C++ List of member callback functions - c++

Question

I am going from C development to C++ on the STM32 platform and simply cant find a suitable solution for my problem.
Please have a look at the simplified example code attached to this post.
#include <iostream>
#include <functional>
#include <list>
using namespace std;
class Pipeline {
public:
std::list<std::function<void(Pipeline*)>> handlers;
//add handler to list --> works fine
void addHandler(std::function<void(Pipeline*)> handler) {
this->handlers.push_front(handler);
}
void ethernetCallback(void) {
//handle received data and notify all callback subscriptions --> still works fine
// this callback function is normally sitting in a child class of Pipeline
int len = handlers.size();
for (auto const &handler : this->handlers) {
handler(this);
}
}
void removeHandler(std::function<void(Pipeline*)> handler) {
// Here starts the problem. I can not use handlers.remove(handler) here to
// unregister the callback function. I understood why I can't do that,
// but I don't know another way of coding the given situation.
}
};
class Engine {
public:
void callback(Pipeline *p) {
// Gets called when new data arrives
cout<<"I've been called.";
}
void assignPipelineToEngine(Pipeline *p) {
p->addHandler(std::bind(&Engine::callback, this, std::placeholders::_1));
}
};
int main()
{
Engine *e = new Engine();
Pipeline *p = new Pipeline();
e->assignPipelineToEngine(p);
// the ethernet callback function would be called by LWIP if new udp data is available
// calling from here for demo purposes only
p->ethernetCallback();
return 0;
}
The idea is that when the class "Pipeline" receives new data over ethernet, it informs all registered callback functions by calling a method. The callback functions are stored in a std::list. Everything works fine till here, but the problem with this approach is that I can't remove the callback functions from the list, which is required for the project.
I know why I can't simply remove the callback function pointers from the list, but I don't know another approach at the moment.
Probably anybody could give me a hint where I could have a look for solving this problem. All resources I've researched don't really show my specific case.
Thank you all in advance for your support! :)

Answer 1

One option would be to have addHandler return some sort of identifier that can later be passed to removeHandler. For example:
class Pipeline {
public:
std::map<int, std::function<void(Pipeline*)>> handlers;
int nextId = 0;
//add handler to list --> works fine
void addHandler(std::function<void(Pipeline*)> handler) {
handlers[nextId++] = handler;
}
void ethernetCallback(void) {
for (auto const& entry : handlers) {
entry.second(this);
}
}
void removeHandler(int handlerToken) {
handlers.erase(handlerToken);
}
};
class Engine {
public:
void callback(Pipeline *p) {
// Gets called when new data arrives
cout<<"I've been called.";
}
void assignPipelineToEngine(Pipeline *p) {
handlerToken = p->addHandler(
std::bind(
&Engine::callback,
this,
std::placeholders::_1
)
);
}
void unregisterPipelineFromEngine(Pipeline *p) {
p->removeHandler(handlerToken);
}
private:
int handlerToken;
};

Answer 2

Perhaps you could attach an ID to each handler. Very crude variant would just use this address as an ID if you have at most one callback per instance.
#include <functional>
#include <iostream>
#include <list>
using namespace std;
class Pipeline {
public:
using ID_t = void *; // Or use integer-based one...
struct Handler {
std::function<void(Pipeline *)> callback;
ID_t id;
// Not necessary for emplace_front since C++20 due to agreggate ctor
// being considered.
Handler(std::function<void(Pipeline *)> callback, ID_t id)
: callback(std::move(callback)), id(id) {}
};
std::list<Handler> handlers;
// add handler to list --> works fine
void addHandler(std::function<void(Pipeline *)> handler, ID_t id) {
this->handlers.emplace_front(std::move(handler), id);
}
void ethernetCallback(void) {
// handle received data and notify all callback subscriptions --> still
// works fine
// this callback function is normally sitting in a child class of
// Pipeline
int len = handlers.size();
for (auto const &handler : this->handlers) {
handler.callback(this);
}
}
void removeHandler(ID_t id) {
handlers.remove_if([id = id](const Handler &h) { return h.id == id; });
}
};
class Engine {
public:
void callback(Pipeline *p) {
// Gets called when new data arrives
cout << "I've been called.";
}
void assignPipelineToEngine(Pipeline *p) {
//p->addHandler(std::bind(&Engine::callback, this, std::placeholders::_1), this);
//Or with a lambda
p->addHandler([this](Pipeline*p){this->callback(p);},this);
}
void removePipelineFromEngine(Pipeline *p) { p->removeHandler(this); }
};
int main() {
Engine *e = new Engine();
Pipeline *p = new Pipeline();
e->assignPipelineToEngine(p);
// the ethernet callback function would be called by LWIP if new udp data is
// available calling from here for demo purposes only
p->ethernetCallback();
return 0;
}
You might also consider std::map<ID_t,std::function<...>> instead of list, not sure how memory/performance constrained you are.
Obligatory: do not use new, use std::unique_ptr, or better use automatic storage whenever you can. Although in this case a pointer is appropriate for e as you need stable address due to this capture/bind/ID.
std::functions are not comparable as there isn't a good generic way how to define this comparison.