rtAt

rtAt, short for real-time Attributes and Transactions, is a conceptual data descriptor used in event-driven architectures and streaming systems. It refers to a compact metadata envelope attached to data items that records timing, provenance, and transactional state to support traceability, reproducibility, and governance in real time.

A typical rtAt structure includes fields such as a real-time timestamp, data source or origin, event type, version or schema id, and a lineage pointer that traces the data item through processing stages. It may also contain a processing state (for example, pending, processed, or acknowledged), a cryptographic hash or signature for integrity, a validity window, and privacy or access-control flags. The exact schema is not standardized, and organizations often tailor rtAt to fit their data models and compliance requirements.

In practice, rtAt functions as a envelope or sidecar that travels with each data item in a stream or message bus. It enables improved observability by enabling time-based debugging, end-to-end provenance, and deterministic replay or auditing. It also supports idempotent processing and stronger consistency guarantees in systems that must reconcile multiple processing paths.

Applications of rtAt include streaming ETL, event-sourcing architectures, data lake ingestion, and governance workflows where auditable data lineage and real-time decision-making are critical. Limitations include added processing and storage overhead, potential schema evolution challenges, and the need for broad platform support to achieve true interoperability. As a concept, rtAt is described in discussions of data provenance and real-time metadata but is not tied to a single standardized specification. See also data lineage, event envelope, and time-synchronized processing.