Domain Command

This chapter dives into the concept of Domain Commands within Evento Framework, a key element for triggering actions and modifications related to your domain objects in an event-driven architecture.

Understanding Domain Commands

Domain commands represent a specific type of command used to interact with domain objects in your application. Domain objects, referred to as Aggregates, encapsulate domain logic and data pertaining to a particular entity or concept within your problem domain.

Here's what characterizes a Domain Command:

  • Focus: Domain commands are designed to be processed by the aggregates themselves.

  • Purpose: They trigger actions or modifications on the state of the targeted aggregate.

  • Functionality: Commands typically carry data within their payload that specifies the desired action and any necessary information for the aggregate to perform the change.

Benefits of Using Domain Commands

Utilizing domain commands offers several advantages:

  • Separation of Concerns: It promotes a clean separation between domain logic (handled by aggregates) and infrastructure concerns (like message routing and persistence).

  • Structured Communication: Domain commands enforce a consistent structure for interacting with aggregates. This includes the target aggregate ID for routing and potential default locking mechanisms.

  • Domain-Centric Design: Domain commands encourage a focus on domain concepts and behavior, promoting a clear understanding of your domain model.

  • Reusability: By extending the base Command interface, domain commands leverage existing functionalities while adding domain-specific requirements.

Implementing a Domain Command

Evento Framework utilizes an abstract class to define the structure of Domain Commands. Here's a typical breakdown of a Domain Command class:

package com.evento.common.modeling.messaging.payload;

/**
 * The DomainCommand class is an abstract class that represents a command related to a domain object.
 * It extends the Command class.
 * Subclasses of DomainCommand must implement the getAggregateId() method to provide the ID of the aggregate the command is targeting.
 */
public abstract class DomainCommand extends Command {

	/**
	 * The invalidateAggregateCaches variable is a boolean flag that determines whether the caches associated with a domain command should be invalidated or not.
	 * <p>
	 * By default, the invalidateAggregateCaches flag is set to false, indicating that the caches should not be invalidated.
	 * <p>
	 * To retrieve the value of the invalidateAggregateCaches flag, use the isInvalidateAggregateCaches() method. This method returns a boolean value: true if the caches should be invalidated
	 * , and false otherwise.
	 * <p>
	 * To set the value of the invalidateAggregateCaches flag, use the setInvalidateAggregateCaches(boolean invalidateAggregateCaches) method. Pass in a boolean value that indicates
	 *  whether the caches should be invalidated or not. The method returns the command object itself.
	 * <p>
	 * The invalidateAggregateCaches flag is a property of the DomainCommand class, which is an abstract class representing a command related to a domain object. The class extends the
	 *  Command class and must implement the getAggregateId() method to provide the ID of the aggregate the command is targeting.
	 * <p>
	 * The Command class is an abstract class that represents a command object that can be used in a software system. It extends the PayloadWithContext class, which is an abstract class
	 *  that represents a payload object with context information. The Command class also declares the getLockId() method, which retrieves the lock ID associated with the command.
	 * <p>
	 * The PayloadWithContext class extends the Payload interface and provides methods to get and set the context of the object. The class also declares the getAggregateId() method,
	 *  which retrieves the ID of the aggregate that the payload is targeting. The setContext(String context) method is used to set the context of the object. The context is a string
	 *  value representing the available context options for certain functionalities within a software system. The context can be accessed using the getContext() method.
	 */
	private boolean invalidateAggregateCaches = false;

	/**
	 * Retrieves whether the aggregate snapshot should be invalidated or not.
	 */
	private boolean invalidateAggregateSnapshot = false;


	@Override
	public String getLockId(){
		return getAggregateId();
	}

	/**
	 * Retrieves whether the caches associated with the command should be invalidated or not.
	 *
	 * @return true if the caches should be invalidated, false otherwise
	 */
	public boolean isInvalidateAggregateCaches() {
		return invalidateAggregateCaches;
	}

	/**
	 * Sets whether the caches associated with the command should be invalidated or not.
	 *
	 * @param invalidateAggregateCaches true if the caches should be invalidated, false otherwise
	 * @param <T>                       the type of the command
	 */
	public <T extends DomainCommand> void setInvalidateAggregateCaches(boolean invalidateAggregateCaches) {
		this.invalidateAggregateCaches = invalidateAggregateCaches;
	}

	/**
	 * Retrieves whether the aggregate snapshot associated with the command should be invalidated or not.
	 *
	 * @return true if the aggregate snapshot should be invalidated, false otherwise
	 */
	public boolean isInvalidateAggregateSnapshot() {
		return invalidateAggregateSnapshot;
	}

	/**
	 * Sets whether the aggregate snapshot associated with the command should be invalidated or not.
	 *
	 * @param invalidateAggregateSnapshot true if the aggregate snapshot should be invalidated, false otherwise
	 * @param <T>                         the type of the command
	 */
	public  <T extends DomainCommand> void setInvalidateAggregateSnapshot(boolean invalidateAggregateSnapshot) {
		this.invalidateAggregateSnapshot = invalidateAggregateSnapshot;
	}
}

  • Command Extension: This interface inherits functionalities from the base Command interface, likely including a method to access the payload object.

  • getAggregateId(): This method is crucial for routing the command to the appropriate aggregate for handling. It retrieves the ID of the target aggregate.

  • getLockId() (Optional): This method might be used for optimistic locking purposes. By default, it might return getAggregateId() to use a locking strategy based on the single aggregate.

  • Cache Invalidation Control: The invalidateAggregateCaches and invalidateAggregateSnapshot flags provide fine-grained control over cache invalidation behavior.

Concrete Domain Command Implementations:

While the provided code snippet defines an abstact, actual usage involves creating concrete implementations extending DomainCommand. These implementations represent specific actions you want to perform on your domain objects. Here's an example:

public class UpdateCustomerCommand extends DomainCommand {

    private final String customerId;
    private final String newEmail;

    // Getters, setters, and potentially other domain-specific logic

    @Override
    public String getAggregateId() {
        return customerId;
    }

    // Optional implementation for getLockId() if needed
}

This UpdateCustomerCommand extends DomainCommand and specifies the customer ID and new email address within its payload. The getAggregateId() method returns the customer ID, allowing the command to be routed to the appropriate customer aggregate for processing.

Cache Invalidation Mechanism

The invalidateAggregateCaches flag indicates whether the caches associated with the target aggregate should be invalidated. When set to true, the system should invalidate any cached data related to the aggregate after the command is processed. This ensures that subsequent queries retrieve the most up-to-date data.

The invalidateAggregateSnapshot flag determines whether the aggregate's snapshot should be invalidated. A snapshot is a persistent representation of the aggregate's state at a specific point in time. By invalidating the snapshot, you force the system to rebuild it from the event stream when it's next requested.

Best Practices

  • Strategic Use of Flags: Carefully consider when to set the invalidateAggregateCaches and invalidateAggregateSnapshot flags. Excessive cache invalidation can impact performance.

  • Cache Implementation: The specific implementation of cache invalidation will depend on your caching strategy.

  • Snapshot Management: Implement a mechanism to efficiently create and manage aggregate snapshots.

  • Error Handling: Consider error handling for situations where cache invalidation fails.

By effectively utilizing the cache invalidation features of DomainCommand, you can optimize system performance and ensure data consistency.

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