NAME

       zactor - Class for simple actor framework

SYNOPSIS

       //  This is a stable class, and may not change except for emergencies. It
       //  is provided in stable builds.
       //  This class has draft methods, which may change over time. They are not
       //  in stable releases, by default. Use --enable-drafts to enable.
       // Actors get a pipe and arguments from caller
       typedef void (zactor_fn) (
           zsock_t *pipe, void *args);

       //  Create a new actor passing arbitrary arguments reference.
       CZMQ_EXPORT zactor_t *
           zactor_new (zactor_fn task, void *args);

       //  Destroy an actor.
       CZMQ_EXPORT void
           zactor_destroy (zactor_t **self_p);

       //  Send a zmsg message to the actor, take ownership of the message
       //  and destroy when it has been sent.
       CZMQ_EXPORT int
           zactor_send (zactor_t *self, zmsg_t **msg_p);

       //  Receive a zmsg message from the actor. Returns NULL if the actor
       //  was interrupted before the message could be received, or if there
       //  was a timeout on the actor.
       //  Caller owns return value and must destroy it when done.
       CZMQ_EXPORT zmsg_t *
           zactor_recv (zactor_t *self);

       //  Probe the supplied object, and report if it looks like a zactor_t.
       CZMQ_EXPORT bool
           zactor_is (void *self);

       //  Probe the supplied reference. If it looks like a zactor_t instance,
       //  return the underlying libzmq actor handle; else if it looks like
       //  a libzmq actor handle, return the supplied value.
       CZMQ_EXPORT void *
           zactor_resolve (void *self);

       //  Return the actor's zsock handle. Use this when you absolutely need
       //  to work with the zsock instance rather than the actor.
       CZMQ_EXPORT zsock_t *
           zactor_sock (zactor_t *self);

       //  Self test of this class.
       CZMQ_EXPORT void
           zactor_test (bool verbose);

       #ifdef CZMQ_BUILD_DRAFT_API
       // Function to be called on zactor_destroy. Default behavior is to send zmsg_t with string "$TERM" in a first frame.
       //
       // An example - to send $KTHXBAI string
       //
       //     if (zstr_send (self->pipe, "$KTHXBAI") == 0)
       //         zsock_wait (self->pipe);
       typedef void (zactor_destructor_fn) (
           zactor_t *self);

       //  *** Draft method, for development use, may change without warning ***
       //  Change default destructor by custom function. Actor MUST be able to handle new message instead of default $TERM.
       CZMQ_EXPORT void
           zactor_set_destructor (zactor_t *self, zactor_destructor_fn destructor);

       #endif // CZMQ_BUILD_DRAFT_API
       Please add '@interface' section in './../src/zactor.c'.

DESCRIPTION

       The zactor class provides a simple actor framework. It replaces the CZMQ zthread class,
       which had a complex API that did not fit the CLASS standard. A CZMQ actor is implemented
       as a thread plus a PAIR-PAIR pipe. The constructor and destructor are always synchronized,
       so the caller can be sure all resources are created, and destroyed, when these calls
       complete. (This solves a major problem with zthread, that a caller could not be sure when
       a child thread had finished.)

       A zactor_t instance acts like a zsock_t and you can pass it to any CZMQ method that would
       take a zsock_t argument, including methods in zframe, zmsg, zstr, and zpoller. (zloop
       somehow escaped and needs catching.)

       An actor function MUST call zsock_signal (pipe) when initialized and MUST listen to pipe
       and exit on $TERM command.

       Please add @discuss section in ./../src/zactor.c.

EXAMPLE

       From zactor_test method.

           zactor_t *actor = zactor_new (echo_actor, "Hello, World");
           assert (actor);
           zstr_sendx (actor, "ECHO", "This is a string", NULL);
           char *string = zstr_recv (actor);
           assert (streq (string, "This is a string"));
           freen (string);
           zactor_destroy (&actor);

           // custom destructor
           // KTHXBAI_actor ends on "$KTHXBAI" string
           zactor_t *KTHXBAI = zactor_new (KTHXBAI_actor, NULL);
           assert (KTHXBAI);
           // which is the one sent by KTHXBAI_destructor
           zactor_set_destructor (KTHXBAI, KTHXBAI_destructor);
           zactor_destroy (&KTHXBAI);

           #if defined (__WINDOWS__)
           zsys_shutdown();
           #endif

AUTHORS

       The czmq manual was written by the authors in the AUTHORS file.

RESOURCES

       Main web site:

       Report bugs to the email <zeromq-dev@lists.zeromq.org[1]>

COPYRIGHT

       Copyright (c) the Contributors as noted in the AUTHORS file. This file is part of CZMQ,
       the high-level C binding for 0MQ: http://czmq.zeromq.org. This Source Code Form is subject
       to the terms of the Mozilla Public License, v. 2.0. If a copy of the MPL was not
       distributed with this file, You can obtain one at http://mozilla.org/MPL/2.0/. LICENSE
       included with the czmq distribution.

NOTES

        1. zeromq-dev@lists.zeromq.org
           mailto:zeromq-dev@lists.zeromq.org