Use binary message RPC protocol for plugin API

Refactors the plugin RPC protocol to make use of the new message-rpc introduced with eclipse-theia#11011/eclipse-theia#11228.
- Refactor plugin-ext RpcProtocol API to reuse the new message-rpc protocol
  - Remove custom RPC message encoding and handling reuse message-rpc
  - Implement `QueuingChannelMultiplexer` that queues messages and sends them accumulated on the next process.tick (replaces the old Multiplexer 
    implementation)
   - Refactors proxy handlers and remote target handlers
   - Use `Channel` instead of `MessageConnection` for creating new instances of RPCProtocol
   - Refactor `RpcMessageEncoder`/`RpcMessageDecoder` to enable overwritting of already registered value encoders/decoders. 
   - Add mode property to  base `RpcProtocol` to enable switching from a bidirectional RPC protocol to a client-only or server-only variant.
- Implement special message encoders and decoders for the plugin communication. (Replacement for the old `ObjectTransferrer` JSON replacers/revivers)
- Adapt `HostedPluginServer` and `HostedPluginClient` API to send/receive messages in binary format instead of strings. This enables direct writethrough of the binary messages received from the hosted plugin process.
- Adapt `hosted-plugin-process` and `plugin-host` to directly send binary messages via  `IpcChannel`/`BinaryMessagePipe`

- Remove incorrect (and unused) notification proxy identifiers and instantiation
  - NotificationExt was instantiated in the main context
  - There were unused notification proxy identifiers for main and ext in the wrong contexts

Part of eclipse-theia#10684
Fixes eclipse-theia#9514

Contributed on behalf of STMicroelectronics
Co-authored-by: Lucas Koehler <lkoehler@eclipsesource.com>

examples/electron/package.json

@@ -55,7 +55,12 @@
     "@theia/userstorage": "1.26.0",
     "@theia/variable-resolver": "1.26.0",
     "@theia/vsx-registry": "1.26.0",
-    "@theia/workspace": "1.26.0"
+    "@theia/workspace": "1.26.0",
+    "node-pty": "*",
+    "nsfw": "*",
+    "native-keymap": "*",
+    "find-git-repositories": "*",
+    "drivelist": "*"
   },
   "scripts": {
     "build": "yarn -s compile && yarn -s bundle",

packages/core/src/common/message-rpc/channel.ts

@@ -159,6 +159,10 @@ export class ChannelMultiplexer implements Disposable {
 
     }
 
+    protected getUnderlyingWriteBuffer(): WriteBuffer {
+        return this.underlyingChannel.getWriteBuffer();
+    }
+
     protected handleMessage(buffer: ReadBuffer): void {
         const type = buffer.readUint8();
         const id = buffer.readString();
@@ -185,7 +189,7 @@ export class ChannelMultiplexer implements Disposable {
             const channel = this.createChannel(id);
             this.pendingOpen.delete(id);
             this.openChannels.set(id, channel);
-            resolve!(channel);
+            resolve(channel);
             this.onOpenChannelEmitter.fire({ id, channel });
         }
     }
@@ -199,7 +203,7 @@ export class ChannelMultiplexer implements Disposable {
                 // edge case: both side try to open a channel at the same time.
                 resolve(channel);
             }
-            this.underlyingChannel.getWriteBuffer().writeUint8(MessageTypes.AckOpen).writeString(id).commit();
+            this.getUnderlyingWriteBuffer().writeUint8(MessageTypes.AckOpen).writeString(id).commit();
             this.onOpenChannelEmitter.fire({ id, channel });
         }
     }
@@ -215,7 +219,9 @@ export class ChannelMultiplexer implements Disposable {
     protected handleData(id: string, data: ReadBuffer): void {
         const channel = this.openChannels.get(id);
         if (channel) {
-            channel.onMessageEmitter.fire(() => data);
+            channel.onMessageEmitter.fire(() => data.sliceAtReadPosition());
+        } else {
+            console.warn(`Could not handle data for channel ${id} because it is not open`);
         }
     }
 
@@ -226,14 +232,14 @@ export class ChannelMultiplexer implements Disposable {
     // Prepare the write buffer for the channel with the give, id. The channel id has to be encoded
     // and written to the buffer before the actual message.
     protected prepareWriteBuffer(id: string): WriteBuffer {
-        const underlying = this.underlyingChannel.getWriteBuffer();
+        const underlying = this.getUnderlyingWriteBuffer();
         underlying.writeUint8(MessageTypes.Data);
         underlying.writeString(id);
         return underlying;
     }
 
     protected closeChannel(id: string): void {
-        this.underlyingChannel.getWriteBuffer()
+        this.getUnderlyingWriteBuffer()
             .writeUint8(MessageTypes.Close)
             .writeString(id)
             .commit();
@@ -242,10 +248,14 @@ export class ChannelMultiplexer implements Disposable {
     }
 
     open(id: string): Promise<Channel> {
+        const existingChannel = this.getOpenChannel(id);
+        if (existingChannel) {
+            return Promise.resolve(existingChannel);
+        }
         const result = new Promise<Channel>((resolve, reject) => {
             this.pendingOpen.set(id, resolve);
         });
-        this.underlyingChannel.getWriteBuffer().writeUint8(MessageTypes.Open).writeString(id).commit();
+        this.getUnderlyingWriteBuffer().writeUint8(MessageTypes.Open).writeString(id).commit();
         return result;
     }
 

packages/core/src/common/message-rpc/rpc-message-encoder.ts

@@ -149,6 +149,10 @@ export class RpcMessageDecoder {
     protected decoders: Map<number, ValueDecoder> = new Map();
 
     constructor() {
+        this.registerDecoders();
+    }
+
+    protected registerDecoders(): void {
         this.registerDecoder(ObjectType.JSON, {
             read: buf => {
                 const json = buf.readString();
@@ -206,7 +210,6 @@ export class RpcMessageDecoder {
         this.registerDecoder(ObjectType.Number, {
             read: buf => buf.readNumber()
         });
-
     }
 
     /**
@@ -215,9 +218,10 @@ export class RpcMessageDecoder {
      * by retrieving the highest tag value and calculating the required Uint size to store it.
      * @param tag the tag for which the decoder should be registered.
      * @param decoder the decoder that should be registered.
+     * @param overwrite flag to indicate wether an existing registration with the same tag should be overwritten with the new registration.
      */
-    registerDecoder(tag: number, decoder: ValueDecoder): void {
-        if (this.decoders.has(tag)) {
+    registerDecoder(tag: number, decoder: ValueDecoder, overwrite = false): void {
+        if (!overwrite && this.decoders.has(tag)) {
             throw new Error(`Decoder already registered: ${tag}`);
         }
         this.decoders.set(tag, decoder);
@@ -435,14 +439,20 @@ export class RpcMessageEncoder {
      * After the successful registration the {@link tagIntType} is recomputed
      * by retrieving the highest tag value and calculating the required Uint size to store it.
      * @param tag the tag for which the encoder should be registered.
-     * @param decoder the encoder that should be registered.
+     * @param encoder the encoder that should be registered.
+     * @param overwrite to indicate wether an existing registration with the same tag should be overwritten with the new registration.
      */
-    registerEncoder<T>(tag: number, encoder: ValueEncoder): void {
-        if (this.registeredTags.has(tag)) {
+    registerEncoder<T>(tag: number, encoder: ValueEncoder, overwrite = false): void {
+        if (!overwrite && this.registeredTags.has(tag)) {
             throw new Error(`Tag already registered: ${tag}`);
         }
-        this.registeredTags.add(tag);
-        this.encoders.push([tag, encoder]);
+        if (!overwrite) {
+            this.registeredTags.add(tag);
+            this.encoders.push([tag, encoder]);
+        } else {
+            const overrideIndex = this.encoders.findIndex(existingEncoder => existingEncoder[0] === tag);
+            this.encoders[overrideIndex] = [tag, encoder];
+        }
     }
 
     cancel(buf: WriteBuffer, requestId: number): void {

packages/core/src/common/message-rpc/rpc-protocol.ts

@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ import { RpcMessage, RpcMessageDecoder, RpcMessageEncoder, RpcMessageType } from
 import { Uint8ArrayWriteBuffer } from './uint8-array-message-buffer';
 
 /**
- * Handles request messages received by the {@link RpcServer}.
+ * Handles request messages received by the {@link RPCProtocol}.
  */
 export type RequestHandler = (method: string, args: any[]) => Promise<any>;
 
@@ -39,15 +39,20 @@ export interface RpcProtocolOptions {
     /**
      * The message decoder that should be used. If `undefined` the default {@link RpcMessageDecoder} will be used.
      */
-    decoder?: RpcMessageDecoder
+    decoder?: RpcMessageDecoder,
+    /**
+     * The runtime mode determines whether the RPC protocol is bi-directional (default) or acts as a client or server only.
+     */
+    mode?: 'default' | 'clientOnly' | 'serverOnly'
 }
 
 /**
- * Establish a bi-directional RPC protocol on top of a given channel. Bi-directional means to send
- * sends requests and notifications to the remote side as well as receiving requests and notifications from the remote side.
+ * Establish a RPC protocol on top of a given channel. By default the rpc protocol is bi-directional, meaning it is possible to send
+ * sends requests and notifications to the remote side (ie. acts as client) as well as receiving requests and notifications from the remote side (i.e. acts as a server).
  * Clients can get a promise for a remote request result that will be either resolved or
  * rejected depending on the success of the request. Keeps track of outstanding requests and matches replies to the appropriate request
  * Currently, there is no timeout handling for long running requests implemented.
+ * The bi-directional mode can be reconfigured using the {@link RpcProtocolOptions} to construct and RPC protocol instance that acts only as client or server instead.
  */
 export class RpcProtocol {
     static readonly CANCELLATION_TOKEN_KEY = 'add.cancellation.token';
@@ -58,6 +63,7 @@ export class RpcProtocol {
 
     protected readonly encoder: RpcMessageEncoder;
     protected readonly decoder: RpcMessageDecoder;
+    protected readonly mode: 'default' | 'clientOnly' | 'serverOnly';
 
     protected readonly onNotificationEmitter: Emitter<{ method: string; args: any[]; }> = new Emitter();
     protected readonly cancellationTokenSources = new Map<number, CancellationTokenSource>();
@@ -68,37 +74,50 @@ export class RpcProtocol {
 
     protected toDispose = new DisposableCollection();
 
-    constructor(public readonly channel: Channel, public readonly requestHandler: RequestHandler, options: RpcProtocolOptions = {}) {
+    constructor(public readonly channel: Channel, public readonly requestHandler: RequestHandler | undefined, options: RpcProtocolOptions = {}) {
         this.encoder = options.encoder ?? new RpcMessageEncoder();
         this.decoder = options.decoder ?? new RpcMessageDecoder();
         this.toDispose.push(this.onNotificationEmitter);
-        this.toDispose.push(channel.onMessage(readBuffer => this.handleMessage(this.decoder.parse(readBuffer()))));
         channel.onClose(() => this.toDispose.dispose());
+        this.toDispose.push(channel.onMessage(readBuffer => this.handleMessage(this.decoder.parse(readBuffer()))));
+        this.mode = options.mode ?? 'default';
+
+        if (this.mode !== 'clientOnly' && requestHandler === undefined) {
+            console.error('RPCProtocol was initialized without a request handler but was not set to clientOnly mode.');
+        }
     }
 
     handleMessage(message: RpcMessage): void {
-        switch (message.type) {
-            case RpcMessageType.Cancel: {
-                this.handleCancel(message.id);
-                break;
-            }
-            case RpcMessageType.Request: {
-                this.handleRequest(message.id, message.method, message.args);
-                break;
+        if (this.mode !== 'clientOnly') {
+            switch (message.type) {
+                case RpcMessageType.Cancel: {
+                    this.handleCancel(message.id);
+                    return;
+                }
+                case RpcMessageType.Request: {
+                    this.handleRequest(message.id, message.method, message.args);
+                    return;
+                }
+                case RpcMessageType.Notification: {
+                    this.handleNotify(message.id, message.method, message.args);
+                    return;
+                }
             }
-            case RpcMessageType.Notification: {
-                this.handleNotify(message.id, message.method, message.args);
-                break;
-            }
-            case RpcMessageType.Reply: {
-                this.handleReply(message.id, message.res);
-                break;
-            }
-            case RpcMessageType.ReplyErr: {
-                this.handleReplyErr(message.id, message.err);
-                break;
+        }
+        if (this.mode !== 'serverOnly') {
+            switch (message.type) {
+                case RpcMessageType.Reply: {
+                    this.handleReply(message.id, message.res);
+                    return;
+                }
+                case RpcMessageType.ReplyErr: {
+                    this.handleReplyErr(message.id, message.err);
+                    return;
+                }
             }
         }
+        // If the message was not handled until here, it is incompatible with the mode.
+        console.warn(`Received message incompatible with this RPCProtocol's mode '${this.mode}'. Type: ${message.type}. ID: ${message.id}.`);
     }
 
     protected handleReply(id: number, value: any): void {
@@ -153,6 +172,13 @@ export class RpcProtocol {
     }
 
     sendNotification(method: string, args: any[]): void {
+        // If the notification supports a CancellationToken, it needs to be treated like a request
+        // because cancellation does not work with the simplified "fire and forget" approach of simple notifications.
+        if (args.length && CancellationToken.is(args[args.length - 1])) {
+            this.sendRequest(method, args);
+            return;
+        }
+
         const output = this.channel.getWriteBuffer();
         this.encoder.notification(output, this.nextMessageId++, method, args);
         output.commit();
@@ -191,7 +217,7 @@ export class RpcProtocol {
         }
 
         try {
-            const result = await this.requestHandler(method, args);
+            const result = await this.requestHandler!(method, args);
             this.cancellationTokenSources.delete(id);
             this.encoder.replyOK(output, id, result);
             output.commit();

packages/core/src/node/messaging/index.ts

@@ -16,3 +16,4 @@
 
 export * from './messaging-service';
 export * from './ipc-connection-provider';
+export * from './ipc-channel';

packages/plugin-ext/src/common/plugin-api-rpc.ts

@@ -1839,7 +1839,6 @@ export const PLUGIN_RPC_CONTEXT = {
     STATUS_BAR_MESSAGE_REGISTRY_MAIN: <ProxyIdentifier<StatusBarMessageRegistryMain>>createProxyIdentifier<StatusBarMessageRegistryMain>('StatusBarMessageRegistryMain'),
     ENV_MAIN: createProxyIdentifier<EnvMain>('EnvMain'),
     NOTIFICATION_MAIN: createProxyIdentifier<NotificationMain>('NotificationMain'),
-    NOTIFICATION_EXT: createProxyIdentifier<NotificationExt>('NotificationExt'),
     TERMINAL_MAIN: createProxyIdentifier<TerminalServiceMain>('TerminalServiceMain'),
     TREE_VIEWS_MAIN: createProxyIdentifier<TreeViewsMain>('TreeViewsMain'),
     PREFERENCE_REGISTRY_MAIN: createProxyIdentifier<PreferenceRegistryMain>('PreferenceRegistryMain'),
@@ -1871,7 +1870,6 @@ export const MAIN_RPC_CONTEXT = {
     QUICK_OPEN_EXT: createProxyIdentifier<QuickOpenExt>('QuickOpenExt'),
     WINDOW_STATE_EXT: createProxyIdentifier<WindowStateExt>('WindowStateExt'),
     NOTIFICATION_EXT: createProxyIdentifier<NotificationExt>('NotificationExt'),
-    NOTIFICATION_MAIN: createProxyIdentifier<NotificationMain>('NotificationMain'),
     WORKSPACE_EXT: createProxyIdentifier<WorkspaceExt>('WorkspaceExt'),
     TEXT_EDITORS_EXT: createProxyIdentifier<TextEditorsExt>('TextEditorsExt'),
     EDITORS_AND_DOCUMENTS_EXT: createProxyIdentifier<EditorsAndDocumentsExt>('EditorsAndDocumentsExt'),

packages/plugin-ext/src/common/plugin-protocol.ts

@@ -813,7 +813,7 @@ export function buildFrontendModuleName(plugin: PluginPackage | PluginModel): st
 
 export const HostedPluginClient = Symbol('HostedPluginClient');
 export interface HostedPluginClient {
-    postMessage(pluginHost: string, message: string): Promise<void>;
+    postMessage(pluginHost: string, buffer: Uint8Array): Promise<void>;
 
     log(logPart: LogPart): void;
 
@@ -858,7 +858,7 @@ export interface HostedPluginServer extends JsonRpcServer<HostedPluginClient> {
 
     getExtPluginAPI(): Promise<ExtPluginApi[]>;
 
-    onMessage(targetHost: string, message: string): Promise<void>;
+    onMessage(targetHost: string, message: Uint8Array): Promise<void>;
 
 }
 
@@ -895,9 +895,9 @@ export interface PluginServer {
 export const ServerPluginRunner = Symbol('ServerPluginRunner');
 export interface ServerPluginRunner {
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
-    acceptMessage(pluginHostId: string, jsonMessage: string): boolean;
+    acceptMessage(pluginHostId: string, jsonMessage: Uint8Array): boolean;
     // eslint-disable-next-line @typescript-eslint/no-explicit-any
-    onMessage(pluginHostId: string, jsonMessage: string): void;
+    onMessage(pluginHostId: string, jsonMessage: Uint8Array): void;
     setClient(client: HostedPluginClient): void;
     setDefault(defaultRunner: ServerPluginRunner): void;
     clientClosed(): void;