[PyQt] PyQwt Signals [Was: Old vs New Signals]

[Phil Thompson]

On Fri, 13 Jul 2012 20:13:32 +1000, John Floyd <jfloyd at bigpond.net.au>
wrote:
> On Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:25:11 Phil Thompson wrote:
>> Taking your examples in turn...
>> 
>> self.picker.connect(self.picker, SIGNAL('selected(QwtPolygon)'),
>> self.slotQwtPolygon)
>> 
>> ...this works as expected.
>> 
>> self.picker.selected[QwtPolygon](self.slotQwtPolygon)
>> 
>> ...this doesn't work because...
>> 
>> - PyQwt does not expose QwtPolygon as a Python type
>> - selected(QwtPolygon) is a signal of QwtPicker, not QwtPlotPicker
>> - the call to connect() is missing
>> 
>> The following is correct...
>> 
>> super(QwtPlotPicker, self.picker).selected.connect(self.slotQwtPolygon)
>> 
>> The following is also correct and would be needed if
QwtPicker.selected()
>> was overloaded and the 'QwtPolygon' overload was not the default...
>> 
>> super(QwtPlotPicker, self.picker).selected['QwtPolygon'].connect(
>>         self.slotQwtPolygon)
>> 
>> These work because PyQwt has told sip how to convert a C++ QwtPolygon
to
>> a
>> Python object.
>> 
>> The last two examples...
>> 
>> self.picker.connect(self.picker,
>>         SIGNAL('selected(QwtArray<QwtDoublePoint>)'),
self.slotQwtArray)
>> 
>> ...and...
>> 
>>
self.picker.selected['QwtArray<QwtDoublePoint>'].connect(self.slotQwtArray)
>> 
>> ...can never work because PyQwt hasn't told sip how to convert a C++
>> QwtArray<QwtDoublePoint> to a Python object. This is a PyQwt bug. It
>> should provide a %MappedType for QwtArray<QwtDoublePoint>.
>> 
>> Phil
> 
> Thanks Phil,
> 
> Is part of the problem with QwtPolygon linked to the fact that in the
qt4 
> version of the code that the c++ QwtPolygon definition is a typedef?
> 
> typedef QPolygon  QwtPolygon
> 
> yet QPolygon is defined as a Python type.

I don't agree that there is a "problem" with QwtPolygon in the first
place. What PyQwt does in this respect is perfectly reasonable.

> This a also the case for QwtArray<QwtDoublePoint> because QwtDoublePoint
> is 
> also typedef'ed 
> 
> typedef QPointF QwtDoublePoint
> 
> and again QwtArray<QPointF> is defined as a python type though a mapped
> type.

No it isn't. QwtArray is not a mapped type in PyQwt. Instead
QwtArrayQwtDoublePoint is defined as a Python type and PyQwt uses C++ code
(that sip doesn't understand) to implement this using
QwtArray<QwtDoublePoint>. This approach means that PyQwt can easily expose
the QwtArray API - again a reasonable approach in my opinion. The thing
that's missing is telling sip about the connection between the C++
QwtArray<QwtDoublePoint> and the Python QwtArrayQwtDoublePoint, which would
be accomplished using a %MappedType.

> Do we have to create separate definitions for all the typedef'ed
variables
> as 
> well in sip?  

You mean typedef'ed types? You use typedef in sip if you need sip to
understand that two types are equivalent.

Phil