Publishing messages to Lite topics

This page explains how to publish messages to Lite topics. You can publish messages with the Pub/Sub Lite client library for Java.

After publishing messages and creating a Lite subscription to a Lite topic, you can receive messages from the Lite subscription.

Message format

A message consists of fields with the message data and metadata. Specify any of the following in the message:

The client library automatically assigns the message to a partition, and the Pub/Sub Lite service adds the following fields to the message:

  • A message ID unique within the partition
  • A timestamp for when the Pub/Sub Lite service stores the message in the partition

Publishing messages

To publish messages, request a streaming connection to the Lite topic and then send messages over the streaming connection.

The following sample shows you how to publish messages to a Lite topic:

Java

Before running this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in Pub/Sub Lite Client Libraries. 

import com.google.api.core.ApiFuture;
import com.google.api.core.ApiFutures;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.CloudRegion;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.CloudZone;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.ProjectNumber;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.PublishMetadata;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.TopicName;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.TopicPath;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.cloudpubsub.Publisher;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.cloudpubsub.PublisherSettings;
import com.google.protobuf.ByteString;
import com.google.pubsub.v1.PubsubMessage;
import io.grpc.StatusException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class PublisherExample {

  public static void main(String... args) throws Exception {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String cloudRegion = "your-cloud-region";
    char zoneId = 'b';
    // Choose an existing topic for the publish example to work.
    String topicId = "your-topic-id";
    long projectNumber = Long.parseLong("123456789");
    int messageCount = 100;

    publisherExample(cloudRegion, zoneId, projectNumber, topicId, messageCount);
  }

  // Publish messages to a topic.
  public static void publisherExample(
      String cloudRegion, char zoneId, long projectNumber, String topicId, int messageCount)
      throws StatusException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException {

    TopicPath topicPath =
        TopicPath.newBuilder()
            .setProject(ProjectNumber.of(projectNumber))
            .setLocation(CloudZone.of(CloudRegion.of(cloudRegion), zoneId))
            .setName(TopicName.of(topicId))
            .build();
    Publisher publisher = null;
    List<ApiFuture<String>> futures = new ArrayList<>();

    try {
      PublisherSettings publisherSettings =
          PublisherSettings.newBuilder().setTopicPath(topicPath).build();

      publisher = Publisher.create(publisherSettings);

      // Start the publisher. Upon successful starting, its state will become RUNNING.
      publisher.startAsync().awaitRunning();

      for (int i = 0; i < messageCount; i++) {
        String message = "message-" + i;

        // Convert the message to a byte string.
        ByteString data = ByteString.copyFromUtf8(message);
        PubsubMessage pubsubMessage = PubsubMessage.newBuilder().setData(data).build();

        // Publish a message. Messages are automatically batched.
        ApiFuture<String> future = publisher.publish(pubsubMessage);
        futures.add(future);
      }
    } finally {
      ArrayList<PublishMetadata> metadata = new ArrayList<>();
      List<String> ackIds = ApiFutures.allAsList(futures).get();
      for (String id : ackIds) {
        // Decoded metadata contains partition and offset.
        metadata.add(PublishMetadata.decode(id));
      }
      System.out.println(metadata + "\nPublished " + ackIds.size() + " messages.");

      if (publisher != null) {
        // Shut down the publisher.
        publisher.stopAsync().awaitTerminated();
        System.out.println("Publisher is shut down.");
      }
    }
  }
}

The client library asynchronously sends messages and handles errors. If an error occurs, the client library sends the message again.

  1. The Pub/Sub Lite service closes the stream.
  2. The client library buffers the messages and reestablishes a connection to the Lite topic.
  3. The client library sends the messages in order.

After you publish a message, the Pub/Sub Lite service stores the message in a partition and returns the message ID to the publisher.

Using ordering keys

If messages have the same ordering key, the client library assigns the messages to the same partition. The ordering key must be a string of at most 1,024 bytes.

The ordering key is in the key field of a message. You can set ordering keys with the client library.

Java

Before running this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in Pub/Sub Lite Client Libraries. 

import com.google.api.core.ApiFuture;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.CloudRegion;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.CloudZone;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.ProjectNumber;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.PublishMetadata;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.TopicName;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.TopicPath;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.cloudpubsub.Publisher;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.cloudpubsub.PublisherSettings;
import com.google.protobuf.ByteString;
import com.google.pubsub.v1.PubsubMessage;
import io.grpc.StatusException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class PublishWithOrderingKeyExample {
  public static void main(String... args) throws Exception {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String cloudRegion = "your-cloud-region";
    char zoneId = 'b';
    // Choose an existing topic for the publish example to work.
    String topicId = "your-topic-id";
    long projectNumber = Long.parseLong("123456789");

    publishWithOrderingKeyExample(cloudRegion, zoneId, projectNumber, topicId);
  }

  // Publish a message to a topic with an ordering key.
  public static void publishWithOrderingKeyExample(
      String cloudRegion, char zoneId, long projectNumber, String topicId)
      throws StatusException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException {

    TopicPath topicPath =
        TopicPath.newBuilder()
            .setProject(ProjectNumber.of(projectNumber))
            .setLocation(CloudZone.of(CloudRegion.of(cloudRegion), zoneId))
            .setName(TopicName.of(topicId))
            .build();

    PublisherSettings publisherSettings =
        PublisherSettings.newBuilder().setTopicPath(topicPath).build();

    Publisher publisher = Publisher.create(publisherSettings);

    // Start the publisher. Upon successful starting, its state will become RUNNING.
    publisher.startAsync().awaitRunning();

    String message = "message-with-ordering-key";

    // Convert the message to a byte string.
    ByteString data = ByteString.copyFromUtf8(message);
    PubsubMessage pubsubMessage =
        PubsubMessage.newBuilder()
            .setData(data)
            // Messages of the same ordering key will always get published to the
            // same partition. When OrderingKey is unset, messages can get published
            // to different partitions if more than one partition exists for the topic.
            .setOrderingKey("testing")
            .build();

    // Publish a message.
    ApiFuture<String> future = publisher.publish(pubsubMessage);

    // Shut down the publisher.
    publisher.stopAsync().awaitTerminated();

    String ackId = future.get();
    PublishMetadata metadata = PublishMetadata.decode(ackId);
    System.out.println("Published a message with ordering key:\n" + metadata);
  }
}

You can send multiple messages to the same partition using ordering keys, so subscribers receive the messages in order. The client library might assign multiple ordering keys to the same partition.

Using attributes

Message attributes are key-value pairs with metadata about the message. The attributes can be text or byte strings.

The attributes are in the attributes field of a message. You can set attributes with the client library.

Java

Before running this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in Pub/Sub Lite Client Libraries. 

import com.google.api.core.ApiFuture;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.CloudRegion;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.CloudZone;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.ProjectNumber;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.PublishMetadata;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.TopicName;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.TopicPath;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.cloudpubsub.Publisher;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.cloudpubsub.PublisherSettings;
import com.google.common.collect.ImmutableMap;
import com.google.protobuf.ByteString;
import com.google.pubsub.v1.PubsubMessage;
import io.grpc.StatusException;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;

public class PublishWithCustomAttributesExample {
  public static void main(String... args) throws Exception {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String cloudRegion = "your-cloud-region";
    char zoneId = 'b';
    // Choose an existing topic for the publish example to work.
    String topicId = "your-topic-id";
    long projectNumber = Long.parseLong("123456789");

    publishWithCustomAttributesExample(cloudRegion, zoneId, projectNumber, topicId);
  }

  // Publish messages to a topic with custom attributes.
  public static void publishWithCustomAttributesExample(
      String cloudRegion, char zoneId, long projectNumber, String topicId)
      throws StatusException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException {

    TopicPath topicPath =
        TopicPath.newBuilder()
            .setProject(ProjectNumber.of(projectNumber))
            .setLocation(CloudZone.of(CloudRegion.of(cloudRegion), zoneId))
            .setName(TopicName.of(topicId))
            .build();

    PublisherSettings publisherSettings =
        PublisherSettings.newBuilder().setTopicPath(topicPath).build();

    Publisher publisher = Publisher.create(publisherSettings);

    // Start the publisher. Upon successful starting, its state will become RUNNING.
    publisher.startAsync().awaitRunning();

    String message = "message-with-custom-attributes";

    // Convert the message to a byte string.
    ByteString data = ByteString.copyFromUtf8(message);
    PubsubMessage pubsubMessage =
        PubsubMessage.newBuilder()
            .setData(data)
            // Add two sets of custom attributes to the message.
            .putAllAttributes(ImmutableMap.of("year", "2020", "author", "unknown"))
            .build();

    // Publish a message.
    ApiFuture<String> future = publisher.publish(pubsubMessage);

    // Shut down the publisher.
    publisher.stopAsync().awaitTerminated();

    String ackId = future.get();
    PublishMetadata metadata = PublishMetadata.decode(ackId);
    System.out.println("Published a message with custom attributes:\n" + metadata);
  }
}

Attributes can indicate how to process a message. Subscribers can parse the attributes field of a message and process the message according to its attributes.

Batching messages

The client library publishes messages in batches. Larger batches use fewer compute resources but increase latency. You can change the batch size with batching settings.

The following table lists the batching settings that you can configure:

Setting Description Default
Request size The maximum size, in bytes, of the batch. 3.5 MiB
Number of messages The maximum number of messages in a batch. 1,000 messages
Publish delay The amount of time, in milliseconds, between adding the message to a batch and sending the batch to the Lite topic. 50 milliseconds

You can configure batching settings with the client library.

Java

Before running this sample, follow the Java setup instructions in Pub/Sub Lite Client Libraries. 

import com.google.api.core.ApiFuture;
import com.google.api.core.ApiFutures;
import com.google.api.gax.batching.BatchingSettings;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.CloudRegion;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.CloudZone;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.ProjectNumber;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.PublishMetadata;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.TopicName;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.TopicPath;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.cloudpubsub.Publisher;
import com.google.cloud.pubsublite.cloudpubsub.PublisherSettings;
import com.google.protobuf.ByteString;
import com.google.pubsub.v1.PubsubMessage;
import io.grpc.StatusException;
import java.util.ArrayList;
import java.util.List;
import java.util.concurrent.ExecutionException;
import org.threeten.bp.Duration;

public class PublishWithBatchSettingsExample {
  public static void main(String... args) throws Exception {
    // TODO(developer): Replace these variables before running the sample.
    String cloudRegion = "your-cloud-region";
    char zoneId = 'b';
    // Choose an existing topic for the publish example to work.
    String topicId = "your-topic-id";
    long projectNumber = Long.parseLong("123456789");
    int messageCount = 100;

    publishWithBatchSettingsExample(cloudRegion, zoneId, projectNumber, topicId, messageCount);
  }

  // Publish messages to a topic with batch settings.
  public static void publishWithBatchSettingsExample(
      String cloudRegion, char zoneId, long projectNumber, String topicId, int messageCount)
      throws StatusException, ExecutionException, InterruptedException {

    TopicPath topicPath =
        TopicPath.newBuilder()
            .setProject(ProjectNumber.of(projectNumber))
            .setLocation(CloudZone.of(CloudRegion.of(cloudRegion), zoneId))
            .setName(TopicName.of(topicId))
            .build();
    Publisher publisher = null;
    List<ApiFuture<String>> futures = new ArrayList<>();

    try {
      // Batch settings control how the publisher batches messages
      long requestBytesThreshold = 5000L; // default : 3_500_000 bytes
      long messageCountBatchSize = 100L; // default : 1000L message
      Duration publishDelayThreshold = Duration.ofMillis(100); // default : 50 ms

      // Publish request get triggered based on request size, messages count & time since last
      // publish, whichever condition is met first.
      BatchingSettings batchingSettings =
          BatchingSettings.newBuilder()
              .setRequestByteThreshold(requestBytesThreshold)
              .setElementCountThreshold(messageCountBatchSize)
              .setDelayThreshold(publishDelayThreshold)
              .build();

      PublisherSettings publisherSettings =
          PublisherSettings.newBuilder()
              .setTopicPath(topicPath)
              .setBatchingSettings(batchingSettings)
              .build();

      publisher = Publisher.create(publisherSettings);

      // Start the publisher. Upon successful starting, its state will become RUNNING.
      publisher.startAsync().awaitRunning();

      for (int i = 0; i < messageCount; i++) {
        String message = "message-" + i;

        // Convert the message to a byte string.
        ByteString data = ByteString.copyFromUtf8(message);
        PubsubMessage pubsubMessage = PubsubMessage.newBuilder().setData(data).build();

        // Publish a message.
        ApiFuture<String> future = publisher.publish(pubsubMessage);
        futures.add(future);
      }
    } finally {
      ArrayList<PublishMetadata> metadata = new ArrayList<>();
      List<String> ackIds = ApiFutures.allAsList(futures).get();
      System.out.println("Published " + ackIds.size() + " messages with batch settings.");

      if (publisher != null) {
        // Shut down the publisher.
        publisher.stopAsync().awaitTerminated();
      }
    }
  }
}

When a publisher application starts, the client library creates a batch for each partition in a Lite topic. For example, if a Lite topic has two partitions, publishers create two batches and send each batch to a partition.

After you publish a message, the client library buffers it until the batch exceeds the maximum request size, the maximum number of messages, or the publish delay.

Ordering messages

Lite topics order messages in each partition by when you publish the messages. To assign messages to the same partition, use an ordering key.

Pub/Sub Lite delivers the messages from a partition in order, and subscribers can process the messages in order. For details, see Receiving messages.