[ENet-discuss] A query about channels

[Alex Milstead]

Hey all,

Is it possible for anyone to give a brief overview of the feature 
purpose of channels within ENet? I'd like to discover the real concept 
behind them to in/validate the idea I have for using them. I don't want 
to abuse the channeling system with what I intend to do, especially if 
they weren't meant for it.

Without loss of generality, I'd like to use different channels to send 
different types of information. The application I'm working with (like 
many who've posted before), happens to be a fledgling online-game. I'd 
like to be able to send different basic subsets of data via different 
channels (e.g., login through channel 0, character lists through channel 
1, movement updates through 2, etc.). I'm using common structs inside a 
wrapper library on both client and server side applications, so it isn't 
a big deal to capture the type/make-up of the struct on both ends 
(easily done with a simple memcpy!). It seems as though structs are the 
most efficient way of sending data back and forth between apps. Is this 
idea of separation of information involved in what channels were 
originally designed to handle (my hunch says no)?

Also, if different channels for different structs shouldn't be my 
solution, does anyone have any advice on how I should handle varying 
types of common information being sent to and fro?

Thanks in advance for any comments/advice/instruction.

Cheers,
Alex