Notify API

Overview

Custom reliable/unreliable transport layer with fragmentation, acknowledgment tracking and delivery callbacks.
All types live in the SharedMode::Notify namespace.

Header: Notify.h

Connection

Manages two channels (Game and Streaming), handles fragmentation, acknowledgments and delivery notifications.

Constructor

C++

explicit Connection(Platform &platform);

Create a connection bound to a platform implementation.
Non-copyable.

Public Fields

Field	Type	Description
`Game`	`Channel`	Channel 1: unreliable, used for state updates.
`Streaming`	`Channel`	Channel 2: reliable, used for RPCs and guaranteed delivery.

Public Methods

Method	Signature	Description
`CanQueue`	`bool CanQueue(Channel &chan)`	Returns `true` if the channel can accept more data for queuing.
`Queue`	`bool Queue(Channel &chan, Data data, void *user)`	Queue data for sending on a channel. `user` is an opaque pointer passed to delivery/loss callbacks. Returns `true` on success.
`Send`	`void Send()`	Flush all queued fragments across both channels. Calls `Platform::Send()` for each outgoing packet.
`Update`	`void Update()`	Process pending acknowledgments and detect lost packets. Call once per frame.
`Receive`	`int Receive(Data data)`	Process an incoming packet. Returns `RECV_RESULT_NONE` on success or `RECV_RESULT_DISCONNECT` on fatal error.
`Receive`	`int Receive(Channel &chan, FragmentHeader header, Data data)`	Process an incoming fragment for a specific channel.

Channel

Represents a single communication channel (reliable or unreliable) with send/receive queues.

C++

struct Channel {
    uint8_t Id{0};
    bool Reliable{false};
    size_t MtuData;
    LinkList<FragmentGroup> Notify{};
    uint32_t SendGroup{0};
    LinkList<Fragment> SendQueue{};
    LinkList<Fragment> ResendQueue{};
    uint32_t RecvGroup{0};
    LinkList<Fragment> RecvList{};
};

Field	Type	Description
`Id`	`uint8_t`	Channel identifier (1 = Game, 2 = Streaming).
`Reliable`	`bool`	True for reliable delivery with resends.
`MtuData`	`size_t`	Maximum payload per fragment (`PACKET_MTU_BYTES - sizeof(FragmentHeader)`).
`Notify`	`LinkList<FragmentGroup>`	Pending delivery notifications.
`SendGroup`	`uint32_t`	Next send group counter.
`SendQueue`	`LinkList<Fragment>`	Fragments waiting to be sent.
`ResendQueue`	`LinkList<Fragment>`	Fragments pending resend (reliable only).
`RecvGroup`	`uint32_t`	Next expected receive group.
`RecvList`	`LinkList<Fragment>`	Received fragments awaiting reassembly.

Constructor

C++

Channel(uint8_t id, bool reliable);

Non-copyable.

FragmentHeader

Wire format header prepended to every fragment.

C++

struct FragmentHeader {
    uint8_t Flags;
    uint8_t _reserved_0;
    uint8_t Channel;
    uint8_t _reserved_1;
    uint16_t Sequence;
    uint16_t AckSequence;
    uint64_t AckMask;
    uint32_t FragGroup;
    uint32_t FragIndex;
};

static_assert(sizeof(FragmentHeader) == 24);

Field	Offset	Size	Description
`Flags`	0	1	Bitfield controlling fragment contents.
`Channel`	2	1	Channel this fragment belongs to.
`Sequence`	4	2	Monotonically increasing send sequence.
`AckSequence`	6	2	Highest remote sequence acknowledged.
`AckMask`	8	8	Bitmask of the 64 packets preceding `AckSequence`.
`FragGroup`	16	4	Groups fragments that form a single logical message.
`FragIndex`	20	4	Position of this fragment within the group.

Fragment

A single fragment in a send or receive queue.

C++

struct Fragment {
    Fragment *Prev{nullptr};
    Fragment *Next{nullptr};
    FragmentGroup *Group{nullptr};
    double SendTime{0};
    FragmentHeader Header{};
    Data Data{};
};

Field	Type	Description
`Prev` / `Next`	`Fragment *`	LinkList pointers.
`Group`	`FragmentGroup *`	Parent fragment group.
`SendTime`	`double`	Timestamp when the fragment was sent.
`Header`	`FragmentHeader`	Wire header for this fragment.
`Data`	`Data`	Payload bytes.

Non-copyable.

FragmentGroup

Groups multiple fragments into a single logical message.
Tracks delivery status.

C++

struct FragmentGroup {
    FragmentGroup *Prev{nullptr};
    FragmentGroup *Next{nullptr};
    void *User{nullptr};
    Data Data{};
    std::optional<bool> WasLost{};
    std::optional<bool> WasDelivered{};
    uint32_t Group{0};
    uint32_t Count{0};
    uint8_t *Delivered{nullptr};
    uint32_t DeliveredCount{0};
};

Field	Type	Description
`User`	`void *`	Opaque pointer passed to delivery/loss callbacks.
`Data`	`Data`	Reassembled payload (populated on full delivery).
`WasLost`	`optional<bool>`	Set to true if any fragment was lost.
`WasDelivered`	`optional<bool>`	Set to true if all fragments were delivered.
`Group`	`uint32_t`	Group identifier.
`Count`	`uint32_t`	Total fragment count in the group.
`Delivered`	`uint8_t *`	Per-fragment delivery bitmap.
`DeliveredCount`	`uint32_t`	Number of fragments confirmed delivered.

Methods

Method	Signature	Description
`IsDone`	`bool IsDone() const`	Returns `true` if the group outcome (lost or delivered) has been determined.
`SetDelivered`	`void SetDelivered(Fragment *fragment)`	Mark a fragment as delivered. When all fragments are delivered, sets `WasDelivered`.

Non-copyable.

Platform

Abstract interface that the transport implementation must provide.
The Connection calls these methods during its operation.

C++

class Platform {
public:
    virtual ~Platform() = default;
    virtual double Clock() = 0;
    virtual void Send(Connection *connection, Data data) = 0;
    virtual void Recv(Connection *connection, Channel &channel, Data data) = 0;
    virtual void Lost(Connection *connection, Channel &channel, void *user, Data data) = 0;
    virtual void Delivered(Connection *connection, Channel &channel, void *user, Data data) = 0;
};

Method	Description
`Clock()`	Return the current time in seconds (monotonic). Used for RTT calculation and resend timing.
`Send(connection, data)`	Transmit a raw packet over the network.
`Recv(connection, channel, data)`	Called when a complete message is reassembled from fragments.
`Lost(connection, channel, user, data)`	Called when a message is determined to be lost. `user` is the opaque pointer from `Queue()`.
`Delivered(connection, channel, user, data)`	Called when a message is confirmed delivered by the remote end. `user` is the opaque pointer from `Queue()`.

The SDK provides PhotonNotifyPlatform which bridges the Notify protocol to the Photon transport layer.
Engine integrations do not need to implement this interface directly.

Constants

MTU and Payload

Constant	Value	Description
`DEFAULT_HEADERS`	144	IP + UDP + Photon overhead (40 + 8 + 96 bytes).
`MAX_MTU_BYTES_TOTAL`	1280	Maximum packet size (IPv6 minimum MTU).
`MAX_MTU_BYTES_PAYLOAD`	1136	Usable payload after header subtraction.
`PACKET_MTU_BYTES`	1136	Payload rounded down to 8-byte alignment.

Receive Result Codes

Constant	Value	Description
`RECV_RESULT_NONE`	0	Packet processed successfully.
`RECV_RESULT_DISCONNECT`	2	Fatal error -- connection should be dropped.

Fragment Flags

Constant	Value	Description
`FRAG_FLAG_DATA`	`1 << 1`	Fragment carries payload data.
`FRAG_FLAG_ACKS`	`1 << 2`	Fragment carries acknowledgment data.
`FRAG_FLAG_LAST_FRAG`	`1 << 7`	Last fragment in the group.