Go Concurrency Patterns Series: ← Pub/Sub Pattern | Series Overview | Worker Pool →
What is the Request/Response Pattern? The Request/Response pattern enables synchronous communication between goroutines, where a sender waits for a response from a receiver. This pattern is essential for RPC-style communication, database queries, API calls, and any scenario where you need to get a result back from an operation.
Key Components:
Request: Contains data and a response channel Response: Contains result data and/or error information Requester: Sends request and waits for response Responder: Processes request and sends response Real-World Use Cases Database Operations: Query execution with results API Gateways: Forwarding requests to microservices Cache Systems: Get/Set operations with confirmation File Operations: Read/Write with status feedback Validation Services: Input validation with results Authentication: Login requests with tokens Basic Request/Response Implementation package main import ( "fmt" "math/rand" "time" ) // Request represents a request with a response channel type Request struct { ID string Data interface{} Response chan Response } // Response represents the response to a request type Response struct { ID string Result interface{} Error error } // Server processes requests type Server struct { requests chan Request quit chan bool } // NewServer creates a new server func NewServer() *Server { return &Server{ requests: make(chan Request), quit: make(chan bool), } } // Start begins processing requests func (s *Server) Start() { go func() { for { select { case req := <-s.requests: s.processRequest(req) case <-s.quit: return } } }() } // processRequest handles a single request func (s *Server) processRequest(req Request) { // Simulate processing time time.Sleep(time.Duration(rand.Intn(100)) * time.Millisecond) // Process the request (example: double the number) var response Response response.ID = req.ID if num, ok := req.Data.(int); ok { response.Result = num * 2 } else { response.Error = fmt.Errorf("invalid data type") } // Send response back req.Response <- response } // SendRequest sends a request and waits for response func (s *Server) SendRequest(id string, data interface{}) (interface{}, error) { responseChan := make(chan Response, 1) request := Request{ ID: id, Data: data, Response: responseChan, } s.requests <- request // Wait for response response := <-responseChan return response.Result, response.Error } // Stop shuts down the server func (s *Server) Stop() { close(s.quit) } func main() { server := NewServer() server.Start() defer server.Stop() // Send multiple requests for i := 1; i <= 5; i++ { result, err := server.SendRequest(fmt.Sprintf("req-%d", i), i*10) if err != nil { fmt.Printf("Request %d failed: %v\n", i, err) } else { fmt.Printf("Request %d result: %v\n", i, result) } } } Request/Response with Timeout package main import ( "context" "fmt" "math/rand" "time" ) // TimedRequest includes context for timeout handling type TimedRequest struct { ID string Data interface{} Response chan TimedResponse Context context.Context } // TimedResponse includes timing information type TimedResponse struct { ID string Result interface{} Error error Duration time.Duration Timestamp time.Time } // TimedServer processes requests with timeout support type TimedServer struct { requests chan TimedRequest quit chan bool } func NewTimedServer() *TimedServer { return &TimedServer{ requests: make(chan TimedRequest, 10), quit: make(chan bool), } } func (ts *TimedServer) Start() { go func() { for { select { case req := <-ts.requests: go ts.processTimedRequest(req) case <-ts.quit: return } } }() } func (ts *TimedServer) processTimedRequest(req TimedRequest) { start := time.Now() // Check if context is already cancelled select { case <-req.Context.Done(): ts.sendResponse(req, nil, req.Context.Err(), start) return default: } // Simulate work with random duration workDuration := time.Duration(rand.Intn(200)) * time.Millisecond select { case <-time.After(workDuration): // Work completed if num, ok := req.Data.(int); ok { ts.sendResponse(req, num*2, nil, start) } else { ts.sendResponse(req, nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid data type"), start) } case <-req.Context.Done(): // Context cancelled during work ts.sendResponse(req, nil, req.Context.Err(), start) } } func (ts *TimedServer) sendResponse(req TimedRequest, result interface{}, err error, start time.Time) { response := TimedResponse{ ID: req.ID, Result: result, Error: err, Duration: time.Since(start), Timestamp: time.Now(), } select { case req.Response <- response: case <-req.Context.Done(): // Client no longer waiting } } // SendRequestWithTimeout sends a request with a timeout func (ts *TimedServer) SendRequestWithTimeout(id string, data interface{}, timeout time.Duration) (interface{}, error) { ctx, cancel := context.WithTimeout(context.Background(), timeout) defer cancel() responseChan := make(chan TimedResponse, 1) request := TimedRequest{ ID: id, Data: data, Response: responseChan, Context: ctx, } select { case ts.requests <- request: case <-ctx.Done(): return nil, ctx.Err() } select { case response := <-responseChan: fmt.Printf("Request %s completed in %v\n", response.ID, response.Duration) return response.Result, response.Error case <-ctx.Done(): return nil, ctx.Err() } } func (ts *TimedServer) Stop() { close(ts.quit) } func main() { server := NewTimedServer() server.Start() defer server.Stop() // Send requests with different timeouts requests := []struct { id string data int timeout time.Duration }{ {"fast", 10, 300 * time.Millisecond}, {"medium", 20, 150 * time.Millisecond}, {"slow", 30, 50 * time.Millisecond}, // This might timeout } for _, req := range requests { result, err := server.SendRequestWithTimeout(req.id, req.data, req.timeout) if err != nil { fmt.Printf("Request %s failed: %v\n", req.id, err) } else { fmt.Printf("Request %s result: %v\n", req.id, result) } } } Future/Promise Pattern package main import ( "context" "fmt" "sync" "time" ) // Future represents a value that will be available in the future type Future struct { mu sync.Mutex done chan struct{} result interface{} err error computed bool } // NewFuture creates a new future func NewFuture() *Future { return &Future{ done: make(chan struct{}), } } // Set sets the future's value func (f *Future) Set(result interface{}, err error) { f.mu.Lock() defer f.mu.Unlock() if f.computed { return // Already set } f.result = result f.err = err f.computed = true close(f.done) } // Get waits for and returns the future's value func (f *Future) Get() (interface{}, error) { <-f.done return f.result, f.err } // GetWithTimeout waits for the value with a timeout func (f *Future) GetWithTimeout(timeout time.Duration) (interface{}, error) { select { case <-f.done: return f.result, f.err case <-time.After(timeout): return nil, fmt.Errorf("timeout waiting for future") } } // GetWithContext waits for the value with context cancellation func (f *Future) GetWithContext(ctx context.Context) (interface{}, error) { select { case <-f.done: return f.result, f.err case <-ctx.Done(): return nil, ctx.Err() } } // IsReady returns true if the future has been computed func (f *Future) IsReady() bool { f.mu.Lock() defer f.mu.Unlock() return f.computed } // AsyncService demonstrates async operations with futures type AsyncService struct { workers chan struct{} } func NewAsyncService(maxWorkers int) *AsyncService { return &AsyncService{ workers: make(chan struct{}, maxWorkers), } } // ProcessAsync starts async processing and returns a future func (as *AsyncService) ProcessAsync(data interface{}) *Future { future := NewFuture() go func() { // Acquire worker slot as.workers <- struct{}{} defer func() { <-as.workers }() // Simulate processing time.Sleep(time.Duration(100+rand.Intn(200)) * time.Millisecond) // Process data if num, ok := data.(int); ok { future.Set(num*num, nil) } else { future.Set(nil, fmt.Errorf("invalid data type")) } }() return future } func main() { service := NewAsyncService(3) // Start multiple async operations futures := make([]*Future, 5) for i := 0; i < 5; i++ { fmt.Printf("Starting async operation %d\n", i+1) futures[i] = service.ProcessAsync((i + 1) * 10) } // Wait for all results fmt.Println("\nWaiting for results...") for i, future := range futures { result, err := future.Get() if err != nil { fmt.Printf("Operation %d failed: %v\n", i+1, err) } else { fmt.Printf("Operation %d result: %v\n", i+1, result) } } // Example with timeout fmt.Println("\nTesting timeout...") timeoutFuture := service.ProcessAsync(100) result, err := timeoutFuture.GetWithTimeout(50 * time.Millisecond) if err != nil { fmt.Printf("Timeout example failed: %v\n", err) } else { fmt.Printf("Timeout example result: %v\n", result) } } Batch Request/Response package main import ( "fmt" "sync" "time" ) // BatchRequest represents multiple requests processed together type BatchRequest struct { ID string Items []interface{} Response chan BatchResponse } // BatchResponse contains results for all items in a batch type BatchResponse struct { ID string Results []BatchResult Error error } // BatchResult represents the result of processing one item type BatchResult struct { Index int Result interface{} Error error } // BatchProcessor processes requests in batches for efficiency type BatchProcessor struct { requests chan BatchRequest batchSize int batchWindow time.Duration quit chan bool } func NewBatchProcessor(batchSize int, batchWindow time.Duration) *BatchProcessor { return &BatchProcessor{ requests: make(chan BatchRequest, 100), batchSize: batchSize, batchWindow: batchWindow, quit: make(chan bool), } } func (bp *BatchProcessor) Start() { go func() { batch := make([]BatchRequest, 0, bp.batchSize) timer := time.NewTimer(bp.batchWindow) timer.Stop() for { select { case req := <-bp.requests: batch = append(batch, req) if len(batch) == 1 { timer.Reset(bp.batchWindow) } if len(batch) >= bp.batchSize { bp.processBatch(batch) batch = batch[:0] timer.Stop() } case <-timer.C: if len(batch) > 0 { bp.processBatch(batch) batch = batch[:0] } case <-bp.quit: if len(batch) > 0 { bp.processBatch(batch) } return } } }() } func (bp *BatchProcessor) processBatch(batch []BatchRequest) { fmt.Printf("Processing batch of %d requests\n", len(batch)) var wg sync.WaitGroup for _, req := range batch { wg.Add(1) go func(r BatchRequest) { defer wg.Done() bp.processRequest(r) }(req) } wg.Wait() } func (bp *BatchProcessor) processRequest(req BatchRequest) { results := make([]BatchResult, len(req.Items)) for i, item := range req.Items { // Simulate processing each item time.Sleep(10 * time.Millisecond) if num, ok := item.(int); ok { results[i] = BatchResult{ Index: i, Result: num * 3, } } else { results[i] = BatchResult{ Index: i, Error: fmt.Errorf("invalid item type at index %d", i), } } } response := BatchResponse{ ID: req.ID, Results: results, } req.Response <- response } // SendBatchRequest sends a batch request and waits for response func (bp *BatchProcessor) SendBatchRequest(id string, items []interface{}) ([]BatchResult, error) { responseChan := make(chan BatchResponse, 1) request := BatchRequest{ ID: id, Items: items, Response: responseChan, } bp.requests <- request response := <-responseChan return response.Results, response.Error } func (bp *BatchProcessor) Stop() { close(bp.quit) } func main() { processor := NewBatchProcessor(3, 100*time.Millisecond) processor.Start() defer processor.Stop() // Send individual batch requests go func() { results, err := processor.SendBatchRequest("batch1", []interface{}{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}) if err != nil { fmt.Printf("Batch 1 failed: %v\n", err) return } fmt.Println("Batch 1 results:") for _, result := range results { if result.Error != nil { fmt.Printf(" Item %d error: %v\n", result.Index, result.Error) } else { fmt.Printf(" Item %d result: %v\n", result.Index, result.Result) } } }() go func() { results, err := processor.SendBatchRequest("batch2", []interface{}{10, 20, 30}) if err != nil { fmt.Printf("Batch 2 failed: %v\n", err) return } fmt.Println("Batch 2 results:") for _, result := range results { if result.Error != nil { fmt.Printf(" Item %d error: %v\n", result.Index, result.Error) } else { fmt.Printf(" Item %d result: %v\n", result.Index, result.Result) } } }() // Wait for processing time.Sleep(500 * time.Millisecond) } Best Practices Always Use Timeouts: Prevent indefinite blocking Handle Context Cancellation: Support graceful cancellation Buffer Response Channels: Avoid blocking responders Error Handling: Always include error information in responses Resource Cleanup: Ensure channels and goroutines are cleaned up Monitoring: Track request/response times and success rates Backpressure: Handle situations when responders are overwhelmed Common Pitfalls Deadlocks: Not buffering response channels Goroutine Leaks: Not handling context cancellation Memory Leaks: Not closing channels properly Blocking Operations: Long-running operations without timeouts Lost Responses: Not handling channel closure Testing Request/Response package main import ( "context" "testing" "time" ) func TestRequestResponse(t *testing.T) { server := NewTimedServer() server.Start() defer server.Stop() // Test successful request result, err := server.SendRequestWithTimeout("test1", 42, 200*time.Millisecond) if err != nil { t.Fatalf("Request failed: %v", err) } if result != 84 { t.Errorf("Expected 84, got %v", result) } // Test timeout _, err = server.SendRequestWithTimeout("test2", 42, 10*time.Millisecond) if err == nil { t.Error("Expected timeout error") } } func TestFuture(t *testing.T) { future := NewFuture() // Test that future is not ready initially if future.IsReady() { t.Error("Future should not be ready initially") } // Set value in goroutine go func() { time.Sleep(50 * time.Millisecond) future.Set("test result", nil) }() // Get value result, err := future.Get() if err != nil { t.Fatalf("Future failed: %v", err) } if result != "test result" { t.Errorf("Expected 'test result', got %v", result) } // Test that future is ready after setting if !future.IsReady() { t.Error("Future should be ready after setting") } } The Request/Response pattern is essential for building synchronous communication systems in Go. It provides the foundation for RPC systems, database operations, and any scenario where you need to wait for a result from an asynchronous operation.
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