Network

Network Core Library

Overview

network.hpp contains the low-level networking primitives shared by both client and server. It defines packet structures, headers, SAFE packet tracking, and the packet_handler.

---

Packet Format

Header (net::Header)

Field	Type	Description
id	size_t	Message / entity identifier
protocol	uint16_t	BASIC or SAFE
safeUid	uint16_t	SAFE acknowledgment ID
size	uint16_t	Payload size
type	uint16_t	Message type

---

Packet (net::Packet)

struct Packet {
    Header header;
    const void *data;
};

---

SAFE Protocol Internals

PendingPackets

Tracks unacknowledged SAFE packets.

std::unordered_map<
    int, std::unordered_map<int, SafePacket>
>

---

Retransmission

• Timeout: TIME_OUT (default: 100ms)
• Retransmission continues until ACK is received
• Automatic cancellation on client disconnect

---

packet_handler

Responsible for:

• Packet serialization
• Sending packets
• SAFE retransmission scheduling
• ACK handling

---

Constants

Name	Value
TIME_OUT	100 ms
DEFAULT_SAFE_UID	0
Max Packet Size	1024 bytes

---

Design Philosophy

• UDP-first architecture
• Explicit reliability when needed
• Minimal overhead for real-time gameplay