Chapter 17. Timeouts, I/O and Idle Functions
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## Chapter 17. Timeouts, I/O and Idle Functions

## Timeouts

You may be wondering how to make gtkmm do useful work while it's idling along (well, sleeping actually) in `Gtk::Main::run()`. Happily, you have several options. Using the following methods you can create a timeout method that will be called every few milliseconds.

    sigc::connection Glib::SignalTimeout::connect(const sigc::slot<bool>& slot, unsigned int interval, int priority = Glib::PRIORITY_DEFAULT);

The first argument is a slot you wish to have called when the timeout occurs. The second argument is the number of milliseconds between calls to that method. You receive a `sigc::connection` object that can be used to deactivate the connection.

    my_connection.disconnect();

to destroy the connection. Another way of destroying the connection is your signal handler. It has to be of the type `sigc::slot<bool>`. As you see from the definition your signal handler has to return a value of the type `bool`. A definition of a sample method might look like this:

    bool MyCallback() { std::cout << "Hello World!\n" << std::endl; return true; }

You can stop the timeout method by returning `false` from your signal handler. Therefore, if you want your method to be called repeatedly, it should return `true`.

Here's an example of this technique:

Source Code

File: timerexample.h

    #ifndef GTKMM_EXAMPLE_TIMEREXAMPLE_H
    #define GTKMM_EXAMPLE_TIMEREXAMPLE_H

    #include <gtkmm.h>
    #include <iostream>
    #include <map>

    class TimerExample : public Gtk::Window
    {
    public:
      TimerExample();

    protected:
      // signal handlers
      void on_button_add_timer();
      void on_button_delete_timer();
      void on_button_quit();

      // This is the callback function the timeout will call
      bool on_timeout(int timer_number);

      // Member data:

      Gtk::HBox m_Box;
      Gtk::Button m_ButtonAddTimer, m_ButtonDeleteTimer, m_ButtonQuit;

      // Keep track of the timers being added:
      int m_timer_number;

      // These two constants are initialized in the constructor's member initializer:
      const int count_value;
      const int timeout_value;

      // STL map for storing our connections
      std::map<int, sigc::connection> m_timers;

      // STL map for storing our timer values.
      // Each timer counts back from COUNT_VALUE to 0 and is removed when it reaches 0
      std::map<int, int> m_counters;
    };

    #endif // GTKMM_EXAMPLE_TIMEREXAMPLE_H

File: main.cc

    #include "timerexample.h"
    #include <gtkmm/main.h>

    int main (int argc, char *argv[])
    {
      Gtk::Main app(argc, argv);

      TimerExample example;
      Gtk::Main::run(example);

      return 0;
    }

File: timerexample.cc

    #include "timerexample.h"

    TimerExample::TimerExample() :
      m_Box(true, 10),
      m_ButtonAddTimer(Gtk::Stock::ADD), // use Gtk::Stock wherever possible for buttons, etc.
      m_ButtonDeleteTimer(Gtk::Stock::REMOVE),
      m_ButtonQuit(Gtk::Stock::QUIT),
      m_timer_number(0), // start numbering the timers at 0
      count_value(5), // each timer will count down 5 times before disconnecting
      timeout_value(1500) // 1500 ms = 1.5 seconds
    {
      set_border_width(10);

      add(m_Box);
      m_Box.pack_start(m_ButtonAddTimer);
      m_Box.pack_start(m_ButtonDeleteTimer);
      m_Box.pack_start(m_ButtonQuit);

      // Connect the three buttons:
      m_ButtonQuit.signal_clicked().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &TimerExample::on_button_quit));
      m_ButtonAddTimer.signal_clicked().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &TimerExample::on_button_add_timer));
      m_ButtonDeleteTimer.signal_clicked().connect(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &TimerExample::on_button_delete_timer));

      show_all_children();
    }

    void TimerExample::on_button_quit()
    {
      hide();
    }

    void TimerExample::on_button_add_timer()
    {
      // Creation of a new object prevents long lines and shows us a little
      // how slots work.  We have 0 parameters and bool as a return value
      // after calling sigc::bind.
      sigc::slot<bool> my_slot = sigc::bind(sigc::mem_fun(*this, &TimerExample::on_timeout), m_timer_number);

      // This is where we connect the slot to the Glib::signal_timeout()
      sigc::connection conn = Glib::signal_timeout().connect(my_slot, timeout_value);

      // Remember the connection:
      m_timers[m_timer_number] = conn;

      // Initialize timer count:
      m_counters[m_timer_number] = count_value + 1;

      // Print some info to the console for the user:
      std::cout << "added timeout " << m_timer_number++ << std::endl;
    }

    void TimerExample::on_button_delete_timer()
    {
      // any timers?
      if(m_timers.empty())
      {
        // no timers left
        std::cout << "Sorry, there are no timers left." << std::endl;
      }
      else
      {
        // get the number of the first timer
        int timer_number = m_timers.begin()->first;

        // Give some info to the user:
        std::cout << "manually disconnecting timer " << timer_number << std::endl;

        // Remove the entry in the counter values
        m_counters.erase(timer_number);

        // Diconnect the signal handler:
        m_timers[timer_number].disconnect();

        // Forget the connection:
        m_timers.erase(timer_number);
      }
    }

    bool TimerExample::on_timeout(int timer_number)
    {
      // Print the timer:
      std::cout << "This is timer " << timer_number;

      // decrement and check counter value
      if (--m_counters[timer_number] == 0)
      {
        std::cout << " being disconnected" <<  std::endl;

        // delete the counter entry in the STL MAP
        m_counters.erase(timer_number);

        // delete the connection entry in the STL MAP
        m_timers.erase(timer_number);

        // Note that we do not have to explicitly call disconnect() on the connection
        // since Gtk::Main does this for us when we return false.
        return false;
      }

      // Print the timer value
      std::cout << " - " << m_counters[timer_number] << "/" << count_value << std::endl;

     // Keep going (do not disconnect yet):
      return true;
    }

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