Introduction
Message Queues are a way to exchange messages between applications. Senders send data objects to a queue and receivers, receive objects from a queue. Amazon’s Simple Queue Service (SQS) is a service offered by AWS that offers scalability and reliability by being distributed across Amazon.
A message queue decouples applications. A message producer only knows about the queue and knows nothing about the queue’s consumers. Likewise, a message consumer only knows about the queue and knows nothing about the queue’s other consumers or producers. Moreover, producers and consumers know nothing about timing, and are asynchronous.
For more on queues and message-passing in general, there are many resources online. Here is a good reference from MIT: Reading 22: Queues and Message-Passing.
Use Case
Suspend disbelief, or more accurately, simply build the system regardless of what you think about the soundness behind the business plan. Famous entrepreneur John Bunyan from Washington State has a plan to get rich and famous by finally proving conclusively that Bigfoot – or Sasquatch for the cultured – exists and uses the extensive system of hiking trails to move around.
Against his accountant’s advice, he liquidated half his fortune to install a series of hidden cameras along Washington State’s hiking trails to take photos every fifteen minutes. As he is a busy man, he does not have time to analyze all the photos personally, and so he wants image analysis software to analyze the images. If the software registers a Sasquatch, he wants the images to personally go to his email account so he can register the image as a Squatch or not.
Now, if 10,000 cameras take a picture every 15 minutes, that is 600,000 images per hour. Assume each image takes up to five minutes to process. Hopefully you can see, we have a scalability issue.
There are various ways to deal with this scalability issue, but as this is a tutorial on SQS, we use AWS SQS. And, as I am fond of admonishing in all my tutorials, if the “business case” seems suspect, then suspend disbelief and focus on the AWS code.
Design
Enough apologizing for the business case, let’s focus on the application’s design. The following diagram illustrates the dilemma.
- Every
n minutes, a Station sends an observation to an AWS queue. - There are 1 or more
SquatchFinder components whose job is to pick up an observation from the queue and process the observation. Station is the producer while SasquatchFinder is the consumer.
Stations send observations to the queue and SasquatchFinders get observations from the queue.
Queues implement an asynchronous Producer/Consumer design pattern.
We can formalize our requirements with a simple class diagram. A Station creates an Observation. A SasquatchFinder processes an Observation.
Class diagram illustrating the design.
All communication with AWS from external processes is via its REST API. SQS is no different. Moreover, SQS queues only accept textual data. But a common need is for the queue to accept binary data, such as an image. Also, JSON is a textual data transport format.
We can translate the Observation into a JSON document. The image is converted to base64 encoding so it can be represented as text. Note the encodedImage in this tutorial is always truncated with <snip>, as the base64 string is quite long.
{
timestamp: "1558493503",
latitude:"46.879967",
longitude:"-121.726906",
encodedImage:"/9j/4AA <snip> 3QEUBGX/9k="
}
Base64 Encoding
Images are binary. However, all binary can be represented by a String provided it is encoded and decoded correctly. Base64 is an encoding scheme that is converts binary to a string. It’s useful because it allows embedding binary data, such as an image, in a textual file, such as a webpage or JSON document. AWS queues only allow textual data, and so if you wish to store an image on an SQS queue, you must convert it to a string. And the easiest way to accomplish this is by using Base64 format to encode binary data to strings when transporting data and decode strings to binary data when storing the data. For an example of Base64 and DynamoDB, refer to this site’s tutorial: Using the AWS DynamoDB Low-Level Java API – Sprint Boot Rest Application.
Station – Producer
Before coding the application, let’s create a queue. You can create a queue via the Java 2 API SDK; however, here we create the queue manually and then use this queue to send and receive messages.
Create SQSQueue
- Navigate to the SQS console and select standard Queue.
- Click the Configure Queue button.
- Name the queue
SasquatchImageQueue.
- Accept the defaults for the
Queue Attributes.
- After creating the queue, you should see a screen similar to the following:
- Click on the Permissions tab and notice that we have not created a permission. We return to the Permissions tab after creating the two necessary users.
There are two types of queues offered by AWS, Standard Queues and First In First Out (FIFO) Queues. Standard queues provide what is called best-effort ordering. Although messages are usually delivered in the order they are received, there are no guarantees. Moreover, messages can also be processed more than once. FIFO queues, in contrast, guarantee first in first out delivery and processing only once.
In this tutorial, we primarily use standard queues. However, towards the end of this tutorial, we illustrate using a FIFO queue.
Create SQSQueue Users
We need to create two users, one to interact with the queue for sending messages and another for receiving messages. If you have created IAM users before, note we do not assign the user to any group or assign any policies. Instead, we allow the queue to determine its permissions. Of course, we assign the user programmatic access and download the credentials file.
- Navigate to the IAM console and create a new user called
SasquatchProducerUser that has programmatic access. - Save the user’s credentials locally.
- Create a second user called
SasquatchConsumerUser that also has programmatic access. - Save the user’s credentials locally.
- You should have two users created with programmatic access.
Queue Permissions
Initially only a queue’s creator, or owner, can read or write to a queue. The creator must grant permissions. We do this using a queue policy. We write the policy using the ASW SQS Console, although you write it manually if you wished.
Consumer Permissions
- Navigate to the
SasquatchConsumerUser summary screen and copy the Amazon Resource Name (ARN).
The ARN should appear similar to the following:
arn:aws:iam::743327341874:user/SasquatchConsumer
The Amazon Resource Number, or ARN, uniquely identifies an Amazon resource, in this case, the SasquatchConsumer user.
- Return to the SQS console and select the
SasquatchImageQueue and click on the Permissions tab.
- Click Add a Permission.
- In the resultant popup, paste the ARN in the Principal text box.
- Check the
DeleteMessage, GetQueueUrl, and ReceiveMessage Actions. - Click Save Changes.
- After creating the
SasquatchConsumerUser, navigate to the SasquatchProducerUser and copy the ARN for the producer.
arn:aws:iam::743327341874:user/SasquatchProducerUser
- Navigate back to the SQS Queue and add this user to the queue as a permission. Allow the
ChangeMessageVisibility, DeleteMessage, GetQueueAttributes, GetQueueUrl, PurgeQueue, and SendMessage Actions.
- After adding the permissions for both users, the queue should appear similar to the following image:
If you are still uncertain as to adding a permission to a queue, here is a tutorial by Amazon: Adding Permissions to an Amazon SQS Queue. You can also add Server-Side Encryption, as this tutorial illustrates: Creating an Amazon SQS Queue with Server-Side Encryption (SSE).
Although we do not discuss Policy documents, the following illustrates that a JSON document underlies the settings we set using the console. It is, however, important you understand policy documents, as they are at the heart of AWS security. For more information on SQS Policies, refer to this documentation: Using Identity-Based (IAM) Policies for Amazon SQS.
One thing to note is that here we assigned permissions to the queue using SQS rather than the consumer or producer user we created. We could have just as easily used an IAM Policy, as the documentation in the link in the preceding paragraph discusses.
Sending Message Via Console
Although there is probably rarely a business reason, for testing purposes, you can manually add a message to a queue. Although we will not use the message, let’s explore sending a message using the SQS Console.
Java Project – Producer
As discussed, a producer, well, produces messages. If we fully implemented the design above, we would have many Stations. However, to keep the tutorial simple, we limit ourselves to one Station in one project.
Project Setup
Although I developed the tutorial using Eclipse, you can use your own IDE or even the command-line. However, you really should use Maven or Gradle. Here, we use Maven. It is assumed that you are familiar with using Maven to build Java projects.
POM
- Create a new project named
SQSTutorialProducer. - Create or overwrite the POM file with the following POM:
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<groupId>com.tutorial.aws</groupId>
<artifactId>SQSTutorialProducer</artifactId>
<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<properties>
<java.version>1.8</java.version>
<maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>
<dependencyManagement>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
<artifactId>bom</artifactId>
<version>2.5.25</version>
<type>pom</type>
<scope>import</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<artifactId>auth</artifactId>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<artifactId>aws-core</artifactId>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
<artifactId>auth</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<artifactId>sqs</artifactId>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
<artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
<version>1.7.5</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
<artifactId>slf4j-simple</artifactId>
<version>1.6.4</version>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>copy-dependencies</id>
<phase>prepare-package</phase>
<goals>
<goal>copy-dependencies</goal>
</goals>
<configuration>
<outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/lib</outputDirectory>
<overWriteReleases>false</overWriteReleases>
<overWriteSnapshots>false</overWriteSnapshots>
<overWriteIfNewer>true</overWriteIfNewer>
</configuration>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<archive>
<manifest>
<addClasspath>true</addClasspath>
<classpathPrefix>lib/</classpathPrefix>
<mainClass>com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main.Station</mainClass>
</manifest>
</archive>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
</project>
In the POM, we use the AWS BOM so we can avoid specifying AWS library versions. We add dependencies for the required AWS libraries. We also specify that maven is to build an executable jar with the required dependencies packaged in the jar.
Notice the following:
<properties>
<java.version>1.8</java.version>
<maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>
If we do not specify Java 1.8 or higher, the compilation will fail, as the AWS builders are static interface methods that do not work with older Java versions. Although on your machine, the code might compile, you could have issues if you have multiple Java SDKs on your computer. By explicitly setting the version, source, and target, we avoid any potential issues with compilation.
Station
Let’s create a simple executable Java class named Station. This will simulate a bona-fide message producer.
package com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main;
public class Station {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Station running....");
}
}
Executable Jar
Now that we have created the consumer’s basic structure, we can modify it to send an SQS message.
Sending a Message
In this example, we send a message to the queue using the SDK. The data payload is a string of JSON data. You use hardcoded data to send to the queue. Obviously, in a real-world application, the data would come from a different source. To simulate sending messages from a bona-fide producer, a delay is introduced between sending each message.
The consumer has only one SqsClient instance that is initialized in the Station constructor and closed in a method annotated with the @PreDestroy annotation. This annotation is used to mark a method that should be called when a class is about to be destroyed for garbage collection.
Credentials
The client requires credentials to operate. This is the user account that the application uses to authenticate itself to the AWS SDK. Here, we hardcode the credentials for simplicity. For more information on AWS Java 2 SDK and credentials, refer to SDK Documentation.
SqsClient
The SqsClient is an interface that extends SdkClient, and is the client for accessing AWS SQS service. You use the SqsClientBuilder to build the client. You build the client by passing the credentials and the region.
this.sqsClient = SqsClient.builder()
.credentialsProvider(StaticCredentialsProvider
.create(awsCreds)).region(Region.US_EAST_1).build()
All requests to SQS must go through the client. Different types of requests are named accordingly. For instance, requesting to send a message requires a SendMessageRequest, requesting to delete a message requires a DeleteMessageRequest. If you have worked with the other services offered by the Java 2 SDK such as DynamoDb or S3, then this pattern should be familiar.
SendMessageRequest
The SendMessageRequest wraps requests to send messages to the client. You build the request using a SendMessageRequestBuilder. Above, we are setting the queue’s URL, the message’s body, and how long to delay before sending the message. We obtained the queue’s URL from the AWS SDK Console.
SendMessageRequest request = SendMessageRequest.builder()
.queueUrl(this.queueUrl).messageBody(message)
.delaySeconds(5).build();
The URL is in the Details tab of the queue in the AWS Console.
SendMessageResponse
The client sends the request and receives a response. The SendMessageResponse wraps the response. The method then returns the messageId and main prints the value to the console.
SendMessageResponse response = this.sqsClient.sendMessage(request);
return response.messageId();
Now that we have created three messages and sent them to SQS, we can write a consumer to consume the messages. Now let’s create a Java project named SQSTutorialConsumer.
Java Project – Consumer
Consumers, well, consume messages. Let’s create a consumer for the messages on the queue. As with the producer, we greatly simplify the consumer by creating an executable class that runs from the command-line.
Project Setup
Let’s create a Java Maven project for the Consumer.
POM
<project xmlns="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0"
xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"
xsi:schemaLocation="http://maven.apache.org/POM/4.0.0
http://maven.apache.org/xsd/maven-4.0.0.xsd">
<modelVersion>4.0.0</modelVersion>
<groupId>com.tutorial.aws</groupId>
<artifactId>SQSTutorialConsumer</artifactId>
<version>0.0.1-SNAPSHOT</version>
<properties>
<java.version>1.8</java.version>
<maven.compiler.source>1.8</maven.compiler.source>
<maven.compiler.target>1.8</maven.compiler.target>
</properties>
<dependencyManagement>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
<artifactId>bom</artifactId>
<version>2.5.25</version>
<type>pom</type>
<scope>import</scope>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
</dependencyManagement>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<artifactId>auth</artifactId>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<artifactId>aws-core</artifactId>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
<artifactId>auth</artifactId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<artifactId>sqs</artifactId>
<groupId>software.amazon.awssdk</groupId>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
<artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
<version>1.7.5</version>
</dependency>
<dependency>
<groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
<artifactId>slf4j-simple</artifactId>
<version>1.6.4</version>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-dependency-plugin</artifactId>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>copy-dependencies</id>
<phase>prepare-package</phase>
<goals>
<goal>copy-dependencies</goal>
</goals>
<configuration>
<outputDirectory>${project.build.directory}/lib</outputDirectory>
<overWriteReleases>false</overWriteReleases>
<overWriteSnapshots>false</overWriteSnapshots>
<overWriteIfNewer>true</overWriteIfNewer>
</configuration>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-jar-plugin</artifactId>
<configuration>
<archive>
<manifest>
<addClasspath>true</addClasspath>
<classpathPrefix>lib/</classpathPrefix>
<mainClass>com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main.SasquatchFinder</mainClass>
</manifest>
</archive>
</configuration>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>
</project>
SasquatchFinder
Receive Message
ReceiveMessageRequest
The ReceiveMessageRequest wraps the request to receive a message from an SQS queue. We use a builder to create the request. We specify the queueURL and the maximum number of messages to fetch. We specified a single message; however, you can specify multiple messages if desired.
ReceiveMessageRequest receiveMessageRequest =
ReceiveMessageRequest.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl)
.maxNumberOfMessages(1).build();
DeleteMessageRequest
After processing the message, you should delete it from the queue. We do this by obtaining the receiptHandle of the received message which is then used to delete the message.
String receiptHandle = messages.get(0).receiptHandle();
DeleteMessageRequest deleteRequest =
DeleteMessageRequest.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl)
.receiptHandle(receiptHandle).build();
The program processes all messages on the queue. This is a simple consumer, but you could have multiple consumers consuming messages from the same queue.
Message Visibility
A message might be processed twice when using a standard queue. A message, when picked up by a consumer for processing becomes invisible for a configurable time. When we created the queue, we accepted the visibility timeout of 30 seconds. However, if processing takes longer than the visibility timeout, the message can be processed by another consumer. The following diagram illustrates this:
There is a following wrinkle. What happens when the message is deleted from the queue a second time?
Notice that both messages have a different receiptHandle. The queue has an internal mechanism to avoid errors when a message is processed and subsequently deleted twice. However, it does not prevent processing a message multiple times. If we manipulated the processing time and/or the visibility timeout, we could have the message processed even more times.
To actually delete the underlying message, the most recent receipt handle must be provided. So in our example above, the first attempt to delete the message came after the second receipt handle was returned and so the message was not deleted. But the second attempt to delete the message was the most recent receipt handle and so the message was deleted. To delete a message, you must pass the most recently issued receipt handle.
You should design your system to not be dependent upon the number of times a message is processed. Your system should be idempotent. If you need strict processing of once and only once, then use a FIFO queue.
Message Attributes & Dead Letter Queue
Let’s explore two important topics when working with SQS queues: message attributes and dead letter queues. A message can have associated metadata. However, to receive messages with associated metadata, the ReceiveMessageRequest must be explicitly instructed to fetch the associated metadata in addition to the message itself. A message might not be successfully processed. Rather than leaving the message on the queue to fail indefinitely, a dead letter queue can be configured to send message that fails a configurable number of times.
DeadLetter Queue
Message Attributes
To receive message attributes, we were required to build the ReceiveMessageRequest with the explicit instruction to receive the message attributes by specifying messageAttributeNames. That method can take one or more attribute names, or a * to signify all attributes.
The message was sent to DeadLetterQueue, the queue configured as the SasquatchImageQueue dead letter queue.
If you wish to learn more about message attributes, here is a tutorial on Amazon’s website: Sending a Message with Attributes to an Amazon SQS Queue.
If you wish to learn more about dead-letter queues, here is a tutorial on Amazon’s website: Configuring an Amazon SQS Dead-Letter Queue.
maxNumberOfMessages
The ReceiveMessageRequest can receive more than one message at a time if more are available on a queue. Above, we set the maximum number of messages as one. Let’s explore what happens when we change the setting to more messages.
- Create a
com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main package. - Create a class named
Station with a main method in the created package. - Have the
main method printout a message that the class executed. - Compile and package the project. If running from the command-line, you would type the following:
$ mvn clean compile package
- After building, execute the program from the command-line. The printout should appear.
$ java -jar SQSTutorialProducer-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar
Station running....
- Before modifying the program, create a new class named
TestData in the com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main package. - Copy three observations from the observations.json file.
- Or, if you do not wish escaping the
strings yourself, use the TestData.java from this tutorial’s Git project. Note: if you use Eclipse, it will escape the strings for you when you paste the string immediately after the opening quotation. The image’s base64 code is shortened so they can be easily displayed.
package com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main;
public class TestData {
public static String observationOne = " {\n" +
" \"stationid\": 221,\n" +
" \"date\": \"2019-03-12\",\n" +
" \"time\": \"091312\",\n" +
" \"image\": \"/9j/4A <snip> \"\n" +
" }";
public static String observationTwo = " {\n" +
" \"stationid\": 222,\n" +
" \"date\": \"2016-02-09\",\n" +
" \"time\": \"091312\",\n" +
" \"image\": \"/9j/4A <snip> \"\n" +
" }";
public static String observationThree = " {\n" +
" \"stationid\": 223,\n" +
" \"date\": \"2017-12-22\",\n" +
" \"time\": \"091312\",\n" +
" \"image\": \"/9j/4A <snip> \"\n" +
" }";
}
- Modify
Station to have a constructor that takes three strings, the key, secret key, and the queue’s URL. - Create two member variables, one of type
SqsClient and the other String. - In the
Station constructor, initialize the SqsClient. - Create a method named
sendMessage that sends the message to the queue. - Finally, modify
main to send all three messages in TestData.java and pause between sending each message.
package com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main;
import javax.annotation.PreDestroy;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.AwsBasicCredentials;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.StaticCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.regions.Region;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.sqs.SqsClient;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.sqs.model.SendMessageRequest;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.sqs.model.SendMessageResponse;
public class Station {
SqsClient sqsClient;
String queueUrl;
public Station(String key, String secretKey, String queueUrl) {
AwsBasicCredentials awsCreds = AwsBasicCredentials.create(key, secretKey);
this.sqsClient = SqsClient.builder()
.credentialsProvider(StaticCredentialsProvider
.create(awsCreds)).region(Region.US_EAST_1).build();
this.queueUrl = queueUrl;
}
public String sendMessage(String message) {
SendMessageRequest request = SendMessageRequest.builder()
.queueUrl(this.queueUrl).messageBody(message)
.delaySeconds(5).build();
SendMessageResponse response = this.sqsClient.sendMessage(request);
return response.messageId();
}
@PreDestroy
public void preDestroy() {
this.sqsClient.close();
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("Station running....");
Station station = new Station("AKIA22EODDUZONNX2EMP",
"LUXJ5WQjW0p4bk1gC5oGBUi41rxA7oSvWWA/8SqH",
"https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/743327341874/SasquatchImageQueue");
String id = station.sendMessage(TestData.observationOne);
System.out.println("sent message: " + id);
try {
Thread.sleep(10000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
id = station.sendMessage(TestData.observationTwo);
System.out.println("sent message: " + id);
try {
Thread.sleep(5000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
id = station.sendMessage(TestData.observationThree);
System.out.println("sent message: " + id);
}
}
- Compile and run the application and you should see the following output:
Station running....
sent message: b861220e-a37a-424d-880c-5dd67a052967
sent message: 5185e68b-a16f-4300-8ee5-7ef5cca0eb53
sent message: 161f7444-ae7b-4890-b022-0447933054c3
- Navigate to the queue in the AWS Console and you should see three messages in the Messages Available column.
- Create a Java project named
SQSTutorialConsumer as a Maven project. - Create a POM file with the following.
- Create a
com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main package. - Create a class named
SasquatchFinder in the package. - Create a
main method in the class and have it printout that it ran.
package com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main;
public class SasquatchFinder {
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("SasquatchFinder running....");
}
}
- Build the project.
$ mvn clean compile package
- After building the project, execute the program from the command-line.
$ java -jar SQSTutorialConsumer-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar
SasquatchFinder running....
Now that we have the project’s basic outline, we can add code to receive messages.
- As with the Station in the
SQSTutorialProducer project, create member variables. - Create a
main method that initializes the SqsClient. Be certain to use the consumer’s credentials and not the producer’s. - Create a new method named
processMessage and have it use a ReceiveMessageRequest to receive a message. - Create a new method named
deleteMessage and have it use a DeleteMessageRequest to delete a message. - Modify
processMessage to call deleteMessage after a delay. - Modify
main to loop continuously processing messages.
package com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main;
import java.util.List;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.AwsBasicCredentials;
import software.amazon.awssdk.auth.credentials.StaticCredentialsProvider;
import software.amazon.awssdk.regions.Region;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.sqs.SqsClient;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.sqs.model.DeleteMessageRequest;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.sqs.model.Message;
import software.amazon.awssdk.services.sqs.model.ReceiveMessageRequest;
public class SasquatchFinder {
private SqsClient sqsClient;
private String queueUrl;
public static int finderId = 1;
public SasquatchFinder(String key, String secretKey, String queueUrl) {
AwsBasicCredentials awsCreds = AwsBasicCredentials.create(key, secretKey);
this.sqsClient = SqsClient.builder().credentialsProvider
(StaticCredentialsProvider.create(awsCreds))
.region(Region.US_EAST_1).build();
this.queueUrl = queueUrl;
}
public void processMessage() {
ReceiveMessageRequest receiveMessageRequest =
ReceiveMessageRequest.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl)
.maxNumberOfMessages(1).build();
List<Message> messages =
this.sqsClient.receiveMessage(receiveMessageRequest).messages();
if(messages == null || messages.size() == 0) return;
messages.stream().map(s -> s.body()).forEach(System.out::println);
try {
System.out.println("sleeping for 10 seconds...");
Thread.sleep(10000);
this.deleteMessage(messages);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
public void deleteMessage(List<Message> messages) {
String receiptHandle = messages.get(0).receiptHandle();
DeleteMessageRequest deleteRequest =
DeleteMessageRequest.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl)
.receiptHandle(receiptHandle).build();
this.sqsClient.deleteMessage(deleteRequest);
}
public static void main(String[] args) {
System.out.println("SasquatchFinder " +
SasquatchFinder.finderId + " running....");
SasquatchFinder finder = new SasquatchFinder
("AKIA22EODDUZAMDPWSX7", "805hbufO3Sn18eDsBDrOzCgB/eT5KVPM/AIkIpoZ",
"https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/743327341874/SasquatchImageQueue");
try {
while (true) {
finder.processMessage();
}
} catch (Exception e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
System.out.println("SasquatchFinder " + SasquatchFinder.finderId + " stopped.");
}
}
- Compile and run the producer and, if you had ran the consumer in the previous section, you should see the following output:
SasquatchFinder 1 running....
{
"stationid": 221,
"date": "2019-03-12",
"time": "091312",
"image": "/9j/4AAQ <snip> kf/9k="
}
sleeping for 10 seconds...
{
"stationid": 223,
"date": "2017-12-22",
"time": "091312",
"image": "/9j/4AAQ <snip> kf/9k="
}
sleeping for 10 seconds...
{
"stationid": 222,
"date": "2016-02-09",
"time": "091312",
"image": "/9j/4AAQ <snip> kf/9k="
}
sleeping for 10 seconds...
- Navigate to the queue in the AWS Console and you should see no messages, as they were deleted after processing.
In this simple consumer, we first create a client for interacting with the queue. We then obtain a single message from the queue. The program pauses to simulate processing. It then deletes the message from the queue by using the receiptHandle.
Because the program loops, it processes all three messages placed on the queue when we created the consumer.
- Open the SQS Console and send a single message to the queue.
- Modify
SasquatchFinder to sleep for 40 seconds between each message.
public void processMessage() {
ReceiveMessageRequest receiveMessageRequest = ReceiveMessageRequest
.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl).maxNumberOfMessages(1).build();
List<Message> messages = this.sqsClient
.receiveMessage(receiveMessageRequest).messages();
if(messages == null || messages.size() == 0){
return;
}
messages.stream().map(s -> s.body()).forEach(System.out::println);
try {
System.out.println("sleeping for 40 seconds...");
Thread.sleep(40000);
this.deleteMessage(messages);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
- After building the application, open two command-line windows and execute the program in the two different windows at the same time.
One running instance gets the message from the queue. The message’s visibility timeout set at 30 seconds begins. The instance sleeps for 40 seconds to simulate processing.
$ java -jar SQSTutorialConsumer-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar 2
SasquatchFinder 2 running....
mymessage
sleeping for 40 seconds...
The other instance finds no message on the queue, as the message is not visible.
$ java -jar SQSTutorialConsumer-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar 1
SasquatchFinder 1 running....
However, after thirty seconds, the message is visible again on the queue and it is picked up and processed by the other instance.
$ java -jar SQSTutorialConsumer-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar 1
SasquatchFinder 1 running....
mymessage
sleeping for 40 seconds...
Meanwhile, the instance that first picked up the message finishes processing and deletes the message. In reality, it attempts to delete the message. But, as the other process already requested the message and a new receipt handle was issued, the message is not truly deleted.
$ java -jar SQSTutorialConsumer-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar 2
SasquatchFinder 2 running....
mymessage
sleeping for 40 seconds...
Deleted message AQEB3/lhW8cY2cTsl2gd/GOsyPrt1J/
SQn+ZR06ngf24aL5C8SqfUSPZfAl4uc2IwuZuLhZ/5BXYLWVU7AvmgSf0kb4zm0owKh01
EXC4pGhvtNSsioLnk3nd4KiS5YEUO/EssCnRM1we7rXw0eLyd2LehOpPOZ49893lIJ6opy
1vamQxxk6C+7iGcWbY0dMNTvrZqVaZw2JW/eZV5wI99rdUwRP16+RFj7XWsxEI5KJcExgn
WY3jDRQv1mXqe5ZgWI9M7mqPH/rrx8afBdV2P53B7OK0uRm3vUGMzmW/xUgbsxsy5UB0+
DZGLaccUAbegtC74LQ6BLZs64VlFxc8jAC2sp2gheLAZ849j4JkMrA8nWf+P+xKCjqdAL
eGrN754DcxnvhZv79R6sOGcp2lBtTOsA== by SasquatchFinder 2
As the message is still being processed by the second instance, the first does not see the message. The second instance then deletes the message.
$ java -jar SQSTutorialConsumer-0.0.1-SNAPSHOT.jar 1
SasquatchFinder 1 running....
mymessage
sleeping for 40 seconds...
Deleted message AQEBgZK7kq12asCcVVNbFQNlQmmgYTXXO8OzgoJzHpAnqds
BtMnaBxSBvjjgyVqO3nqYwuhFoxPWgXhUoUcgDzejHHSG6dM/VNG1Wdv3Q93THs
JPj6BSQSH/sLjX7qvdFYT20Es0jdhN4dQTNMPyaA3sA7a2x025cUYLsegKfMlWV
fCDThABbn+0evwgkn3hmzwLBvAWZEGIp0mooZvYf6WiLcblbqCnx+Gh5j5/XvmI
pWuT9ux3DQSTYH+f+XdfUxclXP6exwAYyyFm7xHJnlF9LXcRcKmv2QitpQjgjK3
yQBLrogU6dPf8Zp34K8iwMr1TBXEi5mZnfPSA7Cl3a4N2c+MxB+OupGIGGY6uoy
2gFLSiaaunsij/weB0FFaYaE/MFhMsXdMMhNho2o/lrq6SOA== by SasquatchFinder 1
- Create a new standard queue named
DeadLetterQueue. SelectSasquatchImageQueue and from the Queue Actions dropdown, select Configure Queue.
- Modify
SasquatchImageQueue to use DeadLetterQueue for its Dead Letter Queue.
- Select
SasquatchImageQueue and send a new message. - When creating the message, add two message attributes:
- Open the
SQSTutorialConsumer project and modify the processMessage method in SasquatchFinder. Note that you comment the call to delete the message.
public void processMessage() {
ReceiveMessageRequest receiveMessageRequest =
ReceiveMessageRequest.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl)
.maxNumberOfMessages(1).messageAttributeNames("*").build();
List<Message> messages =
this.sqsClient.receiveMessage(receiveMessageRequest)
.messages();
if (messages == null || messages.size() == 0) {
return;
}
messages.stream().map(s -> s.body()).forEach(System.out::println);
for (Message message : messages) {
System.out.println(message.messageId());
Map<String, MessageAttributeValue> attributes = message
.messageAttributes();
Set<String> keys = attributes.keySet();
for (String key : keys) {
System.out.println(key + ":" + attributes.get(key).stringValue());
}
}
try {
System.out.println("sleeping for 10 seconds...");
Thread.sleep(10000);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
- Compile and run the application. The message should process three times.
SasquatchFinder 1 running....
abc
e6ede972-9a6d-4c86-8c00-b16fe18977ff
attribute1:abc
attribute2:ded
sleeping for 10 seconds...
abc
e6ede972-9a6d-4c86-8c00-b16fe18977ff
attribute1:abc
attribute2:ded
sleeping for 10 seconds...
abc
e6ede972-9a6d-4c86-8c00-b16fe18977ff
attribute1:abc
attribute2:ded
sleeping for 10 seconds...
- Return to the AWS Console and you should see that the message is placed on
DeadLetterQueue.
- Modify the
SasquatchFinder class by creating a new method called deleteMessages. - Have the method iterate over all received messages:
public void deleteMessages(List<Message> messages) {
for(Message message:messages) {
String receiptHandle = message.receiptHandle();
DeleteMessageRequest deleteRequest =
DeleteMessageRequest.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl)
.receiptHandle(receiptHandle).build();
this.sqsClient.deleteMessage(deleteRequest);
System.out.println("Deleted message " + receiptHandle
+ " by SasquatchFinder " + SasquatchFinder.finderId);
}
}
- Modify
processMessage to call deleteMessages rather than deleteMessage.
public void processMessage() {
ReceiveMessageRequest receiveMessageRequest =
ReceiveMessageRequest.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl)
.maxNumberOfMessages(10).messageAttributeNames("*").build();
List<Message> messages = this.sqsClient
.receiveMessage(receiveMessageRequest).messages();
if (messages == null || messages.size() == 0) {
return;
}
messages.stream().map(s -> s.body()).forEach(System.out::println);
for (Message message : messages) {
System.out.println(message.messageId());
Map<String, MessageAttributeValue> attributes = message
.messageAttributes();
Set<String> keys = attributes.keySet();
for (String key : keys) {
System.out.println(key + ":" + attributes.get(key).stringValue());
}
}
try {
System.out.println("sleeping for 10 seconds...");
Thread.sleep(10000);
this.deleteMessages(messages);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
- Compile the application.
- After compiling, navigate to the AWS SQS Console and add five messages to the queue, with the message body of
a1, a2, a3, a4, and a5 respectively.
- Run the application and you should see output similar to the following.
SasquatchFinder 1 running....
a4
98a42736-e4b5-4dfd-9428-3e32d2ea145d
sleeping for 10 seconds...
Deleted message AQEBqmAqpGs85ERM2Y8EnD4zjBPO1KxomlhJgQCPQ+
JO3gjYhRcZbflS1gKJT1kas0JId7bX4X+
OmFWQfC8r+gZGr02jwBcKlhvSUIv0tx13Q88EPpzMJDNbB9w9oKbgR+
hc8c0nZQPPjJ2uHu7KeQfTmIdK/dt49cs/
GHFRZeq3pIUWN2jJO8h0UdlpLeFKbB96WjPvakAnXDFd46meejQvBod0x
18L1Y1dBt6cZc5+9AbB6eb4bJjV5dKvyDCt
IUP2XFZ8iwtZF1lxntzqXxdMGYCjzaQ/oqQ5EmVJ/pFMTgWlUTks+
qVFMu7a/sOCfQm7bFwE3AofXQROAK3B0crssZT
bzoqQ9oJv+nj0kn596gidN+gygrISvF9vESIG1M5Ll+Lk2ADWQeO+2UA/AJax3A== by SasquatchFinder 1
a1
a5
c167bb7a-f356-4d5b-aa0f-ea90075cef50
f0d79263-05da-485e-bf6a-fa6b3f9fe92a
sleeping for 10 seconds...
Deleted message AQEBGwtlQPM080KnHDAOWUsZKUQ4PWfLP2g/
AFn0sr9ERDOJFssjl7rNXl3mL6ryqoH9EgiPEGyGXwPm6n/
FSsfbPA9OSMJYLq0Fho9qtpkcoI0mmAqRPQ/7h0J++zAmmf3bflcD
9BqJS+hz4a/Di8Eo6GB0oWJUFZEFYcKWnIUGMNgnQfY3xs
1DF9UuNZdsu7h3KN9hGGy3vSTuLvJJox7DDHSgY+QU3nisT5dTSfl
tKc9vJMQq2mPxB/f2EUmgwKQ82f10A6lPlSjVuiyNtGkKV
au3BorKINz3dtG+xAHd5wWfALFExyip7zFZl6wVsnzfKox9QBaxRS
rukIfx3+w5rIilq1QujPpNqLKItlxOvaXvDvxi/
8lWv31S5UNlY7ooEOYSIkh1wnNwXKY7ZP4aQQ== by SasquatchFinder 1
Deleted message AQEBLIUJqmODdigrnQ88hzta9Zr+PaQnctLqmYrQT
0iU5ZxvaLPy0PGNTe7eKwLHbBvc+WdDbLXK951WaPYWoY9dbMJZMyRN
njEj3doGoUkmBOm0LzTs1xDkV+QPb3fGH3s+mxh2TFhX3KFOwXrvf4uqk
px9mHdGioMWa86NSsCUUEQ3vXGUXprSdGsSqXUsoAug7
v6wBU3QIPzeQm8pRLmjbZPdx+ndeV80FwnFkxDfNx/mtpAibum4ON4Cx
DUB66jLC7nVRe0XxXBllM2G/brS7jseqbz+Q61qbFjLNW
Ko96kTBIrYDjvZEmcSQdp37cYMf4rO/vsr+/XCNUtbtcD8h9Xk8Fc+
atcIsuQSlrLbYMplVgN3EwogYlXJsB9GSOlVQVpO+
gwOLBXonXJ6i3EAbQ== by SasquatchFinder 1
a2
a5
e65fbcc2-2c4a-42f6-8b61-ca97dad4826e
b2bc665c-4c1c-42c7-b3d2-c1d5bf048ee9
sleeping for 10 seconds...
Deleted message AQEB2FZyDGQEOUgLxR9wIxAiJbk++Ktec9RL
on3nAZr7bPeQu2QJ8iVxRMNg92ZgvoPY5qsBndcRGEQjI5zKHQ/
r62tg4+LMWwFLSDBhDF3d55w6OosgLf+K7AIBICGAeTJanTkhCzQ
lWYM+HCDFEve+NhPsr5+/zabaeZrkKwSBh8E2jTCmr29LmNR6ld
9Bz0NSboj5gi+Gxa3dTu+xPGMLMjANVQ1Qa1BhoYEI0QP8kl9gL8
aBpLhkeW1eWXgRaRtRcTAVpjxF73ZlUEFVNyYeE/Mwz9ZT2lWRf
tj6dv5p2PUG5Z6VtbbBw/9AXQElJUTgfHKGd4iGEjo4A3l6ff6g/
NVJzm/LkGq6909txbTIk8PSp5istS4bM318W6VG2ten9jYSU7+
pj8H809AHoW3VEw== by SasquatchFinder 1
Deleted message AQEBMdzd33/uz7jNQMnBJu1ne7GRh9g2xHx6
X0cPWLsU0emEN0G5SGbr3nF/9QklDrrW42BX1HW6IDWxvhlI4/
bOByZobYOfjmv5Cr8
rDEJYnNKWxqxBZeQqjArKTy90WeEs0puUw4l6PouEZOv35daHO0h
01A8Dpk/oMlVBi/OZFCIM4fetG2tUxwa7eU15WiEF4mklZqqJx2b
VTbdiZqwhOucgqXlyXK3IJ5FtBFd6ACtEyX1tQmIBn6njmk/CBuX
0v5+LzaxlntHy9Q+FpjuPLEyyE5wGqIk9B8Kcqv469pnaE3UJJaCK7
DxgG70rF/7M1kYzaDRbRBYJB9jS3W9b8qZpj1JU4JM4euH9xBP4j
59MvdwgIs4lSPvO1F3NtdCuNeOOMF15/
n1WvU2U31jSeg== by SasquatchFinder 1
As the example illustrates, you can specify the maximum number of messages to process, but not the number of messages. This should seem reasonable, as the consumer does not know how many messages are in the queue before processing. As an aside, note that the messages were not processed in the same order they were received in the listing above.
First In First Out (FIFO) Queue
Let’s modify the project to use a FIFO queue and rerun the two consumer instances simultaneously. Note that neither the consumer nor the producer know the queue’s type. They only know its url.
Message Visibility
Attempting to delete messages fail when executed after the visibility timeout window if using FIFO queues.
Conclusions
In this tutorial, we created an Amazon SQS Queue. We created a message producer and a message consumer using the AWS Java 2 SDK. We explored several topics such as message attributes, dead-letter queues, and message visibility. We also created a FIFO queue.
Amazon’s SQS Queue is an easy to use queue that takes the infrastructure management hassle away from the organization. In this tutorial, we only examined SQS basics. For more information, refer to both the Java 2 SDK Developer’s Guide and the SQS Developer’s Guide. Remember, the API from version 1 to 2 changed, so when in doubt, assume you need a builder for an object and that you must configure the object when building it. However, the API is consistent and once you start working with the API, translating 1.1. code to 2 is intuitive.
GitHub Project
The GitHub Project, SQSTutorial is available here.
- Create a new queue named
SasquatchImageQueue.fifo of type FIFO Queue.
- Click Quick-Create Queue.
- Create a new permission, but let’s be lazy and check the Everybody checkbox and the All SQS Actions checkbox. You would obviously not do this in production.
- Modify both the consumer and producer to use this queue’s URL.
https://sqs.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/743327341874/SasquatchImageQueue.fifo
- Modify the
sendMessage method in the producer. Note the removal of the delaySeconds and the addition of the messageGroupId.
public String sendMessage(String message) {
SendMessageRequest request = SendMessageRequest.builder()
.queueUrl(this.queueUrl).messageBody(message)
.messageGroupId("mygroup").build();
SendMessageResponse response = this.sqsClient.sendMessage(request);
return response.messageId();
}
- Compile and run the producer application after changing the queue and the three messages are sent to the queue.
- Compile and run the consumer application and the three messages are processed in the same order they were received.
- Modify
SasquatchFinder processMessage to simulate processing by sleeping for 40 seconds.
public void processMessage() {
ReceiveMessageRequest receiveMessageRequest =
ReceiveMessageRequest.builder().queueUrl(this.queueUrl)
.maxNumberOfMessages(1).build();
List<Message> messages = this.sqsClient
.receiveMessage(receiveMessageRequest).messages();
if(messages == null || messages.size() == 0) {
return;
}
messages.stream().map(s -> s.body()).forEach(System.out::println);
try {
System.out.println("sleeping for 40 seconds...");
Thread.sleep(40000);
this.deleteMessage(messages);
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
e.printStackTrace();
}
}
- Compile and run the application. Note you get an
SqsException.
SasquatchFinder 2 running....
messageMine
sleeping for 40 seconds...
software.amazon.awssdk.services.sqs.model.SqsException:
Value AQEBBJL+BlwyhRLnQGxaIKDkkrEv1sU6VnHzYM51Q0UFdx2lDyWvKoI/JYcs7MktVJ1Nmyr1mCVX/
cpcqS9dMqq7Ual92VLEXDS9hEYM/qg1vdEGHB60OktMzpidyWBenQQyybzXofO+
pAdKOYpC/wiEw8GBPsmFDCHpVn1hxHeLSNJyw10SwNv3DTXQXk4Pe+v3yGf23bf8sDk7
Rx7ApqWYi8n8z9uijZAQBdwuFpUrZslivMWCzid6AFOXI/k83+/tKnSMyT0/Mx0rng0v1k4W
liSgv5YJo5HyEZTt+cOBwfA= for parameter ReceiptHandle is invalid.
Reason: The receipt handle has expired. (Service: Sqs, Status Code: 400,
Request ID: 845b9538-4104-5428-aa2f-c05092244385)
at software.amazon.awssdk.core.internal.http.pipeline.stages.HandleResponseStage.handl
<snip> at com.aws.tutorial.sqs.main.SasquatchFinder.main(SasquatchFinder.java:58)
SasquatchFinder 2 stopped.
- Amazon Simple Queue Service: Developer Guide
- Amazon Simple Queue Service: API Reference
- AWS SDK for Java 2.0 Developer Guide
- AWS SDK for Java 2.0 API Reference
I have worked in IT for over twenty years and truly enjoy development. Architecture and writing is fun as is instructing others. My primary interests are Amazon Web Services, JEE/Spring Stack, SOA, and writing. I have a Masters of Science in Computer Science from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland.
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