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Gearman

Gearman is an open-source job queue manager and distributed task handling system. It is used to distribute tasks (jobs) and execute them in parallel processes. Gearman allows large or complex tasks to be broken down into smaller sub-tasks, which can then be processed in parallel across different servers or processes.

Basic Functionality:

Gearman operates on a simple client-server-worker model:

  1. Client: A client submits a task to the Gearman server, such as uploading and processing a large file or running a script.

  2. Server: The Gearman server receives the task and splits it into individual jobs. It then distributes these jobs to available workers.

  3. Worker: A worker is a process or server that listens for jobs from the Gearman server and processes tasks that it can handle. Once the worker completes a task, it sends the result back to the server, which forwards it to the client.

Advantages and Applications of Gearman:

  • Distributed Computing: Gearman allows tasks to be distributed across multiple servers, reducing processing time. This is especially useful for large, data-intensive tasks like image processing, data analysis, or web scraping.

  • Asynchronous Processing: Gearman supports background job execution, meaning a client does not need to wait for a job to complete. The results can be retrieved later.

  • Load Balancing: By using multiple workers, Gearman can distribute the load of tasks across several machines, offering better scalability and fault tolerance.

  • Cross-platform and Multi-language: Gearman supports various programming languages like C, Perl, Python, PHP, and more, so developers can work in their preferred language.

Typical Use Cases:

  • Batch Processing: When large datasets need to be processed, Gearman can split the task across multiple workers for parallel processing.

  • Microservices: Gearman can be used to coordinate different services and distribute tasks across multiple servers.

  • Background Jobs: Websites can offload tasks like report generation or email sending to the background, allowing them to continue serving user requests.

Overall, Gearman is a useful tool for distributing tasks and improving the efficiency of job processing across multiple systems.

 


Rich Site Summary - RSS

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary. It's a web feed format used to deliver regularly updated content from websites in a standardized form, without having to visit the website directly. RSS feeds typically contain titles, summaries, and links to full articles or content.

How does RSS work?

  1. Subscribing to feeds: Users can subscribe to RSS feeds from websites that offer them. These feeds provide information about new content on the site.

  2. Using an RSS reader: To read RSS feeds, you use an RSS reader or feed reader (apps or programs). These readers collect and display all subscribed content in one place. Popular RSS readers include Feedly or Inoreader.

  3. Automatic updates: The RSS reader regularly checks the subscribed feeds for new content and displays it to the user. This way, you can get all the latest updates from different sites centrally without visiting each one.

Benefits of RSS:

  • Time-saving: You don't need to visit each website to search for new content. The content comes directly to you.
  • Organized: RSS feeds show you only the newest and most relevant content.
  • Ad-free: RSS feeds often have fewer distracting ads compared to the websites themselves.

Examples of RSS use:

  • Subscribing to news websites to get the latest headlines.
  • Following blogs or forums to stay informed about new posts.
  • Receiving updates from YouTube channels or podcasts about new content.

RSS is a convenient way to keep track of updates from many different websites in one place.

 


JSON Web Token - JWT

A JSON Web Token (JWT) is a compact, secure, and self-describing format for exchanging information between parties. It consists of a JSON structure that has three parts: the header, the payload, and the signature.

  1. Header: The header contains metadata about the type of the token and the signature algorithm used.

  2. Payload: The payload contains the actual claims or information carried by the token. These claims can include user data, roles, permissions, etc.

  3. Signature: The signature is used to ensure that the token has not been tampered with. It is created by signing the header, payload, and a secret key (known only to the issuer of the token).

JWTs are commonly used for authentication and authorization in web applications. For example, they can be used to authenticate users after login and grant them access to specific resources by being stored in HTTP headers or HTTP cookies and exchanged between the client and the server.


Unicast

Unicast is a term in computer networking that describes the transmission of data to a single receiving address. In contrast, there's broadcast, where data is sent to all addresses in a network, or multicast, where data is sent to a specific group of addresses.

Unicast communication is typical for many Internet applications where data needs to be sent to a specific recipient, such as retrieving web pages, sending emails, or downloading files. In a unicast communication model, a sender sends data to a specific IP address, and a specific receiver responds by receiving the data and reacting to it.


Broadcast

Broadcast refers to a method of data transmission in a network where data is sent from a single source to multiple or all participants in the network. In contrast to Unicast, where data is sent from one source to a single recipient, and Multicast, where data is sent to a predefined group of recipients, in Broadcast, data is sent to all participants in the network, regardless of whether they need the data or not.

Broadcast is commonly used in networks to disseminate information that is of interest to all participants, such as ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) requests, where a device wants to identify the MAC address of another device on the network, or DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) requests, where devices request IP addresses from a DHCP server.

Although Broadcast provides a simple way to distribute data in the network, it can lead to network congestion, especially in larger networks, since all participants must receive the transmitted data regardless of whether it is relevant or not. For this reason, Broadcast is often used with caution in larger networks and replaced by more efficient techniques like Multicast where appropriate.

 


Multicast

Multicast is a network communication method where data is transmitted from one source to a group of recipients. Unlike Unicast, where data is sent from one source to a single recipient, Multicast enables efficient transmission of data to a pre-defined group of recipients who wish to share the data.

In Multicast, data is sent once from the source and copied by routers in the network and forwarded to all participants in the multicast group. This reduces network traffic compared to Unicast, where separate copies of the data would need to be sent to each individual recipient.

Multicast is commonly used in applications such as multimedia streaming, video or audio conferencing, distributed gaming, and software updates, where the same data needs to be sent to multiple participants simultaneously. It is an efficient mechanism for saving bandwidth and improving the scalability of network applications.

 


Secure WebSocket - wss

Secure WebSocket (wss) is a variant of the WebSocket protocol based on the HTTP Secure (HTTPS) protocol. WebSocket is a communication protocol that enables bidirectional communication between a client and a server over a single, persistent connection. Unlike traditional HTTP connections, which are based on request and response, WebSocket allows continuous real-time data transmission.

The security of WebSocket is ensured by using TLS/SSL (Transport Layer Security/Secure Sockets Layer) for encrypting and authenticating the data transmission. By using wss, the communication between the WebSocket client and server is encrypted, ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of the transmitted data.

The use of wss is particularly important when transmitting sensitive information, as encryption ensures that third parties cannot eavesdrop on or manipulate the data. This is especially relevant when WebSocket is employed in applications such as real-time chats, online games, financial transactions, or other scenarios where privacy and security are of high importance.

 


Websockets

Websockets are an advanced technology for bidirectional communication between a web browser (client) and a web server. Unlike traditional HTTP connections, which typically work in a unidirectional manner (from the client to the server), Websockets enable simultaneous communication in both directions.

Here are some key features of Websockets:

  1. Bidirectional Communication: Websockets allow real-time communication between the client and server, with both parties able to send messages in both directions.

  2. Low Latency: By establishing a persistent connection between the client and server, Websockets reduce latency compared to traditional HTTP requests, where a new connection has to be established for each request.

  3. Efficiency: Websockets reduce overhead compared to HTTP, requiring fewer header details and relying on a single connection instead of establishing a new one for each request.

  4. Support for Various Protocols: Websockets can use different protocols, including the WebSocket protocol itself, as well as Secure WebSocket (wss) for encrypted connections.

  5. Event-Driven Communication: Websockets are well-suited for event-driven applications where real-time updates are required, such as in chat applications, real-time games, or live streaming.

Websockets are widely used in modern web applications to implement real-time functionalities. Using Websockets can make applications faster and more responsive, especially when dealing with dynamic or frequently changing data.