Skip to main content

Platform Proxies

Overview​

Platform proxies are a way of abstracting platform-specific code away through a common interface from your common code.

tip

Most features you would normally need to access are already abstracted through other means using the Balm API, and there is a good chance you do not need to use platform proxies.

They merely exist as a simple way to extend Balm's capabilities for things that are not already natively supported.

With platform proxies, you can:

  • Define a common interface to abstract loader-specific code into common-accessible code
  • Provide implementations for your interface on each loader subproject individually
  • Have Balm automatically load the appropriate implementation when accessing your proxy

Usage​

// Define implementations for each platform
MyInterface instance = Balm.platformProxy()
    .withFabric("com.example.mymod.fabric.FabricImplementation")
    .withForge("com.example.mymod.forge.ForgeImplementation") 
    .withNeoForge("com.example.mymod.neoforge.NeoForgeImplementation")
    .build();

Requirements for Proxy Classes​

Implementation classes loaded through the platform proxy system must:

  • Implement the interface you're proxying
  • Have a public no-argument constructor

Platform Detection​

For the rare case where you need to handle some mod logic differently on one platform without needing to access loader-specific code, Balm also provides the current platform through Balm.getPlatform() and its supported platforms in the LoaderPlatforms class.

if (Balm.getPlatform().equals(LoaderPlatforms.FABRIC)) {
    // Do something that only happens on Fabric (but obviously, without having access to Fabric APIs since you're in common code)
}

Comparison with Other Proxy Types​

Balm also provides other proxy types:

  • Mod Proxies: For mod-specific code (e.g. abstracting away different currency mods)
  • Sided Proxies: For client vs dedicated server code (only rarely needed nowadays)