IParagonComponent

Interface for modular components that attach to IParagonBehaviour instances via the ParagonSubsystem. Defines the lifecycle contract — initialization, add/remove callbacks, per-frame ticking, and destruction. Also includes a generic variant IParagonComponent<TBehaviour> for type-safe owner access.

Definition

Namespace: Paragon Assembly: Paragon.dll

public interface IParagonComponent

Remarks

IParagonComponent is the contract for the composition-over-inheritance pattern in Paragon. Instead of building deep inheritance hierarchies, game code creates lightweight components that are added to a behaviour's subsystem at runtime or serialization time.

Lifecycle

Phase	Method	Called When
Added	OnAdded(IParagonBehaviour)	Component is added to a subsystem via AddComponent()
Initialized	Initialize()	Subsystem initializes all components (typically during Awake or Start)
Ticking	Tick(float dt)	Each frame update (if the behaviour drives ticking)
Removed	OnRemoved(IParagonBehaviour)	Component is removed from the subsystem
Destroyed	Destroy()	Component is being permanently destroyed

Default Interface Methods

Tick() and Destroy() have empty default implementations, making them optional to implement. Initialize(), OnAdded(), and OnRemoved() must be explicitly implemented.

Quick Lookup

Goal	How
Get the owning behaviour	component.Owner
Initialize the component	component.Initialize()
Update per frame	component.Tick(deltaTime)
Implement a component	Subclass ParagonComponent<T>

Properties

Owner

The IParagonBehaviour that this component is attached to.

IParagonBehaviour Owner { get; }

Methods

Initialize

Called when the subsystem initializes all its components.

void Initialize()

OnAdded

Called when this component is added to a behaviour's subsystem.

void OnAdded(IParagonBehaviour behaviour)

Parameter	Type	Description
behaviour	IParagonBehaviour	The behaviour this component is being added to

OnRemoved

Called when this component is removed from a behaviour's subsystem.

void OnRemoved(IParagonBehaviour behaviour)

Parameter	Type	Description
behaviour	IParagonBehaviour	The behaviour this component is being removed from

Tick

Per-frame update tick. Has an empty default implementation — override only if the component needs per-frame logic.

void Tick(float dt) { }

Parameter	Type	Description
dt	float	Delta time since last tick

Destroy

Called when the component is being permanently destroyed. Has an empty default implementation.

void Destroy() { }

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Implementation Requirements

When implementing IParagonComponent<TBehaviour>, you MUST:

1. Implement Owner, OnAdded(TBehaviour), OnRemoved(TBehaviour), and Initialize()

2. Ensure TBehaviour implements IParagonSubsystem<TBehaviour> (the self-referencing constraint)

In practice, always subclass ParagonComponent<TBehaviour> rather than implementing this interface directly. It handles owner assignment in OnAdded/OnRemoved, provides virtual lifecycle hooks, and integrates with the debug system.

IParagonComponent<TBehaviour>

Type-safe variant that provides strongly-typed owner access and callbacks. Uses default interface methods to bridge the non-generic IParagonComponent methods to the typed versions.

Definition

public interface IParagonComponent<TBehaviour> : IParagonComponent
    where TBehaviour : class, IParagonSubsystem<TBehaviour>

Extends: IParagonComponent Type Constraint: TBehaviour : class, IParagonSubsystem<TBehaviour>

Remarks

This generic variant re-declares Owner, OnAdded(), and OnRemoved() with TBehaviour instead of IParagonBehaviour. The non-generic members are implemented via default interface methods that cast and delegate:

IParagonBehaviour IParagonComponent.Owner => Owner;                           // bridges to typed Owner
void IParagonComponent.OnAdded(IParagonBehaviour b) => OnAdded((TBehaviour)b);  // casts and delegates
void IParagonComponent.OnRemoved(IParagonBehaviour b) => OnRemoved((TBehaviour)b);

This means implementors only need to implement the typed versions — the non-generic interface is satisfied automatically.

Properties

Owner

The strongly-typed owner behaviour.

new TBehaviour Owner { get; }

Methods

OnAdded

Type-safe callback when added to the owner.

void OnAdded(TBehaviour behavior)

OnRemoved

Type-safe callback when removed from the owner.

void OnRemoved(TBehaviour behaviour)

Common Pitfalls

OnAdded casts without checking The default interface method IParagonComponent.OnAdded(IParagonBehaviour) casts directly to TBehaviour via (TBehaviour)behaviour. If a component is added to the wrong behaviour type, this will throw InvalidCastException.

Components are keyed by concrete type ParagonSubsystem stores components in a Dictionary<Type, IParagonComponent> keyed by component.GetType(). This means only one instance per concrete type can exist in a subsystem. Adding a second component of the same type will throw.

See Also

• ParagonComponent<TBehaviour> — abstract base class that implements this interface

• IParagonBehaviour — owner interface

• IParagonSubsystem<TBehaviour> — the TBehaviour constraint requirement

• ParagonSubsystem — container that manages components

• Interfaces Overview — interface hierarchy overview