Handling Disconnect

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Understanding Participant Disconnection

When a participant disconnects from a room—either intentionally or due to network issues—the Kwei SDK triggers a ParticipantDisconnected event. This event is essential for cleaning up resources, updating the user interface, and potentially notifying other participants of the change.

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Handling ParticipantDisconnected Events

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Step 1: Listening to the Event

Set up an event listener for ParticipantDisconnected as soon as the room is initialized and the local participant joins. This ensures you’re ready to handle disconnections at any time during the session.

room.on("ParticipantDisconnected", (remoteProducerId) => {
  handleParticipantDisconnected(remoteProducerId);
});

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Step 2: Defining the Handler Function

Create a function to handle the cleanup process when a participant disconnects. This function should perform several tasks:

• Remove UI Elements: If you are displaying each participant’s video in a separate element (e.g., a <video> tag), you need to remove the corresponding element for the disconnected participant.
• Free Resources: Depending on the application’s architecture, you might need to free up resources or adjust bandwidth allocations when a participant disconnects.
• Notify Users: Optionally, inform the remaining participants of the disconnection, which can be crucial for collaborative activities or games.

function handleParticipantDisconnected(remoteProducerId) {
  const element = document.getElementById(`video-${remoteProducerId}`);
  if (element) {
    element.parentNode.removeChild(element); // Remove the video element from the DOM
  }
  console.log(`Participant with ID: ${remoteProducerId} has disconnected.`);
  // Additional logic to handle the disconnection
}

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Step 3: Managing State

Update the application state to reflect that the participant has left. This might include removing them from a list of active participants or updating the user interface to show fewer participants.

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Step 4: Error Handling and Reconnections

In cases where disconnection is due to network issues, consider implementing a reconnection strategy. This might involve attempting to reconnect the participant automatically or providing them with UI options to try reconnecting manually.

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Best Practices for Handling Disconnections

• Immediate Feedback: Provide immediate visual feedback in the UI when a participant disconnects, such as graying out their video or showing a disconnected icon.
• Graceful Degradation: Ensure that the application remains functional even when multiple participants disconnect simultaneously.
• Logging and Monitoring: Keep logs of disconnections, which can help in diagnosing issues related to network stability or application errors.
• User Experience: Consider the user experience; for instance, if the host of a meeting disconnects, you might want to automatically assign another participant as the host.

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Conclusion

Effectively handling ParticipantDisconnected events is key to managing a robust real-time communication application. By properly listening for and responding to these events, you can ensure that your application adapts dynamically to changes in participant status, maintaining stability and providing a seamless user experience.

This approach not only ensures technical efficiency but also enhances user satisfaction by keeping them informed and engaged, even when unexpected disconnections occur.