Understanding Signals and Slots in Qt
Dr. Eng. Chiheb Ameur ABID
/in/chiheb-ameur-abid
chiheb.abid@gmail.com
Juin 2024
Signals and Slots in Qt Chiheb Ameur ABID 2/ 14
Signals and Slots
Overview
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Signals and slots are a mechanism for communication between objects in Qt.
All classes that inherit from QObject or oneA BofI its subclasses can contain
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signals and slots. Chiheb Ameur
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The Q_OBJECT macro must also ebe b added within the class.
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Signals and slots are loosely hcoupled.
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Z A class emitting a signal neither knows nor cares which slots will receive
the signal.
Z Similarly, an object receiving a signal does not know which object emitted
the signal.
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Signals and Slots
Comparison of the Two Syntaxes
A signal/slot connection must be established using the static connect()
method of the QObject class.
Two syntaxes
Old syntax based on strings. D
New syntax based on functors. A BI
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String-based Functor-based
Type checking
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ihRuntime Compile-time
Implicit type conversions
Ch NO YES
Lambda expressions NO YES
Connecting signals to slots
with more arguments (de- YES NO
fault
parameters)
Connecting C++ functions
YES NO
to QML functions
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Signals and Slots
Connection : Old Syntax (String-based) (1/2)
A signal/slot connection must be established using the connect() method.
Old syntax (Qt 4 and earlier versions)
bool QObject::connect(const QObject * sender,const char * signal, const QObject *
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receiver,const char * method, Qt::ConnectionType type=Qt::AutoConnection) const;
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sender : Pointer to the object A me ABID
emitting the signal.
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Z hihe to connect.
signal : Name of the signal
Z C object containing the slot.
receiver : Pointer to the
Z slot : Name of the slot to connect.
Z type : Flag specifying the connection type.
The SLOT and SIGNAL macros are used to obtain the string representations of
the signal and slot names to connect.
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Signals and Slots
Connection : Old Syntax (String-based) (2/2)
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#include <QApplication>
#include <QPushButton> A BI
int main(int argc, char **argv) { ur
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QApplication app{argc, argv}; Chiheb Ameur
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5 QPushButton button{"Quit"}; eb
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7 // Connect the clicked() signal of C
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the button object
8 // to the quit() slot of the app object (the qApp macro can be used)
9 QObject::connect(&button, SIGNAL(clicked()), &app, SLOT(quit()));
10 button.show();
11 return app.exec();
12 }
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Signals and Slots
Connection : New Syntax (Functor-based)
New syntax (Qt 5 and later versions) :
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connect(sender, &Sender::signal, receiver, &Receiver::slot);
connect(sender, &Sender::signal, functor);
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Enables compile-time type echecking, flexible argument types, automatic
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Chto any member method.
casting, and connection
For overloaded functions/methods, an explicit cast is required.
The connection is automatically disconnected when the sender is destroyed.
Objects used in the functor must remain alive when the signal is emitted.
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Signals and Slots
Example 1 : Connection with the New Syntax
1 #include <QApplication>
2 #include <QPushButton>
3 void quit() {
4 QApplication::quit();
5 }
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7 int main(int argc, char *argv[]) { A BI
QApplication app{argc, argv}; ur
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9 QPushButton button{"Quit"}; Chiheb Ameur
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11 // Connect the clicked() signal of the ih
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button object
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13 // to the quit() slot of the object
14 QObject::connect(&button, &QPushButton::clicked, &app, &QApplication::quit);
15
16 // to the quit() function
17 QObject::connect(&button, &QPushButton::clicked, &quit);
18
19 // to a lambda expression
20 QObject::connect(&button, &QPushButton::clicked, [](){QApplication::quit();});
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22 button.show();
23 return app.exec();
24 }
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Signals and Slots
Example 2 : Connection with the New Syntax
1 #include <QApplication>
2 #include <QComboBox>
3 #include <QDebug>
QComboBox *combo;
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void mySlot(int index) {
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8 }
qDebug()<<"Index changed: "<<index<<'\n';
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int main(int argc, char *argv[])
QApplication a{argc, argv};
{
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12 combo {new QComboBox{}};
13 combo->addItem("Hello");
14 combo->addItem("Qt");
15 // The QComboBox::currentIndexChanged() method is overloaded
16 // A cast is necessary
17 QObject::connect(combo, static_cast<void(QComboBox::*)(int)>(&QComboBox::currentIndexChanged),
mySlot);
18 combo->show();
19 return a.exec();
20 }
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Signals and Slots
Custom Signals
It is possible to create custom signals and slots.
To declare a custom signal, use the signals keyword in the class declaration.
Z No return value (thus void).
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Z No method implementation.
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Emitting a signal :
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void emit(const QMetaObject::Signal &signal, ...);
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Z signal : The signal to emit.
Z Arguments : The signal’s arguments.
Signals cannot be declared public, protected, or private.
Signals are implicitly declared protected.
Signals can only be emitted from the class itself or from a derived class.
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Signals and Slots
Custom Slots
Custom slots are declared and defined as private, protected, or public
methods.
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Use the slots keyword in the class declaration.
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Since slots are regular methods, they can
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A signal can be connected C
Multiple signals can be connected to a single slot.
When the same signal is connected to multiple slots, the slots are activated in
an arbitrary order.
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Signals and Slots
Custom Slots/Signals
Skeleton of a class with custom slots/signals
1 #include <QObject>
2
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3 class MyClass : public QObject {
Q_OBJECT A BI
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6 public slots: A
void mySlot() { * slot code * } b
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9 signals:
10 void mySignal(); // A signal has no implementation
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12 };
The Q_OBJECT macro must be used to generate meta-information for the class,
including :
Z List of signals emitted by the class.
Z List of slots declared by the class.
Z List of class properties.
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Signals and Slots
Example : Custom Slots/Signals (1/2)
1 #include <QApplication>
2 #include <QMessageBox>
3
4 class MyClass : public QObject
5 {
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6 Q_OBJECT
public: A BI
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9 int value() const { return val;} A me ABID
explicit MyClass(QObject *parent = nullptr): QObject{parent}{}
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11 signals:
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12 // The signal must be emittedwhen the val attribute is modified
13 void valueChanged(int);
14 private:
15 int val;
16 public slots:
17 // Calling setValue modifies the value of val
18 void setValue(int v) {
19 if (v != val) {
20 val = v;
21 emit valueChanged(v);
22 }
23 }
24 };
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Example : Custom Slots/Signals (2/2)
1 void MyMessageBox(const MyClass& a, const MyClass& b, const QString title) {
2 QString message {QString{"%1\na: %2\nb: %3"}.arg(title).arg(a.value()).arg(b.value())};
3 QMessageBox::information(nullptr, "MyClass Information", message, QMessageBox::Ok);
4 }
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6 int main(int argc, char *argv[]) {
7 QApplication app{argc, argv};
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8 // Create two MyClass objects
MyClass *a {new MyClass{}};
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10 MyClass *b {new MyClass{}}; ur
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// Connect the signal of a to the slot of b A
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13 // A change in a sends a signal to b ihe
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QObject::connect(a, &MyClass::valueChanged, b, &MyClass::setValue);
15 // b.val takes the value 100
16 b->setValue(100);
17 MyMessageBox(*a, *b, "b->setValue(100)");
18 // a.val takes the value 99
19 // Through signal-slot communication, b.val also takes the value 99
20 a->setValue(99);
21 // Display the values of a and b
22 MyMessageBox(*a, *b, "a->setValue(99)");
23 delete a; delete b;
24 return 0;
25 }
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Merci pour votre attention
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Chiheb Ameur
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