Name

receive_with_timeout

Brief Description

All receive expressions should be accompanied by an after expressions.

Problematic code

receive
    onhook ->
        disconnect(),
        idle();
    {connect, B} ->
        B ! {busy, self()},
        wait_for_onhook()
end

Correct code

receive
    onhook ->
        disconnect(),
        idle();
    {connect, B} ->
        B ! {busy, self()},
        wait_for_onhook()
after
    60_000 ->
        exit(nothing_received)
end

Rationale

A receive block without a timeout will wait indefinitely if no matching message arrives; by making your timeout explicit you:

• avoid hanging processes
• improve testability (deterministic behaviour under test failure conditions)
• ease debug and recovery
• can implement retry and self-healing
• potentially avoid denial-of-service scenarios where waits are exploited