Communication interservices

Microservices Need to Talk

Sync vs. Async Communication

Request-Response Pattern

NestJS: Receiving Requests

import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
import { MicroserviceOptions, Transport } from '@nestjs/microservices';
import { Module, Controller, MessagePattern } from '@nestjs/common';

@Controller()
class ProductController {
  @MessagePattern('get_product_details')
  getProductDetails(id: string): any {
    console.log(`Product Service: Request for ID: ${id}`);
    const products = {
      '1': { id: '1', name: 'Laptop', price: 1200 },
      '2': { id: '2', name: 'Mouse', price: 25 },
    };
    return products[id] || { id, name: 'Product Not Found', price: 0 };
  }
}

@Module({
  controllers: [ProductController],
})
class AppModule {}

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.createMicroservice<MicroserviceOptions>(
    AppModule,
    {
      transport: Transport.TCP,
      options: { host: '127.0.0.1', port: 8877 },
    },
  );
  await app.listen();
  console.log('Product Microservice is listening on port 8877');
}

bootstrap();

NestJS: Sending Requests

// product-client.service.ts in 'Order Service' microservice
import { Injectable, Inject } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ClientProxy } from '@nestjs/microservices';
import { lastValueFrom } from 'rxjs'; // For awaiting observable

@Injectable()
export class ProductClientService {
  constructor(@Inject('PRODUCT_SERVICE') private client: ClientProxy) {}

  async fetchProduct(productId: string): Promise<any> {
    console.log(`Order Service: Fetching product ID: ${productId}`);
    // 'get_product_details' must match the pattern in Product Service
    const product = await lastValueFrom(
      this.client.send('get_product_details', productId),
    );
    console.log('Received product:', product);
    return product;
  }
}

// To make this work, 'PRODUCT_SERVICE' needs to be registered
// in an AppModule using ClientsModule.register():
// imports: [
//   ClientsModule.register([
//     {
//       name: 'PRODUCT_SERVICE',
//       transport: Transport.TCP,
//       options: { host: '127.0.0.1', port: 8877 },
//     },
//   ]),
// ],

When to Use Request-Response

Event-Based Communication

NestJS: Publishing Events

import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
import { Module, Controller, Post, Body, Inject } from '@nestjs/common';
import { ClientProxy, ClientsModule, Transport } from '@nestjs/microservices';

interface OrderCreatedEvent {
  orderId: string;
  userId: string;
  totalAmount: number;
}

@Controller('orders')
class OrderController {
  constructor(@Inject('NOTIFICATION_SERVICE') private client: ClientProxy) {}

  @Post()
  async createOrder(@Body() orderData: any) {
    const orderId = `ORD-${Date.now()}`;
    const event: OrderCreatedEvent = {
      orderId,
      userId: orderData.userId || 'user-123',
      totalAmount: orderData.amount || 100,
    };
    this.client.emit('order_created', event);
    console.log(`Order ${orderId} created, 'order_created' event emitted.`);
    return { message: 'Order created and event sent', orderId };
  }
}

@Module({
  imports: [
    ClientsModule.register([
      {
        name: 'NOTIFICATION_SERVICE',
        transport: Transport.TCP,
        options: { host: '127.0.0.1', port: 8878 },
      },
    ]),
  ],
  controllers: [OrderController],
})
class AppModule {}

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.create(AppModule);
  await app.listen(3000);
  console.log('Order Service (HTTP) is listening on port 3000');
}

bootstrap();

NestJS: Listening to Events

import { NestFactory } from '@nestjs/core';
import { MicroserviceOptions, Transport } from '@nestjs/microservices';
import { Module, Controller, EventPattern } from '@nestjs/common';

interface OrderCreatedEvent {
  orderId: string;
  userId: string;
  totalAmount: number;
}

@Controller()
class NotificationController {
  @EventPattern('order_created')
  handleOrderCreated(data: OrderCreatedEvent) {
    console.log('Notification Service received OrderCreated event:', data);
    console.log(`Sending notification for Order ${data.orderId} to User ${data.userId}`);
  }
}

@Module({
  controllers: [NotificationController],
})
class AppModule {}

async function bootstrap() {
  const app = await NestFactory.createMicroservice<MicroserviceOptions>(
    AppModule,
    {
      transport: Transport.TCP,
      options: { host: '127.0.0.1', port: 8878 },
    },
  );
  await app.listen();
  console.log('Notification Microservice is listening on port 8878');
}

bootstrap();

When to Use Event-Driven

Communication Patterns Quiz

Recap: Talking Services