Module libp2prs_core::muxing [−][src]
Muxing is the process of splitting a connection into multiple substreams.
The main item of this module is the StreamMuxer trait. An implementation of StreamMuxer
has ownership of a connection, lets you open and close substreams, and read/write data
on open substreams.
Note: You normally don’t need to use the methods of the
StreamMuxerdirectly, as this is managed by the library’s internals.
Each substream of a connection is an isolated stream of data. All the substreams are muxed together so that the data read from or written to each substream doesn’t influence the other substreams.
In the context of libp2p, each substream can use a different protocol. Contrary to opening a connection, opening a substream is almost free in terms of resources. This means that you shouldn’t hesitate to rapidly open and close substreams, and to design protocols that don’t require maintaining long-lived channels of communication.
Example: The Kademlia protocol opens a new substream for each request it wants to perform. Multiple requests can be performed simultaneously by opening multiple substreams, without having to worry about associating responses with the right request.
Implementing a muxing protocol
In order to implement a muxing protocol, create an object that implements the UpgradeInfo
and Upgrader traits. See the upgrade module for more information.
The Output associated type of the Upgrader traits should be an object that implements
the StreamMuxer trait.
The upgrade process will take ownership of the connection, which makes it possible for the
implementation of StreamMuxer to control everything that happens on the wire.
The Output associated type of the StreamMuxer is a trait object IReadWrite, which is
in fact AsyncRead + AsyncWrite + StreamInfo + Unpin.
IStreamMuxer is the trait object of StreamMuxer.
Traits
| ReadWriteEx | The trait for IReadWrite. It can be made into a trait object |
| StreamInfo | StreamInfo returns the information of a substream opened by stream muxer. |
| StreamMuxer | |
| StreamMuxerEx | The trait for IStreamMuxer. It can be made into a trait object |
Type Definitions
| IReadWrite | |
| IStreamMuxer |