Make a private C++ function visible to Qml - qt

I have been making my C++ functions callable from Qml by following the approach given in Qt documentation.
This require one of these conditions to be fulfilled :
Make the C++ function public and Q_INVOKABLE
or
Make the C++ function a public slot
This sometimes is not in sync with my class design. As in, the function which I want to be callable from Qml, is private according to my class design.
Q1. Can I make a function visible to Qml and still keep it private ?
Q2. Is it my design flaw to expect this kind of behavior ?

Well, if you do something private by design you consider that it's something to be used only within a class. Now you are now asking actually is how can I workaround my design. Obvious answer is - you can make a public wrapper in a class which will invoke your private method and publish this public wrapper into QML, but I would suggest to review design if you face such situation.

Related

Mono.Cecil: Getting Method Reference from delegate passed as Generic Parameter

I'm trying to get an understanding of which concrete types are providing the implementations of interfaces in an IOC (dependency injection) container. My implementation works fine when there are no delegates involved. However, I'm having trouble when a delegate method is passed as the type factory, as I can't get Mono.Cecil to give me the concrete type or a method reference to the factory back. I'm specifically in this case trying to build a component that can work with the IServiceCollection container for .Net ASP.Net REST APIs. I've created a 'minimised' set of code below to make it easy to explain the problem.
Consider the following C# code:
interface IServiceProvider {}
interface IServiceCollection {}
class ServicesCollection : IServiceCollection {}
interface IMongoDBContext {}
class MongoDBContext : IMongoDBContext
{
public MongoDBContext(string configName) {}
}
static class Extensions
{
public static IServiceCollection AddSingleton<TService>(this IServiceCollection services, Func<IServiceProvider, TService> implementationFactory) where TService : class
{
return null;
}
}
class Foo
{
void Bar()
{
IServiceCollection services = new ServicesCollection();
services.AddSingleton<IMongoDBContext>(s => new MongoDBContext("mongodbConfig"));
}
}
When successfully locating the 'services.AddSingleton' as a MethodReference, I'm unable to see any reference to the MongoDBContext class, or its constructor. When printing all the instructions .ToString() I also cannot seem to see anything in the IL - I do see the numbered parameter as !!0, but that doesn't help if I can't resolve it to a type or to the factory method.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to solve this?
Most likely your code is looking in the wrong place.
C# compiler will try to cache the conversion of lambda expression -> delegate.
if you look in sharplab.io you'll see that the compiler is emitting an inner class '<>c' inside your Foo class and in that class it emits the method '<Bar>b__0_0' that will be passed as the delegate (see opcode ldftn).
I don't think there's an easy, non fragile way to find that method.
That said, one option would be to:
Find the AddSingleton() method call
From there start going back to the previous instructions trying to identify which one is pushing the value consumed in 1 (the safest way to do that would be to consider how each instruction you are visiting changes the stack). In the code I've linked, it would be IL_0021 (a dup) of Bar() method.
From there, do something similar to 2, but now looking for the instruction that pushes the method reference (a ldftn) used by the ctor of Func<T, R>; in the code linked, it would be IL_0016.
Now you can inspect the body (in the code linked, Foo/'<>c'::'<Bar>b__0_0')
Note that this implementation has some holes though; for instance, if you call AddSingleton() with a variable/parameter/field as I've done (services.AddSingleton(_func);) you'll need to chase the initialization of that to find the referenced method.
Interestingly, at some point Cecil project did support flow analysis (https://github.com/mono/cecil-old/tree/master/flowanalysis).
If you have access to the source code, I think it would be easier to use Roslyn to analyze it (instead of analyzing the assembly).

Why was JavaFX event handling designed such that we must create an instance of the class holding the handle() method?

In JavaFx, I understand that if I want a button to make some code run when it is clicked, I need to somehow have the code that I want to have run inside a method, and because this is Java, I wrap that method inside a class that extends EventHandler . For example:
// (myButton is a reference variable to a Button object)
myButton.setOnAction(new MyButtonEventHandlerClass() );
// inner class
public class MyButtonEventHandlerClass extends EventHandler<ActionEvent>{
public void handle(ActionEvent e) {
// (some code)
}
}
My confusion is: why is JavaFX designed to require me to make an instance of the class holding the handle() method? I had thought that non-static methods are used when the instance variables of an object are used; or in other words, if you just need a method that does not need an object, then you should use a static method. In this kind of thinking, handle() sounds like it should be a static method.
Why is handle() not a static method?
The criteria for a EventHandler to work in a meaningful way in this case are:
There needs to be some way to store the information.
The information has to be stored in a way that allows more than one way of dealing with a event.
Now regardless of the handle method actually using any fields in the EventHandlerand/or enclosing classes, there needs to be a way do identify the code that should handle the event.
If handle only was a static method, there only would ever be a single handler which even worse would be determined by the JavaFX programmers, since static methods cannot be overridden. It would not be possible to fulfil condition 2. without a non-static method.
For non-static methods however it's pretty simple to deal with this. Methods can be overridden and handling the event the correct way can simply be done by invoking EventHandler.handle for the event handler object.
In java 8 however method references (or lambda expressions) could be used to shorten this a bit by using method references, which allows you to "use a method as interface instance":
public class MyClass {
public static void handleMyButtonAction(ActionEvent evt) {
// (some code)
}
}
myButton.setOnAction(MyClass::handleMyButtonAction);

error: 'QDialog::QDialog(const QDialog&)' is private

As the title stands I get this error within content of this snippet:
class NewTaskDialog : public QDialog
It was working just fine earlier, but error started showing up when I added method:
void MainWindow::saveButtonClicked(NewTaskDialog dialogWindow)
Your syntax for saveButtonClicked creates a copy of the NewTaskDialog that's passed to it. You can't copy QWidgets unless you create a cloning function that explicitly provides the exact functionality you seek. QWidget's constructor is private.
You must pass a pointer
void MainWindow::saveButtonClicked(NewTaskDialog* dialogWindow)
or a reference. Using the pointer is the standard Qt way.
Use a pointer to the QDialog instead. The QDialog class has the copy constructor defined as private to try prevent you from passing a QDialog by value since you should never do that.
What's the use of the private copy constructor in c++

Call private method in Flex, Actionscript

I need it in FlexUnit to test private methods. Is there any possibility to do this via reflection by using describeType or maybe flexUnit has some build in facility? I dislike artificial limitation that i cannot test private functions, it greatly reduces flexibility. Yes it is good design for me to test private functions, so please do not advise me to refactor my code. I do not want to break the encapsulation for the sake of unit testing.
I'm 99% certain this isn't possible and I'm intrigued to know why you would want to do this.
You should be unit testing the output of a given class, based on given inputs, regardless of what happens inside the class. You really want to allow someone to be able to change the implementation details so long as it doesn't change the expected outputs (defined by the unit test).
If you test private methods, any changes to the class are going to be tightly coupled to the unit tests. if someone wants to reshuffle the code to improve readability, or make some updates to improve performance, they are going to have to update the unit tests even though the class is still functioning as it was originally designed.
I'm sure there are edge cases where testing private methods might be beneficial but I'd expect in the majority of cases it's just not needed. You don't have to break the encapsulation, just test that your method calls give correct outputs... no matter what the code does internally.
Just create a public method called "unitTest" and call all your unit tests within that method. Throw an error when one of them fails and call it from your test framework:
try {
myobject.unitTest();
} catch (Exception e) {
//etc.
}
You cannot use describeType for that.
From the Livedocs - flash.utils package:
[...]
Note: describeType() only shows public properties and methods, and will not show
properties and methods that are private, package internal or in custom namespaces.
[...]
When the urge to test a private method is irresistible I just create a testable namespace for the method.
Declare a namespace in a file like this:
package be.xeno.namespaces
{
public namespace testable = "http://www.xeno.be/2015/testable";
}
Then you can use the testable as a custom access modifier for the method you want to test like this:
public class Thing1
{
use namespace testable;
public function Thing1()
{
}
testable function testMe() : void
{
}
}
You can then access that modifier by using the namespace in your tests:
public class Thing2
{
use namespace testable;
public function Thing2()
{
var otherThing : Thing1 = new Thing1();
otherThing.testMe();
}
}
Really though I think this is a hint that you should be splitting your functionality into a separate class.

How do you work around the need to cast an interfaced object back to its base class?

This question is meant to apply to interfaces in general, but I'll use AS3/Flex for my language. It should be [mostly] obvious how to apply it in different languages.
If I create a base class, and it extends an interface, there is an explicit contract defined: for every method in the interface, the base class must implement said method.
This is easy enough. But I don't understand why you have the capacity to cast an interfaced instance back to its original base class. Of course, I've had to do this a few times (the example below is very close to the situation I'm struggling with), but that doesn't mean I understand it :^)
Here's a sample interface:
public interface IFooable extends IUIComponent {
function runFoo():void;
}
Let's say I create a base class, which extends VBox and implements the interface:
public class Foo extends VBox implements IFooable {
public Foo() {
super();
//stuff here to create Foo..blah blah
}
public function runFoo():void {
// do something to run foo
}
}
Now, the reason I used the interface, is because I want to guarantee "runFoo" is always implemented. It is a common piece of functionality all of my classes should have, regardless of how they implement it. Thus, my parent class (an Application) will instantiate Foo via its interface:
public function init():void {
var foo:IFooable = new Foo();
foo.percentHeight = 100; //works because of IUIComponent
}
But, if I want to add Foo to the Application container, I now have to cast it back to the base class (or to a different base class):
public function init():void {
var foo:IFooable = new Foo();
foo.percentHeight = 100;
addChild(foo as DisplayObject); //_have_ to cast, because addChild takes a 'DisplayObject' class type
//could also do this:
//addChild(foo as VBox);
}
Wasn't the original intention to hide the implementation of Foo? There is still an assumption that Foo is a DisplayObject. Unfortunately, being able to add the custom object to a container seems impossible without casting.
Am I missing something entirely? Is this really just a phenomenon in Flex/AS3? If you have a container in the base API of a language, and it only allows you to add children of a certain class type, how do you then abstract out implementation?
For the record, this question appears to ask if this sort of operation is possible, but it doesn't really address why it might be bad design (and how to fix it).
2nd Thought:
Abstract Classes:
As Matthew pointed out, abstract classes helps solve some of this: I could create a base abstract class which inherits from the DisplayObject (or, in my case, the VBox, since it is a child of DisplayObject), and have the base class implement the interface. Thus, any class which extends the abstract class would then be required to implement the methods therein.
Great idea -- but AS3 doesn't have abstract classes (to my knowledge, anyway).
So, I could create a base class which implements interface and extends the VBox, and inherit from it, and I could insert code in those methods which need to be extended; such code would throw an error if the base class is the executor. Unfortunately, this is run-time checking as opposed to compile-time enforcement.
It's still a solution, though.
Context:
Some context might help:
I have an application which can have any number of sub-containers. Each of these sub-containers will have their own respective configuration options, parameters, etc. The application itself, however, has a global ApplicationControlBar which will contain the entry-point Menu for accessing these configuration options. Therefore, whenever I add a sub-component to the main Application (via "addChild"), it will also "register" its own configuration options with the ApplicationControlBar menu. This keeps the knowledge of configurability with the containers themselves, yet allows for a more unified means of accessing them.
Thus, when I create each container, I want to instantiate them via their interface so I can guarantee they can register with the ApplicationControlBar. But when I add them to the application, they need to be the base class.
#James Ward, That's definitely something I wish was in the language, probably a interface IDisplayObject. That would solve a lot of issues in OOP display programing in AS3.
In regards the the original question, something I've used in the past, and have seen mentioned on www.as3dp.com is to include a getDisplay():DisplayObject method in the interface, which would typically return "this" by its implementor. It's less than ideal, but works.
#Matthew Flaschen, While we don't have Abstarct Classes native to AS3, common practice is to name the class with the word Abstract ie: AbstarctMyObject, and then just treat it like the abstarct objects in Java and other languages. Our want for true abstarct classes is something the Flash player team is well aware of, and we'll likly see it in the next version of the ActionScript language.
Okay, I'm anaswering generally, because you said, "Is this really just a phenomenon in Flex/AS3?".
In your init method, obviously you're always calling addChild with foo. That means foo must always be an instance of DisplayObject. You also want it to be an instance of IFooable (though it's not clear here why). Since DisplayObject is a class, you would consider using a subclass of DisplayObject (e.g. FooableDisplayObject), that implemented IFooable. In Java, this would the below. I'm not familiar with AS, but I think this shows there's not any general flaw in interfaces here.
interface IFooable
{
public void runFoo();
}
class DisplayObject
{
}
abstract class FooableDisplayObject extends DisplayObject implements IFooable
{
}
class Foo extends FooableDisplayObject
{
public void runFoo()
{
}
}
public void init()
{
FooableDisplayObject foo = new Foo();
foo.percentHeight = 100;
addChild(foo);
}
I think this is a place where Flex's/Flash's API is not correct. I think that addChild should take an interface not a class. However since that is not the case you have to cast it. Another option would be to monkey patch UIComponent so that it takes an interface or maybe add another method like addIChild(IUIComponent). But that's messy. So I recommend you file a bug.
Situation here is that it should be just the other way around for optimal practice... you shouldn't look to cast your interface to a displayobject but to have your instance already as a displayobject and then cast that to your interface to apply specific methods.
Let's say I have a baseclass Page and other subclasses Homepage, Contactpage and so on. Now you don't apply stuff to the baseclass as it's kind of abstract but you desing interfaces for your subclasses.
Let's say sub-pages implement for example an interface to deal with init, addedtostage, loader and whatever, and another one that deals with logic, and have eventually the base req to be manageble as displayobjects.
Getting to design the implementation.. one should just use an interface for specialized stuff and extend the subclass from where it mainly belongs to.. now a page has a 'base' meaning to be displayed (design wise.. the 'base'-class is a displayobject) but may require some specialization for which one builds an interface to cover that.
public class Page extends Sprite{...}
public interface IPageLoader{ function loadPage():void{}; function initPage():void{}; }
public class Homepage extends Page implements IPageLoader
{ function loadPage():void{/*do stuff*/}; function initPage():void{/*do stuff*/}; }
var currentpage:Page;
var currentpageLoader:IPageLoader;
currentpage = new Homepage;
currentpageLoader = currentpage as IPageLoader;
currentpageLoader.loadPage();
currentpageLoader.initPage();
addChild(currentpage);
Tween(currentpage, x, CENTER);

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