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PyOtherSide Developer Guide
===========================
*PyOtherSide* is a Qt 5 QML Plugin that provides access to a Python 3
interpreter from QML. It was designed with mobile devices in mind, where
high-framerate touch interfaces are common, and where the user usually
interfaces only with one application at a time via a touchscreen. As such, it
is important to never block the UI thread, so that the user can always continue
to use the interface, even when the backend is processing, downloading or
calculating something in the background.
At its core, PyOtherSide is basically a simple layer that converts Qt (QML)
objects to Python objects and vice versa, with focus on asynchronous events
and continuation-passing style function calls.
While PyOtherSide once worked with Qt 4.x, and still works with Python 2.7, its
focus now lies on Python 3.x and Qt 5. Python 3 has been out for several years,
and offers some nice language features and clean-ups, while Qt 5 supports most
mobile platforms well, and has an improved QML engine and a faster renderer (Qt
Scene Graph) compared to Qt 4.
QML API
=======
This section describes the QML API exposed by the *PyOtherSide* QML Plugin.
Import Versions
---------------
The current QML API version of PyOtherSide is 1.3. When new features are
introduced, or behavior is changed, the API version will be bumped and
documented here.
io.thp.pyotherside 1.0
``````````````````````
* Initial API release.
io.thp.pyotherside 1.2
``````````````````````
* :func:`importModule` now behaves like the ``import`` statement in Python
for names with dots. This means that ``importModule('x.y.z', ...)`` now
works like ``import x.y.z`` in Python.
* If a JavaScript exception occurs in the callback passed to
:func:`importModule` or :func:`call`, the signal :func:`error` is emitted
with the exception information (filename, line, message) as ``traceback``.
io.thp.pyotherside 1.3
``````````````````````
* :func:`addImportPath` now also accepts ``qrc:/`` URLs. This is useful if
your Python files are embedded as Qt Resources, relative to your QML files
(use :func:`Qt.resolvedUrl` from the QML file).
QML ``Python`` Element
----------------------
The ``Python`` element exposes a Python interpreter in a QML file. In
PyOtherSide 1.0, if multiple Python elements are instantiated, they will share
the same underlying Python interpreter, so Python module-global state will be
shared between all Python elements.
To use the ``Python`` element in a QML file, you have to import the plugin using:
.. code-block:: javascript
import io.thp.pyotherside 1.3
Signals
```````
.. function:: received(var data)
Default event handler for :func:`pyotherside.send`
if no other event handler was set.
.. function:: error(string traceback)
Error handler for errors from Python.
Methods
```````
To configure event handlers for events from Python, you can use
the :func:`setHandler` method:
.. function:: setHandler(string event, callable callback)
Set the handler for events sent with :func:`pyotherside.send`.
Importing modules is then done by optionally adding an import
path and then importing the module asynchronously:
.. function:: addImportPath(string path)
Add a path to Python's ``sys.path``.
.. versionchanged:: 1.1.0
:func:`addImportPath` will automatically strip a leading
``file://`` from the path, so you can use :func:`Qt.resolvedUrl()`
without having to manually strip the leading ``file://`` in QML.
.. versionchanged:: 1.3.0
Starting with QML API version 1.3 (``import io.thp.pyotherside 1.3``),
:func:`addImportPath` now also accepts ``qrc:/`` URLs. The first time
a ``qrc:/`` path is added, a new import handler will be installed,
which will enable Python to transparently import modules from it.
.. function:: importModule(string name, function callback(success) {})
Import a Python module.
.. versionchanged:: 1.2.0
Previously, this function didn't work correctly for importing
modules with dots in their name. Starting with the API version 1.2
(``import io.thp.pyotherside 1.2``), this behavior is now fixed,
and ``importModule('x.y.z', ...)`` behaves like ``import x.y.z``.
.. versionchanged:: 1.2.0
If a JavaScript exception occurs in the callback, the :func:`error`
signal is emitted with ``traceback`` containing the exception info
(QML API version 1.2 and newer).
Once modules are imported, Python function can be called on the
imported modules using:
.. function:: call(string func, args=[], function callback(result) {})
Call the Python function ``func`` with ``args`` asynchronously.
If ``args`` is omitted, ``func`` will be called without arguments.
If ``callback`` is a callable, it will be called with the Python
function result as single argument when the call has succeeded.
.. versionchanged:: 1.2.0
If a JavaScript exception occurs in the callback, the :func:`error`
signal is emitted with ``traceback`` containing the exception info
(QML API version 1.2 and newer).
For some of these methods, there also exist synchronous variants, but it is
highly recommended to use the asynchronous variants instead to avoid blocking
the QML UI thread:
.. function:: evaluate(string expr) -> var
Evaluate a Python expression synchronously.
.. function:: importModule_sync(string name) -> bool
Import a Python module. Returns ``true`` on success, ``false`` otherwise.
.. function:: call_sync(string func, var args=[]) -> var
Call a Python function. Returns the return value of the Python function.
The following functions allow access to the version of the running PyOtherSide
plugin and Python interpreter.
.. function:: pluginVersion() -> string
Get the version of the PyOtherSide plugin that is currently used.
.. note::
This is not necessarily the same as the QML API version currently in use.
The QML API version is decided by the QML import statement, so even if
:func:`pluginVersion` returns 1.2.0, if the plugin has been imported as
``import io.thp.pyotherside 1.0``, the API version used would be 1.0.
.. versionadded:: 1.1.0
.. function:: pythonVersion() -> string
Get the version of the Python interpreter that is currently used.
.. versionadded:: 1.1.0
Python API
==========
PyOtherSide uses a normal Python 3.x interpreter for running your Python code.
The ``pyotherside`` module
--------------------------
When a module is imported in PyOtherSide, it will have access to a special
module called :mod:`pyotherside` in addition to all Python Standard Library modules
and Python modules in ``sys.path``:
.. code-block:: python
import pyotherside
The module can be used to send events asynchronously (even from different threads)
to the QML layer, register a callback for doing clean-ups at application exit and
integrate with other QML-specific features of PyOtherSide.
Methods
```````
.. function:: pyotherside.send(event, \*args)
Send an asynchronous event with name ``event`` with optional arguments
``args`` to QML.
.. function:: pyotherside.atexit(callback)
Register a ``callback`` to be called when the application is closing.
.. function:: pyotherside.set_image_provider(provider)
Set the QML `image provider`_ (``image://python/``).
.. versionadded:: 1.1.0
.. function:: pyotherside.qrc_is_file(filename)
Check if ``filename`` is an existing file in the `Qt Resource System`_.
:returns: ``True`` if ``filename`` is a file, ``False`` otherwise.
.. versionadded:: 1.3.0
.. function:: pyotherside.qrc_is_dir(dirname)
Check if ``dirname`` is an existing directory in the `Qt Resource System`_.
:returns: ``True`` if ``dirname`` is a directory, ``False`` otherwise.
.. versionadded:: 1.3.0
.. function:: pyotherside.qrc_get_file_contents(filename)
Get the file contents of a file in the `Qt Resource System`_.
:raise ValueError: If ``filename`` does not denote a valid file.
:returns: The file contents as Python ``bytearray`` object.
.. versionadded:: 1.3.0
.. function:: pyotherside.qrc_list_dir(dirname)
Get the entry list of a directory in the `Qt Resource System`_.
:raise ValueError: If ``dirname`` does not denote a valid directory.
:returns: The directory entries as list of strings.
.. versionadded:: 1.3.0
.. _Qt Resource System: http://qt-project.org/doc/qt-5/resources.html
.. _constants:
Constants
`````````
.. versionadded:: 1.1.0
These constants are used in the return value of a `image provider`_ function:
**pyotherside.format_mono**
Mono pixel format (``QImage::Format_Mono``).
**pyotherside.format_mono_lsb**
Mono pixel format, LSB alignment (``QImage::Format_MonoLSB``).
**pyotherside.format_rgb32**
32-bit RGB format (``QImage::Format_RGB32``).
**pyotherside.format_argb32**
32-bit ARGB format (``QImage::Format_ARGB32``).
**pyotherside.format_rgb16**
16-bit RGB format (``QImage::Format_RGB16``).
**pyotherside.format_rgb666**
18bpp RGB666 format (``QImage::Format_RGB666``).
**pyotherside.format_rgb555**
15bpp RGB555 format (``QImage::Format_RGB555``).
**pyotherside.format_rgb888**
24-bit RGB format (``QImage::Format_RGB888``).
**pyotherside.format_rgb444**
12bpp RGB format (``QImage::Format_RGB444``).
**pyotherside.format_data**
Encoded image file data (e.g. PNG/JPEG data).
Data Type Mapping
=================
PyOtherSide will automatically convert Python data types to Qt data types
(which in turn will be converted to QML data types by the QML engine).
The following data types are supported and can be used to pass data
between Python and QML (and vice versa):
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| Python | QML | Remarks |
+====================+============+=============================+
| bool | bool | |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| int | int | |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| float | double | |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| str | string | |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| list | JS Array | |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| tuple | JS Array | JS Arrays are converted to |
| | | lists, not tuples |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| dict | JS Object | Keys must be strings |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| datetime.date | QML date | since PyOtherSide 1.2.0 |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| datetime.time | QML time | since PyOtherSide 1.2.0 |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
| datetime.datetime | JS Date | since PyOtherSide 1.2.0 |
+--------------------+------------+-----------------------------+
Trying to pass in other types than the ones listed here is undefined
behavior and will usually result in an error.
.. _image provider:
Image Provider
==============
.. versionadded:: 1.1.0
A QML Image Provider can be registered from Python to load image
data (e.g. map tiles, diagrams, graphs or generated images) in
QML ``Image`` elements without resorting to saving/loading files.
An image provider has the following argument list and return values:
.. code-block:: python
def image_provider(image_id, requested_size):
...
return bytearray(pixels), (width, height), format
The parameters to the image provider functions are:
**image_id**
The ID of the image URL (``image://python/<image_id>``).
**requested_size**
The source size of the QML ``Image`` as tuple: ``(width, height)``.
``(-1, -1)`` if the source size is not set.
The image provider must return a tuple ``(data, size, format)``:
**data**
A ``bytearray`` object containing the pixel data for the
given size and the given format.
**size**
A tuple ``(width, height)`` describing the size of the
pixel data in pixels.
**format**
The pixel format of ``data`` (see `constants`_), or
``pyotherside.format_data`` if ``data`` contains an
encoded (PNG/JPEG) image instead of raw pixel data.
In order to register the image provider with PyOtherSide for use
as provider for ``image://python/`` URLs, the image provider function
needs to be passed to PyOtherSide:
.. code-block:: python
import pyotherside
def image_provider(image_id, requested_size):
...
pyotherside.set_image_provider(image_provider)
Because Python modules are usually imported asynchronously, the image
provider will only be registered once the module registering the image
provider is successfully imported. You have to make sure that setting
the ``source`` property on a QML ``Image`` element only happens *after*
the image provider has been set (e.g. by setting the ``source`` property
in the callback function passed to :func:`importModule`).
.. _qt resource access:
Qt Resource Access
==================
.. versionadded:: 1.3.0
If you are using PyOtherSide in combination with an application binary compiled
from C++ code with Qt Resources (see `Qt Resource System`_), you can inspect
and access the resources from Python. This example demonstrates the API by
walking the whole resource tree, printing out directory names and file sizes:
.. code-block:: python
import pyotherside
import os.path
def walk(root):
for entry in pyotherside.qrc_list_dir(root):
name = os.path.join(root, entry)
if pyotherside.qrc_is_dir(name):
print('Directory:', name)
walk(name)
else:
data = pyotherside.qrc_get_file_contents(name)
print('File:', name, 'has', len(data), 'bytes')
walk('/')
Importing Python modules from Qt Resources also works starting with QML API 1.3
using :func:`Qt.resolvedUrl` from within a QML file in Qt Resources. As an
alternative, ``addImportPath('qrc:/')`` will add the root directory of the Qt
Resources to Python's module search path.
Cookbook
========
This section contains code examples and best practices for combining Python and
QML.
Importing modules and calling functions asynchronously
------------------------------------------------------
In this example, we import the Python Standard Library module ``os``
and - when the module is imported - call the :func:`os.getcwd` function on it.
The result of the :func:`os.getcwd` function is then printed to the console
and :func:`os.chdir` is called with a single argument (``'/'``) - again, after
the :func:`os.chdir` function has returned, a message will be printed.
In this example, importing modules and calling functions are both done in
an asynchronous way - the QML/GUI thread will not block while these functions
execute. In fact, the ``Component.onCompleted`` code block will probably
finish before the :mod:`os` module has been imported in Python.
.. code-block:: javascript
Python {
Component.onCompleted: {
importModule('os', function() {
call('os.getcwd', [], function (result) {
console.log('Working directory: ' + result);
call('os.chdir', ['/'], function (result) {
console.log('Working directory changed.');
}););
});
});
}
}
While this `continuation-passing style`_ might look a like a little pyramid
due all the nesting and indentation at first, it makes sure your application's
UI is always responsive. The user will be able to interact with the GUI (e.g.
scroll and move around in the UI) while the Python code can process requests.
.. _Continuation-passing style: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Continuation-passing_style
Evaluating Python expressions in QML
````````````````````````````````````
The :func:`evaluate` method on the ``Python`` object can be used to evaluate a
simple Python expression and return its result as JavaScript object:
.. code-block:: javascript
Python {
Component.onCompleted: {
console.log('Squares: ' + evaluate('[x for x in range(10)]'));
}
}
Evaluating expressions is done synchronously, so make sure you only use it for
expressions that are not long-running calculations / operations.
Error handling in QML
---------------------
If an error happens in Python while calling functions, the traceback of the
error (or an error message in case the error happens in the PyOtherSide layer)
will be sent with the :func:`error` signal of the ``Python`` element. During early
development, it's probably enough to just log the error to the console:
.. code-block:: javascript
Python {
// ...
onError: console.log('Error: ' + traceback)
}
Once your application grows, it might make sense to maybe show the error to the
user in a dialog box, message or notification in addition to or instead of using
:func:`console.log()` to print the error.
Handling asynchronous events from Python in QML
-----------------------------------------------
Your Python code can send asynchronous events with optional data to the QML
layer using the :func:`pyotherside.send` function. You can call this function from
functions called from QML, but also from anywhere else - including threads that
you created in Python. The first parameter is mandatory, and must be a string
that identifies the event. Additional parameters are optional and can be of any
data type that PyOtherSide supports:
.. code-block:: python
import pyotherside
pyotherside.send('new-entries', 100, 123)
If you do not add a special handler on the ``Python`` object, such events would
be handled by the :func:`received` signal handler in QML - its ``data`` parameter
contains the event name and all arguments in a list:
.. code-block:: javascript
Python {
// ..
onReceived: console.log('Event: ' + data)
}
Usually, you want to install a handler for such events. If you have e.g. the
``'new-entries'`` event like shown above (with two numeric parameters that we
will call ``first`` and ``last`` for this example), you might want to define a
simple handler function that will process this event:
.. code-block:: javascript
Python {
// ..
Component.onCompleted: {
setHandler('new-entries', function (first, last) {
console.log('New entries from ' + first + ' to ' + last);
});
}
}
Once a handler for a given event is defined, the :func:`received` signal will not
be emitted anymore. If you need to unset a handler for a given event, you can
use ``setHandler('event', undefined)`` to do so.
In some cases, it might be useful to not install a handler function directly, but
turn the :func:`pyotherside.send` call into a new signal on the ``Python`` object.
As there is no easy way for PyOtherSide to determine the names of the arguments
of the event, you have to define and hook up these signals manually. The upside
of having to define the signals this way is that all signals will be nicely
documented in your QML file for future reference:
.. code-block:: javascript
Python {
signal updated()
signal newEntries(int first, int last)
signal entryRenamed(int index, string name)
Component.onCompleted: {
setHandler('updated', updated);
setHandler('new-entries', newEntries);
setHandler('entry-renamed', entryRenamed);
}
}
With this setup, you can now emit these signals from the ``Python`` object by
using :func:`pyotherside.send` in your Python code:
.. code-block:: python
pyotherside.send('updated')
pyotherside.send('new-entries', 20, 30)
pyotherside.send('entry-renamed', 11, 'Hello World')
Loading ``ListModel`` data from Python
--------------------------------------
Most of the time a PyOtherSide QML application will display some data stored
somewhere and retrieved or generated with Python. The easiest way to do this is
to return a list-of-dicts in your Python function:
**listmodel.py**
.. code-block:: python
def get_data():
return [
{'name': 'Alpha', 'team': 'red'},
{'name': 'Beta', 'team': 'blue'},
{'name': 'Gamma', 'team': 'green'},
{'name': 'Delta', 'team': 'yellow'},
{'name': 'Epsilon', 'team': 'orange'},
]
Of course, the function could do other things (such as doing web requests, querying
databases, etc..) - as long as it returns a list-olf-dicts, it will be fine (if you
are using a generator that yields dicts, just wrap the generator with :func:`list`).
Using this function from QML is straightforward:
**listmodel.qml**
.. code-block:: javascript
import QtQuick 2.0
import io.thp.pyotherside 1.3
Rectangle {
color: 'black'
width: 400
height: 400
ListView {
anchors.fill: parent
model: ListModel {
id: listModel
}
delegate: Text {
// Both "name" and "team" are taken from the model
text: name
color: team
}
}
Python {
id: py
Component.onCompleted: {
// Add the directory of this .qml file to the search path
addImportPath(Qt.resolvedUrl('.'));
// Import the main module and load the data
importModule('listmodel', function () {
py.call('listmodel.get_data', [], function(result) {
// Load the received data into the list model
for (var i=0; i<result.length; i++) {
listModel.append(result[i]);
}
});
});
}
}
}
Instead of passing a list-of-dicts, it is of course also possible to send
new list items via :func:`pyotherside.send`, one item at a time, and append
them to the list model that way.
Rendering RGBA image data in Python
-----------------------------------
.. versionadded:: 1.1.0
.. image:: images/image_provider_example.png
This example uses the `image provider`_ feature of PyOtherSide to
render RGB image data in Python and display the rendered data in
QML using a normal QtQuick 2.0 ``Image`` element:
**imageprovider.py**
.. code-block:: python
import pyotherside
import math
def render(image_id, requested_size):
print('image_id: "{image_id}", size: {requested_size}'.format(**locals()))
# width and height will be -1 if not set in QML
if requested_size == (-1, -1):
requested_size = (300, 300)
width, height = requested_size
# center for circle
cx, cy = width/2, 10
pixels = []
for y in range(height):
for x in range(width):
pixels.extend(reversed([
255, # alpha
int(10 + 10 * ((x - y * 0.5) % 20)), # red
20 + 10 * (y % 20), # green
int(255 * abs(math.sin(0.3*math.sqrt((cx-x)**2 + (cy-y)**2)))) # blue
]))
return bytearray(pixels), (width, height), pyotherside.format_argb32
pyotherside.set_image_provider(render)
This module can now be imported in QML and used as ``source`` in the QML
``Image`` element:
**imageprovider.qml**
.. code-block:: javascript
import QtQuick 2.0
import io.thp.pyotherside 1.3
Image {
id: image
width: 300
height: 300
Python {
Component.onCompleted: {
// Add the directory of this .qml file to the search path
addImportPath(Qt.resolvedUrl('.'));
importModule('imageprovider', function () {
image.source = 'image://python/image-id-passed-from-qml';
});
}
onError: console.log('Python error: ' + traceback)
}
}
Building PyOtherSide
====================
The following build requirements have to be satisfied to build PyOtherSide:
* Qt 5.1.0 or newer
* Python 3.2.0 or newer
If you have the required build-dependencies installed, building and installing
the PyOtherSide plugin should be as simple as:
.. code-block:: sh
qmake
make
make install
In case your system doesn't provide ``python3-config``, you might have to
pass a suitable ``python-config`` to ``qmake`` at configure time:
.. code-block:: sh
qmake PYTHON_CONFIG=python3.3-config
make
make install
Alternatively, you can edit ``python.pri`` manually and specify the compiler
flags for compiling and linking against Python on your system.
As of version 1.1.0, PyOtherSide still builds against Python 2.x (tested with
Python 2.7, use ``qmake PYTHON_CONFIG=python2.7-config``), but future point
releases of PyOtherSide might drop support for Python 2.x. However, only one
version of PyOtherSide can be installed/active at one time. It is highly
recommended that you do not use Python 2 support except on legacy platforms.
Building for Blackberry 10
--------------------------
On Blackberry 10 (tested versions: 10.1, 10.2), Python 3.2.2 is already
installed on-device. Qt 5 is not installed (only Qt 4), so if you are
packaging a PyOtherSide application, you need to ship Qt 5 with it.
The approach we currently use is:
1. Build Qt 5 using the Native SDK
2. Get a set of matching Python 3.2.2 headers
3. Fetch the following files from the device's filesystem:
* ``/usr/lib/libpython3.2m.so``
* ``/usr/include/python3.2m/pyconfig.h``
4. Use ``pyconfig.h`` with the Python 3.2.2 headers and link against ``libpython3.2m``
Modify ``python.pri`` to point to the fetched library and your
Python 3.2.2 headers (with ``pyconfig.h`` from the device):
.. code-block:: qmake
QMAKE_LIBS += -lpython3.2m -L/path/to/where/the/library/is
QMAKE_CXXFLAGS += -I/path/to/where/the/headers/are/include/python3.2m
After installing PyOtherSide in the locally-build Qt 5 (cross-compiled for
BB10), the QML plugins folder can be deployed with the .bar file.
ChangeLog
=========
Version 1.3.0 (UNRELEASED)
--------------------------
* Access to the `Qt Resource System`_ from Python (see `Qt Resource Access`_).
* QML API 1.3: Import from Qt Resources (:func:`addImportPath` with ``qrc:/``).
Version 1.2.0 (2014-02-16)
--------------------------
* Introduced versioned QML imports for API change.
* QML API 1.2: Change :func:`importModule` behavior for imports with dots.
* QML API 1.2: Emit :func:`error` when JavaScript callbacks passed to
:func:`importModule` and :func:`call` throw an exception.
* New data type conversions: Python ``datetime.date``, ``datetime.time``
and ``datetime.datetime`` are converted to QML ``date``, ``time`` and
JS ``Date`` types, respectively.
Version 1.1.0 (2014-02-06)
--------------------------
* Add support for Python-based image providers (see `Image Provider`_).
* Fix threading crashes and aborts due to assertions.
* :func:`addImportPath` will automatically strip a leading ``file://``.
* Added :func:`pluginVersion` and :func:`pythonVersion` for runtime version detection.
Version 1.0.0 (2013-08-08)
--------------------------
* Initial QML plugin release.
Version 0.0.1 (2013-05-17)
--------------------------
* Proof-of-concept (based on a prototype from May 2011).
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