cairn

# Cairn

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Small OTP helpers for message delivery and supervised task callbacks.

Cairn tries not to become a framework for OTP. It is a thin layer for starting
lightweight processes, passing messages, running supervised work, and waiting
on refs.

## Try it

```sh
cd cairn
mix deps.get
iex -S mix
```

Paste this into IEx:

```elixir
{:ok, pid} = Cairn.Function.start_link(fn value -> value * 2 end)

msg = Cairn.dispatch(pid, 21)

{:ok, %Cairn.Message{payload: {:ok, 42}}} =
  Cairn.Await.message(msg.ref)
```

## API

- `Cairn.Message`
- `Cairn.deliver/2`
- `Cairn.Server`
- `Cairn.Function`
- `Cairn.Task`
- `Cairn.Await`

## Many Processes

```elixir
{:ok, pids} =
  1..1_000
  |> Enum.map(fn n -> fn input -> {n, input * n} end end)
  |> Cairn.Function.start_many()

msgs = Cairn.dispatch(pids, 21)
refs = Enum.map(msgs, & &1.ref)

{:ok, replies} = Cairn.Await.all(refs)
```

Use as many processes as your BEAM node can actually afford. Cairn does not add a pool or scheduler above OTP.
If your node can handle one million processes, `pids` can be one million processes.

## AI orchestration

```elixir
{:ok, classifier} =
  Cairn.Function.start_link(fn text ->
    MyApp.LLM.classify_ticket(text)
  end)

msg = Cairn.dispatch(classifier, "payment failed after upgrade")

{:ok, %Cairn.Message{payload: {:ok, %{team: team, summary: summary}}}} =
  Cairn.Await.message(msg.ref)
```

```elixir
{:ok, pids} =
  Cairn.Function.start_many([
    fn topic -> MyApp.Search.notes(topic) end,
    fn topic -> MyApp.LLM.outline(topic) end,
    fn topic -> MyApp.LLM.risks(topic) end
  ])

refs =
  pids
  |> Cairn.dispatch("elixir lightweight processes")
  |> Enum.map(& &1.ref)

{:ok, replies} = Cairn.Await.all(refs)
```

## Install

```elixir
def deps do
  [
    {:cairn, "~> 0.1.0"}
  ]
end
```