References

This section documents the address system used throughout hyperactor to identify and communicate with distributed entities.

Hyperactor separates identity from reachability:

• ProcId, ActorId, and PortId are pure identities.

• ProcAddr, ActorAddr, and PortAddr pair those identities with a Location.

• Addr is the type-erased enum that can hold any of the three address forms.

• ActorRef<A>, PortRef<M>, and OncePortRef<M> wrap addresses with type information for public APIs.

The reference system is:

• Uniform: All references follow a shared syntax and structure.

• Parsable: References can be round-tripped from strings and manipulated programmatically.

• Typed: While Addr is typeless and dynamic, typed references like ActorRef<A> and PortRef<M> allow safe interaction in APIs.

• Orderable: References implement a total order, enabling prefix-based routing and sorted maps.

In this section, we’ll cover:

• The syntax and string format of references

• The core reference types:

  • ProcId

  • ActorId

  • PortId

• Addr, which unifies all address variants

  • Typed references used in APIs: ActorRef<A>, PortRef<M>, and OncePortRef<M>