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Publish / Subscribe

INFO

Remember that you can download the samples from the GitHub repository.

This sample makes use of Shuttle.Esb.AzureStorageQueues for the message queues. Local Azure Storage Queues should be provided by Azurite.

Once you have opened the Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.sln solution in Visual Studio set the following projects as startup projects:

  • Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Client
  • Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Server
  • Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Subscriber

You will also need to create and configure a Sql Server database for this sample and remember to update the App.config connectionString settings to point to your database. Please reference the Database section below.

Implementation

Events are interesting things that happen in our system that other systems may be interested in. There may be 0..n number of subscribers for an event. Typically there should be at least one subscriber to an event.

In this guide we'll create the following projects:

  • Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Client (Console Application)
  • Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Server (Console Application)
  • Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Subscriber (Console Application)
  • Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages (Class Library)

Messages

Create a new class library called Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages with a solution called Shuttle.PublishSubscribe

Note: remember to change the Solution name.

RegisterMember

Rename the Class1 default file to RegisterMember and add a UserName property.

c#
namespace Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages
{
	public class RegisterMember
	{
		public string UserName { get; set; }
	}
}

MemberRegistered

Add a new class called MemberRegistered also with a UserName property.

c#
namespace Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages
{
	public class MemberRegistered
	{
		public string UserName { get; set; }
	}
}

Client

Add a new Console Application to the solution called Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Client.

Install the Shuttle.Esb.AzureStorageQueues nuget package.

This will provide access to the Azure Storage Queues IQueue implementation and also include the required dependencies.

Install the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json nuget package.

This will provide the ability to read the appsettings.json file.

Add a reference to the Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages project.

Program

Implement the main client code as follows:

c#
using System;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Shuttle.Esb;
using Shuttle.Esb.AzureStorageQueues;
using Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages;

namespace Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Client
{
    internal class Program
    {
        private static async Task Main(string[] args)
        {
            var services = new ServiceCollection();

            var configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder().AddJsonFile("appsettings.json").Build();

            services.AddSingleton<IConfiguration>(configuration);

            services.AddServiceBus(builder =>
            {
                configuration.GetSection(ServiceBusOptions.SectionName).Bind(builder.Options);
            });

            services.AddAzureStorageQueues(builder =>
            {
                builder.AddOptions("azure", new AzureStorageQueueOptions
                {
                    ConnectionString = "UseDevelopmentStorage=true;"
                });
            });

            Console.WriteLine("Type some characters and then press [enter] to submit; an empty line submission stops execution:");
            Console.WriteLine();

            await using (var serviceBus = await services.BuildServiceProvider().GetRequiredService<IServiceBus>().StartAsync())
            {
                string userName;

                while (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(userName = Console.ReadLine()))
                {
                    await serviceBus.SendAsync(new RegisterMember
                    {
                        UserName = userName
                    });
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Client configuration file

Add an appsettings.json file as follows:

json
{
  "Shuttle": {
    "ServiceBus": {
      "MessageRoutes": [
        {
          "Uri": "azuresq://azure/shuttle-server-work",
          "Specifications": [
            {
              "Name": "StartsWith",
              "Value": "Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages"
            }
          ]
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

This tells the service bus that all messages sent having a type name starting with Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages should be sent to endpoint azuresq://azure/shuttle-server-work.

Server

Add a new Console Application to the solution called Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Server.

Install the Shuttle.Esb.AzureStorageQueues nuget package.

This will provide access to the Azure Storage Queues IQueue implementation and also include the required dependencies.

Install the Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting nuget package.

This allows a console application to be hosted using the .NET generic host.

Install the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json nuget package.

This will provide the ability to read the appsettings.json file.

Install the Shuttle.Esb.Sql.Subscription nuget package.

This will provide access to the Sql-based ISubscriptionService implementation.

Install the Microsoft.Data.SqlClient nuget package.

This will provide a connection to our Sql Server.

Add a reference to the Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages project.

Program

Implement the Program class as follows:

c#
using System.Data.Common;
using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
using Shuttle.Core.Data;
using Shuttle.Esb;
using Shuttle.Esb.AzureStorageQueues;
using Shuttle.Esb.Sql.Subscription;

namespace Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Server
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static async Task Main()
        {
            DbProviderFactories.RegisterFactory("Microsoft.Data.SqlClient", SqlClientFactory.Instance);

            await Host.CreateDefaultBuilder()
                .ConfigureServices(services =>
                {
                    var configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder().AddJsonFile("appsettings.json").Build();

                    services.AddSingleton<IConfiguration>(configuration);

                    services.AddDataAccess(builder =>
                    {
                        builder.AddConnectionString("Subscription", "Microsoft.Data.SqlClient");
                    });

                    services.AddSqlSubscription();

                    services.AddServiceBus(builder =>
                    {
                        configuration.GetSection(ServiceBusOptions.SectionName).Bind(builder.Options);

                        builder.Options.Asynchronous = true;
                    });

                    services.AddAzureStorageQueues(builder =>
                    {
                        builder.AddOptions("azure", new AzureStorageQueueOptions
                        {
                            ConnectionString = configuration.GetConnectionString("azure")
                        });
                    });
                })
                .Build()
                .RunAsync();
        }
    }
}

Database

We need a store for our subscriptions. In this example we will be using Sql Server. If you are using docker you can quickly get up-and-running with the following:

docker run -d --name sql -h sql -e "ACCEPT_EULA=Y" -e "SA_PASSWORD=Pass!000" -e "MSSQL_PID=Express" -p 1433:1433 -v C:\SQLServer.Data\:/var/opt/mssql/data mcr.microsoft.com/mssql/server:2019-latest

When you reference the Shuttle.Esb.Sql.Subscription package a scripts folder is included in the relevant package folder. Click on the NuGet referenced assembly in the Dependencies and navigate to the package folder (in the Path property) to find the scripts folder.

The {version} bit will be in a semver format.

Create a new database called Shuttle and execute the script {provider}\SubscriptionManagerCreate.sql in the newly created database.

This will create the required structures that the subscription manager will use to store the subcriptions. However, this step is optional as the SqlSubscriptionService implementation will create any required structures. In many cases one would need to create the structures manually, such as in production environments, so the script execution process is included for completeness.

Whenever the Publish method is invoked on the ServiceBus instance the registered ISubscriptionService instance is asked for the subscribers to the published message type. These are retrieved from the Sql Server database for the implementation we are using.

Server configuration file

Add an appsettings.json file as follows:

json
{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "azure": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true;",
    "Subscription": "server=.;database=shuttle;user id=sa;password=Pass!000;TrustServerCertificate=True"
  },
  "Shuttle": {
    "ServiceBus": {
      "Inbox": {
        "WorkQueueUri": "azuresq://azure/shuttle-server-work",
        "ErrorQueueUri": "azuresq://azure/shuttle-error"
      }
    }
  }
}

The Sql Server implementation of the ISubscriptionService that we are using by default will try to find a connection string with a name of Subscription. However, you can override this. See the documentation for details about how to do this.

RegisterMemberHandler

Add a new class called RegisterMemberHandler that implements the IMessageHandler<RegisterMember> interface as follows:

c#
using System;
using Shuttle.Esb;
using Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages;

namespace Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Server
{
	public class RegisterMemberHandler : IAsyncMessageHandler<RegisterMember>
	{
		public async Task ProcessMessageAsync(IHandlerContext<RegisterMember> context)
		{
			Console.WriteLine();
			Console.WriteLine("[MEMBER REGISTERED] : user name = '{0}'", context.Message.UserName);
			Console.WriteLine();

			await context.PublishAsync(new MemberRegistered
			{
				UserName = context.Message.UserName
			});
		}
	}
}

This will write out some information to the console window and publish the MemberRegistered event message.

Subscriber

Add a new Console Application to the solution called Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Subscriber.

Install the Shuttle.Esb.AzureStorageQueues nuget package.

This will provide access to the Azure Storage Queues IQueue implementation and also include the required dependencies.

Install the Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting nuget package.

This allows a console application to be hosted using the .NET generic host.

Install the Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration.Json nuget package.

This will provide the ability to read the appsettings.json file.

Install the Shuttle.Esb.Sql.Subscription nuget package.

This will provide access to the Sql-based ISubscriptionService implementation.

Install the Microsoft.Data.SqlClient nuget package.

This will provide a connection to our Sql Server.

Add a reference to the Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages project.

Program

Implement the Program class as follows:

c#
using System.Data.Common;
using Microsoft.Data.SqlClient;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Configuration;
using Microsoft.Extensions.DependencyInjection;
using Microsoft.Extensions.Hosting;
using Shuttle.Core.Data;
using Shuttle.Esb;
using Shuttle.Esb.AzureStorageQueues;
using Shuttle.Esb.Sql.Subscription;
using Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages;

namespace Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Subscriber
{
    public class Program
    {
        public static async Task Main()
        {
            DbProviderFactories.RegisterFactory("Microsoft.Data.SqlClient", SqlClientFactory.Instance);

            await Host.CreateDefaultBuilder()
                .ConfigureServices(services =>
                {
                    var configuration = new ConfigurationBuilder().AddJsonFile("appsettings.json").Build();

                    services.AddSingleton<IConfiguration>(configuration);

                    services.AddDataAccess(builder =>
                    {
                        builder.AddConnectionString("Subscription", "Microsoft.Data.SqlClient");
                    });

                    services.AddSqlSubscription();

                    services.AddServiceBus(builder =>
                    {
                        configuration.GetSection(ServiceBusOptions.SectionName).Bind(builder.Options);

                        builder.Options.Asynchronous = true;

                        builder.AddSubscription<MemberRegistered>();
                    });

                    services.AddAzureStorageQueues(builder =>
                    {
                        builder.AddOptions("azure", new AzureStorageQueueOptions
                        {
                            ConnectionString = configuration.GetConnectionString("azure")
                        });
                    });
                })
                .Build()
                .RunAsync();
        }
    }
}

Here we add the subscription by calling the ServiceBusBuilder.AddSubscription<T> method. Since we are using the Sql Server implementation of the ISubscriptionService interface an entry will be created in the SubscriberMessageType table associating the inbox work queue uri with the message type.

It is important to note that in a production environment one would not typically have the subscriber register subscriptions in this manner as we do not want any arbitrary subscriber listening in on the messages being published. For this reason the connection string should be read-only and the subscription should be registered manually or via a deployment script. Should the subscription not yet exist the creation of the subscription will fail, indicating that the subscription should be registered out-of-band.

Subscriber configuration file

Add an appsettings.json file as follows:

json
{
  "ConnectionStrings": {
    "azure": "UseDevelopmentStorage=true;",
    "Subscription": "server=.;database=shuttle;user id=sa;password=Pass!000;TrustServerCertificate=True"
  },
  "Shuttle": {
    "ServiceBus": {
      "Inbox": {
        "WorkQueueUri": "azuresq://azure/shuttle-subscriber-work",
        "ErrorQueueUri": "azuresq://azure/shuttle-error"
      }
    }
  }
}

MemberRegisteredHandler

Add a new class called MemberRegisteredHandler that implements the IMessageHandler<MemberRegisteredHandler> interface as follows:

c#
using System;
using Shuttle.Esb;
using Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Messages;

namespace Shuttle.PublishSubscribe.Subscriber
{
	public class MemberRegisteredHandler : IAsyncMessageHandler<MemberRegistered>
	{
		public async Task ProcessMessageAsync(IHandlerContext<MemberRegistered> context)
		{
			Console.WriteLine();
			Console.WriteLine("[EVENT RECEIVED] : user name = '{0}'", context.Message.UserName);
			Console.WriteLine();

			await Task.CompletedTask;
		}
	}
}

This will write out some information to the console window.

Run

Set the client, server, and subscriber projects as startup projects.

Execute

Execute the application.

The client application will wait for you to input a user name. For this example enter my user name and press enter:

INFO

You will observe that the server application has processed the message.

INFO

The subscriber application will then process the event published by the server.

You have now completed a full publish / subscribe call chain.