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Starting

To read and understand Redis source code, follow these steps:

  1. Familiarize yourself with C: Redis is written in ANSI C, so having a good understanding of the C programming language is essential.

  2. Clone the repository: Clone the Redis repository from GitHub using the command git clone https://github.com/redis/redis.git. This will give you the latest version of the source code.

  3. Understand the project structure: The Redis source code is organized into several folders, such as src, deps, and tests. The main source code files are located in the src folder.

  4. Start with the main file: Open the src/server.c file. This is the main file of the Redis server and contains the main() function. It initializes the server, sets up the event loop, and starts the server.

  5. Explore important components:

    a. Event loop: Examine src/ae.c and src/ae.h to understand the event loop implementation, which is crucial for Redis' non-blocking I/O and handling client connections.

    b. Networking: Review src/anet.c and src/anet.h to understand how Redis handles network connections, including socket creation, binding, and listening.

    c. Data structures: Study src/sds.c and src/sds.h for the simple dynamic string implementation, and src/adlist.c and src/adlist.h for the linked list implementation. These are fundamental to Redis' data structures.

    d. Commands: Check src/server.h for the redisCommand struct and src/server.c for the command table. These define the commands that Redis supports.

    e. Databases and data types: Explore src/db.c and src/db.h to understand the key-value store implementation, as well as src/t_string.c, src/t_list.c, src/t_set.c, src/t_zset.c, and src/t_hash.c for the different data types Redis supports.

  6. Read the documentation: The Redis source code has extensive comments that explain the functionality of different components. Make sure to read these comments to gain a deeper understanding of the code.

  7. Debug and experiment: Compile and run Redis locally, and use a debugger (e.g., gdb) to step through the code. Modify the code and observe the effects to better understand how the different components interact.

  8. Participate in the community: Join the Redis mailing list, follow the GitHub repository, and participate in discussions to learn from other developers and stay up-to-date with the latest developments in Redis.