6cdc9f1a43
In the patch "Add exception overloads for Dynamo types", Alternator's single
api_error exception type was replaced by a more complex hierarchy of types.
The implementation was not only longer and more complex to understand -
I believe it also negated an important observation:
The "api_error" exception type is special. It is not an exception created
by code for other code. It is not meant to be caught in Alternator code.
Instead, it is supposed to contain an error message created for the *user*,
containing one of the few supported exception exception "names" described
in the DynamoDB documentation, and a user-readable text message. Throwing
such an exception in Alternator code means the thrower wants the request
to abort immediately, and this message to reach the user. These exceptions
are not designed to be caught in Alternator code. Code should use other
exceptions - or alternatives to exceptions (e.g., std::optional) for
problems that should be handled before returning a different error to the
user. Moreover, "api_error" isn't just thrown as an exception - it can
also be returned-by-value in a executor::request_return_type) - which is
another reason why it should not be subclassed.
For these reasons, I believe we should have a single api_error type, and
it's wrong to subclass it. So in this patch I am reverting the subclasses
and template added in the aforementioned patch.
Still, one correct observation made in that patch was that it is
inconvenient to type in DynamoDB exception names (no help from the editor
in completing those strings) and also error-prone. In this patch we
propse a different - simpler - solution to the same problem:
We add trivial factory functions, e.g., api_error::validation(std::string)
as a shortcut to api_error("ValidationException"). The new implementation
is easy to understand, and also more self explanatory to readers:
It is now clear that "api_error::validation()" is actually a user-visible
"api_error", something which was obscured by the name validation_exception()
used before this patch.
Finally, this patch also improves the comment in error.hh explaining the
purpose of api_error and the fact it can be returned or thrown. The fact
it should not be subclassed is legislated with a "finally". There is also
no point of this class inheriting from std::exception or having virtual
functions, or an empty constructor - so all these are dropped as well.
Signed-off-by: Nadav Har'El <nyh@scylladb.com>
* 'api-error-refactor' of https://github.com/nyh/scylla:
alternator: use api_error factory functions in auth.cc
alternator: use api_error::validation()
alternator: use api_error factory functions in executor.cc
alternator: use api_error factory functions in server.cc
alternator: refactor api_error class
Scylla
What is Scylla?
Scylla is the real-time big data database that is API-compatible with Apache Cassandra and Amazon DynamoDB. Scylla embraces a shared-nothing approach that increases throughput and storage capacity to realize order-of-magnitude performance improvements and reduce hardware costs.
For more information, please see the ScyllaDB web site.
Build Prerequisites
Scylla is fairly fussy about its build environment, requiring very recent versions of the C++20 compiler and of many libraries to build. The document HACKING.md includes detailed information on building and developing Scylla, but to get Scylla building quickly on (almost) any build machine, Scylla offers a frozen toolchain, This is a pre-configured Docker image which includes recent versions of all the required compilers, libraries and build tools. Using the frozen toolchain allows you to avoid changing anything in your build machine to meet Scylla's requirements - you just need to meet the frozen toolchain's prerequisites (mostly, Docker or Podman being available).
Building Scylla
Building Scylla with the frozen toolchain dbuild is as easy as:
$ git submodule update --init --force --recursive
$ ./tools/toolchain/dbuild ./configure.py
$ ./tools/toolchain/dbuild ninja build/release/scylla
For further information, please see:
- Developer documentation for more information on building Scylla.
- Packaging documentation on how to build Scylla packages for different Linux distributions.
- Docker image build documentation for information on how to build Docker images.
Running Scylla
To start Scylla server, run:
$ ./tools/toolchain/dbuild ./build/release/scylla --workdir tmp --smp 1 --developer-mode 1
This will start a Scylla node with one CPU core allocated to it and data files stored in the tmp directory.
The --developer-mode is needed to disable the various checks Scylla performs at startup to ensure the machine is configured for maximum performance (not relevant on development workstations).
Please note that you need to run Scylla with dbuild if you built it with the frozen toolchain.
For more run options, run:
$ ./tools/toolchain/dbuild ./build/release/scylla --help
Testing
See test.py manual.
Scylla APIs and compatibility
By default, Scylla is compatible with Apache Cassandra and its APIs - CQL and Thrift. There is also support for the API of Amazon DynamoDB™, which needs to be enabled and configured in order to be used. For more information on how to enable the DynamoDB™ API in Scylla, and the current compatibility of this feature as well as Scylla-specific extensions, see Alternator and Getting started with Alternator.
Documentation
Documentation can be found in ./docs and on the wiki. There is currently no clear definition of what goes where, so when looking for something be sure to check both. Seastar documentation can be found here. User documentation can be found here.
Training
Training material and online courses can be found at Scylla University. The courses are free, self-paced and include hands-on examples. They cover a variety of topics including Scylla data modeling, administration, architecture, basic NoSQL concepts, using drivers for application development, Scylla setup, failover, compactions, multi-datacenters and how Scylla integrates with third-party applications.
Contributing to Scylla
If you want to report a bug or submit a pull request or a patch, please read the contribution guidelines.
If you are a developer working on Scylla, please read the developer guidelines.
Contact
- The users mailing list and Slack channel are for users to discuss configuration, management, and operations of the ScyllaDB open source.
- The developers mailing list is for developers and people interested in following the development of ScyllaDB to discuss technical topics.