Constellations 8.0.0-rc.4-alpha

Constellations

The Constellation class offers a highly customizable system to manage distributed systems. It supports communication, orchestration, and secure connections between various system components through routing and messaging mechanisms.

Features of Constellation

• Message Routing: Direct, server-routed, and broadcast messaging options.
• Process Management: Start, manage, and monitor processes either programmatically or using configuration files.
• Event-Driven: Automatically respond to events such as connections, disconnections, and message receipt.
• Secure Communication: Utilize X509Certificate for encrypted connections.
• Configurable: Load settings from YAML files or define them programmatically.
• Server/Client Flexibility: Act as either a server, a client, or both within the same instance.

Installation

To use Constellation, add the NuGet package to your project:

dotnet add package Constellations

Getting Started

Below is a basic example of setting up a Constellation instance:

using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Security.Cryptography.X509Certificates;

var constellation = new Constellation("MyConstellation")
    .SetX509Cert(new X509Certificate("path/to/certificate"))
    .AsServer()
    .ListenOn(null, "127.0.0.1", 8080)
    .AddProcesses(new List<ProcessStartInfo>
    {
		new ProcessStartInfo
		{
			FileName = "notepad.exe",
			Arguments = "",
			UseShellExecute = true
		},

		// Add ProcessStartInfo for Calculator
		new ProcessStartInfo
		{
			FileName = "calc.exe",
			UseShellExecute = true
		}
    })
    .AllowBroadcasting()
    .Run();

Core Methods

1. Configuration

• SetName(string name): Sets the name of the constellation.
• UseYamlConfig(string yamlFile): Configures the constellation using a YAML file.
• SetX509Cert(X509Certificate cert): Configures a certificate for encrypted connections.

2. Server and Listener

• AsServer(): Configures the constellation to function as a server.
• ListenOn(string name, string? ipv4, int port): Sets up the server's listener, including IP and port.
• AddEndpoint(string name, string? ipv4, int port): Adds another endpoint for client-server communication.

3. Processes and Orchestration

• AddProcesses(List** processes)**: Adds processes to be started by the constellation.
• Run(): Starts the constellation and all configured processes.

Messaging

• AllowBroadcasting(): Enables the ability to send broadcast messages.
• NoBroadcasting(): Disables the broadcasting feature.
• AddMessageHandlers(Type[] types): Add handlers for different message types.
• SendMessage(string recipient, string message, string? server, string? name): Send messages to other constellations.

Events

Message Events

• NewMessage: Triggered when a new message is received.
• SentMessage: Triggered when a message is successfully sent.
• SendMessageFailed: Triggered if a message fails to send.

Connection Events

• NewConnection: Triggered when a new client connects to the constellation.
• ConnectionClosed: Triggered when a client disconnects.

Server Events

• SentServerMessage: Triggered when a server routes a message to its recipient.
• SentServerBroadcast: Triggered when the server broadcasts a message to multiple clients.

Advanced Features

Custom Message Handlers

You can define your own custom message handler classes to handle incoming or outgoing messages:

public class MyCustomHandler : IMessageHandler
{
    public Message Handle(Message message)
    {
        // Your custom logic for message handling
        return message;
    }
}

var constellation = new Constellation("CustomHandlers")
    .AddMessageHandlers(new[] { typeof(MyCustomHandler) })
    .Run();

Standalone Mode

You can configure Constellation to run without relying on external hosts, keeping it alive in a standalone mode:

var constellation = new Constellation()
    .WillStandAlone()
    .Run();

Broadcasting

To send messages to all connected clients, enable broadcasting with this method:

var constellation = new Constellation()
    .AllowBroadcasting()
    .Run();

Graceful Shutdown

To shut down the constellation and stop all running processes:

constellation.Shutdown();

Configuration with YAML

var constellation = new Constellation()
    .UseYamlConfig("Constellation.yml")
    .Run();