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      - processMessage   
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  • The processMessage method.
    • All messages sent to a primitive are processed by the processMessage(Message msg) method.
    • The processMessage(Message msg) is automatically called when a message arrives. (It is called in between calls to process(int))
    • If you provide a processMessage(Message msg) method, always make sure to call super.processMessage(msg) to process any messages not recognized (this is usually done last -- in the else clause).
    • The processMessage(Message msg) method, returns NORMAL if a message has been processed and NOOP if it has not. (It is important to note that some older primitives do not follow this rule.)
    • Since processMessage(Message) is public it is possible to call it from another thread. This is prevented by adding the if (!thisIsMe()) { MQ.put(msg); return NOOP; } line to the top of the processMessage(Message msg)
    • Typical layout: 
        if (!thisIsMe()) { MQ.put(msg); return NOOP; }
  public int processMessage(Message msg) {
    int status = NORMAL;
    
    if (msg.getName().equals("FOO")) {
      // do something
    } else if (msg.getName().equals("BAR")) {
      // do something
    } else if (msg.getName().equals("BAZ")) {
      // do something
    } else {
      status = super.processMessage(msg);
    }
    
    return status;
  }
X-Midas Users Take Note:
X-Midas requires manual polling for messages from a global message section. In NeXtMidas there is no "global" message system, all messages are directly sent to their intended recipient. If the recipient is a primitive, it will automatically be passed into the processMessage(Message) method.

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