What does long running mean?

This post redefines the concept of 'long running' in the context of Temporal, shifting the focus from arbitrary time cutoffs to handling uncertainty in distributed systems. It explains that Temporal is suitable for both very short, transactional operations (like file updates) and infinitely long processes (like background checks that can take days). The key takeaway is that Temporal's durable execution, event history persistence, and the ContinueAsNew API allow developers to model entities and entire customer journeys reliably, regardless of the actual execution time. It also contrasts Temporal's low latency for fast responses with the higher latency of traditional workflow engines and emphasizes the importance of monitoring ScheduleToStart latency.