/* * Copyright 2012 The Netty Project * * The Netty Project licenses this file to you under the Apache License, * version 2.0 (the "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance * with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at: * * http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0 * * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT * WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied. See the * License for the specific language governing permissions and limitations * under the License. */ package io.netty.channel; import io.netty.buffer.ByteBuf; import io.netty.buffer.MessageBuf; import io.netty.util.Attribute; import io.netty.util.AttributeKey; import java.lang.annotation.Documented; import java.lang.annotation.ElementType; import java.lang.annotation.Inherited; import java.lang.annotation.Retention; import java.lang.annotation.RetentionPolicy; import java.lang.annotation.Target; /** * Handles or intercepts a {@link ChannelInboundInvoker} or {@link ChannelOutboundInvoker} operation, and forwards it * to the next handler in a {@link ChannelPipeline}. * *

Sub-types

*

* {@link ChannelHandler} itself does not provide many methods. To handle a * a {@link ChannelInboundInvoker} or {@link ChannelOutboundInvoker} operation * you need to implement its sub-interfaces. There are many different sub-interfaces * which handles inbound and outbound operations. * * But the most useful for developers may be: *

* * You will also find more detailed explanation from the documentation of * each sub-interface on how an event is interpreted when it goes upstream and * downstream respectively. * *

The context object

*

* A {@link ChannelHandler} is provided with a {@link ChannelHandlerContext} * object. A {@link ChannelHandler} is supposed to interact with the * {@link ChannelPipeline} it belongs to via a context object. Using the * context object, the {@link ChannelHandler} can pass events upstream or * downstream, modify the pipeline dynamically, or store the information * (attachment) which is specific to the handler. * *

State management

* * A {@link ChannelHandler} often needs to store some stateful information. * The simplest and recommended approach is to use member variables: *
 * public interface Message {
 *     // your methods here
 * }
 *
 * public class DataServerHandler extends {@link ChannelInboundMessageHandlerAdapter}<Message> {
 *
 *     private boolean loggedIn;
 *
 *     {@code @Override}
 *     public void messageReceived({@link ChannelHandlerContext} ctx, Message message) {
 *         {@link Channel} ch = e.getChannel();
 *         if (message instanceof LoginMessage) {
 *             authenticate((LoginMessage) message);
 *             loggedIn = true;
 *         } else (message instanceof GetDataMessage) {
 *             if (loggedIn) {
 *                 ch.write(fetchSecret((GetDataMessage) message));
 *             } else {
 *                 fail();
 *             }
 *         }
 *     }
 *     ...
 * }
 * 
* Because the handler instance has a state variable which is dedicated to * one connection, you have to create a new handler instance for each new * channel to avoid a race condition where a unauthenticated client can get * the confidential information: *
 * // Create a new handler instance per channel.
 * // See {@link ChannelInitializer#initChannel(Channel)}.
 * public class DataServerInitializer extends {@link ChannelInitializer}<{@link Channel}> {
 *     {@code @Override}
 *     public void initChannel({@link Channel} channel) {
 *         channel.pipeline().addLast("handler", new DataServerHandler());
 *     }
 * }
 *
 * 
* *

Using an attachment

* * Although it's recommended to use member variables to store the state of a * handler, for some reason you might not want to create many handler instances. * In such a case, you can use an attachment which is provided by * {@link ChannelHandlerContext}: *
 * public interface Message {
 *     // your methods here
 * }
 *
 * {@code @Sharable}
 * public class DataServerHandler extends {@link ChannelInboundMessageHandlerAdapter}<Message> {
 *   private final {@link AttributeKey}<{@link Boolean}> auth =
 *           new {@link AttributeKey}<{@link Boolean}>("auth");
 *
 *   // This handler will receive a sequence of increasing integers starting
 *   // from 1.
 *   {@code @Override}
 *   public void messageReceived({@link ChannelHandlerContext} ctx, {@link Integer} integer) {
 *     {@link Attribute}<{@link Boolean}> attr = ctx.getAttr(auth);
 *
 *     {@code @Override}
 *     public void messageReceived({@link ChannelHandlerContext} ctx, Message message) {
 *         {@link Channel} ch = ctx.channel();
 *         if (message instanceof LoginMessage) {
 *             authenticate((LoginMessage) o);
 *             attr.set(true);
 *         } else (message instanceof GetDataMessage) {
 *             if (Boolean.TRUE.equals(attr.get())) {
 *                 ch.write(fetchSecret((GetDataMessage) o));
 *             } else {
 *                 fail();
 *             }
 *         }
 *     }
 *     ...
 * }
 * 
* Now that the state of the handler is stored as an attachment, you can add the * same handler instance to different pipelines: *
 * public class DataServerInitializer extends {@link ChannelInitializer}<{@link Channel}> {
 *
 *     private static final DataServerHandler SHARED = new DataServerHandler();
 *
 *     {@code @Override}
 *     public void initChannel({@link Channel} channel) {
 *         channel.pipeline().addLast("handler", SHARED);
 *     }
 * }
 * 
* * *

The {@code @Sharable} annotation

*

* In the examples above which used an attachment, * you might have noticed the {@code @Sharable} annotation. *

* If a {@link ChannelHandler} is annotated with the {@code @Sharable} * annotation, it means you can create an instance of the handler just once and * add it to one or more {@link ChannelPipeline}s multiple times without * a race condition. *

* If this annotation is not specified, you have to create a new handler * instance every time you add it to a pipeline because it has unshared state * such as member variables. *

* This annotation is provided for documentation purpose, just like * the JCIP annotations. * *

Additional resources worth reading

*

* Please refer to the {@link ChannelHandler}, and * {@link ChannelPipeline} to find out more about inbound and outbound operations, * what fundamental differences they have, how they flow in a pipeline, and how to handle * the operation in your application. */ public interface ChannelHandler { /** * Gets called after the {@link ChannelHandler} was added to the actual context. */ void handlerAdded(ChannelHandlerContext ctx) throws Exception; /** * Gets called after the {@link ChannelHandler} was removed from the actual context. */ void handlerRemoved(ChannelHandlerContext ctx) throws Exception; /** * Gets called if a {@link Throwable} was thrown. */ void exceptionCaught(ChannelHandlerContext ctx, Throwable cause) throws Exception; /** * Indicates that the same instance of the annotated {@link ChannelHandler} * can be added to one or more {@link ChannelPipeline}s multiple times * without a race condition. *

* If this annotation is not specified, you have to create a new handler * instance every time you add it to a pipeline because it has unshared * state such as member variables. *

* This annotation is provided for documentation purpose, just like * the JCIP annotations. */ @Inherited @Documented @Target(ElementType.TYPE) @Retention(RetentionPolicy.RUNTIME) @interface Sharable { // no value } }