PHP CookBook

Recipe 20.8 Responding to User Actions

20.8.1 Problem

You want to do something when a user clicks a button, chooses an item from a dropdown list, or otherwise interacts with a GUI widget.

20.8.2 Solution

Write a callback function and then associate the callback function with a signal using the connect( ) method:

// create the window
$window = &new GtkWindow();

// create a button with the current time as its label
$button = &new GtkButton(strftime('%c'));

// set the update_time() function as the callback for the "clicked" signal
$button->connect('clicked','update_time');

function update_time($b) {
    // the button's text is in a child of the button - a label widget
    $b_label = $b->child;
    // set the label text to the current time
    $b_label->set_text(strftime('%c'));
}

// add the button to the window
$window->add($button);

// display the window
$window->show_all();

// necessary so that the program exits properly
function shutdown() { gtk::main_quit(); }
$window->connect('destroy','shutdown');

// start GTK's signal handling loop
gtk::main();

20.8.3 Discussion

The code in the Solution displays a window with a button in it. On the button is the time, rendered by strftime('%c'). When the button is clicked, its label is updated with the current time.

The update_time( ) function is called each time the button is clicked because $button->connect('clicked','update_time') makes update_time( ) the callback function associated with the button's clicked signal. The first argument to the callback function is the widget whose signal triggered the call as its first argument. In this case, that means that $button is passed to update_time( ). You tell connect( ) to pass additional arguments to the callback by passing them to connect( ) after the callback function name. This example displays a window with a button and a separate label. The time is printed in the label and updated when the button is clicked:

// create the window
$window = &new GtkWindow();

// create a container for the label and the button
$container = &new GtkVBox();

// create a label showing the time
$label = &new GtkLabel(strftime('%c'));

// add the label to the container
$container->pack_start($label);

// create a button
$button = &new GtkButton('Update Time');

/* set the update_time() function as the callback for the "clicked" signal
   and pass $label to the callback */
$button->connect('clicked','update_time',$label);

function update_time($b,$lb) {
    $lb->set_text(strftime('%c'));
}

// add the button to the container
$container->pack_start($button);

// add the container to the window
$window->add($container);

// display the window
$window->show_all();

// necessary so that the program exits properly
function shutdown() { gtk::main_quit(); }
$window->connect('destroy','shutdown');

// start GTK's signal handling loop
gtk::main();

Because $label is on the list of arguments passed to $button->connect( ), $label is passed to update_time( ). Calling set_text( ) on $label updates the text displayed in the label.

20.8.4 See Also

Documentation on signals and callbacks at http://gtk.php.net/manual/en/gtk.signals.php, on GtkObject::connect( ) at http://gtk.php.net/manual/en/gtk.gtkobject.method.connect.php, and on GtkButton's clicked signal at http://gtk.php.net/manual/en/gtk.gtkbutton.signal.clicked.php.