How to: Implement a Provider

Article
09/15/2021

The observer design pattern requires a division between a provider, which monitors data and sends notifications, and one or more observers, which receive notifications (callbacks) from the provider. This topic discusses how to create a provider. A related topic, How to: Implement an Observer, discusses how to create an observer.

To create a provider

Define the data that the provider is responsible for sending to observers. Although the provider and the data that it sends to observers can be a single type, they are generally represented by different types. For example, in a temperature monitoring application, the Temperature structure defines the data that the provider (which is represented by the TemperatureMonitor class defined in the next step) monitors and to which observers subscribe.

using System;

public struct Temperature
{
   private decimal temp;
   private DateTime tempDate;

   public Temperature(decimal temperature, DateTime dateAndTime)
   {
      this.temp = temperature;
      this.tempDate = dateAndTime;
   }

   public decimal Degrees
   { get { return this.temp; } }

   public DateTime Date
   { get { return this.tempDate; } }
}

Public Structure Temperature
    Private temp As Decimal
    Private tempDate As DateTime

    Public Sub New(ByVal temperature As Decimal, ByVal dateAndTime As DateTime)
        Me.temp = temperature
        Me.tempDate = dateAndTime
    End Sub

    Public ReadOnly Property Degrees As Decimal
        Get
            Return Me.temp
        End Get
    End Property

    Public ReadOnly Property [Date] As DateTime
        Get
            Return tempDate
        End Get
    End Property
End Structure

Define the data provider, which is a type that implements the System.IObservable<T> interface. The provider's generic type argument is the type that the provider sends to observers. The following example defines a TemperatureMonitor class, which is a constructed System.IObservable<T> implementation with a generic type argument of Temperature.
```
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class TemperatureMonitor : IObservable<Temperature>
{
```
```
Imports System.Collections.Generic


Public Class TemperatureMonitor : Implements IObservable(Of Temperature)
```

Determine how the provider will store references to observers so that each observer can be notified when appropriate. Most commonly, a collection object such as a generic List<T> object is used for this purpose. The following example defines a private List<T> object that is instantiated in the TemperatureMonitor class constructor.

using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class TemperatureMonitor : IObservable<Temperature>
{
   List<IObserver<Temperature>> observers;

   public TemperatureMonitor()
   {
      observers = new List<IObserver<Temperature>>();
   }

Imports System.Collections.Generic


Public Class TemperatureMonitor : Implements IObservable(Of Temperature)
    Dim observers As List(Of IObserver(Of Temperature))

    Public Sub New()
        observers = New List(Of IObserver(Of Temperature))
    End Sub

Define an IDisposable implementation that the provider can return to subscribers so that they can stop receiving notifications at any time. The following example defines a nested Unsubscriber class that is passed a reference to the subscribers collection and to the subscriber when the class is instantiated. This code enables the subscriber to call the object's IDisposable.Dispose implementation to remove itself from the subscribers collection.

private class Unsubscriber : IDisposable
{
   private List<IObserver<Temperature>> _observers;
   private IObserver<Temperature> _observer;

   public Unsubscriber(List<IObserver<Temperature>> observers, IObserver<Temperature> observer)
   {
      this._observers = observers;
      this._observer = observer;
   }

   public void Dispose()
   {
      if (! (_observer == null)) _observers.Remove(_observer);
   }
}

Private Class Unsubscriber : Implements IDisposable
    Private _observers As List(Of IObserver(Of Temperature))
    Private _observer As IObserver(Of Temperature)

    Public Sub New(ByVal observers As List(Of IObserver(Of Temperature)), ByVal observer As IObserver(Of Temperature))
        Me._observers = observers
        Me._observer = observer
    End Sub

    Public Sub Dispose() Implements IDisposable.Dispose
        If _observer IsNot Nothing Then _observers.Remove(_observer)
    End Sub
End Class

Implement the IObservable<T>.Subscribe method. The method is passed a reference to the System.IObserver<T> interface and should be stored in the object designed for that purpose in step 3. The method should then return the IDisposable implementation developed in step 4. The following example shows the implementation of the Subscribe method in the TemperatureMonitor class.

public IDisposable Subscribe(IObserver<Temperature> observer)
{
   if (! observers.Contains(observer))
      observers.Add(observer);

   return new Unsubscriber(observers, observer);
}

Public Function Subscribe(ByVal observer As System.IObserver(Of Temperature)) As System.IDisposable Implements System.IObservable(Of Temperature).Subscribe
    If Not observers.Contains(observer) Then
        observers.Add(observer)
    End If
    Return New Unsubscriber(observers, observer)
End Function

Notify observers as appropriate by calling their IObserver<T>.OnNext, IObserver<T>.OnError, and IObserver<T>.OnCompleted implementations. In some cases, a provider may not call the OnError method when an error occurs. For example, the following GetTemperature method simulates a monitor that reads temperature data every five seconds and notifies observers if the temperature has changed by at least .1 degree since the previous reading. If the device does not report a temperature (that is, if its value is null), the provider notifies observers that the transmission is complete. Note that, in addition to calling each observer's OnCompleted method, the GetTemperature method clears the List<T> collection. In this case, the provider makes no calls to the OnError method of its observers.

public void GetTemperature()
{
   // Create an array of sample data to mimic a temperature device.
   Nullable<Decimal>[] temps = {14.6m, 14.65m, 14.7m, 14.9m, 14.9m, 15.2m, 15.25m, 15.2m,
                                15.4m, 15.45m, null };
   // Store the previous temperature, so notification is only sent after at least .1 change.
   Nullable<Decimal> previous = null;
   bool start = true;

   foreach (var temp in temps) {
      System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(2500);
      if (temp.HasValue) {
         if (start || (Math.Abs(temp.Value - previous.Value) >= 0.1m )) {
            Temperature tempData = new Temperature(temp.Value, DateTime.Now);
            foreach (var observer in observers)
               observer.OnNext(tempData);
            previous = temp;
            if (start) start = false;
         }
      }
      else {
         foreach (var observer in observers.ToArray())
            if (observer != null) observer.OnCompleted();

         observers.Clear();
         break;
      }
   }
}

Public Sub GetTemperature()
    ' Create an array of sample data to mimic a temperature device.
    Dim temps() As Nullable(Of Decimal) = {14.6D, 14.65D, 14.7D, 14.9D, 14.9D, 15.2D, 15.25D, 15.2D,
                                          15.4D, 15.45D, Nothing}
    ' Store the previous temperature, so notification is only sent after at least .1 change.
    Dim previous As Nullable(Of Decimal)
    Dim start As Boolean = True

    For Each temp In temps
        System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(2500)

        If temp.HasValue Then
            If start OrElse Math.Abs(temp.Value - previous.Value) >= 0.1 Then
                Dim tempData As New Temperature(temp.Value, Date.Now)
                For Each observer In observers
                    observer.OnNext(tempData)
                Next
                previous = temp
                If start Then start = False
            End If
        Else
            For Each observer In observers.ToArray()
                If observer IsNot Nothing Then observer.OnCompleted()
            Next
            observers.Clear()
            Exit For
        End If
    Next
End Sub

Example

The following example contains the complete source code for defining an IObservable<T> implementation for a temperature monitoring application. It includes the Temperature structure, which is the data sent to observers, and the TemperatureMonitor class, which is the IObservable<T> implementation.

using System.Threading;
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;

public class TemperatureMonitor : IObservable<Temperature>
{
   List<IObserver<Temperature>> observers;

   public TemperatureMonitor()
   {
      observers = new List<IObserver<Temperature>>();
   }

   private class Unsubscriber : IDisposable
   {
      private List<IObserver<Temperature>> _observers;
      private IObserver<Temperature> _observer;

      public Unsubscriber(List<IObserver<Temperature>> observers, IObserver<Temperature> observer)
      {
         this._observers = observers;
         this._observer = observer;
      }

      public void Dispose()
      {
         if (! (_observer == null)) _observers.Remove(_observer);
      }
   }

   public IDisposable Subscribe(IObserver<Temperature> observer)
   {
      if (! observers.Contains(observer))
         observers.Add(observer);

      return new Unsubscriber(observers, observer);
   }

   public void GetTemperature()
   {
      // Create an array of sample data to mimic a temperature device.
      Nullable<Decimal>[] temps = {14.6m, 14.65m, 14.7m, 14.9m, 14.9m, 15.2m, 15.25m, 15.2m,
                                   15.4m, 15.45m, null };
      // Store the previous temperature, so notification is only sent after at least .1 change.
      Nullable<Decimal> previous = null;
      bool start = true;

      foreach (var temp in temps) {
         System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(2500);
         if (temp.HasValue) {
            if (start || (Math.Abs(temp.Value - previous.Value) >= 0.1m )) {
               Temperature tempData = new Temperature(temp.Value, DateTime.Now);
               foreach (var observer in observers)
                  observer.OnNext(tempData);
               previous = temp;
               if (start) start = false;
            }
         }
         else {
            foreach (var observer in observers.ToArray())
               if (observer != null) observer.OnCompleted();

            observers.Clear();
            break;
         }
      }
   }
}

Imports System.Threading
Imports System.Collections.Generic


Public Class TemperatureMonitor : Implements IObservable(Of Temperature)
    Dim observers As List(Of IObserver(Of Temperature))

    Public Sub New()
        observers = New List(Of IObserver(Of Temperature))
    End Sub

    Private Class Unsubscriber : Implements IDisposable
        Private _observers As List(Of IObserver(Of Temperature))
        Private _observer As IObserver(Of Temperature)

        Public Sub New(ByVal observers As List(Of IObserver(Of Temperature)), ByVal observer As IObserver(Of Temperature))
            Me._observers = observers
            Me._observer = observer
        End Sub

        Public Sub Dispose() Implements IDisposable.Dispose
            If _observer IsNot Nothing Then _observers.Remove(_observer)
        End Sub
    End Class

    Public Function Subscribe(ByVal observer As System.IObserver(Of Temperature)) As System.IDisposable Implements System.IObservable(Of Temperature).Subscribe
        If Not observers.Contains(observer) Then
            observers.Add(observer)
        End If
        Return New Unsubscriber(observers, observer)
    End Function

    Public Sub GetTemperature()
        ' Create an array of sample data to mimic a temperature device.
        Dim temps() As Nullable(Of Decimal) = {14.6D, 14.65D, 14.7D, 14.9D, 14.9D, 15.2D, 15.25D, 15.2D,
                                              15.4D, 15.45D, Nothing}
        ' Store the previous temperature, so notification is only sent after at least .1 change.
        Dim previous As Nullable(Of Decimal)
        Dim start As Boolean = True

        For Each temp In temps
            System.Threading.Thread.Sleep(2500)

            If temp.HasValue Then
                If start OrElse Math.Abs(temp.Value - previous.Value) >= 0.1 Then
                    Dim tempData As New Temperature(temp.Value, Date.Now)
                    For Each observer In observers
                        observer.OnNext(tempData)
                    Next
                    previous = temp
                    If start Then start = False
                End If
            Else
                For Each observer In observers.ToArray()
                    If observer IsNot Nothing Then observer.OnCompleted()
                Next
                observers.Clear()
                Exit For
            End If
        Next
    End Sub
End Class

How to: Implement a Provider

To create a provider

Example

See also

Feedback

Additional resources