How are Platform Events best described?

Platform Events are best described as secure custom notifications within Salesforce or from external sources. They provide a powerful mechanism for apps to communicate with each other in a reliable and event-driven manner. Unlike traditional APIs or web services that rely on request-response patterns, Platform Events utilize an asynchronous communication model that enables real-time updates and processing.

This is particularly useful in scenarios where different systems or components must react to changes or events, allowing for decoupled architectures. With Platform Events, any system that understands the event can act upon it, fostering integration and interaction between a wide range of applications, whether they are residing within Salesforce or external systems.

Using Platform Events, developers can publish events, and other components can subscribe to those events, which enhances the capabilities of real-time data processing and event-driven programming within Salesforce. This flexibility and security make them an invaluable resource for building responsive and efficient applications.