Started Message

The Started message is a system message in Proto.Actor that is sent to an actor when it first starts. This message is handled internally by the actor system to initialize the actor lifecycle.

Overview

The Started message is a part of the lifecycle management in Proto.Actor and is crucial for the initialization of actors. It allows for the execution of start-up logic, such as resource allocation or initial state setup. This message is automatically sent by the actor system when an actor is created.

Usage

The Started message does not need to be sent by user code; it is automatically handled by the actor system. However, you can respond to this message within your actor by overriding the OnReceive method or by using middleware.

Example

Here is a basic example of an actor handling the Started message:

using Proto;
using System;

public class MyActor : IActor
{
    public Task ReceiveAsync(IContext context)
    {
        switch (context.Message)
        {
            case Started _:
                Console.WriteLine("Actor started");
                break;
        }
        return Task.CompletedTask;
    }
}

In this example, the MyActor class implements the IActor interface and defines behavior in the ReceiveAsync method to handle the Started message. When the Started message is received, the actor simply prints “Actor started” to the console.

Conclusion

The Started message is a fundamental part of the actor lifecycle in Proto.Actor, signifying that an actor has been successfully created and started. By handling this message, developers can perform any necessary initialization tasks.