Best Practices

Best Practices

This guide covers best practices, error handling, and troubleshooting for the Minecraft Networking API.

Best Practices

• Unique Packet IDs: Ensure getPacketId() returns a unique string for each packet type.
• No-Args Constructor: Include a no-args constructor in packet classes for deserialization.
• Consistent Serialization: Read and write data in the same order to avoid mismatches.
• Use Compression: For large packets, use writeCompressed/readCompressed to reduce bandwidth.
• Debug Logging: Use SLF4J to log packet activity for debugging.

Error Handling

The API provides specific exceptions:

• PacketSerializationException: Issues during serialization/deserialization.
• PacketInstantiationException: Failure to create packet instances.
• PacketNotFoundException: Unregistered packet type.
• PacketRegistrationException: Duplicate IDs or invalid packet classes.

Example:

try {
    byte[] data = PacketTCP.write(packet);
} catch (PacketSerializationException e) {
    logger.error("Failed to serialize packet: {}", e.getMessage(), e);
}

Troubleshooting

• Packet Not Received:
  • Verify packet registration on both client and server.
  • Ensure channel names match (e.g., my_mod:packets_channel).
• Serialization Errors:
  • Check that read and write methods use the same data order and types.
• ClassNotFoundException:
  • Ensure the packet class is available on both client and server.
• Large Packet Issues:
  • Use compression and verify against MAX_COMPRESSED_SIZE (1MB default).