Sync Dictionary

SyncDictionary is an associative array containing an unordered list of key, value pairs. Keys and values can be any of Mirage supported types.

SyncDictionary works much like SyncLists: when you make a change on the server, the change is propagated to all clients and the appropriate callback is called.

Usage

Add a field of type SyncDictionary on any NetworkBehaviour where TKey and TValue can be any supported Mirage type and initialize it.

IMPORTANT

You need to initialize the SyncDictionary immediately after the definition for them to work. You can mark them as readonly to enforce proper usage.

Basic example

using UnityEngine;
using Mirage;
using Mirage.Collections;

[System.Serializable]
public struct Item
{
    public string name;
    public int hitPoints;
    public int durability;
}

public class Player : NetworkBehaviour
{
    public readonly SyncDictionary<stirng, Item> equipment = new SyncDictionary<string, Item>();

    private void Awake() 
    {
        Identity.OnStartServer.AddListener(OnStartServer);
    }

    private void OnStartServer()
    {
        equipment.Add("head", new Item { name = "Helmet", hitPoints = 10, durability = 20 });
        equipment.Add("body", new Item { name = "Epic Armor", hitPoints = 50, durability = 50 });
        equipment.Add("feet", new Item { name = "Sneakers", hitPoints = 3, durability = 40 });
        equipment.Add("hands", new Item { name = "Sword", hitPoints = 30, durability = 15 });
    }
}

Callbacks

You can detect when a SyncDictionary changes on the client and/or server. This is especially useful for refreshing your UI, character appearance, etc.

There are different callbacks for different operations, such as OnChange (any change to the dictionary), OnInsert (adding a new element), etc. Please check the SyncDictionary API reference for the complete list of callbacks.

Depending on where you want to invoke the callbacks, you can use these methods to register them:

• Awake for both client and server
• Identity.OnStartServer event for server-only
• Identity.OnStartClient event for client-only

note

By the time you subscribe, the dictionary will already be initialized, so you will not get a call for the initial data, only updates.

Example

using Mirage;
using Mirage.Collections;

public class Player : NetworkBehaviour 
{
    public readonly SyncDictionary<stirng, Item> equipment = new SyncDictionary<string, Item>();
    public readonly SyncDictionary<stirng, Item> hotbar = new SyncDictionary<string, Item>();

    // This will hook the callback on both server and client
    private void Awake()
    {
        equipment.OnChange += UpdateEquipment;
        Identity.OnStartClient.AddListener(OnStartClient);
    }

    // Hotbar changes will only be invoked on clients
    private void OnStartClient() 
    {
        hotbar.OnChange += UpdateHotbar;
    }

    private void UpdateEquipment()
    {
        // Here you can refresh your UI for instance
    }

    private void UpdateHotbar()
    {
        // Here you can refresh your UI for instance
    }
}

By default, SyncDictionary uses a Dictionary to store its data. If you want to use a different dictionary implementation, add a constructor and pass the dictionary implementation to the parent constructor. For example:

public SyncDictionary<string, Item> myDict = new SyncIDictionary<string, Item>(new MyDictionary<string, Item>());