C++ Event Loop Provider

C++ library providing the functionality of an event loop to process instantaneous and scheduled events for event driven applications

The event loop processes events to notify registered receivers optionally with data

You may use the event loop to block the current thread for event processing or as independent thread leaving the current thread free for other tasks

Note: This library provides a framework for multi-threaded event processsing within the same process without any IPC capability

Blocking event loop EventLoop::Mode::BLOCK

This mode of event loop will block the current thread (usually main thread) where the EventLoop::Run() call has been issued
The current thread will then continue processing events as long as the loop is running

Non-blocking event loop EventLoop::Mode::NON_BLOCK

This mode will run the event loop on another thread which will prevent the current thread where the EventLoop::Run() call has been issued from getting blocked

This can prove useful where the current thread has to either get to some execution after starting the event loop on the same thread or if it already uses a blocking event loop of its own. An example of the latter can be the Qt framework's QGuiApplication::exec() call which blocks the main thread and starts processing events

That raises an important question: Why was a secondary event loop needed when a primary one like Qt's exec() already exists?

Value proposition

I don't know about you but I badly missed some features in Qt's event loop like the ability to broadcast a signal to all receivers who have registered/subscribed to it. This was the primary motivation for developing an event loop library from scratch, besides some others like my insatiable curiosity for how things work and an itch for dogfooding!

Broadcasting is quintessential when you want multiple components of the application to act upon a single stimulus without having to connect each receiver with the sender explicity. Good luck passing around sender instances to multiple recievers and creating a signal slot connection for each to enable broadcast reception in Qt!

Another solid reason was to create a global event processing system for the entire application without any references to the event provider or associated sender and receiver objects in order to register and trigger an event. EventLoop is a standalone static class with static methods enabling the developer to issue an API call from absolutely any thread, anywhere in the code unlike in Qt where handles of the sender and receiver objects are required to create connections and emit signals.

Detailed Usage

As a user, you can dynamically link the event loop library to your application and include the EventLoop.h header in your application code to access the library methods. Since we are using Event as a custom type to deliver and receive events with name and data, Event.h header will be required in the source files fetching those details from an incoming event

Note: DO NOT include any other headers from the include directory of this project apart from ones mentioned above when using the library in your application. Another way to remember is that you only need the .h header files for your app and all .hpp files can be ignored

Detailed API documentation can be found in the EventLoop.h header. The following steps demonstrate possible usage of event loop in your application:

• [Optional step] In the main() function of your program, call EventLoop::SetMode() method if you want the loop to be non-blocking. No need to call this explicitly for blocking mode because that's the default mode
• [Mandatory step] Call the EventLoop::Run() method in main() where you wish the event loop to start and/or block
• Register callbacks accepting Event* in any class or source file with EventLoop::RegisterEvent() where you wish to get notified for an event. Usually registrations are done in class constructors with either lambdas or class member functions as handlers
• Trigger events anytime in any thread of the application with EventLoop::TriggerEvent() and the corresponding handlers which registered for the particular event name will be invoked either instantenously or after a timeout depending on the type of overload used
• Retrieve information from a received event in a registered handler like name and data using Event type's Event::getName() and Event::getData() methods
• [Optional but highly recommended step] Enable the event loop to exit gracefully through the explicit call of EventLoop::Halt() method. This method can be called from any thread in either modes. If called inside a registered handler, it will take effect only on completion of the handler scope

Tip: If you're planning to use EventLoop on top of Qt's exec() event loop, set up non-blocking EventLoop::Run() before the exec() call and EventLoop::Halt() to be invoked on the QGuiApplication::aboutToQuit signal as follows for a graceful exit

QObject::connect(&app, &QGuiApplication::aboutToQuit, []{ EventLoop::Halt(); });

Note: Any code just after a blocking EventLoop::Run() call on the same thread will not execute until the event loop is halted because EventLoop::Run() blocks the current thread to process events by design.

Shopping cart app serves as a usage reference of this library and API. In case of any questions or clarifications, you can reach out to me at [email protected]

Build instructions

Check for latest stable releases of the library under Releases but if you wish to build a library from source with the current source code version, run the build.sh script

The script can be run without any options. Defaults for each option will appear in {} in the usage instruction. Learn about the script usage by running the following command

./build.sh -h

As an example, if you want to use the script to build for release mode with Unix Makefiles cmake generator, the script can be executed as follows

./build.sh -a -r -g "Unix Makefiles"

Build artifacts will be generated in the build directory
Output artifact will be present in lib directory as libEventLoop.so which can be further linked or moved to your target destination

Contribution

You are welcome to contribute to the project if you think

• It's worth your time
• You can add some value
• You can fix a problem

As a potential contributor you can

• Review pull requests and open issues and check if you can resolve any of them
• Create new issues for bugs or feature requests so that either I or others in the community can get to it
• Raise PRs to address existing issues, to fix potential bugs or make any improvements to existing source code

Feel free get in touch with me in case of any questions or suggestions [email protected]