Summary

The current RedisItemReader implementation suffers from the classic N+1 problem, executing individual GET commands for each key during batch processing. This creates significant performance bottlenecks due to excessive network round-trips when processing large datasets.

For example, processing 1,000 Redis keys results in 1,000 separate network calls, causing:

• High latency due to network round-trip time (RTT) multiplication
• Excessive load on Redis server
• Poor performance scaling with dataset size

Problem Description

Current Implementation Issue:

@Override
public V read() throws Exception {
   if (this.cursor.hasNext()) {
       K nextKey = this.cursor.next();
       return this.redisTemplate.opsForValue().get(nextKey); // 💀 Individual GET call for each key
   }
   return null;
}

Performance Impact:

• 1,000 keys → 1,000 network round-trips
• Total processing time = Network latency × Key count
• Redis server experiences request flooding

Proposed Solution

Add a batchSize parameter to RedisItemReader and RedisItemReaderBuilder that enables batch processing via Redis MGET operations while maintaining complete backward compatibility.

Key Features:

• Default batchSize = 1 preserves existing behavior (100% backward compatible)
• batchSize > 1 enables optimized batch processing using Redis MGET
• Internal buffering via queue for efficient data handling
• Significant performance improvement with configurable memory usage

Expected Performance Improvement:

• 1,000 keys with batchSize = 100: 90% reduction in network calls (10 vs 1,000)
• 1,000 keys with batchSize = 1000: 99% reduction in network calls (1 vs 1,000)

Implementation Approach
Enhanced RedisItemReader:

• Add batchSize field with default value of 1
• Implement conditional logic: single-key mode vs batch mode
• Use internal Queue for buffering batch results
• Leverage RedisTemplate.opsForValue().multiGet() for batch operations

Enhanced RedisItemReaderBuilder:

• Add batchSize(int batchSize) method with validation
• Pass batchSize to RedisItemReader constructor
• Comprehensive JavaDoc documentation

Usage Examples:

// Backward compatible (existing behavior)
RedisItemReader<String, Object> reader = new RedisItemReaderBuilder<String, Object>()
    .redisTemplate(template)
    .scanOptions(scanOptions)
    .build(); // Uses batchSize = 1

// Optimized batch processing
RedisItemReader<String, Object> optimizedReader = new RedisItemReaderBuilder<String, Object>()
    .redisTemplate(template)
    .scanOptions(scanOptions)
    .batchSize(100) // Process 100 keys per MGET
    .build();

Benefits

• Performance Enhancement: Dramatic reduction in network overhead
• Backward Compatibility: Zero breaking changes to existing code
• Configurable Optimization: Adjustable batch size based on requirements
• Memory Efficiency: Controlled memory usage through batch size limits
• Spring Framework Alignment: Follows Spring's progressive enhancement philosophy

Technical Considerations

Memory Management:

• Batch size validation (1-1000 range) prevents OOM issues
• Internal queue management with proper cleanup
• Null value filtering for memory efficiency

Redis Limitations Awareness:

• Maintains existing limitations (no restart capability due to SCAN nature)
• Preserves idempotency requirements
• Handles duplicate key scenarios appropriately

Additional Context
This enhancement addresses a fundamental performance issue in Spring Batch's Redis integration while maintaining the framework's commitment to backward compatibility. The implementation follows Spring's architectural principles and provides a foundation for future Redis-related optimizations.

Related Issues:

• Classic N+1 problem pattern in ORM and data access layers
• Network optimization in distributed systems
• Batch processing performance in Spring Batch

Environment:

• Spring Batch version: 5.1+
• Spring Data Redis: 3.x+
• Java: 17+

"Terminated by KILL-9 SQUAD 💀"