pekko/akka-docs/java/extending-akka.rst
2012-03-06 13:20:00 +13:00

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2.7 KiB
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.. _extending-akka-java:
########################
Akka Extensions (Java)
########################
If you want to add features to Akka, there is a very elegant, but powerful mechanism for doing so.
It's called Akka Extensions and is comprised of 2 basic components: an ``Extension`` and an ``ExtensionId``.
Extensions will only be loaded once per ``ActorSystem``, which will be managed by Akka.
You can choose to have your Extension loaded on-demand or at ``ActorSystem`` creation time through the Akka configuration.
Details on how to make that happens are below, in the "Loading from Configuration" section.
.. warning::
Since an extension is a way to hook into Akka itself, the implementor of the extension needs to
ensure the thread safety of his/her extension.
Building an Extension
=====================
So let's create a sample extension that just lets us count the number of times something has happened.
First, we define what our ``Extension`` should do:
.. includecode:: code/akka/docs/extension/ExtensionDocTestBase.java
:include: imports,extension
Then we need to create an ``ExtensionId`` for our extension so we can grab ahold of it.
.. includecode:: code/akka/docs/extension/ExtensionDocTestBase.java
:include: imports,extensionid
Wicked! Now all we need to do is to actually use it:
.. includecode:: code/akka/docs/extension/ExtensionDocTestBase.java
:include: extension-usage
Or from inside of an Akka Actor:
.. includecode:: code/akka/docs/extension/ExtensionDocTestBase.java
:include: extension-usage-actor
That's all there is to it!
Loading from Configuration
==========================
To be able to load extensions from your Akka configuration you must add FQCNs of implementations of either ``ExtensionId`` or ``ExtensionIdProvider``
in the "akka.extensions" section of the config you provide to your ``ActorSystem``.
::
akka {
extensions = ["akka.docs.extension.ExtensionDocTestBase.CountExtension"]
}
Applicability
=============
The sky is the limit!
By the way, did you know that Akka's ``Typed Actors``, ``Serialization`` and other features are implemented as Akka Extensions?
.. _extending-akka-java.settings:
Application specific settings
-----------------------------
The :ref:`configuration` can be used for application specific settings. A good practice is to place those settings in an Extension.
Sample configuration:
.. includecode:: ../scala/code/akka/docs/extension/SettingsExtensionDocSpec.scala
:include: config
The ``Extension``:
.. includecode:: code/akka/docs/extension/SettingsExtensionDocTestBase.java
:include: imports,extension,extensionid
Use it:
.. includecode:: code/akka/docs/extension/SettingsExtensionDocTestBase.java
:include: extension-usage-actor