The signal on its own does not perform any action. Instead, it is ‘connected’ to a ‘slot’. The slot can be any callable Python function. In PyQt, connection between a signal and a slot can be achieved in different ways. Following are most commonly used techniques − QtCore.QObject.connect(widget, QtCore.SIGNAL(‘signalname’), slot. Qt - Connect signal to slot, but call the slot only once and then auto-disconnect them - Stack Overflow Connect signal to slot, but call the slot only once and then auto-disconnect them.
Introduction
Remember old X-Windows call-back system? Generally it isn't type safe and flexible. There are many problems with them. Qt offers a new event handling system: signal-slot connections. Imagine an alarm clock. When alarm is ringing, a signal is being sent (emit). And you're handling it in a slot.
- Every QObject class may have as many signals and slots as you want
- You can emit signals only from within that class, where the signal is located
- You can connect signal with another signal (make chains of signals);
- Every signal and slot can have unlimited count of connections with other.
- ATTENTION! You can't set default value in slot attributes e.g. void mySlot(int i = 0);
Connection
You can connect signal with this template:
QObject::connect (
);
You have to wrap const char * signal and const char * method into SIGNAL() and SLOT() macros.
And you also can disconnect signal-slot:
QObject::disconnect (
);
Deeper
Widgets emit signals when events occur. For example, a button will emit a clicked signal when it is clicked. A developer can choose to connect to a signal by creating a function (a slot) and calling the connect() function to relate the signal to the slot. Qt's signals and slots mechanism does not require classes to have knowledge of each other, which makes it much easier to develop highly reusable classes. Since signals and slots are type-safe, type errors are reported as warnings and do not cause crashes to occur.
For example, if a Quit button's clicked() signal is connected to the application's quit() slot, a user's click on Quit makes the application terminate. In code, this is written as
connect(button, SIGNAL (clicked()), qApp, SLOT (quit()));
Connections can be added or removed at any time during the execution of a Qt application, they can be set up so that they are executed when a signal is emitted or queued for later execution, and they can be made between objects in different threads.
The signals and slots mechanism is implemented in standard C++. The implementation uses the C++ preprocessor and moc, the Meta Object Compiler, included with Qt. Code generation is performed automatically by Qt's build system. Developers never have to edit or even look at the generated code.
In addition to handling signals and slots, the Meta Object Compiler supports Qt's translation mechanism, its property system, and its extended runtime type information. It also makes runtime introspection of C++ programs possible in a way that works on all supported platforms.
To make moc compile the meta object classes don't forget to add the Q_OBJECT macro to your class.
Qt 5 signals and slots mechanism. How signals and slots in Qt differ from the callback architecture in other widget toolkits. A Qt basics tutorial. How to add signals and slots in Qt Creator.
Part 9 of the Qt Creator C++ Tutorial
What are Qt 5 Signals and Slots?
Very basically, signals and slots in Qt allow communication between objects.
In Qt, a signal is emitted when an event occurs. A slot is a function that is called when a signal is emitted. For example, a push button emits a clicked signal when clicked by a user. A slot that is attached to that signal is called when the clicked signal is emitted.
Multiple signals can be connected to any slot. Signals can be connected to any number of slots.
Most of the details of signals and slots are hidden in their implementation in Qt. At this stage of the tutorial series we do not look in depth at signals and slots.
Using Signals and Slots in Qt Creator
Qt Signal Slot Not Called One
There are several ways to use signals and slots in Qt Creator projects. This includes manually adding them in code. Here we briefly look at the easier ways to use signals and slots to respond to events. Events are generated by users interacting with widgets in an application. These events cause signals to be emitted. Corresponding slots, or functions then run.
Qt 5 Signals and Slots Demonstration
The following image shows the application built in this section using Qt Creator. It demonstrates some methods of using signals and slots.
Each section below shows a method of adding signals and slots to a Qt Creator program. Watch the video embedded near the top of this page for details.
Add a Slot to a Button for the Clicked Signal
Place a push button on the main window. Right click the push button and select Go to slot… to add code for the clicked signal.
Connect a Slider to a Progress Bar Visually
Place a Horizontal Slider and a Progress Bar on the main window.
Press F4 on the keyboard. This toggles to Edit Signals/Slots mode.
Drag to connect the slider to the progress bar.
Press F3 to change back to Edit Widgets mode.
Connect a Slider to a Progress Bar with Code
Place a second Horizontal Slider and a Progress Bar on the main window.
Right-click the Horizontal Slider. In the menu that pops up, click Go to slot…
In the dialog box that pops up, select sliderMoved(int). Click the OK button.
Add code for the sliderMoved signal.
Menu Bar Item with Action Editor
Add a File menu with Open, Close and Quit menu items.
Qt Creator must be in Design mode. Make sure that the Action Editor and Signal and Slots Editor are visible. Do this from the top menu as follows. Select Window → Views and then click the check box next to each of the desired editors.
Add slots for the triggered() signal for the Open and Close menu items. Do this in the Action Editor as follows. Right click a menu item. Click Go to slot… on the menu that pops up. Click triggered() in the dialog box that pops up and then click the OK button.
Add code in the slot function.
Menu Bar Item with Signals and Slots Editor
Qt Signal Slot Not Called Money
In Design mode, select the Signals and Slots tab. Click the big green + sign to add an item. Change the following for the new item.
- Sender : actionQuit
- Signal : triggered()
- Receiver : MainWindow
- Slot : close()
Code Listing
Below is the code listing for mainwindow.cpp for the example project. Follow the video embedded near the top of this page to add the code.
Qt Signal Slot Not Called Two
mainwindow.cpp
