Function hdk::entry::get[][src]

pub fn get<H>(hash: H, options: GetOptions) -> ExternResult<Option<Element>> where
    AnyDhtHash: From<H>, 
Expand description

Gets an element for a given entry or header hash.

The behaviour of get changes subtly per the type of the passed hash. A header hash returns the element for that header, i.e. header+entry or header+None. An entry hash returns the “oldest live” element, i.e. header+entry.

An element is no longer live once it is referenced by a valid delete element. An update to an element does not change its liveness. See get_details for more information about how CRUD elements reference each other.

Note: get always triggers and blocks on a network call. @todo implement a ‘get optimistic’ that returns based on the current opinion of the world and performs network calls in the background so they are available ‘next time’.

Note: Deletes are considered in the liveness but Updates are not currently followed automatically due to the need for the happ to disambiguate update logic. @todo implement ‘redirect’ logic so that updates are followed by get .

Note: Updates typically point to a different entry hash than what they are updating but not always, e.g. consider changing foo to bar back to foo. The entry hashes in a crud tree can be circular but the header hashes are never circular. In this case, deleting the create for foo would make the second update pointing to foo the “oldest live” element.

Note: “oldest live” only relates to disambiguating many creates and updates from many authors pointing to a single entry, it is not the “current value” of an entry in a CRUD sense. e.g. If “foo” is created then updated to “bar”, a get on the hash of “foo” will return “foo” as part of an element with the “oldest live” header. To discover “bar” the agent needs to call get_details and decide how it wants to collapse many potential creates, updates and deletes down into a single or filtered set of updates, to “walk the tree”. e.g. Updates could include a proof of work and a tree would collapse to a simple blockchain if the agent follows the “heaviest chain”. e.g. Updates could represent turns in a 2-player game and the update with the newest timestamp countersigned by both players represents an opt-in chain of updates with support for casual “undo” with player’s consent. e.g. Domain/user names could be claimed on a “first come, first serve” basis with only creates and deletes allowed by validation rules, the “oldest live” element does represent the element pointing at the first agent to claim a name, but it could also be checked manually by the app with get_details.

Note: “oldest live” is only as good as the information available to the authorities the agent contacts on their current network partition, there could always be an older live entry on another partition, and of course the oldest live entry could be deleted and no longer be live.