Control.Observable Module (F#)

Basic operations on first class event and other observable objects.

Namespace/Module Path: Microsoft.FSharp.Control

Assembly: FSharp.Core (in FSharp.Core.dll)

module Observable

Values

Value

Description

add : ('T -> unit) -> IObservable<'T> -> unit

Creates an observer which permanently subscribes to the given observable and which calls the given function for each observation.

choose : ('T -> 'U option) -> IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'U>

Returns an observable which chooses a projection of observations from the source using the given function. The returned object will trigger observations for which the splitter returns a Somevalue. The returned object also propagates all errors arising from the source and completes when the source completes.

filter : ('T -> bool) -> IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'T>

Returns an observable which filters the observations of the source by the given function. The observable will see only those observations for which the predicate returns true. The predicate is executed once for each subscribed observer. The returned object also propagates error observations arising from the source and completes when the source completes.

map : ('T -> 'U) -> IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'U>

Returns an observable which transforms the observations of the source by the given function. The transformation function is executed once for each subscribed observer. The returned object also propagates error observations arising from the source and completes when the source completes.

merge : IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'T>

Returns an observable for the merged observations from the sources. The returned object propagates success and error values arising from either source and completes when both the sources have completed.

pairwise : IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'T * 'T>

Returns a new observable that triggers on the second and subsequent triggerings of the input observable. The Nth triggering of the input observable passes the arguments from the N-1th and Nth triggering as a pair. The argument passed to the N-1th triggering is held in hidden internal state until the Nth triggering occurs.

partition : ('T -> bool) -> IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'T> * IObservable<'T>

Returns two observables which partition the observations of the source by the given function. The first will trigger observations for those values for which the predicate returns true. The second will trigger observations for those values where the predicate returns false. The predicate is executed once for each subscribed observer. Both also propagate all error observations arising from the source and each completes when the source completes.

scan : ('U -> 'T -> 'U) -> 'U -> IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'T>

Returns an observable which, for each observer, allocates an item of state and applies the given accumulating function to successive values arising from the input. The returned object will trigger observations for each computed state value, excluding the initial value. The returned object propagates all errors arising from the source and completes when the source completes.

split : ('T -> Choice<'U1,'U2>) -> IObservable<'T> -> IObservable<'U1> * IObservable<'U2>

Returns two observables which split the observations of the source by the given function. The first will trigger observations for which the splitter returns Choice1Of2. The second will trigger observations y for which the splitter returns Choice2Of2. The splitter is executed once for each subscribed observer. Both also propagate error observations arising from the source and each completes when the source completes.

subscribe : ('T -> unit) -> IObservable<'T> -> IDisposable

Creates an observer which subscribes to the given observable and which calls the given function for each observation.

Example

The following code example shows how to use observables. The ObserverSource class defined in this example is a general-purpose reusable class that you can use as a source of observable events. Examples of using some of the functions in this module are shown here; for functions that are not demonstrated here, you can refer to the code examples in Control.Event Module (F#).

open System
open System.Diagnostics

// Represents a stream of IObserver events.
type ObservableSource<'T>() =

    let protect function1 =
        let mutable ok = false
        try 
            function1()
            ok <- true
        finally
            Debug.Assert(ok, "IObserver method threw an exception.")

    let mutable key = 0

    // Use a Map, not a Dictionary, because callers might unsubscribe in the OnNext
    // method, so thread-safe snapshots of subscribers to iterate over are needed.
    let mutable subscriptions = Map.empty : Map<int, IObserver<'T>>

    let next(obs) = 
        subscriptions |> Seq.iter (fun (KeyValue(_, value)) -> 
            protect (fun () -> value.OnNext(obs)))

    let completed() = 
        subscriptions |> Seq.iter (fun (KeyValue(_, value)) -> 
            protect (fun () -> value.OnCompleted()))

    let error(err) = 
        subscriptions |> Seq.iter (fun (KeyValue(_, value)) -> 
            protect (fun () -> value.OnError(err)))

    let thisLock = new obj()

    let obs = 
        { new IObservable<'T> with
            member this.Subscribe(obs) =
                let key1 =
                    lock thisLock (fun () ->
                        let key1 = key
                        key <- key + 1
                        subscriptions <- subscriptions.Add(key1, obs)
                        key1)
                { new IDisposable with 
                    member this.Dispose() = 
                        lock thisLock (fun () -> 
                            subscriptions <- subscriptions.Remove(key1)) } }

    let mutable finished = false

    // The source ought to call these methods in serialized fashion (from
    // any thread, but serialized and non-reentrant).
    member this.Next(obs) =
        Debug.Assert(not finished, "IObserver is already finished")
        next obs

    member this.Completed() =
        Debug.Assert(not finished, "IObserver is already finished")
        finished <- true
        completed()

    member this.Error(err) =
        Debug.Assert(not finished, "IObserver is already finished")
        finished <- true
        error err

    // The IObservable object returned is thread-safe; you can subscribe 
    // and unsubscribe (Dispose) concurrently.
    member this.AsObservable = obs

// Create a source.
let source = new ObservableSource<int>()

// Get an IObservable from the source.
let obs = source.AsObservable 

// Add a simple subscriber.
let unsubA = obs |> Observable.subscribe (fun x -> printfn "A: %d" x)

// Send some messages from the source.
// Output: A: 1
source.Next(1)
// Output: A: 2
source.Next(2)

// Add another subscriber. This subscriber has a filter.
let unsubB =
    obs
    |> Observable.filter (fun num -> num % 2 = 0)
    |> Observable.subscribe (fun num -> printfn "B: %d" num)

// Send more messages from the source.
// Output: A: 3
source.Next(3)
// Output: A: 4
//         B: 4
source.Next(4)

// Have subscriber A unsubscribe.
unsubA.Dispose()

// Send more messages from the source.
// No output
source.Next(5)
// Output: B: 6
source.Next(6)

// If you use add, there is no way to unsubscribe from the event.
obs |> Observable.add(fun x -> printfn "C: %d" x)

// Now add a subscriber that only does positive numbers and transforms
// the numbers into another type, here a string.
let unsubD =
    obs |> Observable.choose (fun int1 ->
             if int1 >= 0 then None else Some(int1.ToString()))
        |> Observable.subscribe(fun string1 -> printfn "D: %s" string1)

let unsubE =
    obs |> Observable.filter (fun int1 -> int1 >= 0)
        |> Observable.subscribe(fun int1 -> printfn "E: %d" int1)

let unsubF =
    obs |> Observable.map (fun int1 -> int1.ToString())
        |> Observable.subscribe (fun string1 -> printfn "F: %s" string1)


Platforms

Windows 7, Windows Vista SP2, Windows XP SP3, Windows XP x64 SP2, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 SP2, Windows Server 2003 SP2

Version Information

F# Runtime

Supported in: 2.0, 4.0

Silverlight

Supported in: 3

See Also

Reference

Microsoft.FSharp.Control Namespace (F#)