doc/src/howtos/unix-signal-handlers.qdoc
author Alex Gilkes <alex.gilkes@nokia.com>
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/****************************************************************************
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**
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** Copyright (C) 2009 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
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** All rights reserved.
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** Contact: Nokia Corporation (qt-info@nokia.com)
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**
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** This file is part of the documentation of the Qt Toolkit.
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**
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** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:LGPL$
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** No Commercial Usage
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** This file contains pre-release code and may not be distributed.
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** You may use this file in accordance with the terms and conditions
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** contained in the Technology Preview License Agreement accompanying
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** this package.
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**
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** GNU Lesser General Public License Usage
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** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Lesser
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** General Public License version 2.1 as published by the Free Software
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** Foundation and appearing in the file LICENSE.LGPL included in the
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** packaging of this file.  Please review the following information to
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** ensure the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 requirements
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** will be met: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html.
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**
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** In addition, as a special exception, Nokia gives you certain additional
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** rights.  These rights are described in the Nokia Qt LGPL Exception
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** version 1.1, included in the file LGPL_EXCEPTION.txt in this package.
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**
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** If you have questions regarding the use of this file, please contact
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** Nokia at qt-info@nokia.com.
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**
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**
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**
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**
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**
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**
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**
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**
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** $QT_END_LICENSE$
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**
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****************************************************************************/
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/*!
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    \page unix-signals.html
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    \title Calling Qt Functions From Unix Signal Handlers
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    \brief You can't. But don't despair, there is a way...
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    \ingroup platform-specific
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    \ingroup best-practices
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    You \e can't call Qt functions from Unix signal handlers. The
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    standard POSIX rule applies: You can only call async-signal-safe
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    functions from signal handlers. See \l
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    {http://www.opengroup.org/onlinepubs/000095399/functions/xsh_chap02_04.html#tag_02_04_01}
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    {Signal Actions} for the complete list of functions you can call
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    from Unix signal handlers.
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    But don't despair, there is a way to use Unix signal handlers with
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    Qt. The strategy is to have your Unix signal handler do something
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    that will eventually cause a Qt signal to be emitted, and then you
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    simply return from your Unix signal handler. Back in your Qt
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    program, that Qt signal gets emitted and then received by your Qt
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    slot function, where you can safely do whatever Qt stuff you
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    weren't allowed to do in the Unix signal handler.
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    One simple way to make this happen is to declare a socket pair in
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    your class for each Unix signal you want to handle. The socket
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    pairs are declared as static data members. You also create a
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    QSocketNotifier to monitor the \e read end of each socket pair,
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    declare your Unix signal handlers to be static class methods, and
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    declare a slot function corresponding to each of your Unix signal
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    handlers. In this example, we intend to handle both the SIGHUP and
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    SIGTERM signals. Note: You should read the socketpair(2) and the
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    sigaction(2) man pages before plowing through the following code
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    snippets.
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    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.qdoc 0
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    In the MyDaemon constructor, use the socketpair(2) function to
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    initialize each file descriptor pair, and then create the
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    QSocketNotifier to monitor the \e read end of each pair. The
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    activated() signal of each QSocketNotifier is connected to the
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    appropriate slot function, which effectively converts the Unix
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    signal to the QSocketNotifier::activated() signal.
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    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.qdoc 1
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    Somewhere else in your startup code, you install your Unix signal
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    handlers with sigaction(2).
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    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.qdoc 2
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    In your Unix signal handlers, you write a byte to the \e write end
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    of a socket pair and return. This will cause the corresponding
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    QSocketNotifier to emit its activated() signal, which will in turn
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    cause the appropriate Qt slott function to run.
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    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.qdoc 3
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    In the slot functions connected to the
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    QSocketNotifier::activated() signals, you \e read the byte. Now
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    you are safely back in Qt with your signal, and you can do all the
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    Qt stuff you weren'tr allowed to do in the Unix signal handler.
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    \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_unix-signal-handlers.qdoc 4
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*/