@@ -9,17 +9,23 @@ the most complicated part of writing agents, so there's a fair bit to cover.
99Before we get into the nitty-gritty details, we'll give a brief overview of
1010Gall's subscription mechanics.
1111
12−The basic unit of subscriptions is the _path_. An agent will define a number of
13−subscription paths in its `on-watch` arm, and other agents (local or remote) can
14−subscribe to those paths. The agent will then send out updates called `%fact`s
15−on one or more of its paths, and _all_ subscribers of those paths will receive
16−them. An agent cannot send out updates to specific subscribers, it can only
17−target its paths. An agent can kick subscribers from its paths, and subscribers
18−can unsubscribe from any paths.
12+The basic unit of subscriptions is the _path_. An agent will typically define a
13+number of subscription paths in its `on-watch` arm, and other agents (local or
14+remote) can subscribe to those paths. The agent will then send out updates
15+called `%fact`s on one or more of its paths, and _all_ subscribers of those
16+paths will receive them. An agent cannot send out updates to specific
17+subscribers, it can only target its paths. An agent can kick subscribers from
18+its paths, and subscribers can unsubscribe from any paths.
1919
2020The subscription paths an agent defines can be simple and fixed like
21−`/foo/bar/baz`. They can also be dynamic, containing data of a particular atom aura
22−encoded in certain elements of the path. These paths can therefore be as simple or complex as you need for your particular application.
21+`/foo/bar/baz`. They can also be dynamic, containing data of a particular atom
22+aura encoded in certain elements of the path. These paths can therefore be as
23+simple or complex as you need for your particular application.
24+
25+Note it's not strictly necessary to define subscription paths explicitly. As
26+long as the arm doesn't crash, the subscription will succeed. In practice,
27+however, it's nearly always appropriate to define them explicitly and crash on
28+unrecognized paths.
2329
2430For a deeper explanation of subscription mechanics in Arvo, you can refer to
2531Arvo's [Subscriptions](/docs/arvo/concepts/subscriptions) section.