diff options
author | John (J5) Palmieri <johnp@redhat.com> | 2005-07-15 02:15:08 +0000 |
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committer | John (J5) Palmieri <johnp@redhat.com> | 2005-07-15 02:15:08 +0000 |
commit | dc4d80e56775c1a69a51f196aec1bd331a645749 (patch) | |
tree | e6fb5461986a216dc64a529004392f8a859472b6 /doc/dbus-tutorial.xml | |
parent | 6c191520c8b33cd7e550a6e3d9d853c25f552f54 (diff) | |
download | dbus-dc4d80e56775c1a69a51f196aec1bd331a645749.tar.gz |
* python/_dbus.py (Bus::remove_signal_receiver):
don't add a callback to the match if none has been passed in
* python/matchrules.py (SignalMatchTree::remove): if the rule
being matched does not have a callback treat it as a wildcard
fix matching logic
* doc/dbus-tutorial.xml: Add Python tutorial
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/dbus-tutorial.xml')
-rw-r--r-- | doc/dbus-tutorial.xml | 515 |
1 files changed, 495 insertions, 20 deletions
diff --git a/doc/dbus-tutorial.xml b/doc/dbus-tutorial.xml index 16a7207b..924575f3 100644 --- a/doc/dbus-tutorial.xml +++ b/doc/dbus-tutorial.xml @@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ <article id="index"> <articleinfo> <title>D-BUS Tutorial</title> - <releaseinfo>Version 0.3</releaseinfo> - <date>18 January 2005</date> + <releaseinfo>Version 0.4</releaseinfo> + <date>14 July 2005</date> <authorgroup> <author> <firstname>Havoc</firstname> @@ -24,6 +24,17 @@ <firstname>David</firstname> <surname>Wheeler</surname> </author> + <author> + <firstname>John</firstname> + <surname>Palmieri</surname> + <affiliation> + <orgname>Red Hat, Inc.</orgname> + <address> + <email>johnp@redhat.com</email> + </address> + </affiliation> + </author> + </authorgroup> </articleinfo> @@ -1159,37 +1170,501 @@ main (int argc, char **argv) </para> </sect1> - <sect1 id="qt-client"> - <title>Qt API: Using Remote Objects</title> + <sect1 id="python-client"> + <title>Python API: Using Remote Objects</title> <para> - - The Qt bindings are not yet documented. - + The Python bindings provide a simple to use interface for talking over D-BUS. + Where possible much of the inner-workings of D-BUS are hidden behind what looks + like normal Python objects. </para> + <sect2 id="python-typemappings"> + <title>D-BUS - Python type mappings</title> + <para> + While python itself is a largely untyped language D-BUS provides a simple type system + for talking with other languages which may be strongly typed. Python for the most part + tries automatically map python objects to types on the bus. It is none the less good to + know what the type mappings are so one can better utilize services over the bus. + </para> + <sect3 id="python-basic-typemappings"> + <title>Basic type mappings</title> + <para> + Below is a list of the basic types, along with their associated + mapping to a Python object. + <informaltable> + <tgroup cols="3"> + <thead> + <row> + <entry>D-BUS basic type</entry> + <entry>Python object</entry> + <entry>Notes</entry> + </row> + </thead> + <tbody> + <row> + <entry><literal>BYTE</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.Byte</literal></entry> + <entry></entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>BOOLEAN</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.Boolean</literal></entry> + <entry>Any variable assigned a True or False boolean value will automatically be converted into a BOOLEAN over the bus</entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>INT16</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.Int16</literal></entry> + <entry></entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>UINT16</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.UInt16</literal></entry> + <entry></entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>INT32</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.Int32</literal></entry> + <entry>This is the default mapping for Python integers</entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>UINT32</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.UInt32</literal></entry> + <entry></entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>INT64</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.Int64</literal></entry> + <entry></entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>UINT64</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.UInt64</literal></entry> + <entry></entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>DOUBLE</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.Double</literal></entry> + <entry>Any variable assigned a floating point number will automatically be converted into a DOUBLE over the bus</entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>STRING</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.String</literal></entry> + <entry>Any variable assigned a quoted string will automatically be converted into a STRING over the bus</entry> + </row><row> + <entry><literal>OBJECT_PATH</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>dbus.ObjectPath</literal></entry> + <entry></entry> + </row> + </tbody> + </tgroup> + </informaltable> + </para> + </sect3> + <sect3 id="python-container-typemappings"> + <title>Container type mappings</title> + <para> + The D-BUS type system also has a number of "container" + types, such as <literal>DBUS_TYPE_ARRAY</literal> and + <literal>DBUS_TYPE_STRUCT</literal>. The D-BUS type system + is fully recursive, so one can for example have an array of + array of strings (i.e. type signature + <literal>aas</literal>). + </para> + <para> + D-BUS container types have native corresponding built-in Python types + so it is easy to use them. + <informaltable> + <tgroup cols="3"> + <thead> + <row> + <entry>D-BUS type</entry> + <entry>Python type</entry> + <entry>Notes</entry> + </row> + </thead> + <tbody> + <row> + <entry><literal>ARRAY</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>Python lists</literal></entry> + <entry>Python lists, denoted by square brackets [], are converted into arrays and visa versa. + The one restriction is that when sending a Python list each element of the list must be of the same + type. This is because D-BUS arrays can contain only one element type. Use Python tuples for mixed types.</entry> + </row> + <row> + <entry><literal>STRUCT</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>Python tuple</literal></entry> + <entry>Python tuples, denoted by parentheses (,), are converted into structs and visa versa. + Tuples can have mixed types.</entry> + </row> + <row> + <entry><literal>DICTIONARY</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>Python dictionary</literal></entry> + <entry>D-BUS doesn't have an explicit dictionary type. Instead it uses LISTS of DICT_ENTRIES to + represent a dictionary. A DICT_ENTRY is simply a two element struct containing a key/value pair. + Python dictionaries are automatically converted to a LIST of DICT_ENTRIES and visa versa.</entry> + </row> + <row> + <entry><literal>VARIANT</literal></entry> + <entry><literal>any type</literal></entry> + <entry>A variant is a container for any type. Python exports its methods to accept only variants + since we are an untyped language and can demarshal into any Python type.</entry> + </row> + + </tbody> + </tgroup> + </informaltable> + </para> + </sect3> + </sect2> + <sect2 id="python-invoking-methods"> + <title>Invoking Methods</title> + <para>Here is a D-BUS program using the Python bindings to get a listing of all names on the session bus. +<programlisting> +import dbus + +bus = dbus.SessionBus() +proxy_obj = bus.bus.get_object('org.freedesktop.DBus', '/org/freedesktop/DBus') +dbus_iface = dbus.Interface(proxy_obj, 'org.freedesktop.DBus') + +print dbus_iface.ListNames() +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + Notice I get an interface on the proxy object and use that to make the call. While the specifications + state that you do not need to specify an interface if the call is unambiguous (i.e. only one method implements + that name) due to a bug on the bus that drops messages which don't have an interface field you need to specify + interfaces at this time. In any event it is always good practice to specify the interface of the method you + wish to call to avoid any side effects should a method of the same name be implemented on another interface. + </para> + <para> + You can specify the interface for a single call using the dbus_interface keyword. +<programlisting> +proxy_obj.ListNames(dbus_interface = 'org.freedesktop.DBus') +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + This is all fine and good if all you want to do is call methods on the bus and then exit. In order to + do more complex things such as use a GUI or make asynchronous calls you will need a mainloop. You would use + asynchronous calls because in GUI applications it is very bad to block for any long period of time. This cause + the GUI to seem to freeze. Since replies to D-BUS messages can take an indeterminate amount of time using async + calls allows you to return control to the GUI while you wait for the reply. This is exceedingly easy to do in + Python. Here is an example using the GLib/GTK+ mainloop. +<programlisting> +import gtk +import dbus +if getattr(dbus, 'version', (0,0,0)) >= (0,41,0): + import dbus.glib + +def print_list_names_reply(list): + print str(list) + +def print_error(e): + print str(e) + +bus = dbus.SessionBus() +proxy_obj = bus.bus.get_object('org.freedesktop.DBus', '/org/freedesktop/DBus') +dbus_iface = dbus.Interface(proxy_obj, 'org.freedesktop.DBus') + +dbus_iface.ListNames(reply_handler=print_list_names_reply, error_handler=print_error) + +gtk.main() +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + In the above listing you will notice the reply_handler and error_handler keywords. These tell the method that + it should be called async and to call print_list_names_reply or print_error depending if you get a reply or an error. + The signature for replys depends on the number of arguments being sent back. Error handlers always take one parameter + which is the error object returned. + </para> + <para> + You will also notice that I check the version of the dbus bindings before importing dbus.glib. In older versions + glib was the only available mainloop. As of version 0.41.0 we split out the glib dependency to allow for other mainloops + to be implemented. Notice also the python binding version does not match up with the D-BUS version. Once we reach 1.0 + this should change with Python changes simply tracking the D-BUS changes. + While the glib mainloop is the only mainloop currently implemented, integrating other mainloops should + be very easy to do. There are plans for creating a a generic mainloop to be the default for non gui programs. + </para> + </sect2> + <sect2 id="python-listening-for-signals"> + <title>Listening for Signals</title> + <para> + Signals are emitted by objects on the bus to notify listening programs that an event has occurred. There are a couple of ways + to register a signal handler on the bus. One way is to attach to an already created proxy using the connect_to_signal method + which takes a signal name and handler as arguments. Let us look at an example of connecting to the HAL service to receive + signals when devices are added and removed and when devices register a capability. This example assumes you have HAL already running. +<programlisting> +import gtk +import dbus +if getattr(dbus, 'version', (0,0,0)) >= (0,41,0): + import dbus.glib + +def device_added_callback(udi): + print 'Device with udi %s was added' % (udi) + +def device_removed_callback(udi): + print 'Device with udi %s was added' % (udi) + +def device_capability_callback(udi, capability): + print 'Device with udi %s added capability %s' % (udi, capability) + +bus = dbus.SystemBus() +hal_manager_obj = bus.get_object('org.freedesktop.Hal', + '/org/freedesktop/Hal/Manager') +hal_manager = dbus.Interface(hal_manager_obj, + 'org.freedesktop.Hal.Manager') + +hal_manager.connect_to_signal('DeviceAdded', device_added_callback) +hal_manager.connect_to_signal('DeviceRemoved', device_removed_callback) +hal_manager.connect_to_signal('NewCapability', device_capability_callback) + +gtk.main() +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + The drawback of using this method is that the service that you are connecting to has to be around when you register + your signal handler. While HAL is guaranteed to be around on systems that use it this is not always the case for every + service on the bus. Say our program started up before HAL, we could connect to the signal by adding a signal receiver + directly to the bus. +<programlisting> +bus.add_signal_receiver(device_added_callback, + 'DeviceAdded', + 'org.freedesktop.Hal.Manager', + 'org.freedesktop.Hal', + '/org/freedesktop/Hal/Manager') + +bus.add_signal_receiver(device_removed_callback, + 'DeviceRemoved', + 'org.freedesktop.Hal.Manager', + 'org.freedesktop.Hal', + '/org/freedesktop/Hal/Manager') + +bus.add_signal_receiver(device_capability_callback, + 'DeviceAdded', + 'org.freedesktop.Hal.Manager', + 'org.freedesktop.Hal', + '/org/freedesktop/Hal/Manager') +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + All this can be done without creating the proxy object if one wanted to but in most cases you would want to have + a reference to the object so once a signal was received operations could be executed on the object. + </para> + <sidebar> + <title>Cost of Creating a Proxy Object</title> + <para> + Note that creating proxy objects can have an associated processing cost. When introspection is implemented + a proxy may wait for introspection data before processing any requests. It is generally good practice to + create proxies once and reuse the proxy when calling into the object. Constantly creating the same proxy + over and over again can become a bottleneck for your program. + </para> + </sidebar> + <para> + TODO: example of getting information about devices from HAL + </para> + </sect2> </sect1> - <sect1 id="qt-server"> - <title>Qt API: Implementing Objects</title> + <sect1 id="python-server"> + <title>Python API: Implementing Objects</title> <para> - The Qt bindings are not yet documented. + Implementing object on the bus is just as easy as invoking methods or listening for signals on the bus. </para> - </sect1> + <sidebar> + <title>Version Alert</title> + <para> + The Python D-BUS bindings require version 2.4 or greater of Python when creating D-BUS objects. + </para> + </sidebar> + <sect2 id="python-inheriting-from-dbus-object"> + <title>Inheriting From dbus.service.Object</title> + <para> + In order to export a Python object over the bus one must first get a bus name and then create + a Python object that inherits from dbus.service.Object. The following is the start of an example + HelloWorld object that we want to export over the session bus. +<programlisting> +import dbus +import dbus.service +if getattr(dbus, 'version', (0,0,0)) >= (0,41,0): + import dbus.glib - <sect1 id="python-client"> - <title>Python API: Using Remote Objects</title> +class HelloWorldObject(dbus.service.Object): + def __init__(self, bus_name): + dbus.service.Object.__init__(self, '/org/freedesktop/HelloWorldObject', bus_name) + +session_bus = dbus.SessionBus() +bus_name = dbus.service.BusName('org.freedesktop.HelloWorld', bus=session_bus) +object = HelloWorldObject(bus_name) + +gtk.main() +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + Here we got the session bus, then created a BusName object which requests a name on the bus. + We pass that bus name to the HelloWorldObject object which inherits from dbus.service.Object. + We now have an object on the bus but it is pretty useless. + </para> + </sect2> + <sect2 id="python-exporting-methods"> + <title>Exporting Methods Over The Bus</title> + <para> + Let's make this object do something and export a method over the bus. +<programlisting> +import dbus +import dbus.service +if getattr(dbus, 'version', (0,0,0)) >= (0,41,0): + import dbus.glib + +class HelloWorldObject(dbus.service.Object): + def __init__(self, bus_name): + dbus.service.Object.__init__(self, '/org/freedesktop/HelloWorldObject', bus_name) + + @dbus.service.method('org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') + def hello(self): + return 'Hello from the HelloWorldObject' + +session_bus = dbus.SessionBus() +bus_name = dbus.service.BusName('org.freedesktop.HelloWorld', bus=session_bus) +object = HelloWorldObject(bus_name) + +gtk.main() +</programlisting> + </para> + <sidebar> + <title>Python Decorators</title> + <para> + Notice the @ symbol on the line before the hello method. This is a new directive introduced in + Python 2.4. It is called a decorator and it "decorates" methods. All you have to know is that + it provides metadata that can then be used to alter the behavior of the method being decorated. + In this case we are telling the bindings that the hello method should be exported as a D-BUS method + over the bus. + </para> + </sidebar> + <para> + As you can see we exported the hello method as part of the org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace interface. + It takes no arguments and returns a string to the calling program. Let's create a proxy and invoke this + method. +<programlisting> +import dbus + +bus = dbus.SessionBus() +proxy_obj = bus.bus.get_object('org.freedesktop.HelloWorld', '/org/freedesktop/HelloWorldObject') +iface = dbus.Interface(proxy_obj, 'org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') + +print iface.hello() +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + When invoking methods exported over the bus the bindings automatically know how many parameters + the method exports. You can even make a method that exports an arbitrary number of parameters. + Also, whatever you return will automatically be transfered as a reply over the bus. Some examples. +<programlisting> + @dbus.service.method('org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') + def one_arg(self, first_arg): + return 'I got arg %s' % first_arg + + @dbus.service.method('org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') + def two_args(self, first_arg, second_arg): + return ('I got 2 args', first_arg, second_arg) + + @dbus.service.method('org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') + def return_list(self): + return [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] + + @dbus.service.method('org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') + def return_dict(self): + return {one: '1ne', two: '2wo', three: '3ree'} +</programlisting> + </para> + </sect2> + <sect2 id="python-emitting-signals"> + <title>Emitting Signals</title> + <para> + Setting up signals to emit is just as easy as exporting methods. It uses the same syntax as methods. +<programlisting> +import dbus +import dbus.service +if getattr(dbus, 'version', (0,0,0)) >= (0,41,0): + import dbus.glib + +class HelloWorldObject(dbus.service.Object): + def __init__(self, bus_name): + dbus.service.Object.__init__(self, '/org/freedesktop/HelloWorldObject', bus_name) + + @dbus.service.method('org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') + def hello(self): + return 'Hello from the HelloWorldObject' + + @dbus.service.signal('org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') + def hello_signal(self, message): + pass + +session_bus = dbus.SessionBus() +bus_name = dbus.service.BusName('org.freedesktop.HelloWorld', bus=session_bus) +object = HelloWorldObject(bus_name) + +object.hello_signal('I sent a hello signal') + +gtk.main() +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + Adding a @dbus.service.signal decorator to a method turns it into a signal emitter. You can put code + in this method to do things like keep track of how many times you call the emitter or to print out debug + messages but for the most part a pass noop will do. Whenever you call the emitter a signal will be emitted + with the parameters you passed in as arguments. In the above example we send the message 'I sent a hello signal' + with the signal. + </para> + </sect2> + <sect2 id="python-inheriting-and-overriding"> + <title>Inheriting from HelloWorldObject</title> + <para> + One of the cool things you can do in Python is inherit from another D-BUS object. We use this trick in + the bindings to provide a default implementation for the org.freedesktop.DBus.Introspectable interface. + Let's inherit from the HelloWorldObject example above and overide the hello method to say goodbye. +<programlisting> +class HelloWorldGoodbyeObject(HelloWorldObject): + def __init__(self, bus_name): + HelloWorldObject.__init__(self, '/org/freedesktop/HelloWorldGoodbyeObject', bus_name) + + @dbus.service.method('org.freedesktop.HelloWorldGoodbyeIFace') + def hello(self): + return 'Goodbye' + +goodbye_object = HelloWorldGoodbyeObject(bus_name) +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + Let's now call both methods with a little help from interfaces. +<programlisting> +import dbus + +bus = dbus.SessionBus() +proxy_obj = bus.bus.get_object('org.freedesktop.HelloWorld', '/org/freedesktop/HelloWorldGoodbyeObject') + +print proxy_obj.hello(dbus_interface='org.freedesktop.HelloWorldIFace') +print proxy_obj.hello(dbus_interface='org.freedesktop.HelloWorldGoodbyeIFace') +</programlisting> + </para> + <para> + This should print out 'Hello from the HelloWorldObject' followed by a 'Goodbye'. + </para> + </sect2> + <sect2 id="python-conclusion"> + <title>Conclusion</title> + <para> + As you can see, using D-BUS from Python is an extremely easy proposition. Hopefully + the tutorial has been helpful in getting you started. If you need anymore help please + feel free to post on the <ulink url="http://lists.freedesktop.org/mailman/listinfo/dbus/">mailing list</ulink>. + The Python bindings are still in a state of flux and there may be API changes in the future. + This tutorial will be updated if such changes occur. + </para> + </sect2> + </sect1> + + <sect1 id="qt-client"> + <title>Qt API: Using Remote Objects</title> <para> - The Python bindings are not yet documented, but the - bindings themselves are in good shape. + + The Qt bindings are not yet documented. + </para> </sect1> - <sect1 id="python-server"> - <title>Python API: Implementing Objects</title> + <sect1 id="qt-server"> + <title>Qt API: Implementing Objects</title> <para> - The Python bindings are not yet documented, but the - bindings themselves are in good shape. + The Qt bindings are not yet documented. </para> </sect1> - </article> |