What is the purpose of Sitecore pipelines?

The purpose of Sitecore pipelines is to facilitate modular processing of requests. In Sitecore, pipelines are a fundamental design pattern used to manage the processing of HTTP requests. This allows for separating distinct operations into individual components that can be added, removed, or modified without affecting the overall structure of the pipeline. Each component, known as a processor, performs a specific task as the request moves through the pipeline, such as accessing data, transforming it, or generating content.

This modular approach provides several benefits, including increased maintainability and flexibility since developers can easily plug in new processors or modify existing ones to adapt to changing requirements. Additionally, pipelines promote reuse of components across different requests, which enhances efficiency.

Understanding pipelines is crucial for any Sitecore developer, as they represent a core part of how Sitecore functions under the hood, enabling it to be both powerful and adaptable to various business needs.