Pointer to a slot function - c++

I have some slot function defined in my class which do some actions. I wanted to create a possibility to allow the user of my class to define his own slot function (replacing the function from my class for his own). I tried to achieve it by pointer to a slot function this way:
class asd {
Q_OBJECT
private:
void ( asd::*m_funcTrigger )( QAction* );
public:
asd();
// and some method to pass the pointer
private slots:
void actionTrigger( QAction* );
};
the constructor:
asd::asd() {
// set the slot function from class as default
m_funcTrigger = &asd::actionTrigger;
// m is a QMenu object
connect(m, SIGNAL(triggered(QAction*)), this, SLOT(m_funcTrigger(QAction*)));
}
actionTrigger's implementation is not important I think.
So, when I put actionTrigger into the SLOT() it works ok. When I put there the m_funcTrigger it doesn't - nothing happens (the slot is not found by the Qt). I was sure that it is beacuse the pointer is not in the slots section in the class, so I just put it there:
private slots:
void ( asd::*m_funcTrigger )( QAction* );
void actionTrigger( QAction* );
but I got strange error:
C:\Program Files (x86)\MSBuild\Microsoft.Cpp\v4.0\Microsoft.CppCommon.targets(151,5): error MSB6006: "cmd.exe" exited with code 1.
I completely don't know how to deal with this.
EDIT:
I think the reason why it's not found by the Qt:
From what I have read over the Internet, the SLOT() just returns a simple const char* which includes identifier name of the method passed to the SLOT, Therefore the Qt completely doesn't know what the pointer is pointing at. It just looks after the m_funcTrigger( QAction* ) function.
I created another solution (which works I will put it here later I'm currently at work) that requires the user of the class to pass a SLOT(hisOwnFunction()) into the function which sets the slot function. Because the class uses signal-slots idea, so it's Qt dependent and I think because of that it's ok to pass SLOT there instead of a pointer. What do you think?

You can make your slot virtual, so derived class can override it.
You can call m_funcTrigger in your slot by yourself:
private slots:
void actionTrigger_slot( QAction* a)
{
m_funcTrigger(a);
}

Related

Put arguments in slots in Qt

I've made a class named MyWindow which inherits from QWidget to create a window. Here is the content of mywindow.h:
class MyWindow: public QWidget{
public:
MyWindow(QString title,QString icon,int w = 600,int h = 400);
int getWidth() const;
int getHeight() const;
public slots:
void openDialogBox(QString title,QString message);
private:
int m_width;
int m_height;
};
There is a openDialogBox slot which takes the title and the message of the dialog box as arguments.
I've made a menu bar which basically looks like this:
MyWindow myWindow("Example window",QCoreApplication::applicationDirPath() + "/icon.png");
QMenuBar menuBar(&myWindow);
menuBar.setGeometry(0,0,myWindow.getWidth(),menuBar.geometry().height());
QMenu *fileMenu = new QMenu("&File");
QAction *fileMenu_open = fileMenu->addAction("&Open");
MyWindow::connect(fileMenu_open,&QAction::triggered,&myWindow,&MyWindow::openDialogBox);
In the last line, I would like to send arguments to the slot &MyWindow::openDialogBox. I tried to do:
MyWindow::connect(fileMenu_open,&QAction::triggered,&myWindow,&MyWindow::openDialogBox("Title","Hello, this is a message"));
but it didn't work (I don't need you to explain why it didn't work, I already know why). How to do this properly so that it works?
Since you are using the New Signal Slot Syntax, I would suggest using a c++11 lambda instead of a slot, and call the desired function inside your slot, here is how your connect call would look like:
QObject::connect(fileMenu_open, &QAction::triggered, &myWindow, [&myWindow](){
myWindow.openDialogBox("Title","Hello, this is a message");
});
Note that openDialogBox is not required to be a slot this way, it can be any normal function.
If your compiler does not support C++11 lambda expression, you might have to declare a slot that does not take any argument, and connect to that slot. And inside that slot call your function with the desired arguments. . .
Use lambdas
QObject::connect(fileMenu_open, &QAction::triggered, &myWindow, [QWeakPointer<MyWindow> weakWindow = myWindow]()
{
weakWindow->openDialogBox("Title","Hello, this is a message");
});
QWeakPointer is used in case your class is moved, so the "old" myWindow is a dangling pointer
If your class won't be moved, just capture myWindow.
Note that my code needs C++14 to declare a variable in the lambda capture

How do I get ui from a widget in order to connect it in another class?

I need to connect a QPushButton (startListeningPushButton) from my StartWindow to a slot in my MainController. I still have a few questions:
Should I make a pointer of Ui::startWidget ui, because by default Qt created it as a normal variable?
Is getStartWindow() the right way to get the StartWindow from ViewController?
What would be the right way to get startListeningPushButton from StartWindow (is my getter right)?
This is my code:
MainController.cpp:
MainController::MainController()
{
connect(m_viewController.getStartWindow()->getStartListeningPushButton, &QPushButton::clicked, this, &MainController::bla)
}
ViewController.cpp:
StartWindow* ViewController::getStartWindow()
{
return &startWindow;
}
StartWindow.cpp:
QPushButton* StartWindow::getStartListeningPushButton()
{
return ui->fStartListeningPushButton;
}
StartWindow.h:
#ifndef STARTWINDOW_H
#define STARTWINDOW_H
#include "ui_startwindow.h"
class StartWindow : public QWidget
{
Q_OBJECT
public:
StartWindow(QWidget *parent = 0);
~StartWindow();
QPushButton* getStartListeningPushButton();
private:
Ui::startWidget *ui;
};
#endif // STARTWINDOW_H
If you are using Qt Designer and Qt IDE generated such code that it's object not a pointer I don't think that you should make it pointer.
Yeah, returning a pointer to QWidget (StartWindow in your case) is pretty OK.
Your getter is OK.
Seems like you have mistype in your connect, it should look like this:
QObject::connect(m_viewController.getStartWindow()->getStartListeningPushButton(), SIGNAL(clicked()),
this, SLOT(bla()));
It's unclear if you have and then what is your problem.
The only thing I doubt would work is the first parameter of your call to connect:
m_viewController.getStartWindow()->getStartListeningPushButton should actually be m_viewController.getStartWindow()->getStartListeningPushButton() (to have the function be called so that you get the pointer to expected QPushButton and pass it to the connect function).
In the connect function:
First and third parameter must be of type QObject*. So this can either be this pointer (if current class is derived from QObject), or any class attribute of type QObject* (ui->fStartListeningPushButton) or a function call returning QObject* (m_viewController.getStartWindow()->getStartListeningPushButton()). But m_viewController.getStartWindow()->getStartListeningPushButton (with no ()) does not make sense here).
Second parameter must be a signal (declared in header file class using signals: keyword. You don't need implement any code here, you just declare the signal and Qt MOC mechanism implements it silently). Valid syntax for this parameter is &QPushButton::clicked or SIGNAL(clicked()) (Qt4 syntax, still valid in Qt5).
Fourth parameter must be a slot (declared in header file class using slots: keyword, and implemented by you). Valid syntax for this parameter is &MainController::bla or SLOT(bla()) (Qt4 syntax, still valid in Qt5).
There's actually a fifth optional parameter to use when you'll start dealing with threads.

Passing different classes in connect() in Qt

I'm working on a image editing software which includes a few classes. But I need my code to be more generic. But I've got a big problem with my classes when it comes to connections.
QObject::connect(actionSmartContrast, SIGNAL(triggered(bool)), effectsWindow, SLOT(addSmartContrast()));
QObject::connect(actionSaturation, SIGNAL(triggered(bool)), effectsWindow, SLOT(addSaturation()));
I've got a Menu called "Effects", and when the user clicks the QAction actionSmartContrast, then the effect Smart Contrast is added to my effects window. The thing is, given that each effect has its own class, I have to create a function for each class as you can see in the code above. And this is very repetitive. I would like to avoid this problem by doing something like this:
QObject::connect(actionSmartContrast, SIGNAL(triggered(bool)), effectsWindow, SLOT(addEffect(new SmartContrast())));
QObject::connect(actionSaturation, SIGNAL(triggered(bool)), effectsWindow, SLOT(addEffect(new Saturation())));
Everything would be fine for the function addEffect() because it expects a pointer to an Effect object and both SmartContrast and Saturation inherit from Effect. The only problem is that it is impossible to pass variables in connect() like this. So I thought of subclassing QAction and creating a signal which would return the class I like everytime but again, how to tell my new Action class what class it should return? If I have a thousand effects, I won't subclass QAction a thousand times! I need to create a function which would take for example a pointer to a SmartContrast object and it will guess that it has to return a SmartContrast pointer everytime the Action is clicked. And that would still be possible to do it because of the inheritance from the class Effect. But I really can't figure out how to do that. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Looks like QSignalMapper is exactly what you're looking for.
UPDATED:
Another way is to use lambda (if Qt version and c++ compiler allows):
QObject::connect(actionSmartContrast, &QAction::triggered, [effectsWindow](){ effectsWindow->addEffect(new SmartContrast()) });
There are several options.
If it is enough to have the base class pointer of the effects because you use e.g. virtual methods following solution should do:
You can create an intermedite class:
class Intermediate : public QObject
{
Q_OBJECT
public:
Intermediate(QObject* parent = 0) : QObject(parent){}
signals:
void triggerEffect(Effect*);
public slots:
void effectTriggered()
{
QAction* action = qobject_cast<QAction*>(QObject::sender());
if ( action ) {
std::map<QAction*,Effect*>::iterator it = m_mapping.find(action);
if ( it != m_mapping.end() )
{ emit triggerEffect( it->second ); }
}
}
public:
void registerActionEffectPair(QAction* action,Effect* effect)
{ m_mapping[action]=effect; }
private:
std::map<QAction*,Effect*> m_mapping;
};
To use your Effect base class as type for signals and slots, you have to register it as a metatype:
qRegisterMetaType<Effect*>();
Connect it:
QObject::connect(intermediateInstancePtr, SIGNAL(triggerEffect(Effect*),
effectsWindow, SLOT(addEffect(Effect*)));
And the connections of each action would look like:
intermediateInstancePtr->registerActionEffectPair( yourEffectAction, theEffectPtr );
QObject::connect(yourEffectAction, SIGNAL(triggered(bool)),
intermediateInstancePtr, SLOT(effectTriggered()));
Another one could be to use QObjects properties:
setProperty( "property", "value" )
Call this for each effect QAction and read the property in the slot "addEffect".
The property can be read by calling
QAction* action = qobject_cast<QAction*>(QObject::sender());
if ( action ){
QVariant val = action->property("property");
if ( val.isValid() )
{
//TODO
}
}
since Object::sender returns the sender which is responsible for the slot call.
Afterwards you can do a switch case or stuff like this to distinguish between the different effects.
I finally solved my problem! I subclassed QAction and added a signal to my new class which creates a new effect from the class I want depending on the property text(). Simple if blocks are enough. Thank you all for your answers!

How to build a generic method to connect the notifySignal of different Q_PROPERTY types to a void slot(QVariant) from the property char * name?

I'm trying to write a method, with two parameters : the Q_PROPERTY name (char *) and the QObject * associated with, that permit to connect the notifySignal (if exists) of the Q_PROPERTY, to a void slot(QVariant), or to a slot dynamically builded which will call a void method(QVariant). The signature of the signal can vary according to the type of the parameter.
How can I achieve that in Qt 5? Maybe it's impossible, but I will not stop searching while I'm not sure of that.
So I think I have 3 solutions:
building dynamically a slot of the exact signature of the signal, from the signal name, and call a method(QVariant) in it, using the old Qt connect way:
connect(sender, SIGNAL (valueChanged(QString,QString)),
receiver, SLOT (updateValue(QString)) );
using the new Qt 5 connect system:
connect(sender, &Sender::valueChanged,receiver, &Receiver::updateValue );
building all slots signatures that can be used with QVariant.
Althougt, I don't know how to build a slot dynamically that call a specified method for the first solution ; I don't know how to retrieve the function pointer from the QMetaMethod of the notifySignal, for the second solution ; maybe the last solution is the best way, and easy to achieve, but it seams a bit extreme.
What do you think about it?
For "building a slot dynamically" there are private APIs in Qt (look for QMetaObjectBuilder or similar classes). However that doesn't solve the problem of the connection.
Note that QObject::connect is overloaded to take QMetaMethods as signals and slots. So you can easily build a "receiver" class object (for the only purpose of remembering which property it's acting upon):
class Receiver : public QObject {
Q_OBJECT
public:
explicit Receiver(const char *property, QObject *parent = 0)
: QObject(parent),
m_property(property)
{}
signals:
void propertyChangedForObject(const char *property, QObject *object);
public slots:
void onPropertyChanged() {
emit propertyChangedForObject(m_property, sender());
}
private:
const char * const m_property;
};
And hook it up in your method.

How to make a function to be a slot temporally in Qt?

To make a function of a class to be a slot, the class has to inherit from QObject. However, QObject takes up a quite large amount of memory. I am not sure how much it is and if the memory is for each class or each object. My code has many small data whose functions can be a slot sometime. I am wonder if there is a way to make a function of class to be a slot temporally when using it. After using it, the memory for the slot cost will be deleted. The following code illustrates the requirement.
class SmallData // size of 2 or 3 integers.
{
public:
virtual void F(); // use it as a slot.
virtual QMenu* createMenu(); // use this to create the context menu with
// an action connected to F()
...
};
// use the small data
vector<SmallData> vec(1000000); // the vector is put at a tree view. When an
// item in the tree view is selected, a context
// menu pop up with an action to run F().
SmallData* data = treeView.selectedItem();
connect(action, SIGNAL(triggered()), data, SLOT(F())); // How to make F() to be
// a slot just here.
// The action is from
// data->createMenu().
If you can use Qt5, you can connect signals to plain functions and static methods (which essentially are funnily named plain functions):
connect(action, &QAction::triggered,
&SmallData::statF);
Where action is a QAction instance, and SmallData::statF is a static method of SmallData.
Edit per Christian Rau's comment, to call a particular instance, you can also connect to lambda:
connect(action, &QAction::triggered,
[data]() { data->F(); });
Already with Qt4, you can use QSignalMapper to achieve much the same effect, with a few more objects. It allows you to add add a parameter (in this case, probably an integer index to your vec) to signal, based on which object emitted it. But in Qt4, receiver must still always be a QObject.
For using the signal slot mechanism, you won't get around QObject, but what you can do is create a temporary object that has a slot calling your function. You just have to care for properly releasing the object. Something like:
class Callback : public QObject
{
Q_OBJECT
public:
typedef std::function<void()> FunctionType;
Callback(FunctionType fn, bool oneShot = true, QObject *parent = nullptr)
: QObject(parent), fn_(std::move(fn)), oneShot_(oneShot) {}
public slots:
void call()
{
fn_(); //delegate to callback
if(oneShot_)
deleteLater(); //not needed anymore
}
private:
FunctionType fn_;
bool oneShot_;
};
Callback* makeCallback(FunctionType fn, bool oneShot = true, QObject *parent = nullptr)
{
return new Callback(std::move(fn), oneShot, parent);
}
You then just create a (more or less temporary) Callback object each time needed:
SmallData* data = treeView.selectedItem();
connect(action, SIGNAL(triggered()),
makeCallback(std::bind(&SmallData::F, data)), SLOT(call()));
With the oneShot parameter you can control if the slot should dissolve automatically once triggered.
The only problem is, if this slot is never called, you have a leaking Callback hanging around. To accomodate this, you can pass something meaningful into the parent argument, so that Qt cares for proper deletion at least at some later point in time:
SmallData* data = treeView.selectedItem();
connect(action, SIGNAL(triggered()),
makeCallback(std::bind(&SmallData::F, data), true, this), SLOT(call()));
This way you can also bind the lifetime of the callback object (and thus the signal-slot connection) to some other object (e.g. the action itself and deleting the action when no item is selected, or something the like).
Alternatively, you can also remember the Callback object for the currently selected item and care for proper deletion yourself, once it's delesected.
disclaimer: Beware that the above example contains plenty of C++11, but I'm not in the mood to rewrite this for C++03. Likewise can this solution be imporved further, maybe using a templated functor instead of a std::function (but if I remember correctly the Qt meta object system doesn't like templates that much).
EDIT: In the end the solution proposed by Frank Osterfeld in his comment might be a much simpler approach for your situation than my overly generic object lifetime madness above: Just connect the action to a single slot of a higher level object (your main widget or maybe the item model containing the data vector) and call F on the currently selected item:
connect(action, SIGNAL(triggered()), this, SLOT(callF()));
...
void MyController::callF()
{
treeView.selectedItem()->F();
}
I don't think that what you try to do is possible in Qt.
If you really don't want to inherit QObject, then I suggest you have a look at the boost signals and slots mechanism.