Using and Designing the Apache SeaTunnel Examples Module

Wang Jianda, a senior big data engineer at Shushu Technology, presents "Apache SeaTunnel Examples Module: Usage and Design Intent" and shares his experiences as an open‑source contributor.

Part 1 describes how the company, focused on the gaming industry, encountered Apache SeaTunnel (Incubating) while addressing growing data‑integration needs such as linking in‑game user behavior with advertising cost and ROI calculations.

A comparison between DataX and SeaTunnel highlights SeaTunnel's support for both Spark and Flink engines, native distributed read/write capabilities, superior performance in many scenarios, horizontal scalability, and richer transformation functions compared with DataX's limited, single‑node approach.

SeaTunnel's first impressions emphasize its multi‑engine support, ease of use through simple configuration, a broad ecosystem of data sources contributed by the community, and the stability provided by its Apache incubation status.

Part 2 focuses on the design and usage of the Examples module, created to enable rapid execution and local debugging without packaging. The module includes Flink Examples, Spark Examples, and a newly added Flink SQL Example. Demonstrations show how to run a Flink Example, configure environment, source, transform, and sink, and debug plugins such as FakeSourceStream.

The Spark example is described as a batch‑mode job that automatically exits after processing, illustrating SeaTunnel's unified stream‑batch capability.

Part 3 shares Wang's open‑source journey, detailing his first contribution, the PR review process, and three key takeaways: every optimization adds value, helping others hones problem‑solving skills, and contributing builds confidence and friendships.

Finally, the article invites readers to join the SeaTunnel community, providing links to the GitHub repository, download page, mailing lists, Slack, and Twitter, and encourages broader participation in the project.