Implementing Change Data Capture (CDC) in MySQL: A Journey of Data Engineering Leader!

Shashwath Shenoy
4 min readDec 17, 2023

Change is the only constant, and in the data-driven world, nowhere is that more true than in the realm of databases. I’ve been working in the Tech industry for 13+ years now, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that keeping up with ever-evolving data sources can be a constant battle. That’s why, when faced with the need to integrate real-time data from our MySQL database into our downstream analytics pipelines, I knew we needed a reliable and scalable solution. Enter Change Data Capture (CDC).

Change Data Capture (CDC) is a fundamental technique in data engineering that enables real-time replication of database changes. CDC is a game-changer for anyone who needs to react to changes in their database in real-time. It’s like having a watchful eye on your data, constantly monitoring for updates, inserts, and deletes. This real-time awareness allows you to trigger actions, update dashboards, and feed your analytics pipelines with the freshest data possible. In this article, I will share my experience, the technology stack we used, and provide code examples to illustrate the implementation process.

Photo by Ross Findon on Unsplash

Choosing the Right Tools for the Job

With a plethora of CDC tools available, choosing the right one can be overwhelming. We…

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Shashwath Shenoy

Experienced Data Engineering Leader with a passion for delivering scalable, efficient and high-performance data solutions.