Which combination identifies a specific record in Kafka by topic, partition, and offset?

Which combination identifies a specific record in Kafka by topic, partition, and offset?

• A. Key
• B. Offset
• C. Topic + Partition + Offset
• D. Topic

Answer: (C)

To locate a single record in Kafka you must specify where it sits and its position within that location. A record belongs to a specific topic and resides in one partition of that topic, and within that partition it has an offset that marks its position. Because offsets are defined separately for each partition, simply giving an offset isn’t enough to identify a unique record across the whole topic. Similarly, the topic alone points to a stream that can contain many partitions, each with its own sequence of offsets. By providing the topic, the partition, and the offset, you uniquely identify exactly one record. The key of a message doesn’t determine its position; it’s just metadata that can influence routing, not its location.

To locate a single record in Kafka you must specify where it sits and its position within that location. A record belongs to a specific topic and resides in one partition of that topic, and within that partition it has an offset that marks its position. Because offsets are defined separately for each partition, simply giving an offset isn’t enough to identify a unique record across the whole topic. Similarly, the topic alone points to a stream that can contain many partitions, each with its own sequence of offsets. By providing the topic, the partition, and the offset, you uniquely identify exactly one record. The key of a message doesn’t determine its position; it’s just metadata that can influence routing, not its location.