在并发量比较大的场景,如果采用直接访问数据库的方式,将会对数据库带来巨大的压力,严重的情况下可能会导致数据库不可用状态,并且时间的消耗也是不能容忍的,尤其对于某些获取起来比较昂贵的数据。在这种情况下,一般采用缓存的方式。将经常访问的热点数据提前加载到内存中,这样能够大大降低数据库的压力。
OSCache是一个开源的缓存框架,虽然现在已经停止维护了,但是对于OSCache的实现还是值得学习和借鉴的。下面通过OSCache的部分源码分析OSCache的设计思想。
缓存数据结构
通常缓存都是通过<K,V>这种数据结构存储,但缓存都是应用在多线程的场景下,需要保证线程安全。Java中可以选择HashTable、ConcurrentHashMap、synchronizedMap等。OSCache本质上使用的HashTable实现的,具体实现代码在com.opensymphony.oscache.base.algorithm.AbstractConcurrentReadCache中。由于HashTable在保证线程安全上采用的加锁整个数据块,因此,适合读多写少(mostly-concurrent reading, but exclusive writing)的场景(OSCache对原始的HashTable进行了优化,下面会讲到)。如果写很多的话,可以采用ConcurrentHashMap数据结构。
获得缓存内容
//从缓存中获取指定key对应的内容
public Object getFromCache(String key, int refreshPeriod, String cronExpiry) throws NeedsRefreshException {
//首先尝试获取内容,如果获取不到,则新建一个CacheEntry对象
CacheEntry cacheEntry = this.getCacheEntry(key, null, null);
Object content = cacheEntry.getContent();
CacheMapAccessEventType accessEventType = CacheMapAccessEventType.HIT;
boolean reload = false;
// 检查缓存是否过期,如果过期分为以下几种情况处理
if (this.isStale(cacheEntry, refreshPeriod, cronExpiry)) {
//获取更新状态,如果没有,新建一个同时引用计数默认为1
EntryUpdateState updateState = getUpdateState(key);
try {
synchronized (updateState) {
if (updateState.isAwaitingUpdate() || updateState.isCancelled()) {
// 如果状态为等待刷新或者已经取消刷新,说明当前没有其他线程对其进行刷新操作
// 因此这里启动刷新操作(这里会将状态更新为刷新中同时引用计数+1)
updateState.startUpdate();
//如果是新建的CacheEntry对象(即之前未缓存该key对应的对象)
if (cacheEntry.isNew()) {
//设置命中状态为未命中
accessEventType = CacheMapAccessEventType.MISS;
} else {
//否则说明虽然命中了,但是需要刷新
accessEventType = CacheMapAccessEventType.STALE_HIT;
}
} else if (updateState.isUpdating()) {
// 如果更新状态为刷新中,说明另有一个线程正对该缓存对象执行刷新操作
// 此时如果是新建的CacheEntry对象或者同步模式设置为true,那么该线程将阻塞
//通过putInCache或者cancelUpdate可以让线程继续运行
// 否则获取到的很有可能是脏数据
if (cacheEntry.isNew() || blocking) {
do {
try {
updateState.wait();
} catch (InterruptedException e) {
}
} while (updateState.isUpdating());
//如果更新状态变成了取消,说明另外一个线程取消了刷新缓存操作,那么让该线程尝试刷新
if (updateState.isCancelled()) {
//更新状态设置为更新中并将引用计数+1
updateState.startUpdate();
if (cacheEntry.isNew()) {
accessEventType = CacheMapAccessEventType.MISS;
} else {
accessEventType = CacheMapAccessEventType.STALE_HIT;
}
} else if (updateState.isComplete()) {
reload = true;
} else {
log.error("Invalid update state for cache entry " + key);
}
}
} else {
reload = true;
}
}
} finally {
//将引用计数-1同时检查如果引用计数=0,将updateState移除
releaseUpdateState(updateState, key);
}
}
// 如果该标志位为true,说明缓存一定刷新了
if (reload) {
cacheEntry = (CacheEntry) cacheMap.get(key);
if (cacheEntry != null) {
content = cacheEntry.getContent();
} else {
log.error("Could not reload cache entry after waiting for it to be rebuilt");
}
}
dispatchCacheMapAccessEvent(accessEventType, cacheEntry, null);
// 如果缓存不存在或者缓存过期将抛出需要刷新的异常
if (accessEventType != CacheMapAccessEventType.HIT) {
throw new NeedsRefreshException(content);
}
return content;
}
从上面可以看到EntryUpdateState很关键。EntryUpdateState用来标记某个key对应的缓存的更新状态以及线程引用计数(可以理解为一个计数器),并且每一个key对应一个EntryUpdateState。如果缓存存在并且没有过期,EntryUpdateState为空。OSCache使用的HashTable相对于原始的HashTable在get操作中是没有synchronize关键字的,而为了防止并发问题,所以引入了EntryUpdateState这个数据结构。这样做的目的就是防止过多的使用synchronize,从而对性能不会造成很大的影响。
查看定义如下:
//默认
public static final int NOT_YET_UPDATING = -1;
public static final int UPDATE_IN_PROGRESS = 0;
public static final int UPDATE_COMPLETE = 1;
public static final int UPDATE_CANCELLED = 2;
int state = NOT_YET_UPDATING;
//引用计数
private int nbConcurrentUses = 1;
这里的引用计数,代表了当前有多少线程在缓存更新或存入过程中进行访问。
通过上面从缓存获取指定key的代码可以发现一个问题:当缓存不存在或者缓存过期的情况下,都会抛出NeedsRefreshException的异常,在这种情况下,如果blocking设置为true(通常设置为true),其他访问的线程将处于阻塞状态,直到缓存更新完毕才会继续运行,倘若这里处理不当,将会导致死锁的发生。
因此在该异常产生时,需要进行缓存的刷新操作,官方给出了两种方法:
//第一种:with fail over
String myKey = "myKey";
String myValue;
int myRefreshPeriod = 1000;
try {
// Get from the cache
myValue = (String) admin.getFromCache(myKey, myRefreshPeriod);
} catch (NeedsRefreshException nre) {
try {
// Get the value (probably by calling an EJB)
myValue = "This is the content retrieved.";
// Store in the cache
admin.putInCache(myKey, myValue);
} catch (Exception ex) {
// We have the current content if we want fail-over.
myValue = (String) nre.getCacheContent();
// It is essential that cancelUpdate is called if the
// cached content is not rebuilt
admin.cancelUpdate(myKey);
}
}
//第二种:without fail over
String myKey = "myKey";
String myValue;
int myRefreshPeriod = 1000;
try {
// Get from the cache
myValue = (String) admin.getFromCache(myKey, myRefreshPeriod);
} catch (NeedsRefreshException nre) {
try {
// Get the value (probably by calling an EJB)
myValue = "This is the content retrieved.";
// Store in the cache
admin.putInCache(myKey, myValue);
updated = true;
} finally {
if (!updated) {
// It is essential that cancelUpdate is called if the
// cached content could not be rebuilt
admin.cancelUpdate(myKey);
}
}
}
正如之前的代码,如果这里不调用putInCache或者cancelUpdate,其他访问该缓存的线程将会由于得不到资源始终处于阻塞状态,导致死锁的发生。因此这里是一个非常重要的关注点。只有调用了putInCache或者cancelUpdate方法,阻塞的线程才会开始运行。
下面看一下putInCache和cancelUpdate方法具体做了什么:
public void putInCache(String key, Object content, String[] groups, EntryRefreshPolicy policy, String origin) {
CacheEntry cacheEntry = this.getCacheEntry(key, policy, origin);
boolean isNewEntry = cacheEntry.isNew();
// 首先判断缓存中是否已经存在
if (!isNewEntry) {
cacheEntry = new CacheEntry(key, policy);
}
cacheEntry.setContent(content);
cacheEntry.setGroups(groups);
cacheMap.put(key, cacheEntry);
// 更新状态及引用计数,通知其它阻塞线程可以获取缓存了
completeUpdate(key);
//......
//......
}
}
protected void completeUpdate(String key) {
EntryUpdateState state;
synchronized (updateStates) {
state = (EntryUpdateState) updateStates.get(key);
if (state != null) {
synchronized (state) {
//更新状态为UPDATE_COMPLETE,引用计数-1
int usageCounter = state.completeUpdate();
//唤醒其它等待该缓存资源的线程
state.notifyAll();
checkEntryStateUpdateUsage(key, state, usageCounter);
}
} else {
//如果putInCache方法直接调用(如不是因NeedRefreshException异常调用)这样EntryUpdateState将为null,不执行操作
}
}
}
cancelUpdate的逻辑和putInCache基本相同:
public void cancelUpdate(String key) {
EntryUpdateState state;
if (key != null) {
synchronized (updateStates) {
state = (EntryUpdateState) updateStates.get(key);
if (state != null) {
synchronized (state) {
//更新状态为UPDATE_CANCELLED,引用计数-1
int usageCounter = state.cancelUpdate();
state.notify();
checkEntryStateUpdateUsage(key, state, usageCounter);
}
} else {
if (log.isErrorEnabled()) {
log.error("internal error: expected to get a state from key [" + key + "]");
}
}
}
}
}
从上面的代码可以看到,当发生需要刷新缓存(NeedsRefreshException)的异常时,需要通过putInCache()方法进行缓存的更新或者cancelUpdate()方法放弃刷新缓存,从而释放资源,唤醒其它阻塞的线程。
缓存淘汰(替换)策略
因为我们的内存不是无限的,缓存不可能无限的扩大,因此在缓存占满时,我们需要将缓存中一些“不重要”的内容剔除,从而腾出空间缓存新的内容。如何丈量这个“不重要”,就是我们需要考虑的缓存淘汰(替换)策略。
一般有以下策略:
-
Least Frequently Used(LFU):计算每个缓存对象的使用频率,将频率最低的剔除;
-
Least Recently User(LRU):最近最少使用,具体是将最近访问的内容始终放在最顶端,一直未访问或者最久未访问的内容放在最底端,当需要替换的时候,只需将最底端的剔除即可,这样可以使得最常访问的内容始终在缓存中,使用比较广泛,OSCache中默认也是采用该方法。LRU的这种特性,在Java中很容易通过LinkedHashMap实现,具体实现方法可以参考下面的介绍。
-
First in First out(FIFO):先进先出。实现起来最为简单,但是不适用。
-
Random Cache:随机替换。
当然还有很多替换算法,这里就不一一列举了。仅就最常用的LRU算法进行介绍。
Java中的LinkedHashMap可以保持插入顺序或者访问顺序,对于第二个特性,跟LRU的机制很相似,因此,可以很简单的采用LinkedHashMap来实现LRU算法。
查看LinkedHashMap的定义,有下面一个参数:
final boolean accessOrder;
再看几个构造函数的定义:
public LinkedHashMap(int initialCapacity, float loadFactor) {
super(initialCapacity, loadFactor);
accessOrder = false;
}
public LinkedHashMap(int initialCapacity) {
super(initialCapacity);
accessOrder = false;
}
public LinkedHashMap() {
super();
accessOrder = false;
}
public LinkedHashMap(Map<? extends K, ? extends V> m) {
super();
accessOrder = false;
putMapEntries(m, false);
}
public LinkedHashMap(int initialCapacity,
float loadFactor,
boolean accessOrder) {
super(initialCapacity, loadFactor);
this.accessOrder = accessOrder;
}
可以看到,除了最后一个构造函数,其余的accessOrder默认为false。当accessOrder为false时,LinkedHashMap保持插入顺序,而accessOrder如果为true,将保持访问顺序,因此这正是关键点。具体如何保持插入顺序或者访问顺序,可以参考LinkedHashMap的实现代码,并不复杂。
仅仅是保持访问顺序还不行,我们还要淘汰最近最少使用的对象。LinkedHashMap重写了父类HashMap的afterNodeInsertion方法:
void afterNodeInsertion(boolean evict) { // possibly remove eldest
LinkedHashMap.Entry<K,V> first;
if (evict && (first = head) != null && removeEldestEntry(first)) {
K key = first.key;
removeNode(hash(key), key, null, false, true);
}
}
/**
* Returns <tt>true</tt> if this map should remove its eldest entry.
* This method is invoked by <tt>put</tt> and <tt>putAll</tt> after
* inserting a new entry into the map. It provides the implementor
* with the opportunity to remove the eldest entry each time a new one
* is added. This is useful if the map represents a cache: it allows
* the map to reduce memory consumption by deleting stale entries.
*
* <p>Sample use: this override will allow the map to grow up to 100
* entries and then delete the eldest entry each time a new entry is
* added, maintaining a steady state of 100 entries.
* <pre>
* private static final int MAX_ENTRIES = 100;
*
* protected boolean removeEldestEntry(Map.Entry eldest) {
* return size() > MAX_ENTRIES;
* }
* </pre>
*
* <p>This method typically does not modify the map in any way,
* instead allowing the map to modify itself as directed by its
* return value. It <i>is</i> permitted for this method to modify
* the map directly, but if it does so, it <i>must</i> return
* <tt>false</tt> (indicating that the map should not attempt any
* further modification). The effects of returning <tt>true</tt>
* after modifying the map from within this method are unspecified.
*
* <p>This implementation merely returns <tt>false</tt> (so that this
* map acts like a normal map - the eldest element is never removed).
*
* @param eldest The least recently inserted entry in the map, or if
* this is an access-ordered map, the least recently accessed
* entry. This is the entry that will be removed it this
* method returns <tt>true</tt>. If the map was empty prior
* to the <tt>put</tt> or <tt>putAll</tt> invocation resulting
* in this invocation, this will be the entry that was just
* inserted; in other words, if the map contains a single
* entry, the eldest entry is also the newest.
* @return <tt>true</tt> if the eldest entry should be removed
* from the map; <tt>false</tt> if it should be retained.
*/
protected boolean removeEldestEntry(Map.Entry<K,V> eldest) {
return false;
}
removeEldestEntry方法默认返回false,即默认不移除。因此我们只要在这里加以判断:如果缓存已经占满,返回true,就可以将最近最少使用的对象移除了。因此,通过使用LinkedHashMap,仅需要非常简单的修改即可实现LRU算法。
下面附上LRU的实现代码:
import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
import java.util.Collection;
import java.util.Map;
import java.util.ArrayList;
/**
* An LRU cache, based on <code>LinkedHashMap</code>.
*
* <p>
* This cache has a fixed maximum number of elements (<code>cacheSize</code>).
* If the cache is full and another entry is added, the LRU (least recently
* used) entry is dropped.
*
* <p>
* This class is thread-safe. All methods of this class are synchronized.
*
* <p>
* Author: Christian d'Heureuse, Inventec Informatik AG, Zurich, Switzerland<br>
* Multi-licensed: EPL / LGPL / GPL / AL / BSD.
*/
public class LRUCache<K, V> {
private static final float hashTableLoadFactor = 0.75f;
private LinkedHashMap<K, V> map;
private int cacheSize;
/**
* Creates a new LRU cache. 在该方法中,new LinkedHashMap<K,V>(hashTableCapacity,
* hashTableLoadFactor, true)中,true代表使用访问顺序
*
* @param cacheSize
* the maximum number of entries that will be kept in this cache.
*/
public LRUCache(int cacheSize) {
this.cacheSize = cacheSize;
int hashTableCapacity = (int) Math
.ceil(cacheSize / hashTableLoadFactor) + 1;
map = new LinkedHashMap<K, V>(hashTableCapacity, hashTableLoadFactor,
true) {
// (an anonymous inner class)
private static final long serialVersionUID = 1;
@Override
protected boolean removeEldestEntry(Map.Entry<K, V> eldest) {
return size() > LRUCache.this.cacheSize;
}
};
}
/**
* Retrieves an entry from the cache.<br>
* The retrieved entry becomes the MRU (most recently used) entry.
*
* @param key
* the key whose associated value is to be returned.
* @return the value associated to this key, or null if no value with this
* key exists in the cache.
*/
public synchronized V get(K key) {
return map.get(key);
}
/**
* Adds an entry to this cache. The new entry becomes the MRU (most recently
* used) entry. If an entry with the specified key already exists in the
* cache, it is replaced by the new entry. If the cache is full, the LRU
* (least recently used) entry is removed from the cache.
*
* @param key
* the key with which the specified value is to be associated.
* @param value
* a value to be associated with the specified key.
*/
public synchronized void put(K key, V value) {
map.put(key, value);
}
/**
* Clears the cache.
*/
public synchronized void clear() {
map.clear();
}
/**
* Returns the number of used entries in the cache.
*
* @return the number of entries currently in the cache.
*/
public synchronized int usedEntries() {
return map.size();
}
/**
* Returns a <code>Collection</code> that contains a copy of all cache
* entries.
*
* @return a <code>Collection</code> with a copy of the cache content.
*/
public synchronized Collection<Map.Entry<K, V>> getAll() {
return new ArrayList<Map.Entry<K, V>>(map.entrySet());
}
}
最后,缓存在使用过程中,需要考虑一致性问题。缓存的刷新就是为了保持一致性。具体如何去刷新,需要根据具体的使用场景进行设计。