Network API

The aether-net module provides an abstraction layer over network transports. This allows Aether applications to run on different platforms (JVM, Wasm) and potentially use different underlying protocols (TCP, UDP, Mixnets) without changing application logic.

NetworkTransport

The NetworkTransport interface defines the standard operations for sending and receiving data.

interface NetworkTransport {
    suspend fun send(data: ByteArray, destination: String)
    fun listen(port: Int): Flow<Packet>
    suspend fun close()
}

Methods

• send(data: ByteArray, destination: String): Sends a byte array to a specific destination.
• listen(port: Int): Flow<Packet>: Starts listening on a port and returns a Kotlin Flow of incoming Packets.
• close(): Closes the transport connection.

Packet

Represents a unit of data received from the network.

data class Packet(
    val data: ByteArray,
    val source: String
)

Implementations

TcpTransport

A platform-specific implementation using the expect/actual pattern.

• JVM: Implemented using Vert.x NetServer and NetClient for high-performance, non-blocking I/O.
• Wasm: Provides stub implementations (or WebSocket-based bridges) suitable for browser or WASI environments.