Pub/Sub Messaging System

AfterLink features a high-performance publish/subscribe messaging engine baked directly into the socket protocol layer. Deliver real-time broad-scope channels with minimal wire steps.

How it Works

Unlike HTTP polling or traditional WebSockets where pub/sub routing must be written on top of JSON buffers in the application space, AfterLink utilizes dedicated message type bytes (MSG_SUBSCRIBE - 0x02 and MSG_PUBLISH - 0x03) to instruct the server on channel routing:

1. Client registers channel 0x02 (MSG_SUBSCRIBE) + "chat.global"

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2. Server stores registry map Sets Socket connection in channel memory array

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3. Message published 0x03 (MSG_PUBLISH) to "chat.global" -> server loops & relays header frames

Client Pub/Sub Code Example

Below is an implementation showing how simple it is to register subscribers and push events onto channels:

Channel Routing Patterns

AfterLink supports two levels of channel routing matching structures:

Exact Matching: Routes messages only to subscribers bound to the exact string channel, such as chat.room1.
Wildcard Routing (Single level): Using the asterisks character (*), clients can subscribe to entire subgroups. For instance, subscribing to sensors.* catches broadcasts pushed to sensors.temperature, sensors.pressure, etc:

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