middleware: update comments and docstrings

src/stream/Middleware.ts

@@ -91,7 +91,16 @@ export class SlidingWindow extends MiddlewareBase {
   }
 }
 
-// TODO handle case when cannot paginate far back enough before finding sequence
+/**
+ * Middleware which emits messages from a position in the stream determined by a sequenceID.
+ * The caller paginates back through history and passes in each page which the middleware
+ * uses to seek for the specified position. Concurrently, incoming live messages can be buffered.
+ * Messages are re-ordered according to the sequence ID. For historical messages, the entire history
+ * is re-ordered; for live messages a sliding window is applied.
+ * When the position is reached, the middleware emits all messages in-order from the resume position
+ * forwards, which includes the historical plus the live messages.
+ * Subsequently live messages can continue to be added, re-ordered within a sliding window, and emitted.
+ */
 export class OrderedHistoryResumer extends MiddlewareBase {
   private currentState: 'seeking' | 'ready' = 'seeking';
   private historicalMessages: AblyTypes.Message[] = [];
@@ -108,10 +117,6 @@ export class OrderedHistoryResumer extends MiddlewareBase {
     this.slidingWindow.subscribe(this.onMessage.bind(this));
   }
 
-  public get state() {
-    return this.currentState;
-  }
-
   private onMessage(err: Error | null, message: AblyTypes.Message | null) {
     if (err) {
       super.error(err);
@@ -124,6 +129,10 @@ export class OrderedHistoryResumer extends MiddlewareBase {
     return this.eventOrderer(a, b) * -1;
   }
 
+  public get state() {
+    return this.currentState;
+  }
+
   public addHistoricalMessages(messages: AblyTypes.Message[]): boolean {
     if (this.currentState !== 'seeking') {
       throw new Error('can only add historical messages while in seeking state');
@@ -138,7 +147,7 @@ export class OrderedHistoryResumer extends MiddlewareBase {
     // It is not optimal to sort the entire thing with each page as out-of-orderiness
     // is localised within a two minute window, but being more clever about this requires
     // tracking message timestamps and complicates the logic.
-    // Given the number of messages is likely to be reasonably small, this approach is okay for now.
+    // Given the number of messages is likely to be reasonably small, this approach is fine.
     //
     // Note that because of potential out-of-orderiness by sequenceID due to possible CGO order,
     // it's possible this function discovers the boundary in the stream but a more recent message appears

src/stream/Stream.ts

@@ -205,6 +205,12 @@ export default class Stream extends EventEmitter<Record<StreamState, StreamState
     }
   }
 
+  /**
+   * Resubscribe to the channel and emit messages from the position in the stream specified by the sequenceID.
+   * This is achieved by attaching to the channel and paginating back through history until the boundary determined by
+   * the specified sequenceID is reached.
+   * @param sequenceID The identifier that specifies the position in the message stream (by message ID) from which to resume.
+   */
   private async init(sequenceID: string) {
     this.logger.trace({ ...this.baseLogContext, action: 'init()' });
 
@@ -222,11 +228,14 @@ export default class Stream extends EventEmitter<Record<StreamState, StreamState
     });
     await this.ably.connection.whenState('connected');
 
+    // The attach callback is called synchronously upon receipt of an attach message from realtime
+    // and adding a channel subscription is also synchronous, so registering the subscription immediately
+    // after the attach guarantees that nothing else should execute between, so no messages will be missed.
     const attachResult = await this.ablyChannel.attach();
     if (!attachResult) {
       throw new Error('the channel was already attached when calling attach()');
     }
-    const subscribeResult = await this.ablyChannel.subscribe(this.onChannelMessage.bind(this));
+    const subscribeResult = await this.ablyChannel.subscribe(this.onChannelMessage.bind(this)); // live messages
     if (subscribeResult) {
       throw new Error('the channel was not attached when calling subscribe()');
     }