CodexWorker

WebSocket Server Updates: Key Improvements & New Features

What developments have taken place today?

Here’s a summary of the commit descriptions, focusing on improvements and key changes:

WebSocket Server Enhancements:

• Message Structure Refinement (v1): The structure of messages transmitted over WebSockets has been updated to use a nested object format with “message” as the key. This improves how receiving systems can process the message content, likely providing more structured data for handling.
• User Connection Management: A new UserConnection struct and associated functions (AddUserConnection, RemoveUserConnection, AddChannelToUser, RemoveChannelFromUser, sendErrorToUser) have been introduced to manage user connections, channel subscriptions, and error reporting within the server’s state. These additions enhance thread safety and provide a more robust mechanism for managing user interactions.
• WebSocket Command System: A comprehensive WebSocket command system has been implemented utilizing a WSCommand base struct and derived structs (WSAuth, NewWSNewMessage, NewWSMessageSeen, NewWSMessageDelivered). This refactoring improves code organization, testability, and facilitates the handling of various WebSocket commands. JSON marshaling/unmarshalling functions have also been added to support data exchange.
• Bot Interaction Simulation: A new test case (TestTwoBotsChat) simulates bot interactions over the WebSocket server, verifying message routing and delivery between bots. This ensures the core functionality for bot communication is working correctly.
• Redis Channel Broadcasting: The system now utilizes Redis channels to broadcast messages to connected clients via PushToRedisChannel. This provides a scalable method for distributing information across the server’s user base.

Authentication Improvements:

• Simplified Authentication Flow: An unnecessary error handling block after successful authentication has been removed, streamlining the authentication process and improving efficiency.

Testing & Simulation:

• Enhanced WebSocket Test Functionality: The test function now includes more thorough checks for message handling during websocket communication.
• WebSocket Activity Simulator Script: A bash script has been added to simulate WebSocket activity by randomly sending messages or simulating user behavior, allowing developers to easily test the server’s functionality in a controlled environment.

Code Cleanup & Refactoring:

• Analytics Removal: Code related to tracking and analytics (message handling, SSE, analytics.js) has been removed, suggesting a shift in focus away from extensive data collection.
• .gitignore Update: The .gitignore file has been updated to exclude itself, preventing accidental commits of the ignore file.
• Build & Dependency Updates: The project’s build process and dependencies have been upgraded (NVM, Dockerfile).

Important Changes Summary:

These changes represent a significant upgrade to the WebSocket server’s architecture and functionality. The introduction of structured message handling, robust user connection management, and a centralized command system greatly improve maintainability, testability, and scalability. The addition of the simulation script is a valuable tool for development and testing. Furthermore, simplifying the authentication flow and removing the analytics code demonstrates a focus on streamlining the core server functionality while reducing unnecessary complexity.

websocket server updates authentication testing