Post #2563113
2026-05-02 19:38 UTC
@peter@mastodon.gassner.io OK so if I understand event sourcing, the basic idea is to use a log rather than just storing the state. Butler Lampson calls this architectural principle the being vs becoming distinction.
Since you have concerns about Westphal's thinking, I thought I would mention Lampson. I don't know if you are aware of his work – first, from 1983:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/acrobat-17.pdf and a recent update he wrote that might be more interesting and where he uses the being/becoming language:
https://arxiv.org/abs/2011.02455
Replies (1)
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@peter@mastodon.gassner.io 2026-05-03 13:34
@theohonohan@graphics.social I glanced over his 2021 extended paper and it looks very interesting! But oh, it’ll take me a while to work through, it’s dense and made up of so many pointers to more ideas. 😆 But I did read the Being and Becoming section just now, which makes sense! It’s not super practical, but I liked his illustration of undo, where he replays the log until the point he wanted to undo to. I played with Westphal’s ideas in code today and like what I’m seeing.