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## Tutorial

### How to Read this Tutorial

This tutorial is not meant to be read linearly. Its top-level structure roughly separates different concepts in the library (e.g., handling calling multiple slots, passing values to and from slots) and in each of these concepts the basic ideas are presented first and then more complex uses of the library are described later. Each of the sections is marked Beginner, Intermediate, or Advanced to help guide the reader. The Beginner sections include information that all library users should know; one can make good use of the Signals library after having read only the Beginner sections. The Intermediate sections build on the Beginner sections with slightly more complex uses of the library. Finally, the Advanced sections detail very advanced uses of the Signals library, that often require a solid working knowledge of the Beginner and Intermediate topics; most users will not need to read the Advanced sections.

### Compatibility Note

Boost.Signals has two syntactical forms: the preferred form and the compatibility form. The preferred form fits more closely with the C++ language and reduces the number of separate template parameters that need to be considered, often improving readability; however, the preferred form is not supported on all platforms due to compiler bugs. The compatible form will work on all compilers supported by Boost.Signals. Consult the table below to determine which syntactic form to use for your compiler. Users of Boost.Function, please note that the preferred syntactic form in Signals is equivalent to that of Function's preferred syntactic form.

If your compiler does not appear in this list, please try the preferred syntax and report your results to the Boost list so that we can keep this table up-to-date.

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

- GNU C++ 2.95.x, 3.0.x, 3.1.x

- Comeau C++ 4.2.45.2

- SGI MIPSpro 7.3.0

- Intel C++ 5.0, 6.0

- Compaq's cxx 6.2

- Microsoft Visual C++ 7.1

- Any compiler supporting the preferred syntax

- Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0, 7.0

- Borland C++ 5.5.1

- Sun WorkShop 6 update 2 C++ 5.3

- Metrowerks CodeWarrior 8.1

### Hello, World! (Beginner)

The following example writes "Hello, World!" using signals and slots. First, we create a signal `sig`, a signal that takes no arguments and has a void return value. Next, we connect the `hello` function object to the signal using the `connect` method. Finally, use the signal `sig` like a function to call the slots, which in turns invokes `HelloWorld::operator()` to print "Hello, World!".

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    struct HelloWorld
    {
      void operator()() const
      {
        std::cout << "Hello, World!" << std::endl;
      }
    };

    // ...

    // Signal with no arguments and a void return value
    boost::signal<void ()> sig;

    // Connect a HelloWorld slot
    HelloWorld hello;
    sig.connect(hello);

    // Call all of the slots
    sig();

    struct HelloWorld
    {
      void operator()() const
      {
        std::cout << "Hello, World!" << std::endl;
      }
    };

    // ...

    // Signal with no arguments and a void return value
    boost::signal0<void> sig;

    // Connect a HelloWorld slot
    HelloWorld hello;
    sig.connect(hello);

    // Call all of the slots
    sig();

### Calling multiple slots

#### Connecting multiple slots (Beginner)

Calling a single slot from a signal isn't very interesting, so we can make the Hello, World program more interesting by splitting the work of printing "Hello, World!" into two completely separate slots. The first slot will print "Hello" and may look like this:

    struct Hello
    {
      void operator()() const
      {
        std::cout << "Hello";
      }
    };

The second slot will print ", World!" and a newline, to complete the program. The second slot may look like this:

    struct World
    {
      void operator()() const
      {
        std::cout << ", World!" << std::endl;
      }
    };

Like in our previous example, we can create a signal `sig` that takes no arguments and has a `void` return value. This time, we connect both a `hello` and a `world` slot to the same signal, and when we call the signal both slots will be called.

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    boost::signal<void ()> sig;

    sig.connect(Hello());
    sig.connect(World());

    sig();

    boost::signal0<void> sig;

    sig.connect(Hello());
    sig.connect(World());

    sig();

By default, slots are called in first-in first-out (FIFO) order, so the output of this program will be as expected:

    Hello, World!

#### Ordering slot call groups (Intermediate)

Slots are free to have side effects, and that can mean that some slots will have to be called before others even if they are not connected in that order. The Boost.Signals library allows slots to be placed into groups that are ordered in some way. For our Hello, World program, we want "Hello" to be printed before ", World!", so we put "Hello" into a group that must be executed before the group that ", World!" is in. To do this, we can supply an extra parameter at the beginning of the `connect` call that specifies the group. Group values are, by default, `int`s, and are ordered by the integer < relation. Here's how we construct Hello, World:

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    boost::signal<void ()> sig;
    sig.connect(1, World());
    sig.connect(0, Hello());
    sig();

    boost::signal0<void> sig;
    sig.connect(1, World());
    sig.connect(0, Hello());
    sig();

This program will correctly print "Hello, World!", because the `Hello` object is in group 0, which precedes group 1 where the `World` object resides. The group parameter is, in fact, optional. We omitted it in the first Hello, World example because it was unnecessary when all of the slots are independent. So what happens if we mix calls to connect that use the group parameter and those that don't? The "unnamed" slots (i.e., those that have been connected without specifying a group name) can be placed at the front or back of the slot list (by passing `boost::signals::at_front` or `boost::signals::at_back` as the last parameter to `connect`, respectively), and defaults to the end of the list. When a group is specified, the final parameter describes where the slot will be placed within the group ordering. If we add a new slot to our example like this:

    struct GoodMorning
    {
      void operator()() const
      {
        std::cout << "... and good morning!" << std::endl;
      }
    };

    sig.connect(GoodMorning());

... we will get the result we wanted:

    Hello, World!
    ... and good morning!

### Passing values to and from slots

#### Slot Arguments (Beginner)

Signals can propagate arguments to each of the slots they call. For instance, a signal that propagates mouse motion events might want to pass along the new mouse coordinates and whether the mouse buttons are pressed.

As an example, we'll create a signal that passes two `float` arguments to its slots. Then we'll create a few slots that print the results of various arithmetic operations on these values.

    void print_sum(float x, float y)
    {
      std::cout << "The sum is " << x+y << std::endl;
    }

    void print_product(float x, float y)
    {
      std::cout << "The product is " << x*y << std::endl;
    }

    void print_difference(float x, float y)
    {
      std::cout << "The difference is " << x-y << std::endl;
    }

    void print_quotient(float x, float y)
    {
      std::cout << "The quotient is " << x/y << std::endl;
    }

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    boost::signal<void (float, float)> sig;

    sig.connect(&print_sum);
    sig.connect(&print_product);
    sig.connect(&print_difference);
    sig.connect(&print_quotient);

    sig(5, 3);

    boost::signal2<void, float, float> sig;

    sig.connect(&print_sum);
    sig.connect(&print_product);
    sig.connect(&print_difference);
    sig.connect(&print_quotient);

    sig(5, 3);

This program will print out the following:

    The sum is 8
    The product is 15
    The difference is 2
    The quotient is 1.66667

So any values that are given to `sig` when it is called like a function are passed to each of the slots. We have to declare the types of these values up front when we create the signal. The type `boost::signal<void (float, float)>` means that the signal has a `void` return value and takes two `float` values. Any slot connected to `sig` must therefore be able to take two `float` values.

#### Signal Return Values (Advanced)

Just as slots can receive arguments, they can also return values. These values can then be returned back to the caller of the signal through a combiner. The combiner is a mechanism that can take the results of calling slots (there many be no results or a hundred; we don't know until the program runs) and coalesces them into a single result to be returned to the caller. The single result is often a simple function of the results of the slot calls: the result of the last slot call, the maximum value returned by any slot, or a container of all of the results are some possibilities.

We can modify our previous arithmetic operations example slightly so that the slots all return the results of computing the product, quotient, sum, or difference. Then the signal itself can return a value based on these results to be printed:

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    float product(float x, float y) { return x*y; }
    float quotient(float x, float y) { return x/y; }
    float sum(float x, float y) { return x+y; }
    float difference(float x, float y) { return x-y; }

    boost::signal<float (float x, float y)> sig;

    sig.connect(&product);
    sig.connect(&quotient);
    sig.connect(&sum);
    sig.connect(&difference);

    std::cout << sig(5, 3) << std::endl;

    float product(float x, float y) { return x*y; }
    float quotient(float x, float y) { return x/y; }
    float sum(float x, float y) { return x+y; }
    float difference(float x, float y) { return x-y; }

    boost::signal2<float, float, float> sig;

    sig.connect(&product);
    sig.connect(&quotient);
    sig.connect(&sum);
    sig.connect(&difference);

    std::cout << sig(5, 3) << std::endl;

This example program will output `2`. This is because the default behavior of a signal that has a return type (`float`, the first template argument given to the `boost::signal` class template) is to call all slots and then return the result returned by the last slot called. This behavior is admittedly silly for this example, because slots have no side effects and the result is the last slot connect.

A more interesting signal result would be the maximum of the values returned by any slot. To do this, we create a custom combiner that looks like this:

    template<typename T>
    struct maximum
    {
      typedef T result_type;

      template<typename InputIterator>
      T operator()(InputIterator first, InputIterator last) const
      {
        // If there are no slots to call, just return the
        // default-constructed value
        if (first == last)
          return T();

        T max_value = *first++;
        while (first != last) {
          if (max_value < *first)
            max_value = *first;
          ++first;
        }

        return max_value;
      }
    };

The `maximum` class template acts as a function object. Its result type is given by its template parameter, and this is the type it expects to be computing the maximum based on (e.g., `maximum<float>` would find the maximum `float` in a sequence of `float`s). When a `maximum` object is invoked, it is given an input iterator sequence `[first, last)` that includes the results of calling all of the slots. `maximum` uses this input iterator sequence to calculate the maximum element, and returns that maximum value.

We actually use this new function object type by installing it as a combiner for our signal. The combiner template argument follows the signal's calling signature:

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    boost::signal<float (float x, float y),
                  maximum<float> > sig;

    boost::signal2<float, float, float,
                   maximum<float> > sig;

Now we can connect slots that perform arithmetic functions and use the signal:

    sig.connect(&quotient);
    sig.connect(&product);
    sig.connect(&sum);
    sig.connect(&difference);

    std::cout << sig(5, 3) << std::endl;

The output of this program will be `15`, because regardless of the order in which the slots are connected, the product of 5 and 3 will be larger than the quotient, sum, or difference.

In other cases we might want to return all of the values computed by the slots together, in one large data structure. This is easily done with a different combiner:

    template<typename Container>
    struct aggregate_values
    {
      typedef Container result_type;

      template<typename InputIterator>
      Container operator()(InputIterator first, InputIterator last) const
      {
        return Container(first, last);
      }
    };

Again, we can create a signal with this new combiner:

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    boost::signal<float (float, float),
        aggregate_values<std::vector<float> > > sig;

    sig.connect(&quotient);
    sig.connect(&product);
    sig.connect(&sum);
    sig.connect(&difference);

    std::vector<float> results = sig(5, 3);
    std::copy(results.begin(), results.end(),
        std::ostream_iterator<float>(cout, " "));

    boost::signal2<float, float, float,
        aggregate_values<std::vector<float> > > sig;

    sig.connect(&quotient);
    sig.connect(&product);
    sig.connect(&sum);
    sig.connect(&difference);

    std::vector<float> results = sig(5, 3);
    std::copy(results.begin(), results.end(),
        std::ostream_iterator<float>(cout, " "));

The output of this program will contain 15, 8, 1.6667, and 2. It is interesting here that the first template argument for the `signal` class, `float`, is not actually the return type of the signal. Instead, it is the return type used by the connected slots and will also be the `value_type` of the input iterators passed to the combiner. The combiner itself is a function object and its `result_type` member type becomes the return type of the signal.

The input iterators passed to the combiner transform dereference operations into slot calls. Combiners therefore have the option to invoke only some slots until some particular criterion is met. For instance, in a distributed computing system, the combiner may ask each remote system whether it will handle the request. Only one remote system needs to handle a particular request, so after a remote system accepts the work we do not want to ask any other remote systems to perform the same task. Such a combiner need only check the value returned when dereferencing the iterator, and return when the value is acceptable. The following combiner returns the first non-NULL pointer to a `FulfilledRequest` data structure, without asking any later slots to fulfill the request:

    struct DistributeRequest {
      typedef FulfilledRequest* result_type;

      template<typename InputIterator>
      result_type operator()(InputIterator first, InputIterator last) const
      {
        while (first != last) {
          if (result_type fulfilled = *first)
            return fulfilled;
          ++first;
        }
        return 0;
      }
    };

### Connection Management

#### Disconnecting Slots (Beginner)

Slots aren't expected to exist indefinately after they are connected. Often slots are only used to receive a few events and are then disconnected, and the programmer needs control to decide when a slot should no longer be connected.

The entry point for managing connections explicitly is the `boost::signals::connection` class. The `connection` class uniquely represents the connection between a particular signal and a particular slot. The `connected()` method checks if the signal and slot are still connected, and the `disconnect()` method disconnects the signal and slot if they are connected before it is called. Each call to the signal's `connect()` method returns a connection object, which can be used to determine if the connection still exists or to disconnect the signal and slot.

    boost::signals::connection c = sig.connect(HelloWorld());
    if (c.connected()) {
    // c is still connected to the signal
      sig(); // Prints "Hello, World!"
    }

    c.disconnect(); // Disconnect the HelloWorld object
    assert(!c.connected()); c isn't connected any more

    sig(); // Does nothing: there are no connected slots

#### Blocking Slots (Beginner)

Slots can be temporarily "blocked", meaning that they will be ignored when the signal is invoked but have not been disconnected. The `block` member function temporarily blocks a slot, which can be unblocked via `unblock`. Here is an example of blocking/unblocking slots:

    boost::signals::connection c = sig.connect(HelloWorld());
    sig(); // Prints "Hello, World!"

    c.block(); // block the slot
    assert(c.blocked());
    sig(); // No output: the slot is blocked

    c.unblock(); // unblock the slot
    sig(); // Prints "Hello, World!"

#### Scoped connections (Intermediate)

The `boost::signals::scoped_connection` class references a signal/slot connection that will be disconnected when the `scoped_connection` class goes out of scope. This ability is useful when a connection need only be temporary, e.g.,

    {
      boost::signals::scoped_connection c = sig.connect(ShortLived());
      sig(); // will call ShortLived function object
    }
    sig(); // ShortLived function object no longer connected to sig

#### Disconnecting equivalent slots (Intermediate)

One can disconnect slots that are equivalent to a given function object using a form of the `disconnect` method, so long as the type of the function object has an accessible `==` operator. For instance:

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    void foo();
    void bar();

    signal<void()> sig;

    sig.connect(&foo);
    sig.connect(&bar);

    // disconnects foo, but not bar
    sig.disconnect(&foo);

    void foo();
    void bar();

    signal0<void> sig;

    sig.connect(&foo);
    sig.connect(&bar);

    // disconnects foo, but not bar
    sig.disconnect(&foo);

#### Automatic connection management (Intermediate)

Boost.Signals can automatically track the lifetime of objects involved in signal/slot connections, including automatic disconnection of slots when objects involved in the slot call are destroyed. For instance, consider a simple news delivery service, where clients connect to a news provider that then sends news to all connected clients as information arrives. The news delivery service may be constructed like this:

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    class NewsItem { /* ... */ };

    boost::signal<void (const NewsItem&)> deliverNews;

    class NewsItem { /* ... */ };

    boost::signal1<void, const NewsItem&> deliverNews;

Clients that wish to receive news updates need only connect a function object that can receive news items to the `deliverNews` signal. For instance, we may have a special message area in our application specifically for news, e.g.,:

    struct NewsMessageArea : public MessageArea
    {
    public:
      // ...

      void displayNews(const NewsItem& news) const
      {
        messageText = news.text();
        update();
      }
    };

    // ...
    NewsMessageArea newsMessageArea = new NewsMessageArea(/* ... */);
    // ...
    deliverNews.connect(boost::bind(&NewsMessageArea::displayNews,
                                    newsMessageArea, _1));

However, what if the user closes the news message area, destroying the `newsMessageArea` object that `deliverNews` knows about? Most likely, a segmentation fault will occur. However, with Boost.Signals one need only make `NewsMessageArea` trackable, and the slot involving `newsMessageArea` will be disconnected when `newsMessageArea` is destroyed. The `NewsMessageArea` class is made trackable by deriving publicly from the `boost::signals::trackable` class, e.g.:

    struct NewsMessageArea : public MessageArea, public boost::signals::trackable
    {
      // ...
    };

At this time there is a significant limitation to the use of `trackable` objects in making slot connections: function objects built using Boost.Bind are understood, such that pointers or references to `trackable` objects passed to `boost::bind` will be found and tracked.

Warning: User-defined function objects and function objects from other libraries (e.g., Boost.Function or Boost.Lambda) do not implement the required interfaces for `trackable` object detection, and will silently ignore any bound trackable objects. Future versions of the Boost libraries will address this limitation.

#### When can disconnections occur? (Intermediate)

Signal/slot disconnections occur when any of these conditions occur:

- The connection is explicitly disconnected via the connection's `disconnect` method directly, or indirectly via the signal's `disconnect` method or `scoped_connection`'s destructor.

- A `trackable` object bound to the slot is destroyed.

- The signal is destroyed.

These events can occur at any time without disrupting a signal's calling sequence. If a signal/slot connection is disconnected at any time during a signal's calling sequence, the calling sequence will still continue but will not invoke the disconnected slot. Additionally, a signal may be destroyed while it is in a calling sequence, and which case it will complete its slot call sequence but may not be accessed directly.

Signals may be invoked recursively (e.g., a signal A calls a slot B that invokes signal A...). The disconnection behavior does not change in the recursive case, except that the slot calling sequence includes slot calls for all nested invocations of the signal.

#### Passing slots (Intermediate)

Slots in the Boost.Signals library are created from arbitrary function objects, and therefore have no fixed type. However, it is commonplace to require that slots be passed through interfaces that cannot be templates. Slots can be passed via the `slot_type` for each particular signal type and any function object compatible with the signature of the signal can be passed to a `slot_type` parameter. For instance:

Preferred syntax | Portable syntax
--- | ---

    class Button
    {
      typedef boost::signal<void (int x, int y)> OnClick;

    public:
      void doOnClick(const OnClick::slot_type& slot);

    private:
      OnClick onClick;
    };

    void Button::doOnClick(
          const OnClick::slot_type& slot
        )
    {
      onClick.connect(slot);
    }

    void printCoordinates(long x, long y)
    {
      std::cout << "(" << x << ", " << y << ")\n";
    }

    void f(Button& button)
    {
      button.doOnClick(&printCoordinates);
    }

    class Button
    {
      typedef boost::signal2<void,int,int> OnClick;

    public:
      void doOnClick(const OnClick::slot_type& slot);

    private:
      OnClick onClick;
    };

    void Button::doOnClick(
          const OnClick::slot_type& slot
        )
    {
      onClick.connect(slot);
    }

    void printCoordinates(long x, long y)
    {
      std::cout << "(" << x << ", " << y << ")\n";
    }

    void f(Button& button)
    {
      button.doOnClick(&printCoordinates);
    }

The `doOnClick` method is now functionally equivalent to the `connect` method of the `onClick` signal, but the details of the `doOnClick` method can be hidden in an implementation detail file.

### Example: Document-View

Signals can be used to implement flexible Document-View architectures. The document will contain a signal to which each of the views can connect. The following `Document` class defines a simple text document that supports mulitple views. Note that it stores a single signal to which all of the views will be connected.

    class Document
    {
    public:
        typedef boost::signal<void (bool)>  signal_t;
        typedef boost::signals::connection  connection_t;

    public:
        Document()
        {}

        connection_t connect(signal_t::slot_function_type subscriber)
        {
            return m_sig.connect(subscriber);
        }

        void disconnect(connection_t subscriber)
        {
            subscriber.disconnect();
        }

        void append(const char* s)
        {
            m_text += s;
            m_sig(true);
        }

        const std::string& getText() const
        {
            return m_text;
        }

    private:
        signal_t    m_sig;
        std::string m_text;
    };

Next, we can define a `View` base class from which views can derive. This isn't strictly required, but it keeps the Document-View logic separate from the logic itself. Note that the constructor just connects the view to the document and the destructor disconnects the view.

    class View
    {
    public:
        View(Document& m)
            : m_document(m)
        {
            m_connection = m_document.connect(boost::bind(&View::refresh, this, _1));
        }

        virtual ~View()
        {
            m_document.disconnect(m_connection);
        }

        virtual void refresh(bool bExtended) const = 0;

    protected:
        Document&               m_document;

    private:
        Document::connection_t  m_connection;
    };

Finally, we can begin to define views. The following `TextView` class provides a simple view of the document text.

    class TextView : public View
    {
    public:
        TextView(Document& doc)
            : View(doc)
        {}

        virtual void refresh(bool bExtended) const
        {
            std::cout << "TextView: " << m_document.getText() << std::endl;
        }
    };

Alternatively, we can provide a view of the document translated into hex values using the `HexView` view:

    class HexView : public View
    {
    public:
        HexView(Document& doc)
            : View(doc)
        {}

        virtual void refresh(bool bExtended) const
        {
            const std::string&  s = m_document.getText();

            std::cout << "HexView:";

            for (std::string::const_iterator it = s.begin(); it != s.end(); ++it)
                std::cout << ' ' << std::hex << static_cast<int>(*it);

            std::cout << std::endl;
        }
    };

To tie the example together, here is a simple `main` function that sets up two views and then modifies the document:

    int main(int argc, char* argv[])
    {
        Document    doc;
        TextView    v1(doc);
        HexView     v2(doc);

        doc.append(argc == 2 ? argv[1] : "Hello world!");
        return 0;
    }

The complete example source, contributed by Keith MacDonald, is available in `libs/signals/example/doc_view.cpp`.

### Linking against the Signals library

Part of the Boost.Signals library is compiled into a binary library that must be linked into your application to use Signals. Please refer to the Getting Started guide. You will need to link against the `boost_signals` library.

Last revised: January 29, 2007 at 20:05:29 +0000 |