MessageBus and why you shouldn't use it

I've decided to start re-publishing the ReactiveUI documentation in blog post format over the next few weeks, so that more people get eyes on it. To get a sneak preview for what's coming next, head to the docs PR on GitHub

Like many other MVVM frameworks, ReactiveUI includes an implementation of the message bus pattern. This allows you to send and recieve messages between different parts of the code without them directly accessing each other.

One unique property of the default MessageBus (MessageBus.Current) in ReactiveUI is that it schedules messages via the UI thread. This means that messages sent from background threads will automatically arrive on the main thread. The MessageBus is also useful for marshaling messages between different layers of the code (usually sending messages from View to ViewModel)

While this class is provided because it is sometimes necessary, the MessageBus should be used only as a last resort. The MessageBus is effectively a global variable, which means it is subject to memory and event leaks, and furthermore, the detached nature of MessageBus means that it's a goto whose destination is invisible. It also encourages bad design as many people will directly proxy View events to the ViewModel layer, which makes them not particularly ViewModelly.

The Basics

MessageBus is quite straightforward. First, set up a listener:

// Listen for anyone sending instances of the KeyUpEventArgs class. Since
// MessageBus simply returns an IObservable, it can be combined or used in
// many different ways
MessageBus.Current.Listen<KeyUpEventArgs>()  
    .Where(e => e.KeyCode == KeyCode.Up)
    .Subscribe(x => Console.WriteLine("Up Pressed!"));

Now, connect an IObservable to the bus via RegisterMessageSource:

MessageBus.Current.RegisterMessageSource(RootVisual.Events().KeyUpObs);  

Or, if you're feeling very imperative and not very Functional:

    MessageBus.Current.SendMessage(new KeyUpEventArgs());  

Ways to avoid using MessageBus

Unlike other MVVM frameworks, there are often more correct ways to solve problems, given a bit of ingenuity. WhenAny and WhenAnyObservable can often be used to describe how to reach into objects, even if these objects are changing over time. This is often most useful in the View:

public LoginView()  
{
    // As soon as the CredentialsAreValid turns to 'true', set the focus
    // to the Ok button.
    this.WhenAny(x => x.ViewModel.CredentialsAreValid, x => x.Value)
        .Where(x => x != false)
        .Subscribe(_ => OkButton.SetFocus());
}

Consider another scenario, a ViewModel of open documents containing a list of Document ViewModels - each Document containing a Close command. Many traditional implementations of MVVM would struggle with implementing this command, either keeping a reference to the list, or via the MessageBus.

However, instead of doing this, we can use Rx's operators to solve this in a more elegant way.

public class DocumentViewModel : ReactiveObject  
{
    public ReactiveCommand Close { get; set; }

    public DocumentViewModel() 
    {
        // Note that we don't actually *subscribe* to Close here or implement
        // anything in DocumentViewModel, because Closing is a responsibility
        // of the document list.
        Close = new ReactiveCommand();
    }
}

public class MainViewModel : ReactiveObject  
{
    public ReactiveList<DocumentViewModel> OpenDocuments { get; protected set; }

    public MainViewModel()
    {
        OpenDocuments = new ReactiveList<DocumentViewModel>();

        // Whenever the list of documents change, calculate a new Observable
        // to represent whenever any of the *current* documents have been
        // requested to close, then Switch to that. When we get something
        // to close, remove it from the list.
        OpenDocuments.Changed
            .Select(_ => WhenAnyDocumentClosed())
            .Switch()
            .Subscribe(x => OpenDocuments.Remove(x));
    }

    IObservable<DocumentViewModel> WhenAnyDocumentClosed()
    {
        // Select the documents into a list of Observables
        // who return the Document to close when signaled,
        // then flatten them all together.
        return OpenDocuments
            .Select(x => x.Close.Select(_ => x))
            .Merge();
    }
}