Incremental Computation is a processing paradigm where, instead of recomputing results from scratch whenever new data arrives or underlying data changes, the system only processes the changes (increments or deltas) and updates the previously computed results. This approach is significantly more efficient than full recomputation, especially for large datasets or continuous data streams, as it minimizes redundant work.
RisingWave is fundamentally built around the principle of incremental computation, particularly for its Materialized Views and streaming dataflows.
Imagine you have a sum of a list of numbers.
This simple example illustrates the efficiency gain, which becomes much more pronounced with complex computations and large datasets.
RisingWave employs incremental computation primarily through its Materialized Views and the underlying streaming dataflow engine.