Task Scheduling

github.com/mechanical-lich/mlge/task

A priority-based task scheduler for AI and game entities with escalation, cooldowns, and proximity-based assignment.

TaskAction

type TaskAction string

String identifier for task types (e.g., "gather", "build", "patrol").

Task

type Task struct {
    X, Y, Z         int
    Action           TaskAction
    Data             any
    Escalated        bool
    Completed        bool
    InProgress       bool
    ManuallyStopped  bool
    Created          time.Time
}

Methods:

Method	Description
Start()	Marks the task as in-progress
Stop()	Marks the task as manually stopped and not in-progress
ReQueue()	Resets the task to be available for assignment again
Complete()	Marks the task as completed

TaskScheduler

type TaskScheduler struct{}

Methods:

Method	Signature	Description
AddTask	(task *Task)	Add a task to the scheduler
GetTasks	() []*Task	Get all tasks
RemoveTask	(task *Task)	Remove a specific task
ClearTasks	()	Remove all tasks
SortTasks	()	Sort by escalation then creation time; removes completed
Count	() int	Number of tasks in the queue
GetNextTask	(allowed ...TaskAction) *Task	Get and start the next available task
GetClosestNextTask	(x, y, z int, allowed ...TaskAction) *Task	Get the closest available task to a position
PeekNextTask	(allowed ...TaskAction) *Task	Preview next task without starting it
PeekClosestNextTask	(x, y, z int, allowed ...TaskAction) *Task	Preview closest task without starting it

Usage

scheduler := &task.TaskScheduler{}

// Add tasks
scheduler.AddTask(&task.Task{
    X: 10, Y: 5, Z: 0,
    Action: "gather",
    Data:   &GatherData{ResourceType: "wood"},
})

scheduler.AddTask(&task.Task{
    X: 20, Y: 15, Z: 0,
    Action: "build",
    Data:   &BuildData{StructureType: "wall"},
})

// Sort to prioritize escalated and oldest tasks
scheduler.SortTasks()

// Get next task for a worker that can gather or build
t := scheduler.GetNextTask("gather", "build")
if t != nil {
    // Worker processes the task
    // ...
    t.Complete()
}

// Get closest task to a worker's position
t = scheduler.GetClosestNextTask(12, 8, 0, "gather")

Task Lifecycle

1. Created — Task is added to the scheduler
2. Started — GetNextTask/GetClosestNextTask calls Start() automatically
3. In Progress — Worker is executing the task
4. Completed — Worker calls Complete(), task is removed on next SortTasks()
5. Stopped — Worker calls Stop() if interrupted; can be re-queued with ReQueue()

Escalation

Tasks can be marked as Escalated = true to give them higher priority. SortTasks() places escalated tasks before non-escalated ones.