Polymorphic Serialisation

WebSock contains a robust serialisation framework that enables automagic integration with Unreal's property system, removing the manual toil and error-prone nature of writing manual (de)serialisation code.

Overview

Taking advantage of UWebSockLib is crucial to using WebSock to its full effect: its powerful USTRUCT <-> JSON (de)serialisation is easy to use in Blueprints and C++.

Example

WebSock enables the rapid construction of type-safe APIs using websockets.

USTRUCT(BlueprintType)
struct FMyStruct 
{ 
UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, VisibleAnywhere) 
FString Msg;

UPROPERTY(BlueprintReadOnly, VisibleAnywhere) 
int32 Numba; 
}

static void SendExampleNumba(){
    auto WebSock = UWebSockSystem::Get(GetWorld());
    if (auto Connection = WebSock->NewSocket("ws://127.0.0.1"))
	{
		Connection->Send<FMyStruct>({
			"hello world",
			42
		});
	}
}

The above example could be received in any popular language as a JSON payload:

{
    "Msg": "hello world",
    "Numba": 42    
}

By reducing the moving parts in sending and receiving FMyStruct we enable safe interoperability with external services and remove the cognitive burden of manually tracking multiple FMyStruct definitions across a codebase.

Benefits

• We can keep FMyStruct in one place inside an Unreal project without writing wrappers or glue code to handle transport;
• Avoid code duplication by using Blueprint wildcards, and C++20 template parameters;
• Lowers LOC and maintenance burden alongside providing UE native type-safety;
• Compact API is easy to implement in a variety of projects that require websocket networking.