When should you use @OnlyIn(Dist.DEDICATED_SERVER)?

[Keheck]

I was looking for uses of that distribution side, but no class uses that annotation together with this distribution side... (aside from net.minecraftforge.fml.common.Mod.EventBusSubscriber)

 

The javadoc in net.minecraftforge.api.distmarker.Dist class says the following:

Quote

DEDICATED_SERVER is the dedicated server distribution, it contains a server, which can simulate the world and communicates via network. (from the javadoc of the class)

 

The dedicated server distribution. This is the server only distribution available for download. It simulates the world, and can be communicated with via a network. It contains no visual elements of the game whatsoever. (from Dist.DEDICATED_SERVER)

But that didn't help clarify on what should only be processed on the Dedicated Server side, and does that distribution side also exist on singleplayer worlds?

 

I know that Dist.CLIENT is used for stuff like rendering, but when is it appropriate to use Dist.DEDICATED_SERVER?

[Draco18s]

Basically you should never yourself be using the @OnlyIn annotation unless you are overriding a method with the annotation already.

[LexManos]

No, You should NEVER be using these annotations.

Not even for your rendering code.

Not even if the overridden method has it.

NEVER.

If you run into sided issues, bypass it using proper side checks.

If you never call the client side code, on the dedicated server, it doesn't matter if the classes are in your jar.

 

If some other mod/code reflectively access your class in the one specific case where you have a method with a sided class in your signature. Then there can be issues. However those issues are on the side of whomever is reflecting into you unnecessarily.

 

[Draco18s]

32 minutes ago, LexManos said:

Not even if the overridden method has it.

That differs from what I'd heard previously.

[LexManos]

I don't care what you heard previously, you heard wrong.

The ONLY reason to use this annotation {which triggers ASM hackery} is to prevent a hard crash.

The ONLY reason there would be a hard crash is if someone tried to invoke your sided method, or reflectively resolve it.

That would ONLY be a method that has a vanilla sided class IN ITS SIGNATURE.

In both cases it is better to NOT do the stupid thing that causes the error then it is to rely on ASM hackery.

 

If it's someone else doing it then yell at them to stop being stupid.

 

If ALL else fails, and it's LITERALLY the last result, seriously "Dont use the other mod that is breaking shit" is 100x more preferred to ASM Hacks. Then ONLY use it on the specific method that is causing the error. Then sure use it. But 99.99999999999999999999999999999% of the time using sane coding practices beats relying on ASM Hackery.