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authorLoïc Hoguin <[email protected]>2012-01-09 07:40:43 +0100
committerLoïc Hoguin <[email protected]>2012-01-09 07:40:43 +0100
commit9b620bbb4c53b5fe35cc15ec73327e0d687d10af (patch)
treec540aa5373387f10ce7aac91418bb32e7256cb9b /README.md
parentfd49215908a2b7860b70760a534cbca802649d01 (diff)
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Add HTTP handler loops to the README
Diffstat (limited to 'README.md')
-rw-r--r--README.md45
1 files changed, 34 insertions, 11 deletions
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 2fc74fc..ce769ba 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -94,7 +94,6 @@ Following is an example of a "Hello World!" HTTP handler.
``` erlang
-module(my_handler).
--behaviour(cowboy_http_handler).
-export([init/3, handle/2, terminate/2]).
init({tcp, http}, Req, Opts) ->
@@ -107,14 +106,46 @@ handle(Req, State) ->
terminate(Req, State) ->
ok.
```
+
+You can also write handlers that do not reply directly. Instead, such handlers
+will wait for an Erlang message from another process and only reply when
+receiving such message, or timeout if it didn't arrive in time.
+
+This is especially useful for long-polling functionality, as Cowboy will handle
+process hibernation and timeouts properly, preventing mistakes if you were to
+write the code yourself. An handler of that kind can be defined like this:
+
+``` erlang
+-module(my_loop_handler).
+-export([init/3, info/3, terminate/2]).
+
+-define(TIMEOUT, 60000).
+
+init({tcp, http}, Req, Opts) ->
+ {loop, Req, undefined_state, ?TIMEOUT, hibernate}.
+
+info({reply, Body}, Req, State) ->
+ {ok, Req2} = cowboy_http_req:reply(200, [], Body, Req),
+ {ok, Req2, State};
+info(Message, Req, State) ->
+ {loop, Req, State, hibernate}.
+
+terminate(Req, State) ->
+ ok.
+```
+
+It is of course possible to combine both type of handlers together as long as
+you return the proper tuple from init/3.
+
**Note**: versions prior to `0.4.0` used the
[quoted](https://github.com/klaar/quoted.erl) library instead of the built in
`cowboy_http:urldecode/2` function. If you want to retain this you must add it
as a dependency to your application and add the following cowboy_http_protocol
option:
+``` erlang
{urldecode, {fun quoted:from_url/2, quoted:make([])}}
-
+```
Continue reading to learn how to dispatch rules and handle requests.
@@ -187,21 +218,13 @@ Websocket would look like this:
``` erlang
-module(my_ws_handler).
--behaviour(cowboy_http_handler).
--behaviour(cowboy_http_websocket_handler).
--export([init/3, handle/2, terminate/2]).
+-export([init/3]).
-export([websocket_init/3, websocket_handle/3,
websocket_info/3, websocket_terminate/3]).
init({tcp, http}, Req, Opts) ->
{upgrade, protocol, cowboy_http_websocket}.
-handle(Req, State) ->
- error(foo). %% Will never be called.
-
-terminate(Req, State) ->
- error(foo). %% Same for that one.
-
websocket_init(TransportName, Req, _Opts) ->
erlang:start_timer(1000, self(), <<"Hello!">>),
{ok, Req, undefined_state}.