Introduction to Project Flogo
What is Project Flogo?
Project Flogo is an open-source ecosystem crafted for developing event-driven applications. It is based on the Go programming language, providing an ultra-light framework that is 20 to 50 times lighter than Java or Node.js. The ecosystem leverages a robust event-driven programming model, utilizing triggers and actions to process incoming events with seamless integration capabilities.
Key Features
Project Flogo offers several noteworthy features:
- Ultra-Light: Ideal for enhancing efficiency with minimal resource usage.
- Event-Driven Model: Facilitates powerful programming through triggers and actions.
- Common Core: Provides a unified framework for flexible and reusable solutions.
- Golang-Based: Entirely written in Go for enhanced efficiency.
- Flexible Deployment: Suitable for deployment as serverless functions, containers, or on IoT edge devices.
- Machine Learning Support: Includes a dedicated activity for TensorFlow model inferencing.
- Open Source: Fully open to developers and the community for contributions and improvements.
Components of Flogo
The Flogo Ecosystem consists of several integral components each designed to handle specific tasks:
Integration Flows
This is a process engine for application integration, equipped with a visual development environment.
Stream Processing
Project Flogo offers a streamlined, pipeline-based processing action, allowing for event joining across multiple triggers and time-based aggregation.
Contextual Decisioning
Declarative rules support real-time decision-making based on contextual data.
Microgateway
Adopts microgateway patterns for authentication, rate limiting, and routing, supporting conditional and content-based rules.
Architecture and Functionality
At the core of Flogo's architecture is the concept of triggers and actions, allowing tasks to be performed efficiently:
- Triggers: These receive data from external sources and manage threads through a common interface, enabling custom trigger development.
- Actions: Responsible for the actual processing of events in flexible manners, including integration, stream processing, or rule enforcement.
Flogo Projects and Repos
Flogo consists of multiple sub-projects housed in separate GitHub repositories. These include:
- Flogo CLI: Tools for building and extending Flogo applications.
- Flogo Core: The foundation Go library for Flogo.
- Flogo Streams: Focuses on stream processing tasks.
- Flogo Rules: Provides deterministic rule processing.
- Flogo Microgateway: Allows for complex API gateway actions.
- Flogo Web: A web-based UI for managing Flogo applications.
Getting Started
For developers, especially those working on serverless functions, cloud-native microservices, or IoT solutions, Flogo's setup can be managed using Docker, the Go API, or the command-line interface. The UI is available via Docker Hub or directly from flogo.io, facilitating easy visual application development.
When to Use Flogo
Flogo is ideal for developers who wish to efficiently manage event-driven applications without the complexity of building from scratch. It's designed for:
- Long-running processes needing integration flow control.
- Large stream data manipulation for machine learning or data aggregation.
- Real-time decisioning through contextual rules.
Contributing to Project Flogo
The open-source nature of Flogo encourages contributions. Whether you're interested in expanding the library, fixing bugs, or developing new features, contributions are welcomed through GitHub, where users can fork repositories, make changes, and submit pull requests.
Summary
Project Flogo is an innovative solution for developing lightweight, event-driven applications with a broad range of deployment and development capabilities. It reduces complexity and enhances productivity, making it an invaluable tool for modern application development.