RedSharpNano - A Tiny Redis Client

Introduction

RedSharpNano is a minimalistic Redis client for the RESP2 protocol, showcasing that a fully functional Redis client can be achieved in approximately 100 lines of C# code. It's designed to emphasize simplicity, not best practices or optimal implementations. The client has been refactored to support asynchronous operations, making it more efficient for modern applications.

Features

• Lightweight: With only about 100 lines of code, RedSharpNano is extremely lightweight and easy to understand.

• RESP2 Protocol Support: It should be capable of supporting almost all RESP2 protocol functionalities.

• Pipeline Support: Offers a simple pipeline mechanism to batch Redis commands for efficiency.

• Asynchronous Operations: Refactored to support async/await, improving performance for I/O-bound operations.

• Versatile Command Input: Offers two ways to input commands:

  • Use the structured command format:

  await CallAsync("cmd", "arg", "arg")

  • Or use a single string command:

  await CallAsync("CMD arg arg")

  This format allows setting keys and values with spaces by enclosing them in double quotes, e.g.,

  await CallAsync("SET \"my key\" \"some value\"")

• Simple and Easy-to-Use API: The API is straightforward, making it easy to integrate into projects for learning or prototyping purposes.

• Open Source: Distributed under the MIT License, free to use, modify, and distribute.

Installation

RedSharpNano can be integrated into your project in two ways:

1. Direct File Inclusion: Include the Resp2Client.cs file in your project.
2. Library Project: Use the library project provided in the solution for a more structured approach.

Usage

To run the demo project or execute the tests, you need .Net 8 SDK installed and a local Redis server or you can use Docker to run a Redis instance.

• Pull the latest Redis image and runs it in a detached mode with the default Redis port (6379) mapped to your local machine.

docker run -d --name redis-stack-server -p 6379:6379 redis/redis-stack-server:latest

• Clone the repo

git clone https://github.com/janek-lopez/RedSharpNano.git

cd RedSharpNano

• Run the demo projects

dotnet run --project .\src\RedSharpNano.Demo.DistributedLock\
dotnet run --project .\src\RedSharpNano.Demo.Leaderboard\

• Run the tests

dotnet test

To use RedSharpNano, follow these steps:

1. Initialization: Create an instance of the Resp2Client class.

   var client = new Resp2Client("localhost", 6379);

2. Executing Commands: Use the Call method to execute Redis commands.

   var result = await client.CallAsync("SET", "key", "value");

3. Using Pipelines: Batch commands using the Pipeline method for efficient execution.

   var results = await client.PipelineAsync(async c =>
   {
      await c.CallAsync("SET", "batchkey1", "value1");
      await c.CallAsync("SET", "batchkey2", "value2");
      await c.CallAsync("GET", "batchkey1");
      await c.CallAsync("GET", "batchkey2");
   });
   
    foreach (var result in results)
    {
        Console.WriteLine(result);
    }

4. Handling Null or Non-existent Keys

    var client = new Resp2Client();
    var value = await client.CallAsync("GET", "nonexistentkey");
    Console.WriteLine(value ?? "Key does not exist");

Design Philosophy

• Simplicity over Typing: The project is intentionally untyped to keep it tiny and straightforward, aligning with the goal of demonstrating simplicity over adherence to best practices.
• Educational Purpose: Ideal for simple applications or those looking to understand the basics of a Redis client implementation without the complexity of a full-featured client.

Acknowledgments

This project is inspired by TinyRedisClient. Special thanks to the original author for providing a great starting point.

Disclaimer

• RedSharpNano is not designed following the best practices for production-grade Redis clients.
• The client is intended for educational purposes or as a starting point for more complex implementations.
• May not handle all edge cases or advanced features of Redis.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome, especially for educational purposes or to extend the project's scope in line with its core philosophy of simplicity.