Parapet

A purely functional library to build distributed and event-driven systems



Introduction


It's not a secret that writing distributed systems is a challenging task that can be logically broken into two main aspects: implementing distributed algorithms and running them. Parapet plays the role of execution framework for distributed algorithms - it can be viewed as an intermediate layer between a low-level effect library and high-level operations exposed in the form of DSL. Distributed engineers who mainly focused on designing and implementing distributed algorithms don't need to be worried about low-level abstractions such as IO or have a piece of deep knowledge in certain computer science subjects, for instance, Concurrency. All they need to know is what properties the library satisfies and what guarantees it provides. On the other hand, engineers who are specializing in writing low-level libraries can concentrate on implementing core abstractions such as IO or Task, working on performance optimizations and implementing new features. Parapet is the modular library where almost any component can be replaced with a custom implementation.

Prerequisites

Before starting using Parapet it's recommended to get familiar with the following topics:

  • Basic functional abstractions such as Monad, Free Monad, Functor. However, understanding of the underlying monad theory is not necessary to use the library. Links: Scala with Cats Book is a very good start, A Gentle Introduction to I/O, Free Monad, Data types a la carte + InjectK in Cats
  • Models of process communications: Synchronous/Asynchronous
  • Models of communication networks: FIFO/non-FIFO
  • Correctness properties of concurrent and distributed systems: Liveness and Safety
  • Consistency models

Key Features #back to top

  • Purely functional library written in scala using Tagless-Final Style and Free Monads; thoughtfully designed for people who prefer functional style over imperative
  • Modular - almost any component can be replaced with a custom implementation
  • DSL provides a set of operations sufficient to write distributed algorithms
  • Lightweight and Performant. The library utilizes resources (CPU and Memory) smartly, the code is optimized to reduce CPU consumption when your application in idle state
  • Built-in support for the following effect libraries: Cats Effect, Monix, and Scalaz ZIO. The library can be extended to support other effect libraries: Cats Effect, Monix, and Scalaz ZIO

Getting Started #back to top

The first thing you need to do is to add two dependencies into your project: parapet-core and interop-{effect_library} for a specific effect library. You can find the latest version in maven central.

                                libraryDependencies += "io.parapet" %% "core" % version
                                
  • For Cats Effect add libraryDependencies += "io.parapet" %% "interop-cats" % version
  • For Monix add libraryDependencies += "io.parapet" %% "interop-monix" % version"
  • For Scalaz ZIO add libraryDependencies += "io.parapet" %% "interop-scalaz-zio" % version

Once you added the library, you can start writing your first program. However, it's worth taking a few minutes and getting familiar with two main approaches to write processes: Generic and Effect Specific. I'll describe both in a minute. For those who aren't familiar with effect systems like Cats Effect, I'd recommend to read the Wiki page about Effect system or the Cats Effect official documentation. Fortunately, you don't need to be an expert in Cats Effect or any other effect system library to use Parapet.

The first approach we'll consider is Generic. It's recommended to stick to this style when writing processes. Let's develop a simple Printer process that will print users requests to the system output.

                            import io.parapet.core.{Event, Process}

                            class Printer[F[_]] extends Process[F] {

                              import Printer._ //  import Printer API

                              import dsl._ // import DSL operations

                              override def handle: Receive = {
                                case Print(data) => eval(println(data))
                              }
                            }

                            object Printer {

                              case class Print(data: Any) extends Event

                            }

Let's walk through this code. You start writing your processes by extending Process trait and parameterizing it with an effect type. In this example, we left so-called hole F[_] in our Printer type which can be any type constructor with a single argument, e.g. F[_] is a generic type constructor, cats effect IO is a specific type constructor and IO[Unit] is a concrete type. Starting from this moment, it should become clear what it means for a process to be generic. Simply speaking, it means that a process doesn't depend on any specific effect type e.g. IO. Thus we can claim that our Printer process is surely generic.

The next step is to define a process API or contract that defines a set of events that it can send and receive. Process contract is an important part of any process specification that should be taken seriously. API defines a protocol that other processes will use to communicate with your process. Please remember that it's a very important aspect of any process definition and take it seriously.

Then we need to import DSL smart constructors. Parapet DSL is a small set of operations that we will consider in detail in the next chapters. In this example, we need only eval operator that suspends a side effect in F, in our Printer process we suspend println effectful computation.

Finally, every process should override handle function defined in Process trait. handle function is a partial function that matches input events and produces an executable flows. If you ever tried Akka framework you may find this approach familiar (for the curious, Receive is simply a type alias for PartialFunction[Event, DslF[F, Unit]]). In our Printer process, we match on Print event using a well known pattern-matching feature in Scala language. If you are new in functional programming, I'd recommend to read about pattern-matching - it's a very powerful instrument.

That's it. We have considered every important aspect of our Printer process.

Let's move forward and write a simple client process that will talk to our Printer.

                            import io.parapet.core.Event.Start
                            import io.parapet.core.{Process, ProcessRef}
                            import io.parapet.examples.Printer._ // import Printer API

                            class PrinterClient[F[_]](printer: ProcessRef) extends Process[F] {
                              override def handle: Receive = {
                                // Start is a lifecycle event that gets delivered when a process started
                                case Start => Print("hello world") ~> printer
                              }
                            }
                         

As you already might have noticed, we are repeating the same steps we made when were writing our Printer process:

  • Create a new Process with a hole F[_] in its type definition
  • Extend io.parapet.core.Process trait and parametrizing it with generic effect type F
  • Implement handle partial function

Let's consider some new types and operators we have used to write our client: ProcessRef, Start lifecycle event and ~> (send) infix operator. Let's start from ProcessRef. ProcessRef is a unique process identifier (UUID by default). It represents a process address in Parapet system and must be unique - it's recommended to use ProcessRef instead of a Process object directly unless you are sure you want otherwise. It's not prohibited to use Process object directly, however using a process reference may be useful in some scenarios. Let's consider one such case. Imagine we want to dynamically change the current Printer process in our client so that it will store data in a file on disk instead of printing it to the console. We can add a new event ChangePrinter:

                            case class ChangePrinter(printer: ProcessRef) extends Event
                         

Then our client will look like this:

                              class PrinterClient[F[_]](private var printer: ProcessRef) extends Process[F] {

                              import PrinterClient._
                              import dsl._


                              override def handle: Receive = {
                                case Start => Print("hello world") ~> printer
                                case ChangePrinter(newPrinter) => eval(printer = newPrinter)
                              }
                            }

                            object PrinterClient {

                              case class ChangePrinter(printer: ProcessRef) extends Event

                            }
                         

This design cannot be achieved when using direct processes b/c it's not possible to send `Process` objects, processes are NOT serializable in general. One more thing, you can override a Process#ref field, only make sure it's unique otherwise Parapet system will return an error during the startup.

Ok, we are almost done! There are a few more things left we need to cover: Start lifecycle event and ~> operator and there is nothing special about these two. Parapet has two lifecycle events:

  • Start event is sent to a process once it's created in Parapet system
  • Stop event is sent to a process when an application is interrupted with Ctrl-C or when some other process sent Stop or Kill event to that process. The main difference between Stop and Kill is that in the former case a process can finish processing all pending events before it will receive Stop event, whereas Kill will interrupt a process and then deliver Stop event, all pending events will be discarded. If you familiar with Java ExecutorService then you can think of Stop as shutdown and Kill as shutdownNow.

Finally ~> is the most frequently used operator that is defined for any type that extends Event trait. ~> is just a symbolic name for send(event, processRef) operator.

By this moment we have two processes: Printer and PrinterClient, nice! But wait, we need to run them somehow, right? Fortunately, it's extremely easy to do so, all we need is to create PrinterApp object which represents our application and extend it from CatsApp abstract class. CatsApp extends ParApp by specifying concrete effect type IO:

abstract class CatsApp extends ParApp[IO]

CatsApp comes from interop-catslibrary.

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.CatsApp
import io.parapet.core.Process

object PrinterApp extends CatsApp {
  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] = IO {
    val printer = new Printer[IO]
    val printerClient = new PrinterClient[IO](printer.ref)
    Seq(printer, printerClient)
  }
}

This is Cats Effect specific application, meaning it uses IO type under the hood. If you run your program you should see hello world printed to the console. Also notice that we are using concrete effect type IO to fill the hole in our Printer type, e.g.: new Printer[IO] in practice it can be any other effect type like Task.

In our example, we created PrinterClient which does nothing but sending Print event at the startup. In my opinion, it doesn't deserve to be a standalone process, would be better if we create a process in place:

object PrinterApp extends CatsApp {
  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] = IO {
    val printer = new Printer[IO]
    val start = Process[IO](_ => {
      case Start => Printer.Print("hello world") ~> printer.ref
    })
    Seq(start, printer)
  }
}

Although it's a matter of taste, there is no hard rule.

This chapter describes each DSL operator in details. Let's get started.

unit - #back to top

unit - semantically this operator is equivalent with Monad.unit and obeys the same laws. Having said that the following expressions are equivalent:

event ~> process <-> unit ++ event ~> process
event ~> process <-> event ~> process ++ unit

This operator can be used in fold operator to combine multiple flows. Example:

processes.map(event ~> _).fold(unit)(_ ++ _)

It also can be used to represent an empty flow:

{
  case Start => unit // do nothing
  case Stop => unit // do nothing
}

flow - #back to top

flow - suspends the thunk that produces flow. Semantically this operator is equivalent with suspend for effects however it's strongly not recommended to perform any side effects within flow.

Not recommended:

def print(str: String) = flow {
  println(str)
  unit
}

Recommended:

def print(str: String) = flow {
  eval(println(str))
}

flow may be useful to implement recursive flows. Example:

def times[F[_]](n: Int) = {
  def step(remaining: Int): DslF[F, Unit] = flow {
    if (remaining == 0) unit
    else eval(print(remaining)) ++ step(remaining - 1)
  }

  step(n)
}

If you try to remove flow you will get StackOverflowError

Another useful application is using lazy values inside flow. Example:

  lazy val lazyValue: String = {
    println("evaluated")
    "hello"
  }

  val useLazyValue = flow {
    val tmp = lazyValue + " world"
    eval(println(tmp))
  }

send - #back to top

send - sends an event to one or more receivers. Event will be delivered to all receivers in the specified order. Parapet provides a symbolic name for this operator ~> although in the current implementation it doesn't allow to send an event to multiple receivers. It will be added in the future releases.

Examples:

send(Ping, processA, processB, processC)

Ping event will be sent to the processA then processB and finaly processC. It's not guaranteed that processA will receive Ping event before processC as it depends on it's processing speed and current workload.

Ping ~> processA

Not supported:

Ping ~> Seq(processA, processB, processC)

Possible workaround:

 Seq(processA, processB, processC).map(Ping ~> _).fold(unit)(_ ++ _)

Send multiple events to a process:

Seq(e1, e2, e3) ~> process

forward - #back to top

forward - sends an event to the receiver using the original sender reference. This may be useful for implementing a proxy process.

Example:

val server = Process[IO](_ => {
  case Request(body) => withSender(sender => eval(println(s"$sender-$body")))
})

val proxy = Process[IO](_ => {
  case Request(body) => forward(Request(s"proxy-$body"), server.ref)
})

val client = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
    case Start => Request("ping") ~> proxy
  }).ref(ProcessRef("client")).build

The code above will print:

client-proxy-ping

par - #back to top

par - executes operations from the given flow in parallel.

Example:

par(eval(print(1)) ++ eval(print(2)))

Possible outputs:

12 or 21

delay - #back to top

delay - delays every operation in the given flow for the given duration. For sequential flows the flowing expressions are semantically equivalent:

 delay(duration, x~>p ++ y~>p) <-> delay(duration, x~>p) ++ delay(duration, y~>p)
 delay(duration, x~>p ++ y~>p) <-> delay(duration) ++ x~>p ++ delay(duration) ++ y~>p

For parallel flows:

delay(duration, par(x~>p ++ y~>p)) <-> delay(duration) ++ par(x~>p ++ y~>p)

Note: since the flow below will be executed in parallel the second operation won't be delayed:

par(delay(duration) ++ eval(print(1)))

instead, use:

par(delay(duration, eval(print(1))))

withSender - #back to top

withSender - accepts a callback function that takes a sender reference and produces a new flow.

Example:

val server = Process[IO](_ => {
  case Request(data) => withSender(sender => eval(print(s"$sender says $data")))
})

val client = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
  case Start => Request("hello") ~> server
}).ref(ProcessRef("client")).build

The code above will print:

client says hello

fork - #back to top

fork - does what exactly the name says, executes the given flow concurrently.

Example:

val process = Process[IO](_ => {
  case Start => fork(eval(print(1))) ++ fork(eval(print(2)))
})

Possible outputs:

12 or 21

register - #back to top

register - registers a child process in the Parapet context. It's guaranteed that a child process will receive Stop event before its parent.

Example:

  val server = Process[IO](ref => {
    case Start => register(ref, Process[IO](_ => {
      case Stop => eval(println("stop worker"))
    }))
    case Stop => eval(println("stop server"))
  })

The code above will print:

stop worker
stop server

race - #back to top

race - runs two flows concurrently. The loser of the race is canceled.

Example:

  val forever = eval(while (true) {})

  val process: Process[IO] = Process[IO](_ => {
    case Start => race(forever, eval(println("winner")))
  })

Output:

winner

suspend - #back to top

suspend - adds an effect which produces `F` to the current flow.

Example:

suspend(IO(print("hello world")))

Output:

hello world

Not recommended:

suspend {
 println("hello world")
 IO.unit
}

suspendWith - #back to top

suspendWith - suspends an effect which produces F and then feeds that into a function that takes a normal value and returns a new flow. All operations from produced flow added to the current flow.

Example:

suspend(IO.pure(1))) { i => eval(print(i)) }

Output:

1

eval - #back to top

eval - suspends a side effect in F and then adds that to the current flow.

Example:

eval(println("hello world"))

Output:

hello world

evalWith - #back to top

evalWith - Suspends a side effect in F and then feeds that into a function that takes a normal value and returns a new flow. All operations from a produced flow will be added to the current flow.

Example:

evalWith("hello world")(a => eval(println(a)))

Output:

hello world

blocking - #back to top

blocking - marks the given flow as blocking. All blocking operations should be wrapped using this operator to not block a scheduler worker. An example of a blocking operation is a long-running IO operation, e.g. reading data from the network socket.

Example:

  class Service {
    def blockingCall: IO[String] = IO.sleep(1.second) >> IO("data")
  }

  class Client extends Process[IO] {

    import dsl._

    private lazy val service = new Service()

    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Start =>
        blocking {
          suspendWith(service.blockingCall)(data => eval(println(data)))
        }
    }
  }

Output:

data

Network #back to top

Parapet wouldn't be a truly distributed library without network support. Starting with 0.0.1-RC5 Parapet comes with a basic networking support. Cluster is in early development, however, it's ready to use for basic over-network communications. In this section you will find the information on how to install Cluster and exchange messages between two process over the network.

Step 1: Install parapet-cluster

1. Download parapet-cluster-0.0.1-RC5.tgz archive.
2. Unzip to any folder
3. Rename node.properties.template to node.properties
4. Configure cluster node by modifying node.properties
                                     node.id=<unique_node_id>
                                     node.address=<node_address>
                                     node.peers=[<node_id:node_address>]
                                     node.election-delay=10
                                     node.heartbeat-delay=5
                                     node.monitor-delay=10
                                     node.peer-timeout=10
                                     node.leader-election-threshold=0.7
                                 

You need to repeat this step for each cluster node. It's commended to have a at least three cluster nodes.
Example: two nodes
Node 1
                                node.id=node-1
                                node.address=localhost:5555
                                node.peers=[node-2:localhost:6666]
                                # ...
                                
Node 2
                                node.id=node-2
                                node.address=localhost:6666
                                node.peers=[node-1:localhost:5555]
                                # ...
                                

Step 2: Start parapet-cluster

1. Go to parapet-cluster-version folder and run ./bin/cluster. You can provide a custom path to node.properties using ./bin/cluster --config=<path>
In one of the node's logs you should see:
                                    2021-05-12 01:07:57 DEBUG RouletteLeaderElection:329 - received Heartbeat(addr=localhost:5555, leader=Some(localhost:5555))
                                    2021-05-12 01:07:57 DEBUG RouletteLeaderElection:329 - current leader: 'localhost:5555' is healthy
                                
In this case the first node was elected.

Step 3: Create a node process that uses parapet-node

import cats.effect.IO
  import io.parapet.cluster.node.{MessageHandler, Node, Req}
  import io.parapet.core.Event._
  import io.parapet.core.{DslInterpreter, Process, ProcessRef}

  class NodeProcess(id: String, port: Int, sink: ProcessRef) extends Process[IO] {

    import dsl._

    private val msgHandler = new MessageHandler() {
      override def handle(req: Req): Unit = {
        (req ~> sink).foldMap(DslInterpreter.instance.interpret(ref, sink)).unsafeRunSync() // temporary workaround
      }
    }

    private val node =
      new Node(host = "localhost", port = port,
        id = id,
        servers = Array("localhost:5555", "localhost:6666"),
        msgHandler = msgHandler)


    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Start => eval {
        node.connect()
        node.join("test")
      }
      case req: Req => eval(node.send(req))
    }

  }
                                
Create two node apps
Node 1:
                                    import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.cluster.node.Req
import io.parapet.core.Event._
import io.parapet.core.{Process, ProcessRef}

import scala.concurrent.duration._

object NodeApp1 extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  val echoRef = ProcessRef("echo")

  val nodeProcess = new NodeProcess("node-1", 8001, echoRef)

  private val echo = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
    case Start => Req("node-2", "ping".getBytes()) ~> nodeProcess.ref
    case req: Req =>
      val rep = "echo: " + new String(req.data)
      delay(3.seconds) ++ Req("node-2", rep.getBytes()) ~> nodeProcess.ref
  }).ref(echoRef).build


  override def processes(args: Array[String]): IO[Seq[core.Process[IO]]] = {
    IO(Seq(nodeProcess, echo))
  }
}
                                
similarly Node 2:
import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.cluster.node.Req
import io.parapet.core.Event.Start
import io.parapet.core.{Process, ProcessRef}

import scala.concurrent.duration._

object NodeApp2 extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  val echoRef = ProcessRef("echo")

  val nodeProcess = new NodeProcess("node-2", 8002, echoRef)

  private val echo = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
    case Start => Req("node-1", "ping".getBytes()) ~> nodeProcess.ref
    case req: Req =>
      val rep = "echo: " + new String(req.data)
      delay(3.seconds) ++ Req("node-1", rep.getBytes()) ~> nodeProcess.ref
  }).ref(echoRef).build


  override def processes(args: Array[String]): IO[Seq[core.Process[IO]]] = {
    IO(Seq(nodeProcess, echo))
  }
}
                                    

Step 4: Start node apps

Run both node apps. In the first node's logs you should see
                                            2021-05-12 01:55:32 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: ping to node-2 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:55:38 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: ping to node-2 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:55:44 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-2 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:55:50 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-2 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:55:56 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-2 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:56:02 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-2 has been sent
                                            ...
                                            
Second node's logs:
2021-05-12 01:55:35 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: ping to node-1 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:55:41 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-1 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:55:47 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-1 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:55:53 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-1 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:55:59 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-1 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:56:05 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-1 has been sent
2021-05-12 01:56:11 DEBUG Node:118 - req echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: echo: ping to node-1 has been sent
                                         ....
                                     

Process #back to top

Process is a key abstraction in Parapet, any application must have a least one process. If you try to run an application w/o processes you will get an error saying that at least one process required. This section covers some useful features that we haven't seen yet, below you will find a shortlist of features:

  • Predefined processes and reserved references
  • Switching process behavior
  • Direct process call
  • Process combinators: and and or
  • Testing your processes
  • Basic patterns and tips


Creating the Process - #back to top

There are there several ways to create the Process.

Extending Process trait

  class GenericProcess[F[_]] extends Process[F] {

    import dsl._

    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Start => unit // TODO
    }
  }

or using a specific effect type, e.g. IO:

  class IOProcess extends Process[IO] {

    import dsl._

    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Start => unit // TODO
    }
  }

Using Process Builder

You can use Process Builder to create a stateless process:

Process.Builder setters:

  • name sets a process name; undefined is a default value
  • ref sets a process reference; jdk UUID is a default value
  • bufferSize sets a process queue size; -1 - unbounded (by default) unless it's set globally usingParConfig#processBufferSize; valid values: -1; [1,Int.MaxValue)

Example:

  val process: Process[IO] = Process.builder[IO](ref => {
    case Start => dsl.unit
  }).ref(ProcessRef("process")) // sets a process reference
    .name("process") // sets a process name
    .bufferSize(1000) // set a process queue size limit
    .build

If you don't need to override any values then you can use Process#apply. Example:

  val process: Process[IO] = Process[IO](_ => {
    case Start => dsl.unit
  })

Predefined processes and reserved references - #back to top

Parapet has some reserved process references, e.g.: KernelRef(parapet-kernel), SystemRef(parapet-system), DeadLetterRef(parapet-deadletter), UndefinedRef(parapet-undefined). The general rule is that any reference that starts with parapet- prefix can be used by the platform code for any purpose. Parapet has a SystemProcess that cannot be overridden by users. SystemProcess is a starting point, i.e. it's created before any other process. Lifecycle event Start is sent by SystemProcess. Any event sent to the SystemProcess will be ignored and dropped. Don't try to send any events to SystemProcess b/c it can lead to unpredictable errors. DeadLetterProcess is another process that is created by default, although it can be overridden, for more details check DeadLetterProcess section under Event Handling.


Switching process behavior - #back to top

Sometimes it might be useful to dynamically switch a process behavior, e.g.: from uninitialized to ready state. Thankfully Process provides switch method that does exactly that.

Example (lazy server):

  // for some effect `F[_]`
  val server = new Process[F] {

    val init = eval(println("acquire resources: create socket and etc."))

    def ready: Receive = {
      case Request(data) => withSender(Success(data) ~> _)
      case Stop => eval(println("release resources: close socket and etc."))
    }

    def uninitialized: Receive = {
      case Start => unit // ignore Start event, wait for Init
      case Stop => unit // process is not initialized, do nothing
      case Init => init ++ switch(ready)
      case _ => withSender(Failure("process is not initialized", ErrorCodes.ProcessUninitialized) ~> _)
    }

    override def handle: Receive = uninitialized
  }

  // API

  object Init extends Event

  case class Request(data: Any) extends Event

  sealed trait Response extends Event
  case class Success(data: Any) extends Event
  case class Failure(data: Any, errorCode: Int) extends Event

  object ErrorCodes {
    val ProcessUninitialized  = 0
  }

A client which sends Request event w/o sending Init:

  val impatientClient = Process[F](_ => {
    case Start => Request("PING") ~> server
    case Success(_) => eval(println("that is not going to happen"))
    case f:Failure => eval(println(f))
  })

The code above will print:

Failure(process is not initialized,0)

A client which sends Init first and then Request:

  val humbleClient = Process[F](_ => {
    case Start => Seq(Init, Request("PING")) ~> server
    case Success(data) => eval(println(s"client receive response from server: $data"))
    case _:Failure => eval(println("that is not going to happen"))
  })

The code above will print:

acquire resources: create socket and etc.
client receive response from server: PING
release resources: close socket and etc.

switch is NOT an atomic operation, avoid using switch in concurrent flows because it may result in an error or lead to unpredictable behavior.

Not recommended:

  val process = new Process[F] {
    def ready: Receive = _

    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Init => fork(switch(ready)) // bad, may lead to unpredictable behaviour
    }
  }

If you need to switch behavior from a concurrent flow just send an event e.g. Swith(State.Ready) to itself. Process will eventually switch its behavior.

Recommended:

  val process = new Process[F] {
    def ready: Receive = _

    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Init => fork {
        eval(println("do some work in parallel"))
        Switch(Ready) ~> ref // notify the process that it's time to switch it's behaviour
      }
      case Switch(Ready) =>  switch(ready)
    }
  }

  sealed trait State
  object Ready extends State

  case class Switch(next: State) extends Event

Direct process call - #back to top

Sometimes it may be useful to call a process directly. Especially it's a common case for short living processes. For instance, you may want to create a process, call it and then abandon, garbage collector will do its job. However, if you try to send an event to a process that doesn't exist in the system you will receive Failure event with UnknownProcessException. This is where direct call comes to rescue.

Example:

  // API
  case class Sum(a: Int, b: Int) extends Event
  case class Result(value: Int) extends Event

  class Calculator[F[_]] extends Process[F] {
    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Sum(a, b) => withSender(Result(a + b - 1) ~> _) // yes, very poor calculator
    }
  }

  val student = Process[F](ref => {
    case Start => new Calculator().apply(ref, Sum(2, 2))
    case Result(value) => eval(println(s"2 + 2 = $value"))
  })

Output: 2 + 2 = 3

Note that apply method doesn't return a normal value rather it returns a program which will be executed as normal flow. In other words the following expressions are equivalent:

Sum(2, 2) ~> calculator <-> new Calculator().apply(ref, Sum(2, 2)) // where ref belongs to the same process in both cases

Also, you may be wondering why do we need to pass the process ref as an argument in the apply method. The reason is that the library needs to know the address of a sender so it can send a reply to it.


Process combinators - #back to top

Processes can be combined using two logical operators: or and and.

and - combines two processes by producing a new process with ref of the first process; combines flows iff handle function is defined for the given event in both processes. Sends an error to the sender if either of two processes isn't defined for the given event.

Example:

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.CatsApp
import io.parapet.core.Event.Start
import io.parapet.core.{Event, Process}

object Example extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  case class Print(data: Any) extends Event

  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] =
    for {
      printerA <- IO.pure(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Print(data) => eval(println(s"printerA: $data"))
      }))
      printerB <- IO.pure(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Print(data) => eval(println(s"printerB: $data"))
      }))

      client <- IO.pure(Process[IO](ref => {
        case Start => printerA.and(printerB).apply(ref, Print("test"))
      }))

    } yield Seq(printerA, printerB, client)

}
Output:
printerA: test
printerB: test

If you want to register a combined process then you don't need to register printerA.

Example:

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.CatsApp
import io.parapet.core.Event.Start
import io.parapet.core.{Event, Process}

object Example extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  case class Print(data: Any) extends Event

  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] =
    for {
      printerA <- IO.pure(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Print(data) => eval(println(s"printerA: $data"))
      }))
      printerB <- IO.pure(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Print(data) => eval(println(s"printerB: $data"))
      }))

      combined <- IO.pure(printerA.and(printerB))

      client <- IO.pure(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Start => Print("test") ~> combined
      }))

    } yield Seq(combined, printerB, client)

}

or - creates a new process with ref of the first process. A combined process refers to the first process if its handle is defined for the given event, otherwise, to the second process. Sends an error to the sender if neither process is defined for the given event.

Example:

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.CatsApp
import io.parapet.core.Event.Start
import io.parapet.core.{Event, Process}

object Example extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  case class Print(data: Any) extends Event

  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] =
    for {
      printerA <- IO.pure(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Print(data: Int) => eval(println(s"printerA: $data"))
      }))
      printerB <- IO.pure(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Print(data: String) => eval(println(s"printerB: $data"))
      }))

      combined <- IO.pure(printerA.or(printerB))

      client <- IO.pure(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Start => Print("test") ~> combined ++ Print(1) ~> combined
      }))

    } yield Seq(combined, printerB, client)
}
Output:
printerB: test
printerA: 1

Testing your processes - #back to top

Integration tests in parapet written in a generic style that we discussed before so that the same tests can be run against any effect system. Let's try to write a simple test for a proxy process. The first thing you need to do is to add test-utils library into your project:

libraryDependencies += "io.parapet" %% "test-utils" % version

A simple proxy process that receives requests and forwards them to a service

  class Proxy(service: ProcessRef) extends Process[F] {
    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Request(data) => Request(s"proxy-$data") ~> service
    }
  }

Test for our Proxy:

import io.parapet.core.{Event, Process, ProcessRef}
import io.parapet.tests.intg.ProxySpec._
import io.parapet.testutils.{EventStore, IntegrationSpec}
import org.scalatest.FunSuite
import org.scalatest.Matchers._
import org.scalatest.OptionValues._


abstract class ProxySpec[F[_]] extends FunSuite with IntegrationSpec[F] {

  import dsl._

  test("proxy") {
    val eventStore = new EventStore[F, Event]
    val testService = Process(ref => {
      case req: Request => eval(eventStore.add(ref, req))
    })

    val proxy = new Proxy[F](testService.ref)

    val init = onStart(Request("req") ~> proxy)

    unsafeRun(eventStore.await(1, createApp(ct.pure(Seq(init, testService, proxy))).run))

    eventStore.get(testService.ref).headOption.value shouldBe Request("proxy-req")
  }

}

In order to run this test against Cats Effect IO you need to extend BasicCatsIOSpec:

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.testutils.BasicCatsIOSpec

class ProxySpec extends io.parapet.tests.intg.ProxySpec[IO] with BasicCatsIOSpec

Basic patterns and tips - #back to top

Status

Channel #back to top

Channel is a process that implements strictly synchronous request-reply dialog. The channel sends an event to a receiver and then waits for a response in one step, i.e. it blocks asynchronously until it receives a response. Doing any other sequence, e.g., sending two request or reply events in a row will return a failure to the sender.

Example for some F[_]:

  val server = new Process[F] {
    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Request(data) => withSender(sender => Response(s"echo: $data") ~> sender)
    }
  }

  val client = new Process[F] {

    lazy val ch = Channel[F]

    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Start => register(ref, ch) ++
        ch.send(Request("PING"), server.ref, {
          case scala.util.Success(Response(data)) => eval(println(data))
          case scala.util.Failure(err) => eval(println(s"server failed to process request. err: ${err.getMessage}"))
        })

    }
  }


  case class Request(data: Any) extends Event

  case class Response(data: Any) extends Event
Output:
echo: PING

Error Handling#back to top

There are some scenarios when a process may receive a Failure event:

When a target process failed to handle an event sent by another process.

Example:


  // for some effect F[_]
  val faultyServer = Process.builder[F](_ => {
    case Request(_) => eval(throw new RuntimeException("server is down"))
  }).ref(ProcessRef("server")).build

  val client = Process.builder[F](_ => {
    case Start => Request("PING") ~> faultyServer
    case Failure(Envelope(me, event, receiver), EventHandlingException(errMsg, cause)) => eval {
      println(s"self: $me")
      println(s"event: $event")
      println(s"receiver: $receiver")
      println(s"errMsg: $errMsg")
      println(s"cause: ${cause.getMessage}")
    }
  }).ref(ProcessRef("client")).build

The code above will output:

self: client
event: Request(PING)
receiver: server
errMsg: process [name=undefined, ref=server] has failed to handle event: Request(PING)
cause: server is down

EventHandlingException indicates that a receiver process failed to handle an event.

When a process event queue is full.

It's possible when a process experiencing performance degradation due to heavy load.

Example:

For this example we need to tweak SchedulerConfig:

queueSize = 10000
processQueueSize = 100
  // for some effect F[_]
  val slowServer = Process.builder[F](_ => {
    case Request(_) => eval(while (true) {}) // very slow process... NEVER WRITE SUCH CODE
  }).ref(ProcessRef("server")).build

  val client = Process.builder[F](_ => {
    case Start =>
      generateRequests(1000) ~> slowServer
    case Failure(Envelope(me, event, receiver), EventDeliveryException(errMsg, cause)) => eval {
      println(s"self: $me")
      println(s"event: $event")
      println(s"receiver: $receiver")
      println(s"errMsg: $errMsg")
      println(s"cause: ${cause.getMessage}")
      println("=====================================================")
    }
  }).ref(ProcessRef("client")).build

  def generateRequests(n: Int): Seq[Event] = {
    (0 until n).map(Request)
  }

The code above will print a dozens of lines, four lines per Failure event:

client sent events
self: client
event: Request(101)
receiver: server
errMsg: System failed to deliver an event to process [name=undefined, ref=server]
cause: process [name=undefined, ref=server] event queue is full
=====================================================
self: client
event: Request(102)
receiver: server
errMsg: System failed to deliver an event to process [name=undefined, ref=server]
cause: process [name=undefined, ref=server] event queue is full
=====================================================
self: client
event: Request(103)
receiver: server
errMsg: System failed to deliver an event to process [name=undefined, ref=server]
cause: process [name=undefined, ref=server] event queue is full
=====================================================

EventDeliveryException indicates that the system failed to deliver an event. Handling such types of errors may be useful for runtime analysis, e.g. a sender process might consider lowering event send rate or even stop sending events to let a target process to finish processing pending events. It's worth noting that you should avoid any long-running computations when processing Failure events because it could lead to cascading failures.

A process event handler isn't defined for some events.

Example:

  // for some effect F[_]
  val uselessService = Process.builder[F](_ => {
    case Start => unit
    case Stop => unit
  }).ref(ProcessRef("server")).build

  val client = Process.builder[F](_ => {
    case Start =>
      Request("PING") ~> uselessService
    case Failure(Envelope(me, event, receiver), EventMatchException(errMsg)) => eval {
      println(s"self: $me")
      println(s"event: $event")
      println(s"receiver: $receiver")
      println(s"errMsg: $errMsg")
    }
  }).ref(ProcessRef("client")).build

The code above will print:

self: client
event: Request(PING)
receiver: server
errMsg: process [name=undefined, ref=server] handler is not defined for event: Request(PING)

A process doesn't exist in Parapet system.

  // for some effect F[_]
  val unknownService = Process.builder[F](_ => {
    case Start => unit
    case Stop => unit
  }).ref(ProcessRef("server")).build

  val client = Process.builder[F](_ => {
    case Start =>
      Request("PING") ~> unknownService
    case Failure(Envelope(me, event, receiver), UnknownProcessException(errMsg)) => eval {
      println(s"self: $me")
      println(s"event: $event")
      println(s"receiver: $receiver")
      println(s"errMsg: $errMsg")
    }
  }).ref(ProcessRef("client")).build

The code above will print:

self: client
event: Request(PING)
receiver: server
errMsg: there is no such process with id=server registered in the system

Final notes regarding error handling:

  • All Failure events sent by parapet-system process (if you are curious you can check it by yourself using withSender).
  • If a process has no error handling then Failure event will be sent to DeadLetterProcess. More about DeadLetterProcess you will find below

DeadLetterProcess #back to top

The library by default provides an implementation of DeadLetterProcess which just logs failures. Although it might be not very practical, for instance, you may prefer to store failures into a database for further analyses. The library allows providing a custom implementation of DeadLetterProcess.

Example using CatsApp:

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.CatsApp
import io.parapet.core.Event.{DeadLetter, Start}
import io.parapet.core.processes.DeadLetterProcess
import io.parapet.core.{Event, Process, ProcessRef}


object CustomDeadLetterProcessDemo extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  override def deadLetter: IO[DeadLetterProcess[IO]] = IO.pure {
    new DeadLetterProcess[IO] {
      override def handle: Receive = {
        // can be stored in database
        case DeadLetter(envelope, error) => eval {
          println(s"sender: ${envelope.sender}")
          println(s"receiver: ${envelope.receiver}")
          println(s"event: ${envelope.event}")
          println(s"errorType: ${error.getClass.getSimpleName}")
          println(s"errorMsg: ${error.getMessage}")
        }
      }
    }
  }

  val faultyServer = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
    case Request(_) => eval(throw new RuntimeException("server is down"))
  }).ref(ProcessRef("server")).build

  val client = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
    case Start => Request("PING") ~> faultyServer
    // no error handling
  }).ref(ProcessRef("client")).build

  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] = IO {
    Seq(client, faultyServer)
  }

  case class Request(data: Any) extends Event

}

The code above will print:

sender: client
receiver: server
event: Request(PING)
errorType: EventHandlingException
errorMsg: process [name=undefined, ref=server] has failed to handle event: Request(PING)

EventLog #back to top

EventLog can be used to store events on disk. Latter, events can be retrieved and resubmitted. In a case, the event queue is full all unsubmitted events will be redirected to EventLog.

The default implementation just logs such events. In future releases, more practical implementation will be provided.


Configuration #back to top

Parapet system can be configured by providing an instance of ParConfig.

Example:

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.core.Parapet.ParConfig
import io.parapet.{CatsApp, core}

object ConfigExample extends CatsApp{
  override def processes: IO[Seq[core.Process[IO]]] = _

  override val config: ParConfig = ParConfig(...)
}

ParConfig has the following properties

  • processBufferSize sets a buffer size limit for all processes. If a process created with a different value then that value will be used.

    Examples:

    Example 1:

      override val config: ParConfig = ParConfig(-1, SchedulerConfig.default)
    
      val processA = Process[IO](_ => {
        case _ => unit
      })
    
      val processB = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
        case _ => unit
      }).bufferSize(1000).build
                                            

    processA will be created with unbounded buffer

    processB will be created with buffer size limit equals 1000

    Example 2:

      override val config: ParConfig = ParConfig(5000, SchedulerConfig.default)
    
      val processA = Process[IO](_ => {
        case _ => unit
      })
    
      val processB = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
        case _ => unit
      }).bufferSize(1000).build
                                            

    processA will be created with buffer size limit equals 5000

    processB will be created with buffer size limit equals 1000

    Example 3:

      override val config: ParConfig = ParConfig(5000, SchedulerConfig.default)
    
      val processA = Process[IO](_ => {
        case _ => unit
      })
    
      val processB = Process.builder[IO](_ => {
        case _ => unit
      }).bufferSize(-1).build
                                            

    processA will be created with buffer size limit equals 5000

    processB will be created with unbounded buffer

    You should set bufferSize to a value that would match the expected workload. For example, if you are going to send 1M events within the same flow it's recommended to set bufferSize to 1M. However, it depends on how fast your consumer processes and amount of available memory, if that's possible to keep some amount of events in memory - go for it, if not - you will probably need to reconsider your design decisions. In a case the process event queue is full all events will be redirected to EventLog (see the corresponding section).

  • schedulerConfig:
    • numberOfWorkers - number of workers; default = availableProcessors

Correctness Properties #back to top

Safty properties:

  • It's guaranteed that events will be delivered to a process in a strictly synchronous request-reply dialog, i.e. a process will receive a new event iff it completed processing the current one.
  • All events delivered in send order

Liveness properties:

  • Sent events eventually delivered
  • A sender eventually receives a response

Distributed Algorithms in Parapet #back to top

To start using algorithms implemented in Parapet you need to add algorithms library to your project's dependencies.

                                        libraryDependencies += "io.parapet" %% "algorithms" % version
                                    

Messaging - #back to top

A distributed system consists of a set of processors that are connected by a communication network. The communication network provides the facility of information exchange among processors.

Parapet provides a messaging module that consists of an API - set of events that can be used to implement basic communication protocols and messaging abstractions, e.g.: client/server. Implementations based on concrete libraries reside in corresponding subprojects.

In order to start using messaging module you need to add two dependencies: messaging-api and messaging-{specific_library}.

By default, Parapet provides implementations of basic messaging components based on ZMQ library.

Using Parapet with ZMQ

Add the following libraries to your project:

                                    libraryDependencies += "io.parapet" %% "messaging-api" % version
                                    libraryDependencies += "io.parapet" %% "messaging-zmq" % version
                                

Sync client and sync server

ZmqSyncClient - based on REQ socket type

ZmqSyncServer - based on REP socket type

Example:

import java.net.ServerSocket

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.CatsApp
import io.parapet.core.Event.Start
import io.parapet.core.{Encoder, Event, Process}
import io.parapet.messaging.api.MessagingApi.{Failure, Request, Success}
import io.parapet.messaging.{ZmqSyncClient, ZmqSyncServer}

object SyncClientSyncServer extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  // Application API
  case class TestRequest(data: Any) extends Event
  case class TestResponse(data: Any) extends Event

  // Required for encoding/decoding events
  private val encoder =
    Encoder.json(
      List(
        // Messaging Api
        classOf[Request],
        classOf[Success],
        classOf[Failure],
        // Application Api
        classOf[TestRequest],
        classOf[TestResponse]
      )
    )

  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] = IO {
    val port = new ServerSocket(0).getLocalPort

    val echoService = Process[IO](_ => {
      case TestRequest(id) => withSender(sender => TestResponse(s"echo: $id") ~> sender)
    })

    val zmqServer = ZmqSyncServer[IO](s"tcp://*:$port", echoService.ref, encoder)
    val zmqClient = ZmqSyncClient[IO](s"tcp://localhost:$port", encoder)

    val client = Process[IO](_ => {
      case Start => Request(TestRequest("hello")) ~> zmqClient
      case Success(TestResponse(data)) => eval(println(data))
    })

    Seq(zmqClient, zmqServer, echoService, client)
  }

}
Output:
echo: hello

Async client and async server

ZmqAsyncClient - based on DEALER socket type

ZmqAsyncServer - based on ROUTER socket type

Example:

import java.net.ServerSocket

import cats.effect.IO
import io.parapet.CatsApp
import io.parapet.core.Event.Start
import io.parapet.core.{Encoder, Event, Process, ProcessRef}
import io.parapet.messaging.api.MessagingApi.{Failure, Request, Success}
import io.parapet.messaging.api.ServerAPI.Envelope
import io.parapet.messaging.{ZmqAsyncClient, ZmqAsyncServer}


object AsyncClientAsyncServer extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  // Application API
  case class TestRequest(data: Any) extends Event
  case class TestResponse(data: Any) extends Event

  private val encoder = Encoder.json(
    List(
      // Messaging Api
      classOf[Request],
      classOf[Success],
      classOf[Failure],
      // Application Api
      classOf[TestRequest],
      classOf[TestResponse])
  )

  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] = IO.suspend {
    val port = new ServerSocket(0).getLocalPort
    val nClients = 5
    val nClientWorkers = 5
    val nServerWorkers = 5
    for {
      echoService <- IO(Process[IO](_ => {
        case Envelope(requestId, TestRequest(id)) =>
          fork(withSender(sender => Envelope(requestId, TestResponse(id)) ~> sender))
      }))
      zmqClient <- ZmqAsyncClient[IO](s"tcp://localhost:$port", encoder, nClientWorkers)
      zmqServer <- IO(ZmqAsyncServer[IO](s"tcp://*:$port", echoService.ref, encoder, nServerWorkers))
      clients <- IO((0 until nClients).map(createClient(_, zmqClient.ref)))
    } yield Seq(echoService, zmqClient, zmqServer) ++ clients

  }

  def createClient(id: Int, zmqClient: ProcessRef): Process[IO] = Process[IO](_ => {
    case Start => Request(TestRequest(id)) ~> zmqClient
    case Success(TestResponse(data)) => eval(println(s"client-$id received $data"))
  })
}


Output:
client-2 received 2
client-3 received 3
client-0 received 0
client-4 received 4
client-1 received 1

The Freelance Protocol

The Freelance Protocol (FLP) defines brokerless reliable request-reply dialogs across an N-to-N network of clients and servers. Protocol specification

Example:

import java.net.ServerSocket

import cats.effect.{Concurrent, IO}
import io.parapet.CatsApp
import io.parapet.core.Dsl.DslF
import io.parapet.core.Event.{Start, Stop}
import io.parapet.core.{Channel, Encoder, Event, Process, ProcessRef}
import io.parapet.messaging.api.{FLProtocolApi, HeartbeatAPI, MessagingApi, ServerAPI}
import io.parapet.messaging.{FLProtocol, ZmqAsyncServer}

import scala.concurrent.duration._

object FLProtocolExample extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  // Application API
  case class TestRequest(data: Any) extends Event
  case class TestResponse(data: Any) extends Event

  val encoder = Encoder.json(List(

    // Messaging Api
    classOf[MessagingApi.Request],
    classOf[MessagingApi.Success],
    classOf[MessagingApi.Failure],

    // Application Api
    classOf[TestRequest],
    classOf[TestResponse],

    // Heartbeat Api
    HeartbeatAPI.Ping.getClass,
    HeartbeatAPI.Pong.getClass,

    // FL Api
    classOf[FLProtocolApi.Connect],

    // Server Api
    classOf[ServerAPI.Envelope]
  ))


  class FLTestClient[F[_] : Concurrent](flprotocol: ProcessRef, nRequests: Int,
                                        servers: List[String]) extends Process[F] {

    import dsl._

    val ch = new Channel[F]()

    override def handle: Receive = {
      case Start =>
        register(ref, ch) ++
          servers.map(endpoint => FLProtocolApi.Connect(endpoint)) ~> flprotocol ++
          delay(1.second, generateRequests(nRequests, ch))
      case Stop => unit
    }

    def generateRequests(n: Int, ch: Channel[F]): DslF[F, Unit] = {
      (0 until n).map { i =>
        ch.send(MessagingApi.Request(TestRequest(i.toString)), flprotocol, {
          case scala.util.Success(res) => eval(println(res))
          case scala.util.Failure(err) => eval(println(err))
        })
      }.fold(unit)(_ ++ _)
    }
  }

  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] = IO.suspend {
    val availableServerPort = new ServerSocket(0).getLocalPort
    val nRequests = 5
    val flprotocol = new FLProtocol[IO](encoder)

    val service = Process[IO](_ => {
      case ServerAPI.Envelope(id, TestRequest(body)) =>
        withSender(sender => {
          ServerAPI.Envelope(id, TestResponse("server-" + body)) ~> sender
        })
    })

    val client = new FLTestClient[IO](flprotocol.ref, nRequests,
      List("tcp://localhost:4444", // unavailable server
        "tcp://localhost:5555", // unavailable server
        s"tcp://localhost:$availableServerPort"))

    val server = ZmqAsyncServer[IO](s"tcp://*:$availableServerPort",
      service.ref, encoder, numOfWorkers = 5, s"tcp://localhost:$availableServerPort")
    IO(Seq(service, flprotocol, client, server))
  }
}
Output:
Failure(request expired,104)
Failure(request expired,104)
Failure(request expired,104)
Success(TestResponse(server-3))
Success(TestResponse(server-4))

Work distribution - #back to top


MapReduce (in-memory implementation)

Example:

  object MapReduceExample extends CatsApp {

  import dsl._

  val mapper: Record[Unit, String] => Seq[Record[String, Int]] = record => {
    record.value.split(" ").map(word => Record(word.trim, 1))
  }

  val reducer: (String, Seq[Int]) => Int = (_, values) => values.sum

  val lines = Seq(
    "Hello World Bye World",
    "Hello Map Reduce Goodbye Map Reduce"
  )

  override def processes: IO[Seq[Process[IO]]] = IO {
    val input = Input(lines.map(line => Chunk(Seq(Record[Unit, String]((), line)))))
    val mapreduce = new MapReduce[IO, Unit, String, String, Int](mapper, 2, reducer, 1)
    val client = Process[IO](ref => {
      case Start => input ~> mapreduce
      case out: Output[String, Int] => eval {
        out.records.sorted.foreach(println)
      }
    })
    Seq(mapreduce, client)
  }
}
                            

Output:

Record(Bye,1)
Record(Goodbye,1)
Record(Hello,2)
Record(Map,2)
Record(Reduce,2)
Record(World,2)
                            

Failure detection - #back to top

Status

Consensus and agreement - #back to top

Status

Mutual exclusion - #back to top

Status

Snapshots - #back to top

Status

Deadlock detection - #back to top

Status

Election - #back to top

Status

Comparison with Other Frameworks #back to top

Before we start comparing any frameworks and libraries I'd like to highlight some unique features in Parapet that might change your perception about how distributed systems can be developed using functional programming in Scala.

In general, regardless of a programming paradigm, we have to deal with side effects. In purely functional languages like Haskell, we would use the I/O system that allows describing the computational effects as pure values. Luckily there are some decent implementations of effect system for Scala: Cats Effect, Monix, FS2, and others. One of the key features of Effect system is that it allows you cleanly separate a side effect actions from a purely functional code. Having a special type that describes computational effects makes it easier to reason about your code. If you see a function that returns IO[A] it should instantly become clear that this function is not pure and performs some side effects, synchronously or asynchronously.

If you aren't familiar with effect system you are probably using Scala Future. However, Future is not referential transparent because it evaluates eagerly and memorizes its results. This is why Future is not a suitable type for encapsulating effects. Constructing a Future that will evaluate a side-effect is itself a side-effect.

Parapet can be viewed as effect system for event-driven and concurrent systems. It provides a set of operations that allow describing program flows as data. Then flows interpreted into low-level effect types such as IO or Task. Since program flows in Parapet represented as data it gives us the ability to verify distributed algorithms without needing to run them. For instance, having this feature made it possible to implement a preemptive model in Scheduler. Parapet gives you the freedom to choose an implementation of effect system. If you already using Cats Effect in your project you just need to add interop-cats into your project. If tomorrow you decide that ZIO is more suitable for your needs you only need to replace interop-cats with interop-scalaz-zio and change a few lines of code. As a result, it gives you more flexibility and fine-grained control.

If you notice an inaccuracy or something that doesn’t seem quite right, please let us know by opening an issue.


Akka - #back to top

The closest framework to Parapet that I know is Akka. I would not call Akka a competitor to Parapet, however, they have a lot in common.
When Parapet might be a better choice than Akka ?
  • If you are already using any Effect System library which is supported in Parapet, e.g. Cats Effect
  • You'd like to have a possibility of switching Effect System libraries
  • You'd like to have access to internal components and distributed algorithms and use them in your code
  • You prefer functional programming over imperative
Performance Despite the fact that Parapet uses Free Mondas and relies on the underlying Effect System is has relatively small performance overhead. Below you will find a benchmark for Parapet, Akka and pure Cats Effect
Benchmark:
Messages: 1000000
Consumers: 1
Producers: 1
                                
Parapet: 1642 ms
Akka: 466 ms
Cats Effect: 1630ms
Detail benchmark report can be found here

Contribution #back to top

The project in its early stage and many things are subject to change. Now is a good time to join! If you want to become a contributor please send an email or text in gitter channel.

If you'd like to donate in order to help with ongoing development and maintenance:


License #back to top

   Copyright [2019] The Parapet Project Developers

   Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
   you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
   You may obtain a copy of the License at

       http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0