kappa-core

kappa-core

a small core for append-only log based programs

A lot like flumedb, but using multifeed as an append-only log base, which is actually a set of append-only logs.

Pronounced "capricorn".

Status

Experimental, but functional.

Usage

var kappa = require('kappa-core')

var core = kappa('./log', { valueEncoding: 'json' })

var sum = 0

var sumview = {
  api: {
    get: function (core, cb) {
      this.ready(function () {
        cb(null, sum)
      })
    }
  },
  map: function (msgs, next) {
    msgs.forEach(function (msg) {
      if (typeof msg.value === 'number') sum += msg.value
    })
    next()
  }
}

// the api will be mounted at core.api.sum
core.use('sum', sumview)

core.feed('default', function (err, feed) {
  feed.append(1, function (err) {
    core.api.sum.get(function (err, value) {
      console.log(value) // 1
    })
  })
})

API

var kappa = require('kappa-core')

var core = kappa(storage, opts)

Create a new kappa-core database.

• storage is an instance of random-access-storage. If a string is given, random-access-file is used with the string as the filename.
• Valid opts include:
  • valueEncoding: a string describing how the data will be encoded.

var feed = core.feed(name, cb)

Create or get a local writable feed called name. If it already existed, it is returned. A feed is an instance of hypercore.

core.use(name, view)

Install a view called name to the kappa-core instance. A view is an object of the form

{
  api: {
    someSyncFunction: function (core) { return ... },
    someAsyncFunction: function (core, cb) { process.nextTick(cb, ...) }
  },

  map: function (msgs, next) {
    msgs.forEach(function (msg) {
      // ...
    })
    next()
  }
}

The kappa-core instance core is always passed in as the first parameter. The underlying multifeed-index is bound to this.

core.replicate([opts])

Create a duplex replication stream. opts are passed in to multifeed's API of the same name.

Install

With npm installed, run

$ npm install kappa-core

Why?

flumedb presents an ideal small core API for an append-only log: append new data, and build (versioned) views over it. kappa-core copies this gleefully, but with two major differences:

1. [hypercore][hypercore] is used for feed (append-only log) storage
2. views are built in out-of-order sequence

hypercore provides some very useful superpowers:

1. all data is cryptographically associated with a writer's public key
2. partial replication: parts of feeds can be selectively sync'd between peers, instead of all-or-nothing, without loss of cryptographic integrity

Building views in arbitrary sequence is more challenging than when order is known to be topographic, but confers some benefits:

1. most programs are only interested in the latest values of data; the long tail of history can be traversed asynchronously at leisure after the tips of the feeds are processed
2. the views are tolerant of partially available data. Many of the modules listed in the section below depend on topographic completeness: all entries referenced by an entry must be present for indexes to function. This makes things like the equivalent to a shallow clone (think [git][git-shallow]), where a small subset of the full dataset can be used and built on without breaking anything.

Acknowledgments

kappa-core is built atop ideas from a huge body of others' brilliant work:

• flumedb
• secure scuttlebutt
• hypercore
• hyperdb
• forkdb
• hyperlog

Further Reading

• kappa architecture

License

ISC

[git-shallow]: https://www.git-scm.com/docs/gitconsole.log(one#gitconsole.log(one---depthltdepthgt)