Modules

A module-by-module guide to the reference C++ implementation (core/). Each page gives a one-paragraph summary, an extended description, the public interface (real C++ signatures), and where the module sits. For the cross-cutting view see the Interface Map; for the bytes on the wire see the bit-level walkthrough.

A libtracer node is a set of modules linked together — there is no monolithic “core”. The implemented modules form a clean six-layer stack:

        flowchart TB
    subgraph L5["L5 · application"]
        APP[your data / handlers]
    end
    subgraph L4["L4 · graph + transport"]
        GRAPH["graph — vertices, read/write/await"]
        DISP["dispatcher — fan-out + field-write"]
        FWD["fwd-router — FWD source-routing (RFC-0004)"]
        TRANSPORT["transport — loopback · UDP · WS · CAN"]
    end
    subgraph L23["L2/L3 · wire codec"]
        FRAME["frame-codec — TLV decode/encode + CRC"]
    end
    subgraph L1["L1 · views"]
        VIEWS["views — view_t / rope_t / cast"]
    end
    subgraph L0["L0 · substrate"]
        SEG["segment — refcounted bytes + segment_ptr_t"]
        BACK["backends — heap / borrowed / pool"]
    end

    APP --> GRAPH
    GRAPH --> DISP --> FWD
    FWD --> FRAME
    FWD --> TRANSPORT
    GRAPH -. "value IS a rope_t (scalar = 1 link)" .-> VIEWS
    FRAME -- "cast, no copy" --> VIEWS
    VIEWS --> SEG --> BACK
    classDef done fill:#dcfce7,stroke:#166534;
    class FRAME,VIEWS,SEG,BACK,GRAPH,DISP,FWD,TRANSPORT done;
    

The load-bearing idea: a TLV at L2 is a cast from an L1 view_t, and an L1 view_t is a refcounted window onto L0 bytes. So the wire encoding, the in-memory value, and the graph node are the same bytes — moving data in-process is a refcount bump, not a copy.

Each module has its own page in the sidebar, grouped by layer:

• L0 substrate — segment (refcounted bytes), backends (allocators)

• L1 views — views (view_t / rope_t / the L1→L2 cast)

• L2/L3 wire codec — frame-codec (TLV decode/encode + CRC)

• L4 graph — path (addressing), graph (vertices, read/write/await, dispatch)

• L4 transport — transport (loopback · UDP · WS · CAN)

For the cross-cutting view of how they compose, see the interface map; for the exact bytes on the wire, the bit-level walkthrough.