In Unit 1, we will learn the fundamentals of how the actor model and Akka.NET work.
*NIX systems have the tail command built-in to monitor changes to a file (such as tailing log files), whereas Windows does not. We will recreate tail for Windows, and use the process to learn the fundamentals.
In Unit 1 you will learn the following:
- How to create your own
ActorSystemand actors; - How to send messages actors and how to handle different types of messages;
- How to use
PropsandIActorRefs to build loosely coupled systems. - How to use actor paths, addresses, and
ActorSelectionto send messages to actors. - How to create child actors and actor hierarchies, and how to supervise children with
SupervisionStrategy. - How to use the Actor lifecycle to control actor startup, shutdown, and restart behavior.
Since Unit 1 relies heavily on the console, you'll need to make a small tweaks before beginning. You need to set up your WinTail project file (not the solution) to use an external console.
To set this up:
- Click on the
WinTailproject (not the solution) - Navigate to
Project > WinTail Optionsin the menu - Inside
WinTail Options, navigate toRun > General - Select
Run on external console - Click
OK
Here is a demonstration of how to set it up:

- Lesson 1 - Actors and the
ActorSystem - Lesson 2 - Defining and Handling Messages
- Lesson 3: Using
PropsandIActorRefs - Lesson 4: Child Actors, Hierarchies, and Supervision
- Lesson 5: Looking up actors by address with
ActorSelection - Lesson 6: The Actor Lifecycle
To get started, go to the /DoThis/ folder and open WinTail.sln.
And then go to Lesson 1.
