DistributedHashtable

---

id: DistributedHashtable title: Distributed Hashtable permalink: /docs/manual/DemoApps/DistributedHashtable.html

Source Code on GitHub

Hashtable is among the most useful daily-used data structures. A distributed hashtable is a hashtable served by a cluster of machines. It can be accessed through network. We demonstrate how to implement a distributed hashtable on top of GE and how it can be accessed via user-defined interfaces.

Data Model

A hashtable consists of a set of buckets, each of which is collection of key-value pairs. We use string to represent both the Key and Value in this demo application. In GE, we can use a cell as a hashtable bucket. We define BucketCell in TSL for this purpose:

struct KVPair
{
    string Key;
    string Value;
}

cell struct BucketCell
{
    List<KVPair> KVList;
}

Given an arbitrary Key, we first hash it to a 64-bit cell id. Then we use this id to reference the cell bucket.

Setting A Key-Value Pair

Because we are working on a distributed hashtable, we need to define protocols to allow the clients to manipulate the hashtable. Let us first look at the protocol for setting a key-value pair.

The Set protocol is very straightforward: we just need to send a Key (string) and a Value (string) to the hashtable server. Here is the protocol specification:

struct SetMessage
{
    string Key;
    string Value;
}

protocol Set
{
    Type:Syn;
    Request:SetMessage;
    Response:void;
}

The implementation logic of Set operation is also straightforward:

public override void SetHandler(SetMessageReader request)
{
    long cellId = HashHelper.HashString2Int64(request.Key);
    using (var cell = Global.LocalStorage.UseBucketCell(cellId, CellAccessOptions.CreateNewOnCellNotFound))
    {
        int count = cell.KVList.Count;
        int index = -1;

        for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
        {
            if (cell.KVList[i].Key == request.Key)
            {
                index = i;
                break;
            }
        }
        if (index != -1)
        {
            cell.KVList[index].Value = request.Value;
        }
        else
            cell.KVList.Add(new KVPair(request.Key, request.Value));
    }
}

In the cell bucket, we search the key against the key-value pair list. If we find a match, we update the value; otherwise, we add a new value.

Getting A Key-Value Pair

Get operation is even simpler. It fetches the value by the user-specified key. This is the protocol specification:

struct GetMessage
{
    string Key;
}

struct GetResponse
{
    bool IsFound;
    string Value;
}

protocol Get
{
    Type:Syn;
    Request:GetMessage;
    Response:GetResponse;
}

This is the implementation logic:

public override void GetHandler(GetMessageReader request, GetResponseWriter response)
{
    long cellId = HashHelper.HashString2Int64(request.Key);
    response.IsFound = false;

    using (var cell = Global.LocalStorage.UseBucketCell(cellId, CellAccessOptions.ReturnNullOnCellNotFound))
    {
        if (cell == null)
            return;
        int count = cell.KVList.Count;
        for (int i = 0; i < count; i++)
        {
            if (cell.KVList[i].Key == request.Key)
            {
                response.IsFound = true;
                response.Value = cell.KVList[i].Value;
                break;
            }
        }
    }
}

If we do not find a matched bucket, we return immediately. Otherwise, we search the key against the key-value pair list in the matched bucket cell.