ipcx

Provides basic routing for interprocess communications between processes.

Usage no npm install needed!

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README

Table of Contents

About

IPCX provides basic routing for interprocess communications. Child processes can communicate with the master process as well as other child processes using IPCXMessage messages. The IPCX class provides methods for pub/sub so that the master process doesn't have to use process.on and process.send to communicate with child processes. Only child processes use process.send and process.on to send and receive IPCXMessage messages as they are routed through a master IPCX instance.

Install

npm i -S ipcx

IPCXMessage Structure

Child processes that are registered with an IPCX instance should send interprocess messages using process.send and should follow the IPCXMessage message structure.

Property Type Description
src string The name of the source process that sent or is sending the event
dest [string] A list of destination process names that the event should be routed to. Not providing any destinations will result in the event being sent to all other processes.
event string The event name/identifier
data Object A user-defined object that contains relevant event data 
// Example sending an IPCXMessage from a child process

// Send to specific processes
process.send({
  src: 'child1',
  dest: ['child2'], // send this event to 'child2'
  event: 'example',
  data: {
    say: "hello"
    to: "world"
  }
});

// Send to all other processes
process.send({
  src: 'child1',
  dest: [], // not specifying any destinations will send to all other processes
  event: 'example',
  data: {
    say: "hello",
    to: "world"
  }
})

IPCX

constructor

/**
 * Creates a new IPCX instance with the provided name.
 * @param {string} name - (required) The name of the IPCX instance
 * @throws {Error} - If name is not provided
 */

// Example usage
const { IPCX } = require('ipcx'); // import IPCX class
const ipcx = new IPCX('master'); // create new instance of IPCX

register

/**
 * Registers a child process for the IPCX to route messages to.
 * @param {string} name - The name of the process
 * @param {ChildProcess} proc - The child process
 * @throws {Error} - If name is missing or conflicts with another registered process
 */

// Example usage
const child_process = require('child_process');
const { IPCX } = require('ipcx'); // import IPCX class
const ipcx = new IPCX('master'); // create new instance of IPCX
const cp = child_process.for('<path-to-js-file>');
ipcx.register('example', cp);

subscribe

/**
 * Subscribes this IPCX instance to an event received from child processes where the dest include this IPCX instance's name.
 * @param {String} event - Event name
 * @param {Function} callback - A callback function to execute for the event
 */

// Example usage
const { IPCX } = require('ipcx'); // import IPCX class
const ipcx = new IPCX('master'); // create new instance of IPCX
ipcx.subscribe('event', () => {
  // handle event
});

publish

/**
 * Send an event from this IPCX instance to the registered child processes with matching names.
 * @param {string} dest - (required) The names of the target child processes to route the event to.
 * @param {string} event - Event name
 * @param {Object} data - Message data
 */

// Example usage
const { IPCX } = require('ipcx'); // import IPCX class
const ipcx = new IPCX('master'); // create new instance of IPCX
ipcx.publish(['workerA', 'workerB'], 'event', {});

broadcast

/**
 * Broadcasts the event to all registered child processes. The event and data args are packed into an IPCXMessage object before sending it's sent.
 * @param {string} event - Event name
 * @param {Object} data - Event data to send
 */

// Example usage
const { IPCX } = require('ipcx'); // import IPCX class
const ipcx = new IPCX('master'); // create new instance of IPCX
ipcx.broadcast('event', {});

trigger

/**
 * Executes all callbacks for the event that the IPCX instance is subscribed to.
 * @param {string} event - Event name
 * @param {Object} data - Event data to send
 */

// Example usage
const { IPCX } = require('ipcx'); // import IPCX class
const ipcx = new IPCX('master'); // create new instance of IPCX
ipcx.subscribe('event', () => {
  // handle event
});
ipcx.trigger('event', {}); // does not publish or broadcast to any other processes

Usage

// workerA.js

// listen for messages from other processes
process.on("message", msg => {
  const {src, dest, event, data} = msg
  console.log(`received event ${event} from ${src} with data ${data}`)
})
setTimeout(() => {
  process.send({
    src: 'workerA',
    dest: ['workerB'] // if target(s) not provided the event is sent all other processes
    event: 'test',
    data: {}
  })
}, 1000)

// workerB.js

// listen for messages from other processes
process.on("message", msg => {
  const {src, dest, event, data} = msg
  console.log(`received event ${event} from ${src} with data ${data}`)
})
setTimeout(() => {
  process.send({
    src: 'workerB',
    dest: ['workerA'] // if no dest are provided the event is sent all other processes
    event: 'test',
    data: {}
  })
}, 1000)

// index.js

const MASTER = 'master'; //  name for master process
const WORKER_A = 'workerA'; // name for workerA.js worker
const WORKER_B = 'workerB'; // name for workerB.js worker

const child_process = require('child_process');
const { IPCX } = require('ipcx'); // import IPCX class

const ipcx = new IPCX(MASTER); // create new instance of IPCX
// start child process workers
let workerA = child_process.fork('./workerA.js');
let workerB = child_process.fork('./workerB.js');

ipcx.register(WORKER_A, workerA); // register the worker with a unique name for proper routing
ipcx.register(WORKER_B, workerB); // register the worker with a unique name for proper routing

// send event to WORKER_A
ipcx.publish({
  src: MASTER,
  dest: [WORKER_A],
  event: 'event',
  data: {}
});

// send event to WORKER_A and WORKER_B
ipcx.publish({
  src: MASTER,
  dest: [WORKER_A, WORKER_B],
  event: 'event',
  data: {}
});

// sends event to WORKER_A and WORKER_B
ipcx.broadcast('event', {});

Important Notes

  • A process can be given any name. Name the master process and its children something that identifies their responsibilities. Define process names in a file as constants that the master and child processes will require so that the names can be managed in one place.
  • Child processes that have been registered with an IPCX instance are automatcially unregistered when the child process exits.
  • Do not create an IPCX instance in a child process unless it will be creating its own child processes. The children of a child process will not be able to communicate directly with master process, but with proper event handling forwarding events to the master process can be achieved.
  • When sending an IPCXMessage from a child process, setting dest to an empty array will result in the event being broadcast to all other processes.
  • When using the IPCX subscribe method, ensure the callback does not return a value (see next note).
  • Callbacks passed to the subscribe method are wrapped in a Promise by IPCX. If the callback returns a value, it will be ignored. Do not expect the callbacks to be executed sequentially as they are run asynchronously.