QueryAPI-->>Client: Order Details (200) Real-World Use Cases E-commerce Platforms: Separate product catalog writes from fast product searches Banking Systems: Transaction processing vs. account balance queries Analytics Platforms: Data ingestion vs. complex reporting queries Social Media: Post creation vs. feed generation Inventory Management: Stock updates vs. availability queries Audit Systems: Event recording vs. audit log queries CQRS Pattern Implementation Project Structure cqrs-app/ ├── cmd/ │ └── api/ │ └── main.go ├── internal/ │ ├── commands/ │ │ ├── create_order.go │ │ ├── update_order.go │ │ └── handler.go │ ├── queries/ │ │ ├── get_order.go │ │ ├── list_orders.go │ │ └── handler.go │ ├── domain/ │ │ └── order.go │ ├── write/ │ │ ├── repository.go │ │ └── postgres_repository.go │ ├── read/ │ │ ├── repository.go │ │ └── postgres_repository.go │ ├── projections/ │ │ └── order_projection.go │ └── events/ │ └── events.go └── go.mod Domain Model // internal/domain/order.go package domain import ( "errors" "time" ) type OrderID string type OrderStatus string const ( OrderStatusPending OrderStatus = "pending" OrderStatusConfirmed OrderStatus = "confirmed" OrderStatusShipped OrderStatus = "shipped" OrderStatusDelivered OrderStatus = "delivered" OrderStatusCancelled OrderStatus = "cancelled" ) type OrderItem struct { ProductID string `json:"product_id"` Quantity int `json:"quantity"` Price float64 `json:"price"` } // Write Model - Rich domain model with business logic type Order struct { ID OrderID UserID string Items []OrderItem Total float64 Status OrderStatus CreatedAt time.Time UpdatedAt time.Time Version int // For optimistic locking } var ( ErrInvalidOrder = errors.New("invalid order") ErrOrderNotFound = errors.New("order not found") ErrInvalidStatus = errors.New("invalid status transition") ErrConcurrentUpdate = errors.New("concurrent update detected") ) // NewOrder creates a new order with validation func NewOrder(userID string, items []OrderItem) (*Order, error) { if userID == "" { return nil, ErrInvalidOrder } if len(items) == 0 { return nil, ErrInvalidOrder } var total float64 for _, item := range items { if item.Quantity <= 0 || item.Price < 0 { return nil, ErrInvalidOrder } total += item.Price * float64(item.Quantity) } return &Order{ ID: OrderID(generateID()), UserID: userID, Items: items, Total: total, Status: OrderStatusPending, CreatedAt: time.Now(), UpdatedAt: time.Now(), Version: 1, }, nil } // Confirm transitions order to confirmed status func (o *Order) Confirm() error { if o.Status != OrderStatusPending { return ErrInvalidStatus } o.Status = OrderStatusConfirmed o.UpdatedAt = time.Now() o.Version++ return nil } // Ship transitions order to shipped status func (o *Order) Ship() error { if o.Status != OrderStatusConfirmed { return ErrInvalidStatus } o.Status = OrderStatusShipped o.UpdatedAt = time.Now() o.Version++ return nil } // Cancel cancels the order func (o *Order) Cancel() error { if o.Status == OrderStatusDelivered || o.Status == OrderStatusCancelled { return ErrInvalidStatus } o.Status = OrderStatusCancelled o.UpdatedAt = time.Now() o.Version++ return nil } func generateID() string { return fmt.Sprintf("order_%d", time.Now().UnixNano()) } Commands // internal/commands/create_order.go package commands import ( "context" "fmt" "app/internal/domain" "app/internal/events" ) // CreateOrderCommand represents a command to create an order type CreateOrderCommand struct { UserID string `json:"user_id"` Items []domain.OrderItem `json:"items"` } // CreateOrderHandler handles order creation type CreateOrderHandler struct { writeRepo domain.WriteRepository eventBus events.EventBus } func NewCreateOrderHandler(repo domain.WriteRepository, bus events.EventBus) *CreateOrderHandler { return &CreateOrderHandler{ writeRepo: repo, eventBus: bus, } } func (h *CreateOrderHandler) Handle(ctx context.Context, cmd *CreateOrderCommand) (*domain.Order, error) { // Create domain model with business logic validation order, err := domain.NewOrder(cmd.UserID, cmd.Items) if err != nil { return nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid command: %w", err) } // Persist to write store if err := h.writeRepo.Save(ctx, order); err != nil { return nil, fmt.Errorf("failed to save order: %w", err) } // Publish event for read model synchronization event := events.OrderCreatedEvent{ OrderID: string(order.ID), UserID: order.UserID, Items: order.Items, Total: order.Total, Status: string(order.Status), CreatedAt: order.CreatedAt, } if err := h.eventBus.Publish(ctx, "order.created", event); err != nil { // Log error but don't fail the command - eventual consistency fmt.Printf("Failed to publish event: %v\n", err) } return order, nil } // internal/commands/update_order.go package commands import ( "context" "fmt" "app/internal/domain" "app/internal/events" ) // ConfirmOrderCommand confirms an order type ConfirmOrderCommand struct { OrderID string `json:"order_id"` } type ConfirmOrderHandler struct { writeRepo domain.WriteRepository eventBus events.EventBus } func NewConfirmOrderHandler(repo domain.WriteRepository, bus events.EventBus) *ConfirmOrderHandler { return &ConfirmOrderHandler{ writeRepo: repo, eventBus: bus, } } func (h *ConfirmOrderHandler) Handle(ctx context.Context, cmd *ConfirmOrderCommand) error { // Load from write store order, err := h.writeRepo.GetByID(ctx, domain.OrderID(cmd.OrderID)) if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("order not found: %w", err) } // Execute domain logic if err := order.Confirm(); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("cannot confirm order: %w", err) } // Save with optimistic locking if err := h.writeRepo.Save(ctx, order); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("failed to save order: %w", err) } // Publish event event := events.OrderConfirmedEvent{ OrderID: string(order.ID), Status: string(order.Status), ConfirmedAt: order.UpdatedAt, } if err := h.eventBus.Publish(ctx, "order.confirmed", event); err != nil { fmt.Printf("Failed to publish event: %v\n", err) } return nil } // CancelOrderCommand cancels an order type CancelOrderCommand struct { OrderID string `json:"order_id"` Reason string `json:"reason"` } type CancelOrderHandler struct { writeRepo domain.WriteRepository eventBus events.EventBus } func NewCancelOrderHandler(repo domain.WriteRepository, bus events.EventBus) *CancelOrderHandler { return &CancelOrderHandler{ writeRepo: repo, eventBus: bus, } } func (h *CancelOrderHandler) Handle(ctx context.Context, cmd *CancelOrderCommand) error { order, err := h.writeRepo.GetByID(ctx, domain.OrderID(cmd.OrderID)) if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("order not found: %w", err) } if err := order.Cancel(); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("cannot cancel order: %w", err) } if err := h.writeRepo.Save(ctx, order); err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("failed to save order: %w", err) } event := events.OrderCancelledEvent{ OrderID: string(order.ID), Status: string(order.Status), Reason: cmd.Reason, CancelledAt: order.UpdatedAt, } if err := h.eventBus.Publish(ctx, "order.cancelled", event); err != nil { fmt.Printf("Failed to publish event: %v\n", err) } return nil } Queries // internal/queries/get_order.go package queries import ( "context" "time" ) // OrderReadModel - Optimized for reading, denormalized type OrderReadModel struct { ID string `json:"id"` UserID string `json:"user_id"` UserName string `json:"user_name"` // Denormalized UserEmail string `json:"user_email"` // Denormalized Items []OrderItemReadModel `json:"items"` ItemCount int `json:"item_count"` // Computed Total float64 `json:"total"` Status string `json:"status"` StatusDisplay string `json:"status_display"` // Formatted for display CreatedAt time.Time `json:"created_at"` UpdatedAt time.Time `json:"updated_at"` } type OrderItemReadModel struct { ProductID string `json:"product_id"` ProductName string `json:"product_name"` // Denormalized Quantity int `json:"quantity"` Price float64 `json:"price"` Subtotal float64 `json:"subtotal"` // Computed } // GetOrderQuery retrieves a single order type GetOrderQuery struct { OrderID string `json:"order_id"` } type GetOrderHandler struct { readRepo ReadRepository } func NewGetOrderHandler(repo ReadRepository) *GetOrderHandler { return &GetOrderHandler{readRepo: repo} } func (h *GetOrderHandler) Handle(ctx context.Context, query *GetOrderQuery) (*OrderReadModel, error) { return h.readRepo.GetByID(ctx, query.OrderID) } // internal/queries/list_orders.go package queries import ( "context" ) // ListOrdersQuery lists orders with filters type ListOrdersQuery struct { UserID string `json:"user_id"` Status string `json:"status"` Page int `json:"page"` PageSize int `json:"page_size"` } type OrderListResult struct { Orders []*OrderReadModel `json:"orders"` Total int `json:"total"` Page int `json:"page"` PageSize int `json:"page_size"` TotalPages int `json:"total_pages"` } type ListOrdersHandler struct { readRepo ReadRepository } func NewListOrdersHandler(repo ReadRepository) *ListOrdersHandler { return &ListOrdersHandler{readRepo: repo} } func (h *ListOrdersHandler) Handle(ctx context.Context, query *ListOrdersQuery) (*OrderListResult, error) { // Set defaults if query.Page < 1 { query.Page = 1 } if query.PageSize < 1 || query.PageSize > 100 { query.PageSize = 20 } offset := (query.Page - 1) * query.PageSize orders, total, err := h.readRepo.List(ctx, query.UserID, query.Status, query.PageSize, offset) if err != nil { return nil, err } totalPages := (total + query.PageSize - 1) / query.PageSize return &OrderListResult{ Orders: orders, Total: total, Page: query.Page, PageSize: query.PageSize, TotalPages: totalPages, }, nil } // ReadRepository interface for query side type ReadRepository interface { GetByID(ctx context.Context, id string) (*OrderReadModel, error) List(ctx context.Context, userID, status string, limit, offset int) ([]*OrderReadModel, int, error) } Projections // internal/projections/order_projection.go package projections import ( "context" "database/sql" "fmt" "app/internal/events" "app/internal/queries" ) // OrderProjection builds read models from events type OrderProjection struct { db *sql.DB } func NewOrderProjection(db *sql.DB) *OrderProjection { return &OrderProjection{db: db} } // HandleOrderCreated projects OrderCreated event to read model func (p *OrderProjection) HandleOrderCreated(ctx context.Context, event events.OrderCreatedEvent) error { tx, err := p.db.BeginTx(ctx, nil) if err != nil { return err } defer tx.Rollback() // Insert denormalized order query := ` INSERT INTO order_read_model (id, user_id, user_name, user_email, total, status, status_display, item_count, created_at, updated_at) VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6, $7, $8, $9, $10) ` // Fetch user details for denormalization userName, userEmail := p.getUserDetails(ctx, event.UserID) _, err = tx.ExecContext(ctx, query, event.OrderID, event.UserID, userName, userEmail, event.Total, event.Status, formatStatus(event.Status), len(event.Items), event.CreatedAt, event.CreatedAt, ) if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("failed to insert order: %w", err) } // Insert order items with denormalized product info itemQuery := ` INSERT INTO order_item_read_model (order_id, product_id, product_name, quantity, price, subtotal) VALUES ($1, $2, $3, $4, $5, $6) ` for _, item := range event.Items { productName := p.getProductName(ctx, item.ProductID) subtotal := item.Price * float64(item.Quantity) _, err = tx.ExecContext(ctx, itemQuery, event.OrderID, item.ProductID, productName, item.Quantity, item.Price, subtotal, ) if err != nil { return fmt.Errorf("failed to insert order item: %w", err) } } return tx.Commit() } // HandleOrderConfirmed updates read model when order is confirmed func (p *OrderProjection) HandleOrderConfirmed(ctx context.Context, event events.OrderConfirmedEvent) error { query := ` UPDATE order_read_model SET status = $2, status_display = $3, updated_at = $4 WHERE id = $1 ` _, err := p.db.ExecContext(ctx, query, event.OrderID, event.Status, formatStatus(event.Status), event.ConfirmedAt, ) return err } // HandleOrderCancelled updates read model when order is cancelled func (p *OrderProjection) HandleOrderCancelled(ctx context.Context, event events.OrderCancelledEvent) error { query := ` UPDATE order_read_model SET status = $2, status_display = $3, updated_at = $4 WHERE id = $1 ` _, err := p.db.ExecContext(ctx, query, event.OrderID, event.Status, formatStatus(event.Status)+" ("+event.Reason+")", event.CancelledAt, ) return err } func (p *OrderProjection) getUserDetails(ctx context.Context, userID string) (name, email string) { // Query user service or cache query := `SELECT name, email FROM users WHERE id = $1` p.db.QueryRowContext(ctx, query, userID).Scan(&name, &email) return } func (p *OrderProjection) getProductName(ctx context.Context, productID string) string { // Query product service or cache var name string query := `SELECT name FROM products WHERE id = $1` p.db.QueryRowContext(ctx, query, productID).Scan(&name) return name } func formatStatus(status string) string { // Format status for display switch status { case "pending": return "Pending" case "confirmed": return "Confirmed" case "shipped": return "Shipped" case "delivered": return "Delivered" case "cancelled": return "Cancelled" default: return status } } // RegisterHandlers registers projection handlers with event bus func (p *OrderProjection) RegisterHandlers(bus events.EventBus) { bus.Subscribe("order.created", func(ctx context.Context, data interface{}) error { event := data.(events.OrderCreatedEvent) return p.HandleOrderCreated(ctx, event) }) bus.Subscribe("order.confirmed", func(ctx context.Context, data interface{}) error { event := data.(events.OrderConfirmedEvent) return p.HandleOrderConfirmed(ctx, event) }) bus.Subscribe("order.cancelled", func(ctx context.Context, data interface{}) error { event := data.(events.OrderCancelledEvent) return p.HandleOrderCancelled(ctx, event) }) } Main Application // cmd/api/main.go package main import ( "context" "database/sql" "encoding/json" "log" "net/http" "github.com/gorilla/mux" _ "github.com/lib/pq" "app/internal/commands" "app/internal/events" "app/internal/projections" "app/internal/queries" "app/internal/read" "app/internal/write" ) func main() { // Connect to write database writeDB, err := sql.Open("postgres", "postgres://user:pass@localhost/orders_write?sslmode=disable") if err != nil { log.Fatal(err) } defer writeDB.Close() // Connect to read database (could be same or different DB) readDB, err := sql.Open("postgres", "postgres://user:pass@localhost/orders_read?sslmode=disable") if err != nil { log.Fatal(err) } defer readDB.Close() // Initialize event bus eventBus := events.NewInMemoryEventBus() // Initialize repositories writeRepo := write.NewPostgresRepository(writeDB) readRepo := read.NewPostgresRepository(readDB) // Initialize projections orderProjection := projections.NewOrderProjection(readDB) orderProjection.RegisterHandlers(eventBus) // Initialize command handlers createOrderHandler := commands.NewCreateOrderHandler(writeRepo, eventBus) confirmOrderHandler := commands.NewConfirmOrderHandler(writeRepo, eventBus) cancelOrderHandler := commands.NewCancelOrderHandler(writeRepo, eventBus) // Initialize query handlers getOrderHandler := queries.NewGetOrderHandler(readRepo) listOrdersHandler := queries.NewListOrdersHandler(readRepo) // Setup HTTP routes router := mux.NewRouter() // Command endpoints router.HandleFunc("/commands/orders", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { var cmd commands.CreateOrderCommand if err := json.NewDecoder(r.Body).Decode(&cmd); err != nil { http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest) return } order, err := createOrderHandler.Handle(r.Context(), &cmd) if err != nil { http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest) return } w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json") w.WriteHeader(http.StatusAccepted) json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(map[string]string{"order_id": string(order.ID)}) }).Methods("POST") router.HandleFunc("/commands/orders/{id}/confirm", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { vars := mux.Vars(r) cmd := commands.ConfirmOrderCommand{OrderID: vars["id"]} if err := confirmOrderHandler.Handle(r.Context(), &cmd); err != nil { http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusBadRequest) return } w.WriteHeader(http.StatusAccepted) }).Methods("POST") // Query endpoints router.HandleFunc("/queries/orders/{id}", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { vars := mux.Vars(r) query := queries.GetOrderQuery{OrderID: vars["id"]} order, err := getOrderHandler.Handle(r.Context(), &query) if err != nil { http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusNotFound) return } w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json") json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(order) }).Methods("GET") router.HandleFunc("/queries/orders", func(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) { query := queries.ListOrdersQuery{ UserID: r.URL.Query().Get("user_id"), Status: r.URL.Query().Get("status"), } result, err := listOrdersHandler.Handle(r.Context(), &query) if err != nil { http.Error(w, err.Error(), http.StatusInternalServerError) return } w.Header().Set("Content-Type", "application/json") json.NewEncoder(w).Encode(result) }).Methods("GET") log.Println("Server starting on :8080") log.Fatal(http.ListenAndServe(":8080", router)) } Best Practices Clear Command/Query Separation: Never mix command and query logic Eventual Consistency: Accept and handle eventual consistency gracefully Idempotent Projections: Ensure projections can be replayed safely Versioning: Version commands and events for evolution Validation: Validate commands before processing Optimistic Locking: Use versioning to handle concurrent updates Monitoring: Track projection lag and command processing times Testing: Test commands and queries independently Common Pitfalls Over-Engineering: Using CQRS for simple CRUD applications Synchronous Projections: Making projections synchronous defeats the purpose Shared Models: Reusing write models in read side Complex Queries in Write Model: Adding query logic to command side No Monitoring: Not tracking eventual consistency lag Poor Error Handling: Not handling projection failures Inconsistent State: Not handling projection rebuild scenarios When to Use CQRS Pattern Use When: ...