Summary

This chapter provided a general overview of Reactive Extensions for .NET and its implementation of the Observer pattern. You built two applications that demonstrated the features of Rx.NET, including event representations as Observable data sources and seamless concurrent asynchronous processing and error handling. You learned about Marble Diagrams and some of the main design guidelines for building Rx.NET applications. You observed techniques for managing unreliable data links and the principles of cancelling in-flight operations using the Rx.NET framework.

As concurrent asynchronous programming becomes the norm, Rx.NET provides a powerful framework for programming that norm, including programming for the cloud. This chapter has touched lightly on the subject of Rx.NET, but you should have gained an appreciation for this technology and, ideally, will take the initiative to learn (and, most important, practice) Rx.NET development techniques on your own.