TicTacFish: Implementing a game using distributed actors

At a glance

Project structure

Source bundle/
├── Step 2 Distributed Remote Bot/
│   ├── Server/
│   │   └── Sources/
│   │       └── TicTacFishServer/
│   │           └── boot.swift
│   ├── App/
│   │   └── TicTacFish/
│   │       └── TicTacFish/
│   │           └── TicTacFishApp.swift
│   └── Shared/
│       └── Sources/
│           └── TicTacFishShared/
│               ├── ActorSystems/
│               │   └── WebSocket/
│               │       └── WebSocketActorSystem.swift
│               └── ViewModel/
│                   └── GameViewModel.swift
├── Step 0 Offline Local Only/
│   ├── App/
│   │   └── TicTacFish/
│   │       └── TicTacFish/
│   │           ├── TicTacFishApp.swift
│   │           └── GameView.swift
│   └── Shared/
│       └── Sources/
│           └── TicTacFishShared/
│               └── ViewModel/
│                   └── GameViewModel.swift
├── Step 1 Distributed yet still Local Bot/
│   ├── App/
│   │   └── TicTacFish/
│   │       └── TicTacFish/
│   │           └── TicTacFishApp.swift
│   └── Shared/
│       └── Sources/
│           └── TicTacFishShared/
│               └── ViewModel/
│                   └── GameViewModel.swift
└── Step 3 Distributed Local Network Player/
    ├── App/
    │   └── TicTacFish/
    │       └── TicTacFish/
    │           └── TicTacFishApp.swift
    └── Shared/
        └── Sources/
            └── TicTacFishShared/
                ├── ActorSystems/
                │   └── LocalNetwork/
                │       └── LocalNetworkActorSystem.swift
                └── ViewModel/
                    └── GameViewModel.swift

Structure observations

• Architecturally prominent files are ranked from entry points and role-named declarations; resource-only paths are omitted.
• Primary languages: Swift.
• The verified tree contains 26 project/configuration file(s) and 111 source declaration(s).

Overall architecture

flowchart LR
    Bundle["Sample bundle"]
    V1["Step 0 Offline Local Only"]
    V2["Step 1 Distributed yet still Local Bot"]
    V3["Step 2 Distributed Remote Bot"]
    V4["Step 3 Distributed Local Network Player"]
    Boundary["Distributed APIs"]
    Bundle --> V1
    V1 --> Boundary
    Bundle --> V2
    V2 --> Boundary
    Bundle --> V3
    V3 --> Boundary
    Bundle --> V4
    V4 --> Boundary

Reference code

Step 2 Distributed Remote Bot/Server/Sources/TicTacFishServer/boot.swift:17 — architecture anchor

@main
struct Boot {
    // ...
}

Interpretation

The branches represent separate entry-bearing project variants in the downloaded bundle, not runtime calls between those variants. Each branch is intentionally collapsed at the documented framework boundary; the detailed target-local flow remains in the cited files. Ownership is claimed only where the next section cites a stored property or assignment.

Ownership and state

classDiagram
    GameView *-- GameViewModel : model
    GameView o-- GameMode : mode
    GameView o-- OfflinePlayer : player
    GameView o-- Model : _model

Ownership evidence

Step 0 Offline Local Only/App/TicTacFish/TicTacFish/GameView.swift:13 — stored dependency or nearest verified ownership anchor

struct GameView: View {
    // ...
    @StateObject private var model: GameViewModel
    // ...
}

Composition arrows indicate a source-visible construction expression or locally owned value state; aggregation means the owner stores or receives a dependency without proving exclusive lifetime ownership.

Class and protocol design

Step 1 Distributed yet still Local Bot/Shared/Sources/TicTacFishShared/Game/Players.swift:42 — representative type boundary

public protocol GamePlayer: AnyActor, Identifiable where ID == ActorIdentity {
    // ...
}

The source explicitly defines local protocol relationships: RandomPlayerBotAI → PlayerBotAI, RandomPlayerBotAI → PlayerBotAI, OfflinePlayer → GamePlayer, RandomPlayerBotAI → PlayerBotAI, OfflinePlayer → GamePlayer, OnlineBotPlayer → GamePlayer.

Access control

Reference code

Step 0 Offline Local Only/App/TicTacFish/TicTacFish/GameFieldView.swift:13 — representative boundary

struct GameFieldView: View {
    // ...
    @StateObject private var model: GameViewModel
    // ...
}

Swift declarations without a modifier are internal; explicit private, fileprivate, private(set), public, or open entries above are interpreted by language semantics. Objective-C/C samples instead rely on header and implementation boundaries, which are not equivalent to Swift lexical privacy.

Logic ownership and placement

Design patterns

Naming conventions

• Types: App: TicTacFishApp; Handler: BonjourResultHandler, HTTPHandler, HTTPInitialRequestHandler, WebSocketActorMessageInboundHandler, WebSocketActorSystemResultHandler; Player: BotPlayer, GamePlayer, LocalNetworkPlayer, OfflinePlayer, OnlineBotPlayer; System: WebSocketActorSystem; View: GameFieldView, GameView, MainMenuView, TitleView; ViewModel: GameViewModel.
• Protocols: GamePlayer, GamePlayer, GamePlayer, PlayerBotAI, PlayerBotAI, PlayerBotAI, PlayerBotAI, DistributedActorReceptionist.
• Methods: main, syncShutdownGracefully, assignID, actorReady, resignID, resolve, resolveAny, makeInvocationEncoder.
• Files: Step 0 Offline Local Only/App/TicTacFish/TicTacFish/TicTacFishApp.swift, Step 1 Distributed yet still Local Bot/App/TicTacFish/TicTacFish/TicTacFishApp.swift, Step 2 Distributed Remote Bot/App/TicTacFish/TicTacFish/TicTacFishApp.swift, Step 3 Distributed Local Network Player/App/TicTacFish/TicTacFish/TicTacFishApp.swift, Step 2 Distributed Remote Bot/Shared/Sources/TicTacFishShared/ActorSystems/WebSocket/WebSocketActorSystem.swift, Step 0 Offline Local Only/App/TicTacFish/TicTacFish/GameView.swift.

Architecture takeaways

• boot is the main source-visible entry or composition anchor for this sample.
• Framework work reaches Distributed, SwiftUI, TicTacFishShared, NIOCore through a deliberately small high-level chain; the detailed API graph remains inside the cited implementation files.
• Stored-property evidence identifies lifecycle collaboration; it does not by itself prove exclusive object ownership.
• Access-control conclusions separate verified language visibility from the likely design rationale.
• Local protocol relationships provide an explicit substitution boundary.

Source map

• Official Apple documentation