Fora.Client 20260720.0.0

description: Quick start and API overview for the Fora Client library.

Fora.Client

Fora.Client is the canonical SDK for .NET federates connecting to an RTI via the IEEE 1516-2025 Federate Protocol. It provides a high-performance, asynchronous bridge between your federate logic and any HLA 4 compliant RTI.

Key Features

• Asynchronous API: Fully built on async/await patterns for non-blocking simulation logic.
• Pluggable Transports: Native support for TCP, TLS, and WebSockets (WS/WSS) to fit any network environment.
• Resilient Session Model: Automatic Reconnect-and-Resume with unacknowledged message replay, ensuring zero data loss during transient network drops.
• Zero-Dependency Core: Lightweight and modular, bundled with all necessary HLA abstractions and encoding helpers.
• Structured Logging: Built-in integration with Microsoft.Extensions.Logging for deep visibility into protocol and simulation events.

Supported HLA Service Groups

🏛️ Federation Management

• Connection, Join, Resign, and Disconnect workflows with full FP session support.
• Synchronization point registration and coordination.
• Federation Save & Restore: Coordinated save/restore state handling.

📢 Declaration Management

• Object and Interaction class publication and subscription.
• Support for hierarchy-aware subscriptions and HLA 4 advisory callbacks.

📦 Object Management

• Object instance registration, discovery, and lifecycle management.
• Attribute updates and Interaction sending (Best-effort & Reliable).
• Directed Interaction support and per-receiver attribute filtering.

🔑 Ownership Management

• Ownership Transfer: Full support for attribute ownership acquisition and divestiture (push/pull models).
• Ownership query services and unconditional divestiture support.

⏱️ Time Management

• Time regulation and constraint management.
• Time-stamped message sending (TSO) and causal delivery.
• Support for all advance requests (TAR, TARA, NMR, NMRA, FlushQueue) and message retraction.

🗺️ Data Distribution Management (DDM)

• Multi-dimensional region creation, modification, and deletion.
• Region association for attribute updates and interaction routing.

🛠️ Support Services

• Handle/Name Resolution: Bidirectional conversion for Object, Attribute, Interaction, and Parameter classes.
• Metadata Queries: Retrieve upper bounds for dimensions and available dimensions for attributes/interactions.
• Transportation & Order: Query and manage transportation types (Reliable/Best-effort) and order types (Receive/Timestamp).
• Full support for asynchronous update rate queries and RTI version reporting.

Install

dotnet add package Fora.Client --version 20260720.0.0

Quick Start

Start the containerized Fora RTI server:

docker run --rm -p 8080:8080 -p 15164:15164 ghcr.io/okansari/fora-rti:latest

Then connect a federate with the SDK:

using Fora.Client;
using Fora.Abstractions;
using Fora.Abstractions.Connection;

// 1. Create your Ambassador to receive callbacks
var ambassador = new MyFederateAmbassador();

// 2. Initialize and connect
await using var client = new ForaClient();
await client.ConnectAsync(ambassador, CallbackModel.Immediate, new RtiConfiguration
{
    RtiAddress = "127.0.0.1:15164",
    Transport = RtiTransportKind.Tcp
});

// 3. Join a federation
var handle = await client.JoinFederationExecutionAsync("MyFederation", "MyFederateType");

Connecting with TLS or authorization

When the server exposes the TLS FP listener on 15165, select the TLS transport:

await using var client = new ForaClient();
await client.ConnectAsync(new RtiConfiguration
{
    RtiAddress = "localhost:15165",
    Transport = RtiTransportKind.Tls
}, ambassador);

When the server enables the built-in HLAauthorizer, pass HLAplainTextPassword credentials:

await using var client = new ForaClient();
await client.ConnectAsync(new RtiConfiguration
{
    RtiAddress = "localhost:15164",
    Transport = RtiTransportKind.Tcp,
    Credentials = new HlaPlainTextPasswordCredentials("changeit")
}, ambassador);

Package Content

The package is a self-contained SDK containing:

• Fora.Client.dll: The main SDK and protocol orchestrator.
• Fora.Abstractions.dll: Shared HLA interfaces and exception types.
• Fora.Encoding.dll: HLA-compliant data element encoders (IDataElement).
• Fora.Protocol.dll: IEEE 1516-2025 Protobuf contracts.

Version

The package follows the shared Fora family release version:

20260720.0.0

The runtime client version constant remains date-based for lightweight feature checks:

var version = ForaClient.ForaClientVersion; // 20260720

See [[Release Notes]].

For a full federate programmer guide, see [[ProgrammersManual]] under UserManual/SDKs/Fora.Client.

Disclaimer

Fora environment is a free academic research toolbox provided “as is” without warranty or guaranteed support. It is intended solely for research and educational use and is not suitable for production or mission-critical environments. Backward compatibility is not guaranteed. Users assume all risks associated with its use. Feedback may be submitted via the Contact page.