**Why it matters**: At scale, design choices directly impact reliability, latency, and cost. Wrong decisions compound across jobs and teams.
Exactly-once Kafka + Spark: (1) Use `readStream.format('kafka')` with `kafka.group.id`. (2) Write to idempotent sink (e.g., Delta with merge, or transactional DB). (3) Use Kafka 0.11+ transactions: enable `spark.sql.streaming.checkpointLocation`; use `kafka.bootstrap.servers` with transactional producer....
The complete answer continues with detailed implementation patterns, architectural trade-offs, and production-grade considerations. It covers performance optimization strategies, common pitfalls to avoid, and real-world examples from companies like Meesho. The answer also includes follow-up discussion points that interviewers commonly explore.
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