expressjsHow can I use Zipkin to trace requests in Express.js?

Zipkin is a distributed tracing system that allows us to trace requests across multiple services. It can be used to trace requests in Express.js by using the zipkin-instrumentation-express package.

To use Zipkin with Express.js, first install the package:

npm install zipkin-instrumentation-express

Then, add the following code to your Express.js app:

const {Tracer, ExplicitContext, BatchRecorder, jsonEncoder: {JSON_V2}} = require('zipkin');
const zipkinMiddleware = require('zipkin-instrumentation-express').expressMiddleware;

const ctxImpl = new ExplicitContext();
const recorder = new BatchRecorder({
  logger: new consoleLogger()
});
const tracer = new Tracer({ctxImpl, recorder, localServiceName: 'service-name'});

const app = express();
app.use(zipkinMiddleware({tracer}));

This will add the Zipkin middleware to the Express.js app, which will trace requests sent to the app.

The code above includes the following parts:

1. const {Tracer, ExplicitContext, BatchRecorder, jsonEncoder: {JSON_V2}} = require('zipkin'); - imports the necessary components from the zipkin package.
2. const zipkinMiddleware = require('zipkin-instrumentation-express').expressMiddleware; - imports the expressMiddleware from the zipkin-instrumentation-express package.
3. const ctxImpl = new ExplicitContext(); - creates a new ExplicitContext instance.
4. const recorder = new BatchRecorder({logger: new consoleLogger()}); - creates a new BatchRecorder instance.
5. const tracer = new Tracer({ctxImpl, recorder, localServiceName: 'service-name'}); - creates a new Tracer instance.
6. app.use(zipkinMiddleware({tracer})); - adds the Zipkin middleware to the Express.js app.

Helpful links

• Zipkin
• zipkin-instrumentation-express

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