The actor macro provided by this crate automates the implementation of an Actor Model for a given struct or enum. It handles the intricacies of message routing and synchronization, empowering developers to swiftly prototype the core functionality of their applications.
This fast sketching capability is
particularly useful when exploring different design options,
experimenting with concurrency models, or implementing
proof-of-concept systems. Not to mention, the cases where
the importance of the program lies in the result of its work
rather than its execution.
Filename: Cargo.toml
text
[dependencies]
interthread = "1.1.7"
oneshot = "0.1.5"
Filename: main.rs ```rust
pub struct MyActor { value: i8, }
impl MyActor {
pub fn new( v: i8 ) -> Self {
Self { value: v }
}
pub fn increment(&mut self) {
self.value += 1;
}
pub fn add_number(&mut self, num: i8) -> i8 {
self.value += num;
self.value
}
pub fn get_value(&self) -> i8 {
self.value
}
}
// uncomment to see the generated code //#[interthread::example(path="src/main.rs")] fn main() {
let actor = MyActorLive::new(5);
let mut actor_a = actor.clone();
let mut actor_b = actor.clone();
let handle_a = std::thread::spawn( move || {
actor_a.increment();
});
let handle_b = std::thread::spawn( move || {
actor_b.add_number(5)
});
let _ = handle_a.join();
let hb = handle_b.join().unwrap();
// we never know which thread will
// be first to call the actor so
// hb = 10 or 11
assert!(hb >= 10);
assert_eq!(actor.get_value(), 11);
}
``
Be sure to explore the [example`](https://docs.rs/interthread/latest/interthread/attr.example.html) macro provided by this crate, as it proves to be an invaluable tool for debugging and visualizing the code generated by the actor macro
The same example can be run in - tokio - async-std - smol
with the only difference being that the methods will
be marked as async and need to be awaited for
asynchronous execution.
Filename: Cargo.toml
text
[dependencies]
interthread = "1.1.7"
tokio = { version="1.32.0",features=["full"]}
Filename: main.rs ```rust
pub struct MyActor { value: i8, }
impl MyActor {
pub fn new( v: i8 ) -> Self {
Self { value: v }
}
// if the "lib" is defined
// object methods can be "async"
pub async fn increment(&mut self) {
self.value += 1;
}
pub fn add_number(&mut self, num: i8) -> i8 {
self.value += num;
self.value
}
pub fn get_value(&self) -> i8 {
self.value
}
}
async fn main() {
let actor = MyActorLive::new(5);
let mut actor_a = actor.clone();
let mut actor_b = actor.clone();
let handle_a = tokio::spawn( async move {
actor_a.increment().await;
});
let handle_b = tokio::spawn( async move {
actor_b.add_number(5).await
});
let _ = handle_a.await;
let hb = handle_b.await.unwrap();
// hb = 10 or 11
assert!(hb >= 10);
assert_eq!(actor.get_value().await, 11);
}
``` Similarly for other aforementioned async libraries.
While the actor provides full support for generic types, but there are certain limitations to its flexibility. In Rust, clones of a generic type instance cannot differ. This means that once an instance of ActorLive<A, B> becomes ActorLive<u8, u16>, all clones will have the same generic type.
To address this behavior (which is by design, not an issue), one can manually adjust the inputs of the Live methods to the desired generic types, as demonstrated in the example below.
Filename: Cargo.toml
text
[dependencies]
interthread = "1.1.7"
oneshot = "0.1.5"
```rust
pub struct Actor { str: String, }
// writes to file when 'edit' is used // in conjuction with 'file' argument
edit(live(imp(concat))))
] impl Actor
{ pub fn new() -> Self { Actor { str: String::new(), } }
pub fn concat(&mut self, s: String) {
self.str += &s;
}
pub fn get_value(&self) -> String {
self.str.clone()
}
}
//++++++++++++++++++[ Interthread Write to File ]+++++++++++++++++//
// Object Name : MaunActor
// Initiated By : #[interthread::actor(channel=2,file="path/to/this/file.rs",edit(live(imp(concat))))]
impl ActorLive {
// pub fn concat(&mut self, s: String) {
pub fn concat
// *///.............[ Interthread End of Write ].................//
fn main() {
let act = ActorLive::new();
let mut one = act.clone();
let mut two = act.clone();
let mut thr = act.clone();
let one_h = std::thread::spawn( move || {
one.concat("I can handle any".to_string());
});
let _ = one_h.join();
let two_h = std::thread::spawn( move || {
two.concat(" 'ToString' - ");
});
let _ = two_h.join();
let thr_h = std::thread::spawn( move || {
thr.concat('😀');
});
let _ = thr_h.join();
assert_eq!(
act.get_value(),
"I can handle any 'ToString' - 😀".to_string()
);
}
```
The same principles apply to the following example, which showcases a generic actor model, to tailor the Live methods to specific generic types, manual adjustments are necessary, as illustrated below.
Filename: Cargo.toml
text
[dependencies]
interthread = "1.1.7"
oneshot = "0.1.5"
```rust
pub struct MaunActor
edit( live( imp( add_number))))]
impl
//++++++++++++++++++[ Interthread Write to File ]+++++++++++++++++//
// Object Name : MaunActor
// Initiated By : #[interthread::actor(channel=2,file="path/to/this/file.rs",edit(live(imp(add_number))))]
impl
// *///.............[ Interthread End of Write ].................//
fn main() {
let actor = MaunActorLive::new(0u128);
let mut actor_a = actor.clone();
let mut actor_b = actor.clone();
let handle_a = std::thread::spawn( move || {
actor_a.add_number(1_u8);
});
let handle_b = std::thread::spawn( move || {
actor_b.add_number(1_u64);
});
let _ = handle_a.join();
let _ = handle_b.join();
assert_eq!(actor.get_value(), 2_u128)
}
```
The actor macro is applied to an impl block, allowing it to be used with both structs and enums to create actor implementations.
Filename: Cargo.toml
text
[dependencies]
interthread = "1.1.7"
oneshot = "0.1.5"
Filename: main.rs ```rust
pub struct Dog(String);
impl Dog { fn say(&self) -> String { format!("{} says: Woof!", self.0) } }
pub struct Cat(String);
impl Cat { fn say(&self) -> String { format!("{} says: Meow!", self.0) } }
pub enum Pet { Dog(Dog), Cat(Cat), }
impl Pet {
// not in this case, but if
// the types used with Pet have different
// parameters for the new method,
// simply pass a ready Self type
// like this
pub fn new( pet: Self) -> Self {
pet
}
pub fn speak(&self) -> String {
match self {
Self::Dog(dog) => {
format!("Dog {}",dog.say())
},
Self::Cat(cat) => {
format!("Cat {}", cat.say())
},
}
}
pub fn swap(&mut self, pet: Self ) -> Self {
std::mem::replace(self,pet)
}
}
fn main() {
let pet = PetLive::new(
Pet::Dog(Dog("Tango".to_string()))
);
let mut pet_a = pet.clone();
let pet_b = pet.clone();
let handle_a = std::thread::spawn( move || {
println!("Thread A - {}",pet_a.speak());
// swap the the pet and return it
pet_a.swap(Pet::Cat(Cat("Kiki".to_string())))
});
let swapped_pet = handle_a.join().unwrap();
let _handle_b = std::thread::spawn( move || {
println!("Thread B - {}",pet_b.speak());
}).join();
//play with both pets now
println!("Thread MAIN - {}",pet.speak());
println!("Thread MAIN - {}",swapped_pet.speak());
}
Outputs
terminal
Thread A - Dog Tango says: Woof!
Thread B - Cat Kiki says: Meow!
Thread MAIN - Cat Kiki says: Meow!
Thread MAIN - Dog Tango says: Woof!
```
For more details, read the
Join interthread on GitHub for more examples and discussions! 
Please check regularly for new releases and upgrade to the latest version!
Happy coding!