Help Center/ Distributed Cache Service/ Best Practices/ Implementing Bullet-Screen and Social Comments with DCS
Updated on 2023-09-28 GMT+08:00

Implementing Bullet-Screen and Social Comments with DCS

Scenario

Scenarios such as bullet-screen comments in videos or live streaming and commenting and replying on a social website require high live efficiency and interactivity. A platform must ensure a very low latency to support such services. Comments are often sorted by time in reverse order. If a relational database is adopted, the sorting efficiency becomes lower and lower as comments pile up.

Solution

Using DCS for Redis, a key-value list can be displayed in descending order from multiple dimensions. Take live commenting as an example. Bullet-screen comments can be ordered according to their weighted score calculated using their timestamp and then displayed as sorted sets (zsets). The content can be directly stored as values. Zset can also be applied to social websites. Since the quantity of comments and replies is huge, they require ordered display and local persistence. The primary key ID of a comment can be stored as a value, and the content of the comment is stored in the database and queried with the ID.

Prerequisites

  • You have created an ECS. To create an ECS, see Creating an ECS.
  • You have created a DCS Redis instance in the same VPC, subnet, and security group as the ECS. To create an instance, see Buying a DCS Redis Instance.

Procedure

  1. Log in to the prepared ECS. To log in, see Logging In to an ECS.
  2. Install JDK1.8 (or later) and Eclipse on the ECS, and download the Jedis client.

    The development tools and clients mentioned in this document are for example only.

  3. Run Eclipse on the ECS, create a Java project, and import the Jedis client as a library into the project.
  4. Configure the connection address, port, and password of the DCS Redis instance in Sample Code of Bullet-Screen Comments in Live Streaming or Sample Code of Replying to a Comment on a Social Website.
  5. Compile and run the code.

Sample Code of Bullet-Screen Comments in Live Streaming

package org.example.task;
 
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Set;
import java.util.UUID;
 
import redis.clients.jedis.Jedis;
import redis.clients.jedis.Tuple;
 
public class VideoBulletScreenDemo {
 
    static final int MESSAGE_NUM = 30;
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        String host = "127.0.0.1";
 
        int port = 6379;
 
        Jedis jedisClient = new Jedis(host,port);
 
        try {
            String authMsg = jedisClient.auth("123456");
 
            if (!authMsg.equals("OK")){
                System.out.println("AUTH FAILED: " + authMsg);
            }
 
            String key = "Live comment list";
 
            jedisClient.del(key);
 
            // Randomly spawn bullets.
            List<String> messageList = new ArrayList<>();
            for (int i = 0; i < MESSAGE_NUM; i++){
                messageList.add("message-" + UUID.randomUUID().toString());
            }
 
            // Timestamp of random spawn.
            for (int i = 0; i < messageList.size(); i++){
                String message = messageList.get(i);
                int sales = (int)(Math.random()*1000);
                long time = System.currentTimeMillis() + sales;
                // Insert as sorted set of Redis.
                jedisClient.zadd(key,time,message);
            }
 
            System.out.println("    " + key);
 
            // Obtain all lists and output in chronological order.
            Set<Tuple> sortedMessageList  = jedisClient.zrangeWithScores(key, 0, -1);
            for (Tuple message : sortedMessageList){
                System.out.println("bullets content: " + message.getElement() + ", sent time: " + Double.valueOf(message.getScore()).longValue());
            }
 
 
            System.out.println();
            System.out.println("    The latest 5 bullets");
 
            Set<Tuple> sortedTopList = jedisClient.zrevrangeWithScores(key,0,4);
            for (Tuple product : sortedTopList){
                System.out.println("bullets content: " + product.getElement() + ", sent time: " + Double.valueOf(product.getScore()).longValue());
            }
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } finally {
            jedisClient.quit();
            jedisClient.close();
        }
 
    }
 
}

Compile and run the demo. The result is as follows:

Live comment list
bullets content: message-07f1add5-2f85-4309-9f31-313c860b33dc, sent time: 1686902337377
bullets content: message-2062e817-3145-4d8b-af7f-46f334c8569c, sent time: 1686902337394
bullets content: message-ad36a0ca-e8bd-4883-a091-e12a25c00106, sent time: 1686902337396
bullets content: message-f02f9960-bb57-49ae-b7d8-6bd6d3ad3d14, sent time: 1686902337412
bullets content: message-5ca39948-866e-4e54-a469-f958cae843f6, sent time: 1686902337457
bullets content: message-5cc8b4ba-da61-4d01-9625-cf2e7337ef10, sent time: 1686902337489
bullets content: message-15378516-18ce-4da7-bd3c-35c57dd65602, sent time: 1686902337495
bullets content: message-1b280525-53e5-4fc6-a3e7-fb8e71eef85e, sent time: 1686902337540
bullets content: message-adf876d1-e747-414e-92a2-397fc329bd58, sent time: 1686902337541
bullets content: message-1d8d7901-164f-4dd4-abb4-6f2345164b0e, sent time: 1686902337582
bullets content: message-fb35b1b4-277a-48bf-b22b-80070aae8475, sent time: 1686902337667
bullets content: message-973b1b03-bf95-44d8-ab91-0c317b2d61b3, sent time: 1686902337755
bullets content: message-1481f883-757d-47f7-b8c0-df024d6e64a4, sent time: 1686902337770
bullets content: message-b79292ca-2409-43fb-aaf0-e33f3b9d9c8d, sent time: 1686902337820
bullets content: message-66b0e955-d509-4475-9ae5-12fb86cf9596, sent time: 1686902337844
bullets content: message-12b6d15a-037a-47ee-8294-8625d202c0a0, sent time: 1686902337907
bullets content: message-fbc06323-da2a-44b8-874b-d2cf1a737064, sent time: 1686902337927
bullets content: message-7a0f787c-aff1-422f-9e62-4beda0cd5914, sent time: 1686902337977
bullets content: message-8ba5e4e0-22af-4f80-90a6-35062967e0fd, sent time: 1686902337992
bullets content: message-fa9e1169-e918-4141-9805-87edcf84c379, sent time: 1686902338000
bullets content: message-5d17be15-ba2e-461f-aba5-65c20c21d313, sent time: 1686902338059
bullets content: message-dcedc840-1be7-496a-b781-5b79c2091fe5, sent time: 1686902338067
bullets content: message-9e39eb28-6629-4d4c-8970-2acdc0e81a5c, sent time: 1686902338102
bullets content: message-030b11fe-c258-4ca2-ac82-5e6ca1eb688f, sent time: 1686902338211
bullets content: message-93322018-a987-47ba-8093-3937dddda97d, sent time: 1686902338242
bullets content: message-bc04a9b0-ec83-4a24-83f6-0a4f25ee8896, sent time: 1686902338281
bullets content: message-c6dd96d0-c938-41e4-b5d8-6275fdf83050, sent time: 1686902338290
bullets content: message-12b70173-1b86-4370-a7ea-dc0ade135422, sent time: 1686902338312
bullets content: message-a39c2ef8-8167-4945-b60d-355db6c69005, sent time: 1686902338318
bullets content: message-2c3bf2fb-5298-472c-958c-c4b53d734e89, sent time: 1686902338326
 
The latest 5 bullets
bullets content: message-2c3bf2fb-5298-472c-958c-c4b53d734e89, sent time: 1686902338326
bullets content: message-a39c2ef8-8167-4945-b60d-355db6c69005, sent time: 1686902338318
bullets content: message-12b70173-1b86-4370-a7ea-dc0ade135422, sent time: 1686902338312
bullets content: message-c6dd96d0-c938-41e4-b5d8-6275fdf83050, sent time: 1686902338290
bullets content: message-bc04a9b0-ec83-4a24-83f6-0a4f25ee8896, sent time: 1686902338281
 
Process finished with exit code 0

Sample Code of Replying to a Comment on a Social Website

package org.example.task;
 
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.Set;
import java.util.UUID;
import lombok.Data;
import redis.clients.jedis.Jedis;
import redis.clients.jedis.Tuple;
 
public class SiteCommentsDemo {
 
    // Total comments and replies.
    static final  int COMMENT_NUM = 20;
 
 
    public static void main(String[] args) {
 
        String host = "127.0.0.1";
 
        int port = 6379;
 
        Jedis jedisClient = new Jedis(host,port);
 
        try {
            String authMsg = jedisClient.auth("123456");
 
            if (!authMsg.equals("OK")){
                System.out.println("AUTH FAILED: " + authMsg);
            }
 
            String key = "List of replies to comments on a social website";
 
            jedisClient.del(key);
 
            HashMap<Integer, Comment> map = new HashMap<>();
 
 
            // Randomly spawn objects for comment replies.
            List<Comment> commentList = new ArrayList<>();
            for (int i = 0; i < COMMENT_NUM; i++){
                Comment comment = new Comment();
                comment.setId(i+1);
                comment.setContent(UUID.randomUUID().toString().substring(0,8));
 
                long time = System.currentTimeMillis();
                Thread.sleep(50);
                comment.setTime(time);
 
                // Randomly spawn replies.
                if (i > 0 && Math.random() < 0.5){
                    comment.setParentId((int)(Math.random()*i) + 1);
                }
 
                commentList.add(comment);
                map.put(comment.getId(),comment);
 
                // Insert as sorted set of Redis.
                jedisClient.zadd(key,time,String.valueOf(comment.getId()));
            }
 
            System.out.println("    " + key);
 
            // Obtain all lists and output in chronological order.
            Set<Tuple> sortedCommentList  = jedisClient.zrangeWithScores(key, 0, -1);
            for (Tuple comment : sortedCommentList){
                Integer commentId = Integer.valueOf(comment.getElement());
                Comment tmpComment = map.get(commentId);
                System.out.println("comment ID: " + comment.getElement() + " comment parent ID: " + tmpComment.getParentId() + ", comment time: " + Double.valueOf(comment.getScore()).longValue());
            }
 
 
            System.out.println();
            System.out.println("    The latest 5 replies");
 
            Set<Tuple> sortedTopList = jedisClient.zrevrangeWithScores(key,0,4);
            for (Tuple comment : sortedTopList){
                Integer commentId = Integer.valueOf(comment.getElement());
                Comment tmpComment = map.get(commentId);
                if (tmpComment.getParentId() != null){
                    System.out.println("comment ID: " + comment.getElement() + " reply:" + tmpComment.getParentId()  + " comment content:" + tmpComment.getContent() + ", comment time: " + Double.valueOf(comment.getScore()).longValue());
                }else {
                    System.out.println("comment ID: " + comment.getElement() + ", comment time: " + Double.valueOf(comment.getScore()).longValue());
                }
            }
 
 
        } catch (Exception e) {
            e.printStackTrace();
        } finally {
            jedisClient.quit();
            jedisClient.close();
        }
 
    }
 
    /**
     * comment data object
     */
    @Data
    static class Comment{
        // Comment ID
        private Integer id;
        // Comment content
        private String content;
        // Comment time
        private Long time;
        // Comment parent ID of a reply
        private Integer parentId;
    }
}

Compile and run the demo. The result is as follows:

List of replies to comments on a social website
comment id: 1 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745729506
comment id: 2 comment parentid: 1, comment time: 1684745729567
comment id: 3 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745729630
comment id: 4 comment parentid: 3, comment time: 1684745729692
comment id: 5 comment parentid: 3, comment time: 1684745729755
comment id: 6 comment parentid: 4, comment time: 1684745729819
comment id: 7 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745729879
comment id: 8 comment parentid: 6, comment time: 1684745729942
comment id: 9 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745730006
comment id: 10 comment parentid: 7, comment time: 1684745730069
comment id: 11 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745730132
comment id: 12 comment parentid: 9, comment time: 1684745730194
comment id: 13 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745730256
comment id: 14 comment parentid: 9, comment time: 1684745730320
comment id: 15 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745730382
comment id: 16 comment parentid: 1, comment time: 1684745730444
comment id: 17 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745730508
comment id: 18 comment parentid: 12, comment time: 1684745730570
comment id: 19 comment parentid: null, comment time: 1684745730631
comment id: 20 comment parentid: 12, comment time: 1684745730694
 
The latest 5 replies
comment id: 20 reply:12 comment content:877ba7f1, comment time: 1684745730694
comment id: 19, comment time: 1684745730631
comment id: 18 reply:12 comment content:b29f2077, comment time: 1684745730570
comment id: 17, comment time: 1684745730508
comment id: 16 reply:1 comment content:9f31200e, comment time: 1684745730444