Classic Akka Extensions

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 comprises 2 basic components: an @apidocExtension and an @apidocExtensionId.

Extensions will only be loaded once per @apidocActorSystem, which will be managed by Akka. You can choose to have your Extension loaded on-demand or at @apidocActorSystem creation time through the Akka configuration. Details on how to make that happens are below, in the @ref:Loading from Configuration section.

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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.

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Building an Extension

So let's create a sample extension that lets us count the number of times something has happened.

First, we define what our @apidocExtension should do:

Scala : @@snip ExtensionDocSpec.scala { #extension }

Java : @@snip ExtensionDocTest.java { #imports #extension }

Then we need to create an @apidocExtensionId for our extension so we can grab a hold of it.

Scala : @@snip ExtensionDocSpec.scala { #extensionid }

Java : @@snip ExtensionDocTest.java { #imports #extensionid }

Wicked! Now all we need to do is to actually use it:

Scala : @@snip ExtensionDocSpec.scala { #extension-usage }

Java : @@snip ExtensionDocTest.java { #extension-usage }

Or from inside of an Akka Actor:

Scala : @@snip ExtensionDocSpec.scala { #extension-usage-actor }

Java : @@snip ExtensionDocTest.java { #extension-usage-actor }

@@@ div { .group-scala }

You can also hide extension behind traits:

@@snip ExtensionDocSpec.scala { #extension-usage-actor-trait }

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That's all there is to it!

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Loading from Configuration

To be able to load extensions from your Akka configuration you must add FQCNs of implementations of either @apidocExtensionId or @apidocExtensionIdProvider in the akka.extensions section of the config you provide to your @apidocActorSystem.

Scala : @@snip ExtensionDocSpec.scala { #config }

Java : @@@vars akka { extensions = ["docs.extension.ExtensionDocTest.CountExtension"] } @@@

Applicability

The sky is the limit! By the way, did you know that Akka @ref:Cluster, @ref:Serialization and other features are implemented as Akka Extensions?

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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:

@@snip SettingsExtensionDocSpec.scala { #config }

The @apidocExtension:

Scala : @@snip SettingsExtensionDocSpec.scala { #imports #extension #extensionid }

Java : @@snip SettingsExtensionDocTest.java { #imports #extension #extensionid }

Use it:

Scala : @@snip SettingsExtensionDocSpec.scala { #extension-usage-actor }

Java : @@snip SettingsExtensionDocTest.java { #extension-usage-actor }

Library extensions

A third part library may register its extension for auto-loading on actor system startup by appending it to akka.library-extensions in its reference.conf.

akka.library-extensions += "docs.extension.ExampleExtension"

As there is no way to selectively remove such extensions, it should be used with care and only when there is no case where the user would ever want it disabled or have specific support for disabling such sub-features. One example where this could be important is in tests.

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Theakka.library-extensions must never be assigned (= ["Extension"]) instead of appending as this will break the library-extension mechanism and make behavior depend on class path ordering.

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