PyOtherSide Developer Guide
===========================

*PyOtherSide* is a QML Plugin for Qt 5 and Qt 6 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.


Qt 6 Support
============

.. versionadded:: 1.6.0

PyOtherSide now supports Qt 6 while retaining source compatibility with Qt 5.

The following restrictions currently apply when using Qt 6:

* ``PyGLArea`` is currently broken with Qt 6, use ``PyFBO`` instead.


QML API
=======

This section describes the QML API exposed by the *PyOtherSide* QML Plugin.

Import Versions
---------------

The current QML API version of PyOtherSide is 1.5. 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).

io.thp.pyotherside 1.4
``````````````````````

* Added :func:`getattr`

* :func:`call` and :func:`call_sync` now accept a Python callable object
  for the first parameter (previously, only strings were supported)

* If :func:`error` doesn't have a handler defined, error messages will be
  printed to the console as warnings

io.thp.pyotherside 1.5
``````````````````````

* Added ``PyGLArea`` and ``PyFBO`` for OpenGL rendering, see
  `OpenGL rendering in Python`_

* Added :func:`importNames` and :func:`importNames_sync` to mirror
  Python's ``from foo import bar, baz`` import mechanism



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 1.5

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.

.. versionchanged:: 1.4.0
    If the error signal is not connected, PyOtherSide will print the
    error as QWarning on the console (previously, error messages
    were only shown if the signal was connected and printed there).
    To avoid printing the error, just define a no-op handler.

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).

.. function:: importNames(string module, array object_names, function callback(success) {})

    Import a list of names from a given modules, like Python's
    ``from foo import bar, baz`` syntax -- the equivalent call
    would be ``importNames('module', ['bar', 'baz'], ...);``

.. versionadded:: 1.5.0

Once modules are imported, Python function can be called on the
imported modules using:

.. function:: call(var 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).

.. versionchanged:: 1.4.0
    ``func`` can also be a Python callable object, not just a string.

Attributes on Python objects can be accessed using :func:`getattr`:

.. function:: getattr(obj, string attr) -> var

    Get the attribute ``attr`` of the Python object ``obj``.

.. versionadded:: 1.4.0

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:: importNames_sync(string module, array names) -> bool

    Import names from a Python modules. Returns ``true`` on success, ``false`` otherwise.

.. function:: call_sync(var func, var args=[]) -> var

    Call a Python function. Returns the return value of the Python function.

.. versionchanged:: 1.4.0
    ``func`` can also be a Python callable object, not just a string.

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

.. versionchanged:: 1.5.0
    Previously, :func:`pythonVersion` returned the compile-time version of
    Python against which PyOtherSide was built. Starting with version 1.5.0,
    the run-time version of Python is returned (e.g. PyOtherSide compiled
    against Python 3.4.0 and running with Python 3.4.1 returned "3.4.0"
    before, but returns "3.4.1" in PyOtherSide after and including 1.5.0).

QML ``PyGLArea`` Element
------------------------

.. versionadded:: 1.5.0

The PyGLArea allows rendering arbitrary OpenGL content from Python into
the QML scene.

Properties
``````````

.. function:: PyObject renderer

    Python object that implements the IRenderer interface, see
    `OpenGL rendering in Python`_ for details.

.. function:: bool before

    ``true`` to render before (= below) the rest of the QML scene,
    ``false`` to render after (= above) the rest of the QML scene.
    Default: ``true``

QML ``PyFBO`` Element
---------------------

.. versionadded:: 1.5.0

The PyFBO allows offscreen rendering of arbitrary OpenGL content from
Python into the QML scene.

Properties
``````````

.. function:: PyObject renderer

    Python object that implements the IRenderer interface, see
    `OpenGL rendering in Python`_ for details

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).

.. versionadded:: 1.3.0

The following constants have been added in PyOtherSide 1.3:

**pyotherside.version**
    Version of PyOtherSide as string.

.. versionadded:: 1.5.0

The following constants have been added in PyOtherSide 1.5:

**pyotherside.format_svg_data**
    SVG image XML 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       | JS Arrays are always        |
|                    |                | converted to Python lists.  |
+--------------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
| tuple              | JS Array       |                             |
+--------------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
| 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     |
+--------------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
| set                | JS Array       | since PyOtherSide 1.3.0     |
+--------------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
| iterable           | JS Array       | since PyOtherSide 1.3.0     |
+--------------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
| object             | (opaque)       | since PyOtherSide 1.4.0     |
+--------------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
| pyotherside.QObject| QObject        | since PyOtherSide 1.4.0     |
+--------------------+----------------+-----------------------------+
| bytes              | JS ArrayBuffer | since PyOtherSide 1.5.6;    |
|                    |                | requires Qt 5.8; the C++    |
|                    |                | data type is QByteArray     |
+--------------------+----------------+-----------------------------+

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`_),
    ``pyotherside.format_data`` if ``data`` contains an
    encoded (PNG/JPEG) image instead of raw pixel data
    or ``pyotherside.format_svg_data`` if ``data`` contains
    SVG image XML 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.

.. _qobjects in python:

Accessing QObjects from Python
==============================

.. versionadded:: 1.4.0

Since version 1.4, PyOtherSide allows passing QObjects from QML to Python, and
accessing (setting / getting) properties and calling slots and dynamic methods.
References to QObjects passed to Python can be passed back to QML transparently:

.. code-block:: python

    # Assume func will be called with a QObject as sole argument
    def func(qobject):
        # Getting properties
        print(qobject.x)

        # Setting properties
        qobject.x = 123

        # Calling slots and dynamic functions
        print(qobject.someFunction(123, 'b'))

        # Returning a QObject reference to the caller
        return qobject

It is possible to store a reference (bound method) to a method of a QObject.
Such references cannot be passed to QML, and can only be used in Python for the
lifetime of the QObject. If you need to pass such a bound method to QML, you
can wrap it into a Python object (or even just a lambda) and pass that instead:

.. code-block:: python

    def func(qobject):
        # Can store a reference to a bound method
        bound_method = qobject.someFunction

        # Calling the bound method
        bound_method(123, 'b')

        # If you need to return the bound method, you must wrap it
        # in a lambda (or any other Python object), the bound method
        # cannot be returned as-is for now
        return lambda a, b: bound_method(a, b)

It's not possible to instantiate new QObjects from within Python, and it's
not possible to subclass QObject from within Python. Also, be aware that a
reference to a QObject in Python will become invalid when the QObject is
deleted (there's no way for PyOtherSide to prevent referenced QObjects from
being deleted, but PyOtherSide tries hard to detect the deletion of objects
and give meaningful error messages in case the reference is accessed).

Calling signals of QML objects
------------------------------

.. versionadded:: 1.5.4

Calling (emitting) signals of QML objects is supported since PyOtherSide 1.5.4.
However, as signals do not have a return value as such, the return value is
either just `true` or `false`, depending on whether the call worked or not.

OpenGL rendering in Python
==========================

.. versionadded:: 1.5.0

You can render directly to a QML application's OpenGL context in your Python
code (i.e. via PyOpenGL or vispy.gloo) by using a ``PyGLArea`` or ``PyFBO`` item.

The ``IRenderer`` interface that needs to be implemented in Python and set
as the ``renderer`` property of ``PyGLArea`` or ``PyFBO`` needs to provide
the following functions:

.. function:: IRenderer.init()

    Initialize OpenGL resources required for rendering.
    This method is optional.

.. function:: IRenderer.reshape(x, y, width, height)

    Called when the geometry has changed.

    ``(x, y)`` is the position of the bottom left corner of the area, in
    window coordinates, e.g. (0, 0) is the bottom left corner of the window.

.. function:: IRenderer.render()

    Render to the OpenGL context.

    It is the renderer's responsibility to unbind any used resources to leave
    the context in a clean state.

.. function:: IRenderer.cleanup()

    Free any resources allocated by :func:`IRenderer.init`.
    This method is optional.


See `Rendering with PyOpenGL`_ for an example implementation.

Note that you might to use a recent version of PyOpenGL (>= 3.1.0) for some of
the examples to work, earlier versions had problems. If your distribution does
not provide new versions, you can install the most recent version of PyOpenGL
to your ``$HOME`` using:

.. code-block:: shell

    pip3 install --user --upgrade PyOpenGL PyOpenGL_accelerate

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

To avoid what's called `callback hell`_ in JavaScript, you can pull out the
anonymous functions you give as callbacks, give them names and pass them to
the API functions via name, e.g. the above example would turn into a shallow
structure (of course, in this example, splitting everything out does not make
too much sense, as the functions are very simple to begin with, but it's here
to demonstrate how splitting a callback hell pyramid basically works):

.. _callback hell: http://callbackhell.com/

.. code-block:: javascript

    Python {
        Component.onCompleted: {
            function changedCwd(result) {
                console.log('Working directory changed.');
            }

            function gotCwd(result) {
                console.log('Working directory: ' + result);
                call('os.chdir', ['/'], changedCwd);
            }

            function withOs() {
                call('os.getcwd', [], gotCwd);
            }

            importModule('os', withOs);
        }
    }

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-of-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 1.5

    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 1.5

    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)
        }
    }

Rendering with PyOpenGL
-----------------------

.. versionadded:: 1.5.0

.. image:: images/pyfbo_example.png

The example below shows how to do raw OpenGL rendering in PyOpenGL using
``PyGLArea``. It has been adapted from the tutorial in the Qt documentation at
http://qt-project.org/doc/qt-5/qtquick-scenegraph-openglunderqml-example.html.

**renderer.py**

.. code-block:: python

    import numpy

    from OpenGL.GL import *
    from OpenGL.GL.shaders import compileShader, compileProgram

    VERTEX_SHADER = """#version 130
    attribute highp vec4 vertices;
    varying highp vec2 coords;

    void main() {
        gl_Position = vertices;
        coords = vertices.xy;
    }
    """

    FRAGMENT_SHADER = """#version 130
    uniform lowp float t;
    varying highp vec2 coords;
    void main() {
        lowp float i = 1. - (pow(abs(coords.x), 4.) + pow(abs(coords.y), 4.));
        i = smoothstep(t - 0.8, t + 0.8, i);
        i = floor(i * 20.) / 20.;
        gl_FragColor = vec4(coords * .5 + .5, i, i);
    }
    """

    class Renderer(object):

        def __init__(self):
            self.t = 0.0
            self.values = numpy.array([
                -1.0, -1.0,
                1.0, -1.0,
                -1.0, 1.0,
                1.0, 1.0
            ], dtype=numpy.float32)

        def set_t(self, t):
            self.t = t

        def init(self):
            self.vertexbuffer = glGenBuffers(1)
            vertex_shader = compileShader(VERTEX_SHADER, GL_VERTEX_SHADER)
            fragment_shader = compileShader(FRAGMENT_SHADER, GL_FRAGMENT_SHADER)
            self.program = compileProgram(vertex_shader, fragment_shader)
            self.vertices_attr = glGetAttribLocation(self.program, b'vertices')
            self.t_attr = glGetUniformLocation(self.program, b't')

        def reshape(self, x, y, width, height):
            glViewport(x, y, width, height)

        def render(self):
            glUseProgram(self.program)
            try:
                glDisable(GL_DEPTH_TEST)
                glClearColor(0, 0, 0, 1)
                glClear(GL_COLOR_BUFFER_BIT)
                glEnable(GL_BLEND)
                glBlendFunc(GL_SRC_ALPHA, GL_ONE)

                glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, self.vertexbuffer)
                glEnableVertexAttribArray(self.vertices_attr)
                glBufferData(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, self.values, GL_STATIC_DRAW)
                glVertexAttribPointer(self.vertices_attr, 2, GL_FLOAT, GL_FALSE, 0, None)
                glUniform1f(self.t_attr, self.t)

                glDrawArrays(GL_TRIANGLE_STRIP, 0, 4)
            finally:
                glDisableVertexAttribArray(0)
                glBindBuffer(GL_ARRAY_BUFFER, 0)
                glUseProgram(0)

        def cleanup(self):
            glDeleteProgram(self.program)
            glDeleteBuffers(1, [self.vertexbuffer])

**pyglarea.qml**

.. code-block:: javascript

    import QtQuick 2.0
    import io.thp.pyotherside 1.5

    Item {
        width: 320
        height: 480

        PyGLArea {
            id: glArea
            anchors.fill: parent
            property var t: 0

            SequentialAnimation on t {
                NumberAnimation { to: 1; duration: 2500; easing.type: Easing.InQuad }
                NumberAnimation { to: 0; duration: 2500; easing.type: Easing.OutQuad }
                loops: Animation.Infinite
                running: true
            }

            onTChanged: {
                if (renderer) {
                    py.call(py.getattr(renderer, 'set_t'), [t], update);
                }
            }
        }

        Rectangle {
            color: Qt.rgba(1, 1, 1, 0.7)
            radius: 10
            border.width: 1
            border.color: "white"
            anchors.fill: label
            anchors.margins: -10
        }

        Text {
            id: label
            color: "black"
            wrapMode: Text.WordWrap
            text: "The background here is a squircle rendered with raw OpenGL using a PyGLArea. This text label and its border is rendered using QML"
            anchors.right: parent.right
            anchors.left: parent.left
            anchors.bottom: parent.bottom
            anchors.margins: 20
        }

        Python {
            id: py

            Component.onCompleted: {
                addImportPath(Qt.resolvedUrl('.'));
                importModule('renderer', function () {
                    call('renderer', [], function (renderer) {
                        glArea.renderer = renderer;
                    });
                });
            }

            onError: console.log(traceback);
        }
    }


Building PyOtherSide
====================

The following build requirements have to be satisfied to build PyOtherSide:

* Qt 5.1.0 or newer (Qt 6.x also supported)
* Python 3.8.0 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    # for Qt 6, use "qmake6"
    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=python3.8-config   # For Qt 6, use "qmake6"
    make
    make install

Alternatively, you can edit ``python.pri`` manually and specify the compiler
flags for compiling and linking against Python on your system.


ChangeLog
=========

Version 1.6.2 (2025-02-15)
--------------------------

* Do not call PyEval_InitThreads(); not needed since Python 3.7 (PR#132)
* Fixed PyOtherSideQtRCImporter for submodule imports (PR#134)

Version 1.6.1 (2024-05-18)
--------------------------

* Dropped support for Python < 3.8 (PR#131)
* Added support for Python 3.12 (PR#131)
* Support for Qt 6.5 and newer (backwards-incompatible ``Q_RETURN_ARG()`` change) (fixes #128)

Version 1.6.0 (2022-08-05)
--------------------------

* Support for **Qt 6** (Qt 5 is still supported for now)
* Use ``PyUnicode_AsUTF8`` from Python 3.3 when converting strings; strings returned
  from the converter are now valid as long as the ``PyObject`` is alive (previously
  they were valid until the next string conversion or until converter was destroyed)
* Fixed ``image_loader`` and ``imageprovider_svg_data`` examples
* Removed outdated build instructions for Android and Windows

Version 1.5.9 (2020-01-17)
--------------------------

* Fix compilation on Windows with VS 2017 by avoiding VLAs (by Igor Malinovskiy, PR#106)
* Ensure the Python GIL is obtained in unit tests, fixes Python 3.9-related crashes (fixes #111)

Version 1.5.8 (2019-06-16)
--------------------------

* Really fix Python 3.8 build compatibility (fix by Dan Church, PR#105)

Version 1.5.7 (2019-06-06)
--------------------------

* Fix Python 3.8 build compatibility by adding ``--embed`` to ``python-config`` (with fallback for previous versions)

Version 1.5.6 (2019-06-06)
--------------------------

* Add support for ``QByteArray``, JS ``ArrayBuffer`` and Python ``bytes`` conversion (by Igor Malinovskiy, PR#103)

Version 1.5.5 (2019-06-04)
--------------------------

* Include ``dlfcn.h`` to fix build errors against musl libc (by Heiko Becker, PR#100)
* Add ``--libs`` to ``python3-config`` command line (due to Python Issue 21536 changes; fixes #102)

Version 1.5.4 (2019-01-27)
--------------------------

* Initialize ``sys.argv`` in Python for libraries that depend on it (issue #77)
* Update ``plugins.qmltypes`` and cleanup project files (by martyone, PR#95)
* Allow calling signals on QML objects from Python (issue #98)

Version 1.5.3 (2017-10-14)
--------------------------

* Fix refcounting/ownership issue when using the QRC importer module (issue #84)

Version 1.5.2 (2017-10-14)
--------------------------

* Fix Python-to-Qt conversion for integers > 32 bits on platforms where ``sizeof(long)`` is 4 bytes (issue #86)

Version 1.5.1 (2017-03-17)
--------------------------

* Fix :func:`call_sync` when used with parameters (fix by Robie Basak; issue #49)

Version 1.5.0 (2016-06-14)
--------------------------

* Support for `OpenGL rendering in Python`_ using PyOpenGL >= 3.1.0
* New QML components: ``PyGLArea``, ``PyFBO``
* :func:`pythonVersion` now returns the runtime Python version
* Add the library to ``PYTHONPATH`` for standard library appended as .zip (except on Windows)
* Call ``PyDateTime_IMPORT`` as often as necessary (Fixes #46)
* Added ``pyotherside.format_svg_data`` for using SVG data in the image provider
* Handle converting ``QVariantHash`` to Python ``dict`` type
* Added ``.qmltypes`` file to provide metadata information for Qt Creator
* New functions :func:`importNames` and :func:`importNames_sync` for from-imports

Version 1.4.0 (2015-02-19)
--------------------------

* Support for passing Python objects to QML and keeping references there
* Add :func:`getattr` to get an attribute from a Python object
* :func:`call` and :func:`call_sync` now also accept a Python callable as
  first argument
* Support for `Accessing QObjects from Python`_ (properties and slots)
* Print error messages to the console if :func:`error` doesn't have any
  handlers connected

Version 1.3.0 (2014-07-24)
--------------------------

* Access to the `Qt Resource System`_ from Python (see `Qt Resource Access`_).
* QML API 1.3: Import from Qt Resources (:func:`addImportPath` with ``qrc:/``).
* Add ``pyotherside.version`` constant to access version from Python as string.
* Support for building on Windows, build instructions for Windows builds.
* New data type conversions: Python ``set`` and iterable types (e.g. generator
  expressions and generators) are converted to JS ``Array``.

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).