<-- Back to AG_Intro.3

SYNOPSIS

#include <agar/core.h>

DESCRIPTION

The AG_Event structure (or alternatively AG_Function) represents a typed virtual function under an AG_Object(3). Virtual functions are tagged with a case-insensitive string up to AG_EVENT_NAME_MAX bytes in size. An empty string denotes an anonymous virtual function. Event handlers and virtual functions are declared as:

void MyEventHandler (AG_Event *event)

<TYPE> MyVirtualFunction (AG_Event *event)

Virtual functions are passed a pointer to an AG_Event which contains a stack of up to AG_EVENT_ARGS_MAX arguments. Arguments are typed and may be tagged with a case-insensitive string (up to AG_VARIABLE_NAME_MAX bytes). How the argument stack is constructed is up to the developer. Typically, it is established by an initial AG_SetEvent() call to set up the callback function, followed by subsequent calls to AG_PostEvent() (so the event handler will see the AG_SetEvent() arguments followed by the AG_PostEvent() arguments, if any, see EVENT ARGUMENTS for details).

Agar objects can act as event senders or event receivers. Execution of event handlers can be delayed for a set amount of time, or marked for execution in a separate thread. AG_Event provides a thread-safe message passing system for multithreaded applications.

NOTE: This page documents Agar's high-level message passing system. For event loops and low-level event processing, see AG_EventLoop(3).

EVENT PROCESSING

AG_Event * AG_SetEvent (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, void (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Event * AG_AddEvent (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, void (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetVoidFn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, void (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetIntFn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, int (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetUint8Fn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, Uint8 (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetSint8Fn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, Sint8 (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetUint16Fn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, Uint16 (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetSint16Fn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, Sint16 (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetUint32Fn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, Uint32 (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetSint32Fn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, Sint32 (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetUint64Fn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, Uint64 (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetSint64Fn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, Sint64 (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetFloatFn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, float (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetDoubleFn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, double (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetLongDoubleFn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, long double (*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetStringFn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, AG_Size (*fn)(AG_Event *event, char *buf, AG_Size buf_size), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetPointerFn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, void *(*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Function * AG_SetTextFn (AG_Object *obj, const char *name, AG_Text *(*fn)(AG_Event *event), const char *fnArgs, ...)

AG_Event * AG_FindEventHandler (AG_Object *obj, const char *name)

void AG_UnsetEvent (AG_Object *obj, const char *name)

int AG_PostEvent (AG_Object *sndr, AG_Object *rcvr, const char *name, const char *fmt, ...)

int AG_PostEventByPtr (AG_Object *sndr, AG_Object *rcvr, AG_Event *event, const char *fmt, ...)

int AG_SchedEvent (AG_Object *sndr, AG_Object *rcvr, Uint32 ticks, const char *name, const char *fmt, ...)

void AG_ForwardEvent (AG_Object *sndr, AG_Object *rcvr, AG_Event *event)

The AG_SetEvent() function registers a new event handler to service events of type name. If an event handler is already registered for the given event type, it is replaced. The AG_AddEvent() variant preserves any existing event handler, such that multiple handlers can be invoked when the event is raised. The fn argument is a pointer to the event handler function, and fnArgs is a special kind of format string specifying a list of arguments (see EVENT ARGUMENTS section).

The AG_Set<TYPE>Fn() routines create a virtual function with a return value of the specified TYPE. The optional name field may be empty or NULL, denoting an anonymous virtual function (which can still be referenced by the returned AG_Function() handle). Since event handlers and virtual functions are implemented identically, the AG_Function type is just an alias for AG_Event.

The AG_FindEventHandler() function searches for an event handler by name, returning a pointer to the AG_Event element on success or NULL if there is no match.

The AG_UnsetEvent() function deletes the named event handler.

The AG_PostEvent() function immediately executes the event handler function associated with the given event type, if there is any. The fn and fnArgs arguments to AG_PostEvent() are interpreted in the same way as AG_SetEvent() and AG_AddEvent(), but the arguments are appended at the end of the argument list. When the event handler function retrieves arguments by index (as opposed to using argument names), it is important to remember that the arguments to AG_PostEvent() follow the arguments given to AG_SetEvent() or AG_AddEvent().

The AG_PostEvent() function returns 1 if an event handler was invoked, or 0 if there is no registered event handler for the specified event.

The AG_PostEventByPtr() variant accepts a pointer to an AG_Event element, as opposed to looking up the event handler by name.

The AG_SchedEvent() function provides an interface similar to AG_PostEvent(), except that the event is scheduled to occur in the given number of ticks AG_SchedEvent() returns 0 on success or -1 if the timer could not be created. If the object is detached or destroyed, all events scheduled for execution are automatically cancelled. A more flexible interface for implementing timers is described in AG_Timer(3) (which AG_SchedEvent() uses internally).

The AG_ForwardEvent() function relays the given event to object rcvr, passing sndr as the sender pointer.

EVENT ARGUMENTS

The AG_SetEvent(), AG_AddEvent() and AG_PostEvent() routines accept a special fnArgs format string specifying a list of arguments to be passed to the event handler function. For example, the %s,%p,%i string specifies that the following arguments are a string, a pointer and an int. The arguments would retrieved by the event handler function like so:

void
MyEventHandler(AG_Event *event)
{
	char *s = AG_STRING(1);
	void *p = AG_PTR(2);
	int i = AG_INT(3);
}

Named arguments are also supported. For example, the format string %s(foo),%p(bar),%i(baz) specifies string, pointer and integer arguments, which can be retrieved using:

void
MyEventHandler(AG_Event *event)
{
	char *s = AG_STRING_NAMED("foo");
	void *p = AG_PTR_NAMED("bar");
	int i = AG_INT_NAMED("baz");
}

The following argument specifiers are accepted:

"%p"	Generic pointer (void *).
"%Cp"	Generic pointer, read-only data (const void *).
"%i"	Signed integer (int).
"%u"	Unsigned integer (Uint).
"%li"	Signed long integer (long).
"%lu"	Unsigned long integer (Ulong).
"%f"	Real number (float)
"%d"	Real number (double)
"%ld"	Real number (long double)
"%s"	NUL-terminated string (char *).
"%Cs"	NUL-terminated string, read-only (const char *).

The following macros extract the arguments contained in an AG_Event structure. If Agar is compiled with either --enable-debug or --enable-type-safety, they also check for potential accesses to incorrect types.

AG_Object * AG_SELF (void)

AG_Object * AG_SENDER (void)

void * AG_PTR (int index)

AG_Object * AG_OBJECT (int index, const char *hierarchy)

char * AG_STRING (int index)

int AG_INT (int index)

Uint AG_UINT (int index)

long AG_LONG (int index)

Ulong AG_ULONG (int index)

float AG_FLOAT (int index)

double AG_DOUBLE (int index)

long double AG_LONG_DOUBLE (int index)

void * AG_PTR_NAMED (const char *key)

AG_Object * AG_OBJECT_NAMED (const char *key, const char *hierarchy)

char * AG_STRING_NAMED (const char *key)

int AG_INT_NAMED (const char *key)

Uint AG_UINT_NAMED (const char *key)

long AG_LONG_NAMED (const char *key)

Ulong AG_ULONG_NAMED (const char *key)

float AG_FLOAT_NAMED (const char *key)

double AG_DOUBLE_NAMED (const char *key)

long double AG_LONG_DOUBLE_NAMED (const char *key)

The AG_SELF() macro (equivalent to AG_PTR(0)) returns a pointer to the AG_Object(3) receiving the event (the rcvr argument to AG_PostEvent()). AG_SENDER() returns a pointer to the object sending the event (the sndr argument to AG_PostEvent()), if there is one.

The following macros return a specific item in the list of arguments. When retrieving arguments by index, note that the arguments to AG_PostEvent() follow the arguments to AG_SetEvent() (i.e., the arguments to AG_SetEvent() are pushed first onto the argument stack, followed by the arguments to AG_PostEvent(), if any). These macros ensure type safety if Agar is compiled with either --enable-debug or --enable-type-safety.

AG_PTR() returns a pointer, previously passed as a %p argument.

AG_OBJECT() returns a pointer to an AG_Object(3) (previously passed as a %p argument). It differs from AG_PTR() in that the object pointer is verified against the specified object class and a fatal error is raised if runtime type checking is in effect.

AG_STRING() returns a pointer to a string, previously passed as a %s argument. The event handler is not allowed to modify the string.

AG_INT(), AG_UINT(), AG_LONG() and AG_ULONG() return the specified native integral number, previously passed as a %i, %u, %li or %lu argument respectively.

AG_FLOAT(), AG_DOUBLE() and AG_LONG_DOUBLE() return the given floating-point number, previously passed as a %f, %d o %ld argument respectively.

The AG_*_NAMED() macros retrieve the given argument by name instead of by index. If there is no argument matching the name, a fatal error is raised.

ARGUMENT MANIPULATION

In some cases it is desirable for functions to accept a list of event handler arguments like AG_SetEvent(), and possibly manipulate its entries directly. For example, the AG_MenuAction(3) function of the GUI widget AG_Menu(3) accepts a pointer to an event handler function, followed by an AG_SetEvent() style format string and a variable list of arguments. The following functions allow such manipulations.

void AG_EventInit (AG_Event *ev)

void AG_EventArgs (AG_Event *ev, const char *fmt, ...)

void AG_EventPushPointer (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, void *val)

void AG_EventPushString (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, char *val)

void AG_EventPushInt (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, int val)

void AG_EventPushUint (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, Uint val)

void AG_EventPushLong (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, long val)

void AG_EventPushUlong (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, Ulong val)

void AG_EventPushFloat (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, float val)

void AG_EventPushDouble (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, double val)

void AG_EventPushLongDouble (AG_Event *ev, const char *key, long double val)

void AG_EVENT_PUSH_ARG (va_list ap, char formatChar, AG_Event *ev)

void * AG_EventPopPointer (AG_Event *ev)

char * AG_EventPopString (AG_Event *ev)

int AG_EventPopInt (AG_Event *ev)

Uint AG_EventPopUint (AG_Event *ev)

long AG_EventPopLong (AG_Event *ev)

Ulong AG_EventPopUlong (AG_Event *ev)

float AG_EventPopFloat (AG_Event *ev)

double AG_EventPopDouble (AG_Event *ev)

long double AG_EventPopLongDouble (AG_Event *ev)

The AG_EventInit() routine initializes an AG_Event structure with no arguments.

AG_EventArgs() initializes ev and also specifies a list of arguments (in the same format as AG_SetEvent()).

The AG_EventPush*() functions append an argument to the end of the argument list for the specified AG_Event structure.

The AG_EVENT_PUSH_ARG() macro also insert an argument, except that the type is obtained from formatChar, assumed to be a character from an AG_SetEvent() style format string, and the argument is retrieved using va_arg(3).

AG_EventPopArgument() removes the last argument from the list.

EVENT QUEUES

Under some circumstances, it is useful to gather AG_Event objects into a simple queue. For example, a custom event loop routine (see AG_EventLoop(3)) or a low-level Agar driver (see AG_Driver(3)) may gather events from input devices and later process them. The AG_EventQ structure describes a queue of events:

typedef struct ag_event_queue {
	Uint     nEvents;
	AG_Event *events;
} AG_EventQ;

The following routines operate on the AG_EventQ structure:

void AG_InitEventQ (AG_EventQ *eq)

void AG_FreeEventQ (AG_EventQ *eq)

void AG_QueueEvent (AG_EventQ *eq, const char *name, const char *fmt, ...)

The AG_InitEventQ() function initializes an AG_EventQ structure. AG_FreeEventQ() releases all resources allocated under an event queue.

AG_QueueEvent() inserts a named event in an event queue structure.

STRUCTURE DATA

For the AG_Event structure:

char name*	String identifier for the event.
Uint flags	See EVENT FLAGS section below.
int argc	Argument count.
*AG_Variable argv**	Argument data (see AG_Variable(3)).

EVENT FLAGS

Acceptable flags for the AG_Event structure include:

AG_EVENT_ASYNC	Arrange for the event handler to execute inside a separate thread that will be automatically created (and managed by the receiver object). This flag is only available if Agar was compiled with the AG_THREADS option.
AG_EVENT_PROPAGATE	Automatically forward events of this type to all attached child objects. If AG_EVENT_ASYNC is also set, the event handlers of the child objects are executed concurrently.

EXAMPLES

The following code fragment demonstrates a typical AG_Event usage in the Agar-GUI library. We bind an action to the button press event, which is called button-pushed. This event is documented in the AG_Button(3) manual, and so are the arguments it appends to the list of arguments passed to the event handler (in this case, a single int).

void
SayHello(AG_Event *event)
{
	char *s = AG_STRING(1);    /* Given in AG_SetEvent() */
	int new_state = AG_INT(2); /* Passed by 'button-pushed',
	                              see AG_Button(3) */

	AG_TextMsg(AG_MSG_INFO, "Hello, %s! (state = %d)",
	    s, new_state);
}

AG_Button *btn = AG_ButtonNew(NULL, 0, "Say hello");
AG_SetEvent(btn, "button-pushed", SayHello, "%s", "World");

The AG_Button API provides a shorthand constructor routine, AG_ButtonNewFn(), which accepts the button-pushed event handler as argument:

AG_ButtonNewFn(NULL, 0, "Say hello", SayHello, "%s", "World");

The following code fragment is equivalent:

AG_Button *btn = AG_ButtonNew(NULL, 0, "Say hello");
AG_Event *event = AG_SetEvent(btn, "button-pushed", SayHello, NULL);
AG_EventPushString(event, NULL, "World");

The following code fragment invokes a handler routine artificially:

void
SayHello(AG_Event *event)
{
	char *foostring = AG_STRING(1);
	int fooint = AG_INT(2);
}

AG_Event event;
AG_EventArgs(&event, "%s,%d", "Foo string", 1234);
SayHello(&event);

HISTORY

The AG_Event mechanism first appeared in Agar 1.0. The AG_Variable(3) structure was first used to represent event handler arguments in Agar 1.3.4.