Pipeline Pattern
ELI5 — The Vibe Check
The pipeline pattern processes data through a series of stages, where each stage transforms the data and passes it to the next. It's like a car wash: rinse, soap, scrub, dry — each step does one thing and hands off to the next. Clean separation of concerns.
Real Talk
The pipeline pattern chains processing steps where the output of one step becomes the input of the next. Each step is a self-contained function responsible for a single transformation. Pipelines enable composable, testable, and reorderable processing logic. Used in CI/CD, data processing, request handling, and image/video processing.
When You'll Hear This
"Our data ingestion pipeline: validate → transform → enrich → store → notify." / "Each pipeline stage is independently testable and replaceable."
Related Terms
Composition
Composition means building complex things by combining simple ones, rather than inheriting from a parent class.
Design Pattern
Design patterns are like recipe cards for solving common coding problems.
Middleware Chain
A middleware chain is a series of functions that requests pass through, one after another, like an assembly line.
Streaming
Streaming is when the AI sends you its response word by word as it generates, instead of making you wait for the whole thing at once.