Implementing a new Pub/Sub

The Pub/Sub interface

To add support for a custom Pub/Sub, you have to implement both message.Publisher and message.Subscriber interfaces.

// ...
type Publisher interface {
	// Publish publishes provided messages to the given topic.
	//
	// Publish can be synchronous or asynchronous - it depends on the implementation.
	//
	// Most publisher implementations don't support atomic publishing of messages.
	// This means that if publishing one of the messages fails, the next messages will not be published.
	//
	// Publish does not work with a single Context.
	// Use the Context() method of each message instead.
	//
	// Publish must be thread safe.
	Publish(topic string, messages ...*Message) error
	// Close should flush unsent messages if publisher is async.
	Close() error
}

// Subscriber is the consuming part of the Pub/Sub.
type Subscriber interface {
	// Subscribe returns an output channel with messages from the provided topic.
	// The channel is closed after Close() is called on the subscriber.
	//
	// To receive the next message, `Ack()` must be called on the received message.
	// If message processing fails and the message should be redelivered `Nack()` should be called instead.
	//
	// When the provided ctx is canceled, the subscriber closes the subscription and the output channel.
	// The provided ctx is passed to all produced messages.
	// When Nack or Ack is called on the message, the context of the message is canceled.
	Subscribe(ctx context.Context, topic string) (<-chan *Message, error)
	// Close closes all subscriptions with their output channels and flushes offsets etc. when needed.
	Close() error
}

// SubscribeInitializer is used to initialize subscribers.
type SubscribeInitializer interface {
// ...

Full source: github.com/ThreeDotsLabs/watermill/message/pubsub.go

Testing

Watermill provides a set of test scenarios that any Pub/Sub implementation can use. Each test suite needs to declare what features it supports and how to construct a new Pub/Sub. These scenarios check both basic usage and more uncommon use cases. Stress tests are also included.

TODO list

Here are a few things you shouldn’t forget about:

  1. Logging (good messages and proper levels).
  2. Replaceable and configurable messages marshaller.
  3. Close() implementation for the publisher and subscriber that is:
    • idempotent
    • working correctly even when the publisher or the subscriber is blocked (for example, waiting for an Ack).
    • working correctly when the subscriber output channel is blocked (because nothing is listening on it).
  4. Ack() and Nack() support for consumed messages.
  5. Redelivery on Nack() for a consumed message.
  6. Use Universal Pub/Sub tests . For debugging tips, you should check tests troubleshooting guide .
  7. Performance optimizations.
  8. GoDocs, Markdown docs and Getting Started examples .

We will also be thankful for submitting a pull requests with the new Pub/Sub implementation.

If anything is not clear, feel free to use any of our support channels to reach us, we will be glad to help.


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