Apache Flink is a versatile distributed data processing engine primarily designed for real-time stream processing, yet it also supports batch processing. Its ability to handle real-time data with low latency, exactly-once processing guarantees, and fault tolerance makes it a standout tool in the data industry. Flink's architecture is highly scalable, capable of deploying on various resource management systems like YARN and Kubernetes, and it offers a rich ecosystem of connectors to integrate with different data sources. The engine's stateful processing capabilities allow for complex operations such as aggregations and joins of continuous data streams. Flink's unified approach to batch and stream processing, along with its vibrant open-source community, contributes to its reputation as a gold standard for real-time data processing. Its features have attracted usage by major companies like Alibaba, Amazon, and Uber, and its design flexibility supports diverse deployment and storage solutions, making it suitable for a wide range of applications.