Principle:Apache Spark Streaming Lifecycle Management

Knowledge Sources	Spark Streaming Guide Apache_Spark
Domains	Streaming, Lifecycle
Last Updated	2026-02-08 22:00 GMT

Overview

Finite state machine governing the lifecycle of a Spark StreamingContext through three well-defined states with enforced transition rules.

Description

⚠️ DEPRECATED: DStream-based Spark Streaming is deprecated. Use Structured Streaming for new applications. See Heuristic:Apache_Spark_Warning_Deprecated_DStream_Streaming.

Streaming Lifecycle Management defines the state model for `StreamingContext`, Spark's entry point for DStream-based streaming applications. The context follows a strict three-state finite state machine: INITIALIZED (created, configurable), ACTIVE (running, locked), and STOPPED (terminated, non-reusable). Transition rules are enforced: DStreams and transformations can only be defined in INITIALIZED state, the context cannot be restarted after STOPPED, and `start()` can only be called once. This state model prevents race conditions and configuration errors in streaming applications.

Usage

Apply this principle when developing Spark Streaming applications. Understanding the lifecycle states is essential for: conditionally adding DStreams before starting, implementing graceful shutdown, detecting whether the context is still active, and handling recovery after driver failures.

Theoretical Basis

The lifecycle follows a linear finite state machine pattern:

$S=\{INITIALIZED,ACTIVE,STOPPED\}$

$T=\{(INITIALIZED\to ACTIVE),(ACTIVE\to STOPPED)\}$

1. INITIALIZED: Entry state after construction. DStreams, transformations, and output operations can be registered. The context can be configured.
2. ACTIVE: Entered via `start()`. The streaming scheduler is running, receivers are active, and micro-batches are being processed. Configuration is locked.
3. STOPPED: Entered via `stop()`. All resources are released. The context cannot transition to any other state.

Pseudo-code Logic:

# Abstract algorithm description
state = INITIALIZED
# Configure DStreams here
state = start()  # -> ACTIVE
# Processing occurs
state = stop()   # -> STOPPED
# No further transitions allowed

Related Pages

• Implementation:Apache_Spark_StreamingContextState
• Heuristic:Apache_Spark_Warning_Deprecated_DStream_Streaming