What are some real-world examples of idempotency failures?

What are some real-world examples of idempotency failures?

Idempotency failures occur when an operation can be performed multiple times but produces different results. A classic example is a payment system where a user clicks 'pay' multiple times, leading to multiple charges instead of one.

Can you give me another example?

Sure! Consider a scenario where a user submits a form to create an account. If the submission is retried due to a timeout, it might create duplicate accounts instead of just one.

How can these failures be prevented?

To prevent idempotency failures, systems can implement unique transaction identifiers or tokens that ensure each operation is processed only once.

Are there any industries particularly affected by this?

Yes, industries like finance, e-commerce, and telecommunications are particularly affected, as they often deal with transactions that require strict idempotency.