C++/Qt run function when closing console - c++

Question

I was wondering how I can run a function when closing the terminal (I'm on Linux) of my Qt Console Application. I have a 'static' class which holds all the variables I need (I know I can use singleton but I like this way better) and it has a function called destroy, this will delete all pointers).
So this is my .cpp of the 'static' class:
#include "engine.h"
logging* engine::m_logging;
tcp_listener* engine::m_tcp_listener;
void engine::initialize()
{
engine::m_logging = new logging();
engine::m_logging->write_line("Initializing Fullmoon Messenger server...");
engine::m_tcp_listener = new tcp_listener();
engine::m_tcp_listener->start("127.0.0.1", 30000);
}
void engine::destroy()
{
delete engine::m_logging;
}
logging* engine::get_logging()
{
return engine::m_logging;
}
And this is my main.cpp:
#include <QCoreApplication>
#include "engine.h"
int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
QCoreApplication a(argc, argv);
engine::initialize();
return a.exec();
}
How can I call engine::destroy when closing the application? I assume there's a signal for it.

Answer 1

You need to handle the POSIX signal SIGHUP for this.
(Note: POSIX signals are something completely different than Qt signals, so they're not handled with "slots". Don't confuse them.)
Note that your options for what to do in a POSIX signal handler are very limited. The man page signal(7) lists the functions which are safe to be called. In the comments to this answer, Kuba Ober pointed out that you should to stick to the official documentation for handling POSIX signals in Qt applications. But since the process as explained in the documentation is quite complicated, I wrapped it in a reusable class PosixSignalProxy, converting POSIX signals to Qt signals.
If you use this proxy class you just have to write:
PosixSignalProxy<SIGHUP> sighupProxy;
QObject::connect(&sighupProxy, &PosixSignalProxyBase::receivedSignal, []{
engine::destroy();
});
The class is found at the bottom of this post.
Note that only one instance of a PosixSignalProxy can be created for each POSIX signal type. If you need to do multiple things when receiving a signal, you can however connect to the Qt signal multiple times.
Also, you might be interested in similar signals for different external reasons for quitting your application, such as killing it or hitting Ctrl+C in the terminal window.
SIGHUP (as in the example above): when the terminal window was closed (and the parent process was destroyed)
SIGINT: when the user hits Ctrl+C - Note that when you handle this signal you need to quit at the end of the handler since your process is responsible of finally quitting itself. You overwrite this default behavior and have the option not to only cleanup stuff but also to ignore the user's wish to quit the application.
SIGTERM: when the process is killed with e.g. kill (not to be confused with SIGKILL which is a more aggressive way to kill a process; you can't handle that one)
Here is the class definition:
posixsignalproxy.h
#ifndef POSIXSIGNALPROXY_H
#define POSIXSIGNALPROXY_H
#include <QObject>
class QSocketNotifier;
typedef void (*PosixSignalHandlerType) (int);
// Helper base class (no template) - Do not use this class directly.
class PosixSignalProxyBase : public QObject
{
Q_OBJECT
public:
PosixSignalProxyBase(
QObject *parent,
int (&sockets)[2],
int posixSignalNumber,
PosixSignalHandlerType posixSignalHandler,
int posixSignalFlags);
~PosixSignalProxyBase();
signals:
/**
* Qt signal which is emitted right after receiving and handling the POSIX
* signal. In the Qt signal handler (slot) you are allowed to do anything.
*/
void receivedSignal();
protected:
static void staticSignalHandler(int (&sockets)[2]);
private slots:
void handleSignal();
private:
int (&sockets)[2];
QSocketNotifier *notifier;
};
// Actual proxy class, defining its own static proxy signal handler function and sockets.
template <int signum>
class PosixSignalProxy : public PosixSignalProxyBase
{
public:
PosixSignalProxy(QObject *parent = nullptr, int posixSignalFlags = 0) :
PosixSignalProxyBase(parent, mySockets, signum, &posixSignalHandler, posixSignalFlags)
{}
PosixSignalProxy(int posixSignalFlags) :
PosixSignalProxy(nullptr, posixSignalFlags)
{}
static void posixSignalHandler(int) {
PosixSignalProxyBase::staticSignalHandler(mySockets);
}
private:
static int mySockets[2];
};
template <int signum>
int PosixSignalProxy<signum>::mySockets[2];
#endif // POSIXSIGNALPROXY_H
posixsignalproxy.cpp
#include "posixsignalproxy.h"
#include <QSocketNotifier>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/socket.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#include <signal.h>
PosixSignalProxyBase::PosixSignalProxyBase(QObject *parent, int (&sockets)[2], int posixSignalNumber, PosixSignalHandlerType posixSignalHandler, int posixSignalFlags) :
QObject(parent),
sockets(sockets)
{
if (::socketpair(AF_UNIX, SOCK_STREAM, 0, sockets))
qFatal("PosixSignalProxy: Couldn't create socket pair");
notifier = new QSocketNotifier(sockets[1], QSocketNotifier::Read, this);
connect(notifier, SIGNAL(activated(int)), this, SLOT(handleSignal()));
struct sigaction sa;
sa.sa_handler = posixSignalHandler;
sigemptyset(&sa.sa_mask);
sa.sa_flags = posixSignalFlags;
if (sigaction(posixSignalNumber, &sa, 0) > 0)
qFatal("PosixSignalProxy: Couldn't register POSIX signal handler");
}
PosixSignalProxyBase::~PosixSignalProxyBase()
{
delete notifier;
}
void PosixSignalProxyBase::staticSignalHandler(int (&sockets)[2])
{
char tmp = 1;
::write(sockets[0], &tmp, sizeof(tmp));
}
void PosixSignalProxyBase::handleSignal()
{
notifier->setEnabled(false);
char tmp;
::read(sockets[1], &tmp, sizeof(tmp));
// Here, we're allowed to do Qt stuff.
emit receivedSignal();
notifier->setEnabled(true);
}

Answer 2

You're looking for QCoreApplication::aboutToQuit if you want to use a signal.
Better idea IMO is for engine not to have static functions but to manage its resources properly in its destructor. You can make it a singleton if you want.