workadventure/docs/maps/api-state.md

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API state related functions Reference

Saving / loading state

The WA.state functions allow you to easily share a common state between all the players in a given room. Moreover, WA.state functions can be used to persist this state across reloads.

WA.state.saveVariable(key : string, data : unknown): void
WA.state.loadVariable(key : string) : unknown
WA.state.hasVariable(key : string) : boolean
WA.state.onVariableChange(key : string).subscribe((data: unknown) => {}) : Subscription
WA.state.[any property]: unknown

These methods and properties can be used to save, load and track changes in variables related to the current room.

Variables stored in WA.state can be any value that is serializable in JSON.

Please refrain from storing large amounts of data in a room. Those functions are typically useful for saving or restoring configuration / metadata.

{.alert.alert-warning} We are in the process of fine-tuning variables, and we will eventually put limits on the maximum size a variable can hold. We will also put limits on the number of calls you can make to saving variables, so don't change the value of a variable every 10ms, this will fail in the future.

Example :

WA.state.saveVariable('config', {
    'bottomExitUrl': '/@/org/world/castle',
    'topExitUrl': '/@/org/world/tower',
    'enableBirdSound': true
}).catch(e => console.error('Something went wrong while saving variable', e));
//...
let config = WA.state.loadVariable('config');

You can use the shortcut properties to load and save variables. The code above is similar to:

WA.state.config = {
    'bottomExitUrl': '/@/org/world/castle',
    'topExitUrl': '/@/org/world/tower',
    'enableBirdSound': true
};

//...
let config = WA.state.config;

Note: saveVariable returns a promise that will fail in case the variable cannot be saved. This can happen if your user does not have the required rights (more on that in the next chapter). In contrast, if you use the WA.state properties, you cannot access the promise and therefore cannot know for sure if your variable was properly saved.

If you are using Typescript, please note that the type of variables is unknown. This is for security purpose, as we don't know the type of the variable. In order to use the returned value, you will need to cast it to the correct type (or better, use a Type guard to actually check at runtime that you get the expected type).

{.alert.alert-warning} For security reasons, the list of variables you are allowed to access and modify is restricted (otherwise, anyone on your map could set any data). Variables storage is subject to an authorization process. Read below to learn more.

Declaring allowed keys

In order to declare allowed keys related to a room, you need to add objects in an "object layer" of the map.

Each object will represent a variable.

The name of the variable is the name of the object. The object type MUST be variable.

You can set a default value for the object in the default property.

Persisting variables state

Use the persist property to save the state of the variable in database. If persist is false, the variable will stay in the memory of the WorkAdventure servers but will be wiped out of the memory as soon as the room is empty (or if the server restarts).

{.alert.alert-info} Do not use persist for highly dynamic values that have a short life spawn.

Managing access rights to variables

With readableBy and writableBy, you control who can read of write in this variable. The property accepts a string representing a "tag". Anyone having this "tag" can read/write in the variable.

{.alert.alert-warning} readableBy and writableBy are specific to the "online" version of WorkAdventure because the notion of tags is not available unless you have an "admin" server (that is not part of the self-hosted version of WorkAdventure).

Finally, the jsonSchema property can contain a complete JSON schema to validate the content of the variable. Trying to set a variable to a value that is not compatible with the schema will fail.

Tracking variables changes

The properties of the WA.state object are shared in real-time between users of a same room. You can listen to modifications of any property of WA.state by using the WA.state.onVariableChange() method.

WA.state.onVariableChange(name: string): Observable<unknown>

Usage:

WA.state.onVariableChange('config').subscribe((value) => {
    console.log('Variable "config" changed. New value: ', value);
});

The WA.state.onVariableChange method returns an RxJS Observable object. This is an object on which you can add subscriptions using the subscribe method.

Stopping tracking variables

If you want to stop tracking a variable change, the subscribe method returns a subscription object with an unsubscribe method.

Example with unsubscription:

const subscription = WA.state.onVariableChange('config').subscribe((value) => {
    console.log('Variable "config" changed. New value: ', value);
});
// Later:
subscription.unsubscribe();