Process Shared Adapter

Process shared storage adapter allows you to share cache in multi-process environment.

We implemented two adapters that can be used in Node.js and Electron.

Tips

Only supports Alova 3.0 and above.

Install

npm install @alova/psc --save

Use in Node.js

In Node.js environment, you can use createNodePSCSynchronizer and createPSCAdapter to synchronize the cache between child processes.

1. Set up the synchronizer in the master process:

const cluster = require('cluster');
const { createNodePSCSynchronizer } = require('@alova/psc');

if (cluster.isMaster) {
  // Make sure to call this before creating child processes
  await createNodePSCSynchronizer();
} else {
  // fork worker processes
}

2. Use the adapter in the child process:

In most cases, you can use it like this:

const { createPSCAdapter, NodeSyncAdapter } = require('@alova/psc');

createAlova({
  // ...
  l1Cache: createPSCAdapter(NodeSyncAdapter())
});

Sharing Multiple Caches

Of course, you can share both l1Cache and l2Cache at the same time! Just use the scope option and create different shared storage adapters.

const process = require('node:process');

const createScopedPSCAdapter = (scope: string) =>
  createPSCAdapter(
    NodeSyncAdapter(),
    // This parameter is used to specify the storage adapter. We will introduce this later
    undefined,
    { scope }
  );

createAlova({
  // ...
  l1Cache: createScopedPSCAdapter('l1'),
  l2Cache: createScopedPSCAdapter('l2')
});

Use in Electron

In the Electron environment, use createElectronPSCSynchronizer and createPSCAdapter to synchronize the cache between renderer processes.

1. Set up the synchronizer in the main process:

// main.js
import { createElectronPSCSynchronizer } from '@alova/psc';
import { ipcMain } from 'electron';

// Initialize the synchronizer
createElectronPSCSynchronizer(ipcMain);

// ...other codes

2. Use the adapter in the renderer process and expose it to the global object:

// payload.js
import { createPSCAdapter, ElectronSyncAdapter } from '@alova/psc';
import { ipcRenderer, contextBridge } from 'electron';

const pscAdapter = createPSCAdapter(ElectronSyncAdapter(ipcRenderer));

contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld('pscAdapter', pscAdapter);

3. Use it when creating the Alova instance:

import { createAlova } from 'alova';

const alova = createAlova({
  // ...
  l1Cache: window.pscAdapter
});

If you use TypeScript, don't forget to add the global type declaration:

// env.d.ts
declare global {
  interface Window {
    // ...
    pscAdapter: import('@alova/psc').SyncAdapter;
  }
}

note

When using multiple Alova instances, there is no need to create multiple PSCAdapter objects for them. Alova instances are identified by different IDs, so the same channel can be safely reused.

Custom Storage Adapter

By passing the second parameter to createPSCAdapter, you can specify the storage adapter to use.

const pscAdapter = createPSCAdapter(
  ElectronSyncAdapter(
    ipcRenderer,
    // Same as passing to l1Cache in createAlova. Use default implementation if passing undefined.
    MyStorageAdapter()
  )
);

createAlova({
  // ...
  l1Cache: pscAdapter
});

You can also use lru-cache as a cache adapter.

Custom SharedAdapter

If you want to implement your own process shared adapter, you need to:

1. Determine the communication method between processes.
2. Implement the PSCSyncAdapter interface:

In detail, the first step is to determine the bidirectional communication method between the main process and the child process. For example, in Node.js, alova uses node-ipc to implement communication between the main process and the child process. In Electron, we use ipcRenderer and ipcMain.

Next, implement the SyncAdapter interface for both the main process and the child process. Use createSyncAdapter for type assistance.

Here is an implementation in Electron:

import { createPSCSynchronizer, createSyncAdapter } from '@/sharedCacheAdapter';
import type { IpcMain, IpcRenderer } from 'electron';

const EventName = {
  TO_MAIN: 'alova-ipc-to-main',
  TO_CLIENT: 'alova-ipc-to-client'
} as const;

/**
 * Use this function in payload.js/
 */
export function MyElectronSyncAdapter(ipcRenderer: IpcRenderer) {
  // createSyncAdapter is a helper to implement SyncAdapter. do nothing
  return createSyncAdapter({
    send(event) {
      ipcRenderer.emit(EventName.TO_MAIN, event);
    },
    receive(handler) {
      ipcRenderer.on(EventName.TO_CLIENT, (_, payload) => handler(payload));
    }
  });
}

let hasSynchronizer = false;

/**
 * Use this function in main process.
 */
export function createMyElectronSharedCacheSynchronizer(ipcMain: IpcMain) {
  if (hasSynchronizer) {
    return;
  }
  hasSynchronizer = true;

  createPSCSynchronizer(
    createSyncAdapter({
      send(event) {
        ipcMain.emit(EventName.TO_CLIENT, event);
      },
      receive(handler) {
        ipcMain.on(EventName.TO_MAIN, (_, payload) => handler(payload));
      }
    })
  );
}

And refer the example above.