Mutex write locking of a channel value - go

Question

I have a channel of thousands of IDs that need to be processed in parallel inside goroutines. How could I implement a lock so that goroutines cannot process the same id at the same time, should it be repeated in the channel?
package main
import (
"fmt"
"sync"
"strconv"
"time"
)
var wg sync.WaitGroup
func main() {
var data []string
for d := 0; d < 30; d++ {
data = append(data, "id1")
data = append(data, "id2")
data = append(data, "id3")
}
chanData := createChan(data)
for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
wg.Add(1)
process(chanData, i)
}
wg.Wait()
}
func createChan(data []string) <-chan string {
var out = make(chan string)
go func() {
for _, val := range data {
out <- val
}
close(out)
}()
return out
}
func process(ids <-chan string, i int) {
go func() {
defer wg.Done()
for id := range ids {
fmt.Println(id + " (goroutine " + strconv.Itoa(i) + ")")
time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
}
}()
}
--edit:
All values need to be processed in any order, but "id1, "id2" & "id3" need to block so they cannot be processed by more than one goroutine at the same time.

Answer 1

The simplest solution here is to not send the duplicate values at all, and then no synchronization is required.
func createChan(data []string) <-chan string {
seen := make(map[string]bool)
var out = make(chan string)
go func() {
for _, val := range data {
if seen[val] {
continue
}
seen[val] = true
out <- val
}
close(out)
}()
return out
}

Answer 2

I've found a solution. Someone has written a package (github.com/EagleChen/mapmutex) to do exactly what I needed:
package main
import (
"fmt"
"github.com/EagleChen/mapmutex"
"strconv"
"sync"
"time"
)
var wg sync.WaitGroup
var mutex *mapmutex.Mutex
func main() {
mutex = mapmutex.NewMapMutex()
var data []string
for d := 0; d < 30; d++ {
data = append(data, "id1")
data = append(data, "id2")
data = append(data, "id3")
}
chanData := createChan(data)
for i := 0; i < 10; i++ {
wg.Add(1)
process(chanData, i)
}
wg.Wait()
}
func createChan(data []string) <-chan string {
var out = make(chan string)
go func() {
for _, val := range data {
out <- val
}
close(out)
}()
return out
}
func process(ids <-chan string, i int) {
go func() {
defer wg.Done()
for id := range ids {
if mutex.TryLock(id) {
fmt.Println(id + " (goroutine " + strconv.Itoa(i) + ")")
time.Sleep(1 * time.Second)
mutex.Unlock(id)
}
}
}()
}

Answer 3

Your problem as stated is difficult by definition and my first choice would be to re-architect the application to avoid it, but if that's not an option:
First, I assume that if a given ID is repeated you still want it processed twice, but not in parallel (if that's not the case and the 2nd instance must be ignored, it becomes even more difficult, because you have to remember every ID you have processed forever, so you don't run the task over it twice).
To achieve your goal, you must keep track of every ID that is being acted upon in a goroutine - a go map is your best option here (note that its size will grow up to as many goroutines as you spin in parallel!). The map itself must be protected by a lock, as it is modified from multiple goroutines.
Another simplification that I'd take is that it is OK for an ID removed from the channel to be added back to it if found to be currently processed by another gorotuine. Then, we need map[string]bool as the tracking device, plus a sync.Mutex to guard it. For simplicity, I assume the map, mutex and the channel are global variables; but that may not be convenient for you - arrange access to those as you see fit (arguments to the goroutine, closure, etc.).
import "sync"
var idmap map[string]bool
var mtx sync.Mutex
var queue chan string
func process_one_id(id string) {
busy := false
mtx.Lock()
if idmap[id] {
busy = true
} else {
idmap[id] = true
}
mtx.Unlock()
if busy { // put the ID back on the queue and exit
queue <- id
return
}
// ensure the 'busy' mark is cleared at the end:
defer func() { mtx.Lock(); delete(idmap, id); mtx.Unlock() }()
// do your processing here
// ....
}