Vert.x RxJava

Warning

RxJava1 is end-of-life as of March 31, 2018. Bindings for new Vert.x modules will not be generated. Consider migrating to Vert.x RxJava3.

Vert.x API for RxJava

RxJava is a popular library for composing asynchronous and event based programs using observable sequences for the Java VM. Vert.x integrates naturally with RxJava, allowing using observable wherever you can use streams or asynchronous results.

Using Vert.x API for RxJava1

To use Vert.x API for RxJava1, add the following dependency to the dependencies section of your build descriptor:

Maven (in your pom.xml):

<dependency>
 <groupId>io.vertx</groupId>
 <artifactId>vertx-rx-java</artifactId>
 <version>4.3.8</version>
</dependency>

Gradle (in your build.gradle file):

compile 'io.vertx:vertx-rx-java:4.3.8'

There are two ways for using the RxJava API with Vert.x:

via the original Vert.x API with the RxHelper helper class that provides static methods for converting objects between Vert.x core API and RxJava API.
via the Rxified Vert.x API enhancing the core Vert.x API.

Read stream support

RxJava Observable is a perfect match for Vert.x ReadStream class : both provide a flow of items.

The RxHelper.toObservable static methods convert a Vert.x read stream to an rx.Observable:

FileSystem fileSystem = vertx.fileSystem();
fileSystem.open("/data.txt", new OpenOptions(), result -> {
  AsyncFile file = result.result();
  Observable<Buffer> observable = RxHelper.toObservable(file);
  observable.forEach(data -> System.out.println("Read data: " + data.toString("UTF-8")));
});

The Rxified Vert.x API provides a toObservable method on ReadStream:

FileSystem fs = vertx.fileSystem();
fs.open("/data.txt", new OpenOptions(), result -> {
  AsyncFile file = result.result();
  Observable<Buffer> observable = file.toObservable();
  observable.forEach(data -> System.out.println("Read data: " + data.toString("UTF-8")));
});

Such observables are hot observables, i.e. they will produce notifications regardless of subscriptions because a ReadStream can potentially emit items spontaneously or not, depending on the implementation:

At subscription time, the adapter calls handler to set its own handler.

Some ReadStream implementations can start to emit events after this call, others will emit events whether an handler is set or not:

AsyncFile produces buffer events after the handler is set
HttpServerRequest produces events independantly of the handler (i.e buffer may be lost if no handler is set)

In both cases, subscribing to the Observable in the same call is safe because the event loop or the worker verticles cannot be called concurrently, so the subscription will always happens before the handler starts emitting data.

When you need to delay the subscription, you need to pause the ReadStream and then resume it, which is what you would do with a ReadStream.

server.requestHandler(request -> {
  if (request.method() == HttpMethod.POST) {

    // Stop receiving buffers
    request.pause();

    checkAuth(res -> {

      // Now we can receive buffers again
      request.resume();

      if (res.succeeded()) {
        Observable<Buffer> observable = request.toObservable();
        observable.subscribe(buff -> {
          // Get buffers
        });
      }
    });
  }
});

Likewise it is possible to turn an existing Observable into a Vert.x ReadStream.

The RxHelper.toReadStream static methods convert an rx.Observable to a Vert.x read stream:

Observable<Buffer> observable = getObservable();
ReadStream<Buffer> readStream = RxHelper.toReadStream(observable);
Pump pump = Pump.pump(readStream, response);
pump.start();

Write stream support

A WriteStream, like a rx.Subscriber, consumes items, and, when it can’t keep-up, collaborates with the producer to avoid an ever-growing backlog.

Vert.x provides the WriteStreamSubscriber adapter that you can use to send Observable items to any WriteStream:

Sending buffers to an HTTP server response

response.setChunked(true);
WriteStreamSubscriber<io.vertx.core.buffer.Buffer> subscriber = io.vertx.rx.java.RxHelper.toSubscriber(response);
observable.subscribe(subscriber);

If you are progamming with the Rxified Vert.x API, the WriteStream implementations provide a toSubscriber method. The previous example then becomes even more straightforward:

response.setChunked(true);
observable.subscribe(response.toSubscriber());

Note	When the `Observable` terminates successfully, the adapter invokes the `end` method.

Caution

The adapter sets the WriteStream drain and exception handlers, so don’t use them after subscribing.

The WriteStreamSubscriber adapter is able to invoke callbacks when:

the Observable terminates with an error, or
the WriteStream fails (e.g. HTTP connection is closed or filesystem is full), or
the WriteStream ends (i.e. all writes done and file is closed), or
the WriteStream ends with an error (i.e. all writes done and an error occured when closing the file)

This allows for a more robust program design, as well as scheduling other tasks after the stream has been handled:

response.setChunked(true);

WriteStreamSubscriber<Buffer> subscriber = response.toSubscriber();

subscriber.onError(throwable -> {
  if (!response.headWritten() && response.closed()) {
    response.setStatusCode(500).end("oops");
  } else {
    // log error
  }
});

subscriber.onWriteStreamError(throwable -> {
  // log error
});

subscriber.onWriteStreamEnd(() -> {
  // log end of transaction to audit system...
});

observable.subscribe(subscriber);

Note	If the `WriteStream` fails, the adapter unsubscribes from the `Observable`.

Handler support

The RxHelper can create an ObservableHandler: an Observable with a toHandler method returning an Handler<T> implementation:

ObservableHandler<Long> observable = RxHelper.observableHandler();
observable.subscribe(id -> {
  // Fired
});
vertx.setTimer(1000, observable.toHandler());

The Rxified Vert.x API does not provide a specific API for handler.

Async result support

You can create an RxJava Subscriber from an existing Vert.x Handler<AsyncResult<T>> and subscribe it to an Observable or a Single:

observable.subscribe(RxHelper.toSubscriber(handler1));

// Subscribe to a Single
single.subscribe(RxHelper.toSubscriber(handler2));

The Vert.x Handler<AsyncResult<T>> construct occuring as last parameter of an asynchronous method can be mapped to an observable of a single element:

when the callback is a success, the observer onNext method is called with the item and the onComplete method is immediately invoked after
when the callback is a failure, the observer onError method is called

The RxHelper.observableFuture method creates an ObservableFuture: an Observable with a toHandler method returning a Handler<AsyncResult<T>> implementation:

ObservableFuture<HttpServer> observable = RxHelper.observableFuture();
observable.subscribe(
    server -> {
      // Server is listening
    },
    failure -> {
      // Server could not start
    }
);
vertx.createHttpServer(new HttpServerOptions().
    setPort(1234).
    setHost("localhost")
).listen(observable.toHandler());

The ObservableFuture<Server> will get a single HttpServer object, if the listen operation fails, the subscriber will be notified with the failure.

The RxHelper.toHandler method adapts an existing Observer into an handler:

Observer<HttpServer> observer = new Observer<HttpServer>() {
  @Override
  public void onNext(HttpServer o) {
  }
  @Override
  public void onError(Throwable e) {
  }
  @Override
  public void onCompleted() {
  }
};
Handler<AsyncResult<HttpServer>> handler = RxHelper.toFuture(observer);

It also works with just actions:

Action1<HttpServer> onNext = httpServer -> {};
Action1<Throwable> onError = httpServer -> {};
Action0 onComplete = () -> {};

Handler<AsyncResult<HttpServer>> handler1 = RxHelper.toFuture(onNext);
Handler<AsyncResult<HttpServer>> handler2 = RxHelper.toFuture(onNext, onError);
Handler<AsyncResult<HttpServer>> handler3 = RxHelper.toFuture(onNext, onError, onComplete);

The Rxified Vert.x API duplicates each such method with the rx prefix that returns an RxJava Single:

Single<HttpServer> single = vertx
  .createHttpServer()
  .rxListen(1234, "localhost");

// Subscribe to bind the server
single.
    subscribe(
        server -> {
          // Server is listening
        },
        failure -> {
          // Server could not start
        }
    );

Such single are cold singles, and the corresponding API method is called on subscribe.

Note	the `rx` methods replace the `Observable` of the previous Rxified versions with a semantic change to be more in line with RxJava.

Scheduler support

The reactive extension sometimes needs to schedule actions, for instance Observable#timer creates and returns a timer that emit periodic events. By default, scheduled actions are managed by RxJava, it means that the timer threads are not Vert.x threads and therefore not executing in a Vert.x event loop.

When an RxJava method deals with a scheduler, it accepts an overloaded method accepting an extra rx.Scheduler, the RxHelper.scheduler method will return a scheduler that can be used in such places.

Scheduler scheduler = RxHelper.scheduler(vertx);
Observable<Long> timer = Observable.timer(100, 100, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS, scheduler);

For blocking scheduled actions, a scheduler can be created with the RxHelper.blockingScheduler method:

Scheduler scheduler = RxHelper.blockingScheduler(vertx);
Observable<Integer> obs = blockingObservable.observeOn(scheduler);

RxJava can also be reconfigured to use the Vert.x scheduler, thanks to the scheduler hook created with RxHelper.schedulerHook, the returned scheduler hook uses a blocking scheduler for IO actions:

RxJavaSchedulersHook hook = RxHelper.schedulerHook(vertx);
RxJavaHooks.setOnIOScheduler(f -> hook.getIOScheduler());
RxJavaHooks.setOnNewThreadScheduler(f -> hook.getNewThreadScheduler());
RxJavaHooks.setOnComputationScheduler(f -> hook.getComputationScheduler());

The Rxified Vert.x API provides also similar method on the RxHelper class:

Scheduler scheduler = io.vertx.rxjava.core.RxHelper.scheduler(vertx);
Observable<Long> timer = Observable.interval(100, 100, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS, scheduler);

RxJavaSchedulersHook hook = io.vertx.rxjava.core.RxHelper.schedulerHook(vertx);
  RxJavaHooks.setOnIOScheduler(f -> hook.getIOScheduler());
  RxJavaHooks.setOnNewThreadScheduler(f -> hook.getNewThreadScheduler());
  RxJavaHooks.setOnComputationScheduler(f -> hook.getComputationScheduler());

It is also possible to create a scheduler backed by a named worker pool. This can be useful if you want to re-use the specific thread pool for scheduling blocking actions:

Scheduler scheduler = io.vertx.rxjava.core.RxHelper.scheduler(workerExecutor);
Observable<Long> timer = Observable.interval(100, 100, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS, scheduler);

Json unmarshalling

The RxHelper.unmarshaller creates an rx.Observable.Operator that transforms an Observable<Buffer> in json format into an object observable:

fileSystem.open("/data.txt", new OpenOptions(), result -> {
  AsyncFile file = result.result();
  Observable<Buffer> observable = RxHelper.toObservable(file);
  observable.lift(RxHelper.unmarshaller(MyPojo.class)).subscribe(
      mypojo -> {
        // Process the object
      }
  );
});

The same can be done with the Rxified helper:

fileSystem.open("/data.txt", new OpenOptions(), result -> {
  AsyncFile file = result.result();
  Observable<Buffer> observable = file.toObservable();
  observable.lift(io.vertx.rxjava.core.RxHelper.unmarshaller(MyPojo.class)).subscribe(
      mypojo -> {
        // Process the object
      }
  );
});

Deploying a Verticle

The Rxified API cannot deploy an existing Verticle instance, the helper RxHelper.observableFuture method provides a solution to that.

The RxHelper.deployVerticle does it automatically for you, it deploys a Verticle and returns an Observable<String> of the deployment ID.

Observable<String> deployment = RxHelper.deployVerticle(vertx, verticle);

deployment.subscribe(id -> {
  // Deployed
}, err -> {
  // Could not deploy
});

Rxified API

The Rxified API is a code generated version of the Vert.x API, just like the JavaScript or Groovy language. The API uses the io.vertx.rxjava prefix, for instance the io.vertx.core.Vertx class is translated to the Vertx class.

Embedding Rxfified Vert.x

Just use the Vertx.vertx methods:

Vertx vertx = io.vertx.rxjava.core.Vertx.vertx();

As a Verticle

Extend the AbstractVerticle class, it will wrap it for you:

class MyVerticle extends io.vertx.rxjava.core.AbstractVerticle {
  public void start() {
    // Use Rxified Vertx here
  }
}

Deploying an RxJava verticle is still performed by the Java deployer and does not need a specified deployer.

Verticles having an asynchronous start can override instead the rxStart method and return a Completable:

class MyVerticle extends io.vertx.rxjava.core.AbstractVerticle {
  public Completable rxStart() {
    return vertx.createHttpServer()
      .requestHandler(req -> req.response().end("Hello World"))
      .rxListen()
      .toCompletable();
  }
}

Api examples

Let’s study now a few examples of using Vert.x with RxJava.

EventBus message stream

The event bus MessageConsumer provides naturally an Observable<Message<T>>:

EventBus eb = vertx.eventBus();
MessageConsumer<String> consumer = eb.<String>consumer("the-address");
Observable<Message<String>> observable = consumer.toObservable();
Subscription sub = observable.subscribe(msg -> {
  // Got message
});

// Unregisters the stream after 10 seconds
vertx.setTimer(10000, id -> {
  sub.unsubscribe();
});

The MessageConsumer provides a stream of Message. The body gives access to a new stream of message bodies if needed:

EventBus eb = vertx.eventBus();
MessageConsumer<String> consumer = eb.<String>consumer("the-address");
Observable<String> observable = consumer.bodyStream().toObservable();

RxJava map/reduce composition style can then be used:

Observable<Double> observable = vertx.eventBus().
    <Double>consumer("heat-sensor").
    bodyStream().
    toObservable();

observable.
    buffer(1, TimeUnit.SECONDS).
    map(samples -> samples.
        stream().
        collect(Collectors.averagingDouble(d -> d))).
    subscribe(heat -> {
      vertx.eventBus().send("news-feed", "Current heat is " + heat);
    });

Timers

Timer task can be created with timerStream:

vertx.timerStream(1000).
    toObservable().
    subscribe(
        id -> {
          System.out.println("Callback after 1 second");
        }
    );

Periodic task can be created with periodicStream:

vertx.periodicStream(1000).
    toObservable().
    subscribe(
        id -> {
          System.out.println("Callback every second");
        }
    );

The observable can be cancelled with an unsubscription:

vertx.periodicStream(1000).
    toObservable().
    subscribe(new Subscriber<Long>() {
      public void onNext(Long aLong) {
        // Callback
        unsubscribe();
      }
      public void onError(Throwable e) {}
      public void onCompleted() {}
    });

Http client requests

rxRequest provides a single of an HttpClientRequest. The single reports a request failure.

Once you have a request, calling rxSend will send the request and gives a response back.

HttpClient client = vertx.createHttpClient(new HttpClientOptions());
Single<HttpClientResponse> request = client
  .rxRequest(HttpMethod.GET, 8080, "localhost", "/the_uri")
  .flatMap(HttpClientRequest::rxSend);
request.subscribe(
    response -> {
      // Process the response
    },
    error -> {
      // Could not connect
    }
);

The response can be processed as an Observable<Buffer> with the toObservable method:

Single<HttpClientResponse> request = client
  .rxRequest(HttpMethod.GET, 8080, "localhost", "/the_uri")
  .flatMap(HttpClientRequest::rxSend);
request.toObservable().
    subscribe(
        response -> {
          Observable<Buffer> observable = response.toObservable();
          observable.forEach(
              buffer -> {
                // Process buffer
              }
          );
        }
    );

The same flow can be achieved with the flatMap operation:

Single<HttpClientResponse> request = client
  .rxRequest(HttpMethod.GET, 8080, "localhost", "/the_uri")
  .flatMap(HttpClientRequest::rxSend);
request.toObservable().
    flatMap(HttpClientResponse::toObservable).
    forEach(
        buffer -> {
          // Process buffer
        }
    );

We can also unmarshall the Observable<Buffer> into an object using the RxHelper.unmarshaller static method. This method creates an Rx.Observable.Operator unmarshalling buffers to an object:

Single<HttpClientResponse> request = client
  .rxRequest(HttpMethod.GET, 8080, "localhost", "/the_uri")
  .flatMap(HttpClientRequest::rxSend);
request.toObservable().
    flatMap(HttpClientResponse::toObservable).
    lift(io.vertx.rxjava.core.RxHelper.unmarshaller(MyPojo.class)).
    forEach(
        pojo -> {
          // Process pojo
        }
    );

Http server requests

The requestStream provides a callback for each incoming request:

Observable<HttpServerRequest> requestObservable = server.requestStream().toObservable();
requestObservable.subscribe(request -> {
  // Process request
});

The HttpServerRequest can then be adapted to an Observable<Buffer>:

Observable<HttpServerRequest> requestObservable = server.requestStream().toObservable();
requestObservable.subscribe(request -> {
  Observable<Buffer> observable = request.toObservable();
});

The RxHelper.unmarshaller can be used to parse and map a json request to an object:

Observable<HttpServerRequest> requestObservable = server.requestStream().toObservable();
requestObservable.subscribe(request -> {
  Observable<MyPojo> observable = request.
      toObservable().
      lift(io.vertx.rxjava.core.RxHelper.unmarshaller(MyPojo.class));
});

Websocket client

The rxWebSocket provides a single callback when the websocket connects, otherwise a failure:

HttpClient client = vertx.createHttpClient(new HttpClientOptions());
client.rxWebSocket(8080, "localhost", "/the_uri").subscribe(
    ws -> {
      // Use the websocket
    },
    error -> {
      // Could not connect
    }
);

The WebSocket can then be turned into an Observable<Buffer> easily:

socketObservable.subscribe(
    socket -> {
      Observable<Buffer> dataObs = socket.toObservable();
      dataObs.subscribe(buffer -> {
        System.out.println("Got message " + buffer.toString("UTF-8"));
      });
    }
);

Websocket server

The webSocketStream provides a callback for each incoming connection:

Observable<ServerWebSocket> socketObservable = server.webSocketStream().toObservable();
socketObservable.subscribe(
    socket -> System.out.println("Web socket connect"),
    failure -> System.out.println("Should never be called"),
    () -> {
      System.out.println("Subscription ended or server closed");
    }
);

The ServerWebSocket can be turned into an Observable<Buffer> easily:

socketObservable.subscribe(
    socket -> {
      Observable<Buffer> dataObs = socket.toObservable();
      dataObs.subscribe(buffer -> {
        System.out.println("Got message " + buffer.toString("UTF-8"));
      });
    }
);