Programming in Apache Qpid
Cross-Platform AMQP Messaging in Java JMS, .NET, C++, and Python
Introduction
Apache Qpid is a reliable, asynchronous messaging system that
supports the AMQP messaging protocol in several common programming
languages. Qpid is supported on most common platforms.
On the Java platform, Qpid uses the
established Java JMS
API.
On the .NET platform, Qpid defines
a WCF
binding.
For Python and C++, Qpid defines its own messaging API, the
Qpid Messaging API, which is
conceptually similar in each supported language.
Support for this API in Ruby will be added
soon (Ruby currently uses an API that is closely
tied to the AMQP version).
Using the Qpid Messaging API
The Qpid Messaging API is quite simple, consisting of only a
handful of core classes.
A message consists of a standard set
of fields (e.g. subject,
reply-to), an application-defined set of
properties, and message content (the main body of the
message).
A connection represents a network
connection to a remote endpoint.
A session provides a sequentially
ordered context for sending and receiving
messages. A session is obtained from a
connection.
A sender sends messages to a target
using the sender.send method. A sender is
obtained from a session for a given target address.
A receiver receives messages from a
source using the receiver.fetch method.
A receiver is obtained from a session for a given source
address.
The following sections show how to use these classes in a
simple messaging program.
A Simple Messaging Program in C++
The following C++ program shows how to create a connection,
create a session, send messages using a sender, and receive
messages using a receiver.
"Hello world!" in C++
#include
#include
#include
#include
#include
using namespace qpid::messaging;
int main(int argc, char** argv) {
std::string broker = argc > 1 ? argv[1] : "localhost:5672";
std::string address = argc > 2 ? argv[2] : "amq.topic";
Connection connection(broker);
try {
connection.open();
Session session = connection.createSession();
Receiver receiver = session.createReceiver(address);
Sender sender = session.createSender(address);
sender.send(Message("Hello world!"));
Message message = receiver.fetch(Duration::SECOND * 1);
std::cout << message.getContent() << std::endl;
session.acknowledge();
connection.close();
return 0;
} catch(const std::exception& error) {
std::cerr << error.what() << std::endl;
connection.close();
return 1;
}
}]]>
A Simple Messaging Program in Python
The following Python program shows how to create a
connection, create a session, send messages using a sender, and
receive messages using a receiver.
"Hello world!" in Python
Addresses
An address is the name of a message
target or message source. In the programs we have just seen, we
used the address amq.topic (which is the name
of an exchange on an AMQP 0-10 messaging broker).
The methods that create senders and receivers require an
address. The details of sending to a particular target or
receiving from a particular source are then handled by the
sender or receiver. A different target or source can be used
simply by using a different address.
An address resolves to a node. The
Qpid Messaging API recognises two kinds of nodes,
queues and topics
The terms queue and
topic here were chosen to align with
their meaning in JMS. These two addressing 'patterns',
queue and topic, are sometimes refered as point-to-point
and publish-subscribe. AMQP 0-10 has an exchange type
called a topic exchange. When the term
topic occurs alone, it refers to a
Messaging API topic, not the topic
exchange..
A queue stores each message until it has been received and
acknowledged, and only one receiver can receive a given message
There are exceptions to this rule; for instance,
a receiver can use browse mode, which leaves
messages on the queue for other receivers to
read.
A topic immediately delivers a message to all eligible
receivers; if there are no eligible receivers, it discards the
message. In the AMQP 0-10 implementation of the API,
The AMQP 0-10 implementation is the only one
that currently exists.
queues map to AMQP queues, and topics map to AMQP exchanges.
In AMQP 0-10, messages are sent to
exchanges, and read from queues. The Messaging API also
allows a sender to send messages to a queue; internally,
Qpid implements this by sending the message to the default
exchange, with the name of the queue as the routing key. The
Messaging API also allows a receiver to receive messages
from a topic; internally, Qpid implements this by setting up
a private subscription queue for the receiver and binding
the subscription queue to the exchange that corresponds to
the topic.
In the rest of this tutorial, we present many examples
using two programs that take an address as a command line
parameter. spout sends messages to the
target address, drain receives messages from
the source address. The source code is available in both C++
and Python, and can be found in the examples directory for each
language. These programs can use any address string as a source
or a destination, and have many command line options to
configure behavior—use the -h option
for documentation on these options.
Currently, the Python and C++
implementations of drain and
spout have slightly different
options. This tutorial uses the C++ implementation. The
options will be reconciled in the near
future.
The examples in this tutorial also use the
qpid-config utility to configure AMQP 0-10
queues and exchanges on a Qpid broker.
Queues
Create a queue with qpid-config, send a message using
spout, and read it using drain:
$ qpid-config add queue hello-world
$ ./spout hello-world
$ ./drain hello-world
Message(properties={spout-id:c877e622-d57b-4df2-bf3e-6014c68da0ea:0}, content='')
The queue stored the message sent by spout and delivered
it to drain when requested.
Once the message has been delivered and and acknowledged
by drain, it is no longer available on the queue. If we run
drain one more time, no messages will be retrieved.
$ ./drain hello-world
$
Topics
This example is similar to the previous example, but it
uses a topic instead of a queue.
First, use qpid-config to remove the queue
and create an exchange with the same name:
$ qpid-config del queue hello-world
$ qpid-config add exchange topic hello-world
Now run drain and spout the same way we did in the previous example:
$ ./spout hello-world
$ ./drain hello-world
$
Topics deliver messages immediately to any interested
receiver, and do not store messages. Because there were no
receivers at the time spout sent the
message, it was simply discarded. When we ran
drain, there were no messages to
receive.
Now let's run drain first, using the
-t option to specify a timeout in seconds.
While drain is waiting for messages,
run spout in another window.
First Window:
$ ./drain -t 30 hello-word
Second Window:
$ ./spout hello-word
Once spout has sent a message, return
to the first window to see the output from
drain:
Message(properties={spout-id:7da2d27d-93e6-4803-8a61-536d87b8d93f:0}, content='')
You can run drain in several separate
windows; each creates a subscription for the exchange, and
each receives all messages sent to the exchange.
Address Strings
So far, our examples have used address strings that
contain only the name of a node. An address
string can also contain a
subject and
options.
The syntax for an address string is:
[ / ] [ ; ]
options ::= { : , ... }
]]>
Addresses, subjects, and keys are strings. Values can
be numbers, strings (with optional single or double quotes),
maps, or lists. A complete BNF for address strings appears in
.
So far, the address strings in this tutorial have used
only addresses. The following sections show how to use
subjects and options.
Subjects
Every message has a property called
subject, which is analogous to the
subject on an email message. If no subject is specified, the
message's subject is null. For convenience, address strings
also allow a subject. If a sender's address contains a
subject, it is used as the default subject for the messages
it sends.
If a receiver's address contains a subject, it is used to
select only messages that match the subject—the matching
algorithm depends on the message source.
In AMQP 0-10, each exchange type has its own matching
algorithm, and queues do not provide filtering. This is
discussed in .
Currently, a receiver bound to a queue ignores subjects,
receiving messages from the queue without filtering.
In the future, if a receiver is bound to a queue, and its
address contains a subject, the subject will be used as a
selector to filter messages.
Using subjects
In this example we show how subjects affect message
flow.
First, let's use qpid-config to create a topic exchange.
$ qpid-config add exchange topic news-service
Now we use drain to receive messages from news-service that match the subject sports.
First Window:
$ ./drain -t 30 news-service/sports
In a second window, let's send messages to news-service using two different subjects:
Second Window:
$ ./spout news-service/sports
$ ./spout news-service/news
Now look at the first window, the message with the
subject sports has been received, but not
the message with the subject news:
Message(properties={qpid.subject:sports, spout-id:9441674e-a157-4780-a78e-f7ccea998291:0}, content='')
If you run drain in multiple
windows using the same subject, all instances of
drain receive the messages for that
subject.
The AMQP exchange type we are using here,
amq.topic, can also do more sophisticated
matching.
A sender's subject can contain multiple words separated by a
.
delimiter. For instance, in a news
application, the sender might use subjects like
usa.news, usa.weather,
europe.news, or
europe.weather.
The receiver's subject can include wildcard characters—
#
matches one or more words in the message's
subject, *
matches a single word.
For instance, if the subject in the source address is
*.news, it matches messages with the
subject europe.news or
usa.news; if it is
europe.#, it matches messages with subjects
like europe.news or
europe.pseudo.news.
Subjects with multi-word keys
This example uses drain and spout to demonstrate the
use of subjects with two-word keys.
Let's use drain with the subject
*.news to listen for messages in which
the second word of the key is
news.
First Window:
$ ./drain -t 30 news-service/*.news
Now let's send messages using several different
two-word keys:
Second Window:
$ ./spout news-service/usa.news
$ ./spout news-service/usa.sports
$ ./spout news-service/europe.sports
$ ./spout news-service/europe.news
In the first window, the messages with
news in the second word of the key have
been received:
Message(properties={qpid.subject:usa.news, spout-id:73fc8058-5af6-407c-9166-b49a9076097a:0}, content='')
Message(properties={qpid.subject:europe.news, spout-id:f72815aa-7be4-4944-99fd-c64c9747a876:0}, content='')
Next, let's use drain with the
subject #.news to match any sequence of
words that ends with news.
First Window:
$ ./drain -t 30 news-service/#.news
In the second window, let's send messages using a
variety of different multi-word keys:
Second Window:
$ ./spout news-service/news
$ ./spout news-service/sports
$ ./spout news-service/usa.news
$ ./spout news-service/usa.sports
$ ./spout news-service/usa.faux.news
$ ./spout news-service/usa.faux.sports
In the first window, messages with
news in the last word of the key have been
received:
Message(properties={qpid.subject:news, spout-id:cbd42b0f-c87b-4088-8206-26d7627c9640:0}, content='')
Message(properties={qpid.subject:usa.news, spout-id:234a78d7-daeb-4826-90e1-1c6540781eac:0}, content='')
Message(properties={qpid.subject:usa.faux.news, spout-id:6029430a-cfcb-4700-8e9b-cbe4a81fca5f:0}, content='')
Address String Options
The options in an address string contain additional
information for the senders or receivers created for it,
including:
Policies for assertions about the node to which an address
refers.
For instance, in the address string my-queue;
{assert: always, node:{ type: queue }}, the node
named my-queue must be a queue; if not,
the address does not resolve to a node, and an exception
is raised.
Policies for automatically creating or deleting the node to which an address refers.
For instance, in the address string xoxox ; {create: always},
the queue xoxox is created, if it does
not exist, before the address is resolved.
Extension points that can be used for sender/receiver configuration.
For instance, if the address for a receiver is
my-queue; {mode: browse}, the receiver
works in browse mode, leaving messages
on the queue so other receivers can receive them.
Let's use some examples to show how these different kinds of
address string options affect the behavior of senders and
receives.
First, let's use the assert option to
ensure that the address resolves to a node of the required
type.
Assertions on Nodes
Let's use qpid-config to create a
queue and a topic.
$ qpid-config add queue my-queue
$ qpid-config add exchange topic my-topic
We can now use the address specified to drain to assert that it is
of a particular type:
$ ./drain 'my-queue; {assert: always, node:{ type: queue }}'
$ ./drain 'my-queue; {assert: always, node:{ type: topic }}'
2010-04-20 17:30:46 warning Exception received from broker: not-found: not-found: Exchange not found: my-queue (../../src/qpid/broker/ExchangeRegistry.cpp:92) [caused by 2 \x07:\x01]
Exchange my-queue does not exist
The first attempt passed without error as my-queue is indeed a
queue. The second attempt however failed; my-queue is not a
topic.
We can do the same thing for my-topic:
$ ./drain 'my-topic; {assert: always, node:{ type: topic }}'
$ ./drain 'my-topic; {assert: always, node:{ type: queue }}'
2010-04-20 17:31:01 warning Exception received from broker: not-found: not-found: Queue not found: my-topic (../../src/qpid/broker/SessionAdapter.cpp:754) [caused by 1 \x08:\x01]
Queue my-topic does not exist
Now let's use the create option to
create the queue xoxox if it does not already
exist:
Creating a Queue Automatically
First Window:
$ ./drain -t 30 "xoxox ; {create: always}"
In previous examples, we created the queue before
listening for messages on it. Using create:
always, the queue is automatically created if it
does not exist. Now we can send messages to this queue:
Second Window:
$ ./spout "xoxox ; {create: always}"
Returning to the first window, we see that drain has received this message:
Message(properties={spout-id:1a1a3842-1a8b-4f88-8940-b4096e615a7d:0}, content='')
Other options specify message transfer semantics; for
instance, they may state whether messages should be consumed or
read in browsing mode, or specify reliability
characteristics. The following example uses the
browse option to receive messages without
removing them from a queue.
Browsing a Queue
Let's use the browse mode to receive messages without
removing them from the queue. First we send three messages to the
queue:
$ ./spout my-queue --content one
$ ./spout my-queue --content two
$ ./spout my-queue --content three
Now we use drain to get those messages, using the browse option:
$ ./drain 'my-queue; {mode: browse}'
Message(properties={spout-id:fbb93f30-0e82-4b6d-8c1d-be60eb132530:0}, content='one')
Message(properties={spout-id:ab9e7c31-19b0-4455-8976-34abe83edc5f:0}, content='two')
Message(properties={spout-id:ea75d64d-ea37-47f9-96a9-d38e01c97925:0}, content='three')
We can confirm the messages are still on the queue by repeating the drain:
$ ./drain 'my-queue; {mode: browse}'
Message(properties={spout-id:fbb93f30-0e82-4b6d-8c1d-be60eb132530:0}, content='one')
Message(properties={spout-id:ab9e7c31-19b0-4455-8976-34abe83edc5f:0}, content='two')
Message(properties={spout-id:ea75d64d-ea37-47f9-96a9-d38e01c97925:0}, content='three')
Address String Options
option
value
semantics
assert
one of: always, never, sender or receiver
Asserts that the properties specified in the node option
match whatever the address resolves to. If they do not,
resolution fails and an exception is raised.
create
one of: always, never, sender or receiver
Creates the node to which an address refers if it does
not exist. No error is raised if the node does
exist. The details of the node may be specified in the
node option.
delete
one of: always, never, sender or receiver
Delete the node when the sender or receiver is closed.
node
A nested map containing the entries shown in .
Specifies properties of the node to which the address
refers. These are used in conjunction with the assert or
create options.
link
A nested map containing the entries shown in .
Used to control the establishment of a conceptual link
from the client application to or from the target/source
address.
mode
one of: browse, consume
This option is only of relevance for source addresses
that resolve to a queue. If browse is specified the
messages delivered to the receiver are left on the queue
rather than being removed. If consume is specified the
normal behaviour applies; messages are removed from teh
queue once the client acknoweldges their receipt.
Node Properties
property
value
semantics
type
topic, queue
durable
True, False
Indicates whether the node survives a loss of
volatile storage e.g. if the broker is restarted.
x-declare
A nested map whose values correspond to the valid fields
on an AMQP 0-10 queue-declare or exchange-declare
command.
These values are used to fine tune the creation or
assertion process. Note however that they are protocol
specific.
x-bindings
A nested list in which each binding is represented by
a map. The entries of the map for a binding contain
the fields that describe an AMQP 0-10 binding. Here is
the format for x-bindings:
,
queue: ,
key: ,
arguments: {
: ,
...,
: }
},
...
]
]]>
In conjunction with the create option, each of these
bindings is established as the address is resolved. In
conjunction with the assert option, the existence of
each of these bindings is verified during
resolution. Again, these are protocol specific.
Link Properties
option
value
semantics
reliability
one of: unreliable, at-least-once, at-most-once, exactly-once
durable
True, False
Indicates whether the link survives a loss of
volatile storage e.g. if the broker is restarted.
x-declare
A nested map whose values correspond to the valid fields
of an AMQP 0-10 queue-declare command.
These values can be used to customise the subscription
queue in the case of receiving from an exchange. Note
however that they are protocol specific.
x-subscribe
A nested map whose values correspond to the valid fields
of an AMQP 0-10 message-subscribe command.
These values can be used to customise the subscription.
x-bindings
A nested list each of whose entries is a map that may
contain fields (queue, exchange, key and arguments)
describing an AMQP 0-10 binding.
These bindings are established during resolution
independent of the create option. They are considered
logically part of the linking process rather than of
node creation.
Address String Grammar
This section provides a formal grammar for address strings.
Tokens
The following regular expressions define the tokens used
to parse address strings:
Grammar
The formal grammar for addresses is given below:
Address String Options
The address string options map supports the following parameters:
[ / ] ; {
create: always | sender | receiver | never,
delete: always | sender | receiver | never,
assert: always | sender | receiver | never,
mode: browse | consume,
node: {
type: queue | topic,
durable: True | False,
x-declare: { ... ... },
x-bindings: [, ... ]
},
link: {
name: ,
durable: True | False,
reliability: unreliable | at-most-once | at-least-once | exactly-once,
x-declare: { ... ... },
x-bindings: [, ... ],
x-subscribe: { ... ... }
}
}
]]>
Create, Delete, and Assert Policies
The create, delete, and assert policies specify who should
perfom the associated action:
always: the action is performed by any messaging client
sender: the action is only performed by a sender
receiver: the action is only performed by a receiver
never: the action is never performed (this is the default)
Node-Type
The node-type is one of:
topic: in the AMQP 0-10
mapping, a topic node defaults to the topic exchange, x-declare
may be used to specify other exchange types
queue: this is the default node-type
Logging
Logging in C++
The Qpidd broker and C++ clients can both use environment
variables to enable logging. Use QPID_LOG_ENABLE to set the
level of logging you are interested in (trace, debug, info,
notice, warning, error, or critical):
$ export QPID_LOG_ENABLE="warning+"
The Qpidd broker and C++ clients use QPID_LOG_OUTPUT to
determine where logging output should be sent. This is either a
file name or the special values stderr, stdout, or syslog:
export QPID_LOG_TO_FILE="/tmp/myclient.out"
Logging in Python
The Python client library supports logging using the standard Python logging module. The easiest way to do logging is to use the basicConfig(), which reports all warnings and errors:
from logging import basicConfig
basicConfig()
Qpidd also provides a convenience method that makes it easy to specify the level of logging desired. For instance, the following code enables logging at the DEBUG level:
from qpid.log import enable, DEBUG
enable("qpid.messaging.io", DEBUG)
For more information on Python logging, see http://docs.python.org/lib/node425.html. For more information on Qpid logging, use $ pydoc qpid.log.
Reconnect and Failover
Connections in the Qpid Messaging API support automatic
reconnect if a connection is lost. This is done using connection
options. The following example shows how to use connection options in C++ and Python.
Specifying Connection Options in C++ and Python
In C++, these options are set using Connection::setOption():
In Python, these options are set using named arguments in
the Connection constructor:
See the reference documentation for details on how to set
these on connections for each language.
The following table lists the connection options that can
be used.
Connection Options
option
value
semantics
reconnect
True, False
Transparently reconnect if the connection is lost.
reconnect_timeout
N
Total number of seconds to continue reconnection attempts before giving up and raising an exception.
reconnect_limit
N
Maximum number of reconnection attempts before giving up and raising an exception.
reconnect_interval_min
N
Minimum number of seconds between reconnection attempts. The first reconnection attempt is made immediately; if that fails, the first reconnection delay is set to the value of reconnect_interval_min; if that attempt fails, the reconnect interval increases exponentially until a reconnection attempt succeeds or reconnect_interval_max is reached.
reconnect_interval_max
N
Maximum reconnect interval.
reconnect_interval
N
Sets both reconnection_interval_min and reconnection_interval_max to the same value.
Receiving Messages from Multiple Sources
A receiver can only read from one source, but many
programs need to be able to read messages from many sources,
preserving the original sequence of the messages. In the Qpid
Messaging API, a program can ask a session for the next
receiver
; that is, the receiver that is responsible for
the next available message. The following example shows how this
is done in C++ and Python.
Receiving Messages from Multiple Sources
C++:
Python:
Request / Response
Request / Response applications use the reply-to property,
described in , to allow a server
to respond to the client that sent a message. A server sets up a
service queue, with a name known to clients. A client creates a
private queue for the server's response, creates a message for a
request, sets the request's reply-to property to the address of
the client's response queue, and sends the request to the
service queue. The server sends the response to the address
specified in the request's reply-to property.
Request / Response Applications in C++
This example shows the C++ code for a client and server
that use the request / response pattern.
The server creates a service queue and waits for a
message to arrive. If it receives a message, it sends a
message back to the sender.
The client creates a sender for the service queue, and
also creates a response queue that is deleted when the
client closes the receiver for the response queue. In the C++
client, if the address starts with the character
#, it is given a unique name.
" << response.getContent() << std::endl;
]]>
The client sends the string ping to
the server. The server sends the response
pong back to the same client, using the
replyTo property.
Maps in Message Content
Many messaging applications need to exchange data across
languages and platforms, using the native datatypes of each
programming language. AMQP provides a set of portable datatypes,
but does not directly support a set of named type/value
pairs. Java JMS provides the MapMessage
interface, which allows sets of named type/value pairs, but does
not provide a set of portable datatypes.
The Qpid Messaging API supports maps in message
content. Unlike JMS, any message can contain maps. These maps
are supported in each language using the conventions of the
language. In Java, we implement the
MapMessage interface; in Python, we
support dict and
list in message content; in C++, we
provide the Variant::Map and
Variant::List classes to represent maps
and lists. In all languages, messages are encoded using AMQP's
portable datatypes.
Qpid Maps in Python
In Python, Qpid supports the dict and list types directly in message content. The following code shows how to send these structures in a message:
Sending Qpid Maps in Python
The following table shows the datatypes that can be sent in a Python map message,
and the corresponding datatypes that will be received by clients in Java or C++.
Python Datatypes in Maps
Python Datatype
→ C++
→ Java
boolboolboolean
integerintegerlong
shortintegershort
longlonglong
floatfloatfloat
floatdoubledouble
stringunicodejava.lang.String
uuidqpid::types::Uuidjava.util.UUID
dictVariant::Mapjava.util.Map
listVariant::Listjava.util.List
Qpid Maps in C++
In C++, Qpid defines the the
Variant::Map and
Variant::List types, which can be
encoded into message content. The following code shows how to
send these structures in a message:
Sending Qpid Maps in C++
The following table shows the datatypes that can be sent
in a C++ map message, and the corresponding datatypes that
will be received by clients in Java and Python.
C++ Datatypes in Maps
C++ Datatype
→ Python
→ Java
boolboolboolean
unsigned charstringchar
unsigned short intintegershort
unsigned intintegerinteger
unsigned longintegerlong
charstringchar
shortintegershort
intintegerinteger
longlonglong
floatfloatfloat
double, long doublefloatdouble
stringunicodejava.lang.String
qpid::types::Uuiduuidjava.util.UUID
Variant::Mapdictjava.util.Map
Variant::Listlistjava.util.List
XML Exchange
The XML Exchange is an AMQP 0-10 custom exchange provided by the Apache Qpid C++ broker. It allows messages to be filtered using XQuery; queries can address either message properties or XML content in the body of the message.
An instance of the XML Exchange must be added before it can be used:
$ qpid-config add exchange xml xml
When using the XML exchange, a sender's address string must provide a subject, e.g. xml/weather.
If a receiver that is using the XML exchange also provides a subject, it receives messages if the subject exactly matches a message's subject.
When using the XML Exchange, a receiver normally provides an XQuery as an x-binding argument. If the query contains a context item (a path starting with .
), then it is applied to the content of the message, which must be well-formed XML. For instance, ./weather is a valid XQuery, which matches any message in which the root element is named weather. Here is an address string that contains this query:
Note that each x-binding is created in addition to any other bindings that may exist, and each x-binding must include the exchange name, the key, and the xquery. If you specify the subject in the address string (e.g. xml/weather; link ...), it creates a binding that is used in addition to the x-bindings; the binding created for the subject matches any message whose subject is weather, the binding created for the x-binding matches any message that satisfies the query, i.e. any message with a root element named weather.
The XML Exchange can also be used to query message properties by declaring an external variable with the same name as each property that is to be queried. The following XQuery queries the control property, as well as the content of the message:
If the XQuery addresses message content, and the message is not well-formed XML, the message will not be received. If the XQuery does not query message content, the message need not contain XML.
Using the XML Exchange with drain
The following shows the arguments used with drain to retrieve messages whose root element is named weather:
Using the XML Exchange with C++
In C++, it is convenient to place an XQuery in a string, and use a stringstream to add the query to the template for an address string that specifies an x-binding.
50"
" and $w/temperature_f - $w/dewpoint > 5"
" and $w/wind_speed_mph > 7"
" and $w/wind_speed_mph < 20";
stringstream address;
address << "xml; {"
" link: { "
" x-bindings: [{ exchange: xml, key: weather, arguments: { xquery:\""
<< query
<< "\"} }] "
" } "
"}";
Receiver receiver = session.createReceiver(address.str());
Message response = receiver.fetch();
session.acknowledge();
std::cout << response.getContent() << std::endl;
]]>
Using the XML Exchange with Python
In Python, it is often convenient to place the query in
a separate string, and use the repr() value of the query
string in an address template string.
50
and $w/temperature_f - $w/dewpoint > 5
and $w/wind_speed_mph > 7
and $w/wind_speed_mph < 20 """
address = """
xml; {
link: {
x-bindings: [{ exchange: xml, key: weather, arguments: { xquery: %r} }]
}
}
""" % query
receiver = session.receiver(address)
# Retrieve matching message from the receiver and print it
message = receiver.fetch(timeout=1)
print message.content
session.acknowledge()
]]>
Performance
Clients can often be made significantly faster by batching acknowledgements and setting the capacity of receivers to allow prefetch.
Batching Acknowledgements
Many of the simple examples we have shown retrieve a message and immediately acknowledge it. Because each acknowledgement results in network traffic, you can dramatically increase performance by acknowledging messages in batches. For instance, an application can read a number of related messages, then acknowledge the entire batch, or an application can acknowledge after a certain number of messages have been received or a certain time period has elapsed. Messages are not removed from the broker until they are acknowledged, so guaranteed delivery is still available when batching acknowledgements.
Prefetch
By default, a receiver retrieves the next message from the server, one message at a time, which provides intuitive results when writing and debugging programs, but does not provide optimum performance. To create an input buffer, set the capacity of the receiver to the size of the desired input buffer; for many applications, a capacity of 100 performs well.
Prefetch
C++
Receiver receiver = session.createReceiver(address);
receiver.setCapacity(100);
Message message = receiver.fetch();
Reliability
Guaranteed Delivery
If a queue is durable, the queue survives a messaging
broker crash, as well as any durable messages that have been
placed on the queue. These messages will be delivered when the
messaging broker is restarted. Delivery is guaranteed if and
only if both the message and the queue are durable. Guaranteed
delivery requires a persistence module, such as the one
available from QpidComponents.org.
Guaranteed Delivery
C++:
Transactions
In AMQP, transactions cover the semantics of enqueues and
dequeues.
When sending messages, a transaction tracks enqueues
without actually delivering the messages, a commit places
messages on their queues, and a rollback discards the
enqueues.
When receiving messages, a transaction tracks dequeues
without actually removing acknowledged messages, a commit
removes all acknowledged messages, and a rollback discards
acknowledgements. A rollback does not release the message, it
must be explicitly released to return it to the queue.
Transactions
C++:
The AMQP 0-10 mapping
This section describes the AMQP 0-10 mapping for the Qpid
Messaging API.
The interaction with the broker triggered by creating a sender
or receiver depends on what the specified address resolves
to. Where the node type is not specified in the address, the
client queries the broker to determine whether it refers to a
queue or an exchange.
When sending to a queue, the queue's name is set as the
routing key and the message is transfered to the default (or
nameless) exchange. When sending to an exchange, the message
is transfered to that exchange and the routing key is set to
the message subject if one is specified. A default subject may
be specified in the target address. The subject may also be
set on each message individually to override the default if
required. In each case any specified subject is also added as
a qpid.subject entry in the application-headers field of the
message-properties.
When receiving from a queue, any subject in the source address
is currently ignored. The client sends a message-subscribe
request for the queue in question. The accept-mode is
determined by the reliability option in the link properties;
for unreliable links the accept-mode is none, for reliable
links it is explicit. The default for a queue is reliable. The
acquire-mode is determined by the value of the mode option. If
the mode is set to browse the acquire mode is not-acquired,
otherwise it is set to pre-acquired. The exclusive and
arguments fields in the message-subscribe command can be
controlled using the x-subscribe map.
When receiving from an exchange, the client creates a
subscription queue and binds that to the exchange. The
subscription queue's arguments can be specified using the
x-declare map within the link properties. The reliability
option determines most of the other parameters. If the
reliability is set to unreliable then an auto-deleted,
exclusive queue is used meaning that if the client or
connection fails messages may be lost. For exactly-once the
queue is not set to be auto-deleted. The durability of the
subscription queue is determined by the durable option in the
link properties. The binding process depends on the type of
the exchange the source address resolves to.
For a topic exchange, if no subject is specified and no
x-bindings are defined for the link, the subscription
queue is bound using a wildcard matching any routing key
(thus satisfying the expectation that any message sent to
that address will be received from it). If a subject is
specified in the source address however, it is used for
the binding key (this means that the subject in the source
address may be a binding pattern including wildcards).
For a fanout exchange the binding key is irrelevant to
matching. A receiver created from a source address that
resolves to a fanout exchange receives all messages
sent to that exchange regardless of any subject the source
address may contain. An x-bindings element in the link
properties should be used if there is any need to set the
arguments to the bind.
For a direct exchange, the subject is used as the binding
key. If no subject is specified an empty string is used as
the binding key.
For a headers exchange, if no subject is specified the
binding arguments simply contain an x-match entry and no
other entries, causing all messages to match. If a subject
is specified then the binding arguments contain an x-match
entry set to all and an entry for qpid.subject whose value
is the subject in the source address (this means the
subject in the source address must match the message
subject exactly). For more control the x-bindings element
in the link properties must be used.
For the XML exchange,Note that the XML
exchange is not a standard AMQP exchange type. It is a
Qpid extension and is currently only supported by the C++
broker. if a subject is specified it is
used as the binding key and an XQuery is defined that
matches any message with that value for
qpid.subject. Again this means that only messages whose
subject exactly match that specified in the source address
are received. If no subject is specified then the empty
string is used as the binding key with an xquery that will
match any message (this means that only messages with an
empty string as the routing key will be received). For more
control the x-bindings element in the link properties must
be used. A source address that resolves to the XML
exchange must contain either a subject or an x-bindings
element in the link properties as there is no way at
present to receive any message regardless of routing key.
If an x-bindings list is present in the link options a binding
is created for each element within that list. Each element is
a nested map that may contain values named queue, exchange,
key or arguments. If the queue value is absent the queue name
the address resolves to is implied. If the exchange value is
absent the exchange name the address resolves to is implied.
The following table shows how Qpid Messaging API message
properties are mapped to AMQP 0-10 message properties and
delivery properties. In this table msg
refers to the Message class defined in the Qpid Messaging API,
mp refers to an AMQP 0-10
message-properties struct, and
dp refers to an AMQP 0-10
delivery-properties struct.
Mapping to AMQP 0-10 Message Properties
Python API
C++ API
AMQP 0-10 PropertyIn these entries, mp refers to an AMQP message property, and dp refers to an AMQP delivery property.
msg.idmsg.{get,set}MessageId()mp.message_id
msg.subjectmsg.{get,set}Subject()mp.application_headers["qpid.subject"]
msg.user_idmsg.{get,set}UserId()mp.user_id
msg.reply_tomsg.{get,set}ReplyTo()mp.reply_toThe reply_to is converted from the protocol representation into an address.
msg.correlation_idmsg.{get,set}CorrelationId()mp.correlation_id
msg.durablemsg.{get,set}Durable()dp.delivery_mode == delivery_mode.persistentNote that msg.durable is a boolean, not an enum.
msg.prioritymsg.{get,set}Priority()dp.priority
msg.ttlmsg.{get,set}Ttl()dp.ttl
msg.redeliveredmsg.{get,set}Redelivered()dp.redelivered
msg.propertiesmsg.{get,set}Properties()mp.application_headers
msg.content_typemsg.{get,set}ContentType()mp.content_type
Using the Qpid JMS client
A Simple Messaging Program in Java JMS
The following program shows how to use address strings and
JNDI for Qpid programs that use Java JMS.
The Qpid JMS client uses Qpid Messaging API to identify sources and
targets. This program uses a JNDI file that defines a connection
factory for the broker we are using, and the address of the
topic exchange node that we bind the sender and receiver
to. (The syntax of a ConnectionURL is given in .)
JNDI Properties File for "Hello world!" example
In the Java JMS code, we use create a JNDI context, use the context to find a connection factory and create and start a connection, create a session, and create a destination that corresponds to the topic exchange. Then we create a sender and a receiver, send a message with the sender, and receive it with the receiver. This code should be straightforward for anyone familiar with Java JMS.
"Hello world!" in Java
Apache Qpid JNDI Properties for AMQP Messaging
Apache Qpid defines JNDI properties that can be used to specify JMS Connections and Destinations. Here is a typical JNDI properties file:
JNDI Properties File
The following sections describe the JNDI properties that Qpid uses.
JNDI Properties for Apache Qpid
Apache Qpid supports the properties shown in the following table:
JNDI Properties supported by Apache Qpid
Property
Purpose
connectionfactory.<jndiname>
The Connection URL that the connection factory uses to perform connections.
queue.<jndiname>
A JMS queue, which is implemented as an amq.direct exchange in Apache Qpid.
topic.<jndiname>
A JMS topic, which is implemented as an amq.topic exchange in Apache Qpid.
destination.<jndiname>
Can be used for defining all amq destinations,
queues, topics and header matching, using an
address string.
Binding URLs, which were used in
earlier versions of the Qpid Java JMS client, can
still be used instead of address
strings.
Connection URLs
In JNDI properties, a Connection URL specifies properties for a connection. The format for a Connection URL is:
amqp://[<user>:<pass>@][<clientid>]<virtualhost>[?<option>='<value>'[&<option>='<value>']]
For instance, the following Connection URL specifies a user name, a password, a client ID, a virtual host ("test"), a broker list with a single broker, and a TCP host with the host name localhost
using port 5672:
amqp://username:password@clientid/test?brokerlist='tcp://localhost:5672'
Apache Qpid supports the following properties in Connection URLs:
Connection URL Properties
Option
Type
Description
brokerlist
see below
The broker to use for this connection. In the current release, precisely one broker must be specified.
maxprefetch
--
The maximum number of pre-fetched messages per destination.
sync_publish
{'persistent' | 'all'}
A sync command is sent after every persistent message to guarantee that it has been received; if the value is 'persistent', this is done only for persistent messages.
sync_ack
Boolean
A sync command is sent after every acknowledgement to guarantee that it has been received.
use_legacy_map_msg_format
Boolean
If you are using JMS Map messages and deploying a new client with any JMS client older than 0.7 release, you must set this to true to ensure the older clients can understand the map message encoding.
failover
{'roundrobin' | 'failover_exchange'}
If roundrobin is selected it will try each broker given in the broker list.
If failover_exchange is selected it connects to the initial broker given in the broker URL and will receive membership updates via the failover exchange.
Broker lists are specified using a URL in this format:
brokerlist=<transport>://<host>[:<port>](?<param>=<value>)?(&<param>=<value>)*
For instance, this is a typical broker list:
brokerlist='tcp://localhost:5672'
A broker list can contain more than one broker address; if so, the connection is made to the first broker in the list that is available. In general, it is better to use the failover exchange when using multiple brokers, since it allows applications to fail over if a broker goes down.
Broker Lists
A broker list can specify properties to be used when connecting to the broker, such as security options. This broker list specifies options for a Kerberos connection using GSSAPI:
This broker list specifies SSL options:
The following broker list options are supported.
Broker List Options
Option
Type
Description
heartbeat
integer
frequency of heartbeat messages (in seconds)
sasl_mechs
--
For secure applications, we suggest CRAM-MD5,
DIGEST-MD5, or GSSAPI. The ANONYMOUS method is not
secure. The PLAIN method is secure only when used
together with SSL.
For Kerberos, sasl_mechs must be set to GSSAPI,
sasl_protocol must be set to the principal for the qpidd broker, e.g. qpidd/, and
sasl_server must be set to the host for the SASL server, e.g. sasl.com.
SASL External is supported using SSL certification, e.g.
ssl='true'&sasl_mechs='EXTERNAL'
sasl_encryption
Boolean
If sasl_encryption='true', the JMS client attempts to negotiate a security layer with the broker using GSSAPI to encrypt the connection. Note that for this to happen, GSSAPI must be selected as the sasl_mech.
ssl
Boolean
If ssl='true', the JMS client will encrypt the connection using SSL.
tcp_nodelay
Boolean
If tcp_nodelay='true', TCP packet
batching is disabled.
sasl_protocol
--
Used only for
Kerberos. sasl_protocol must be
set to the principal for the qpidd broker,
e.g. qpidd/
sasl_server
--
For Kerberos, sasl_mechs must be set to GSSAPI,
sasl_server must be set to the host for the SASL
server, e.g. sasl.com.
trust_store
--
path to Keberos trust store
trust_store_password
Kerberos trust store password
key_store
path to Kerberos key store
key_store_password
--
Kerberos key store password
ssl_verify_hostname
Boolean
When using SSL you can enable hostname verification
by using "ssl_verify_hostname=true" in the broker
URL.
ssl_cert_alias
If multiple certificates are present in the keystore, the alias will be used to extract the correct certificate.
Java JMS Message Properties
The following table shows how Qpid Messaging API message
properties are mapped to AMQP 0-10 message properties and
delivery properties. In this table msg
refers to the Message class defined in the Qpid Messaging API,
mp refers to an AMQP 0-10
message-properties struct, and
dp refers to an AMQP 0-10
delivery-properties struct.
Java JMS Mapping to AMQP 0-10 Message Properties
Java JMS Message Property
AMQP 0-10 PropertyIn these entries, mp refers to an AMQP message property, and dp refers to an AMQP delivery property.
JMSMessageIDmp.message_id
qpid.subjectThis is a custom JMS property, set automatically by the Java JMS client implementation.mp.application_headers["qpid.subject"]
JMSXUserIDmp.user_id
JMSReplyTomp.reply_toThe reply_to is converted from the protocol representation into an address.
JMSCorrelationIDmp.correlation_id
JMSDeliveryModedp.delivery_mode
JMSPrioritydp.priority
JMSExpirationdp.ttlJMSExpiration = dp.ttl + currentTime
JMSRedelivereddp.redelivered
JMS Propertiesmp.application_headers
JMSTypemp.content_type
JMS MapMessage Types
Qpid supports the Java JMS MapMessage interface, which provides support for maps in messages. The following code shows how to send a MapMessage in Java JMS.
Sending a Java JMS MapMessage
colors = new ArrayList();
colors.add("red");
colors.add("green");
colors.add("white");
m.setObject("colours", colors);
Map dimensions = new HashMap();
dimensions.put("length",10.2);
dimensions.put("width",5.1);
dimensions.put("depth",2.0);
m.setObject("dimensions",dimensions);
List> parts = new ArrayList>();
parts.add(Arrays.asList(new Integer[] {1,2,5}));
parts.add(Arrays.asList(new Integer[] {8,2,5}));
m.setObject("parts", parts);
Map specs = new HashMap();
specs.put("colours", colors);
specs.put("dimensions", dimensions);
specs.put("parts", parts);
m.setObject("specs",specs);
producer.send(m);
]]>
The following table shows the datatypes that can be sent in a MapMessage, and the corresponding datatypes that will be received by clients in Python or C++.
Java Datatypes in Maps
Java Datatype
→ Python
→ C++
booleanboolbool
charstringThe Python string will contain one Unicode characterint??? Java char is 16-bit
shortintegershort
integerintegerint
longlong integerlong
floatfloatfloat
doublefloatdouble, long double
java.lang.Stringunicodestd::string
java.util.UUIDuuidqpid::types::Uuid
java.util.MapdictVariant::Map
java.util.ListlistVariant::List
Java JMS Selector Syntax
The AMQP Java JMS Messaging Client supports the following syntax for JMS selectors.
Comments:
Reserved Words (case insensitive)
Literals (case insensitive)
)? // eg: 5.5 or 5. or 5.5E10 or 5.E10
| "." (["0"-"9"])+ ()? // eg: .5 or .5E10
| (["0"-"9"])+ // eg: 5E10
)
EXPONENT: "E" (["+","-"])? (["0"-"9"])+
STRING_LITERAL: "'" ( ("''") | ~["'"] )* "'"
]]>
Identifiers (case insensitive)
Grammar
andExpression )* )
andExpression := ( equalityExpression ( equalityExpression )* )
equalityExpression := ( comparisonExpression ( "=" comparisonExpression
| "<>" comparisonExpression
|
| )* )
comparisonExpression :=
( addExpression
( ">" addExpression
| ">=" addExpression
| "<" addExpression
| "<=" addExpression
| stringLitteral ( stringLitteral )?
| ( )?
| addExpression addExpression
| addExpression addExpression
| "(" ( "," )* ")"
| "(" ( "," )* ")"
)*
)
addExpression := multExpr ( ( "+" multExpr | "-" multExpr ) )*
multExpr := unaryExpr ( "*" unaryExpr | "/" unaryExpr | "%" unaryExpr )*
unaryExpr := ( "+" unaryExpr | "-" unaryExpr | unaryExpr | primaryExpr )
primaryExpr := ( literal | variable | "(" orExpression ")" )
literal := (
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
)
variable := ( | )]]>