using python WeakSet to enable a callback functionality
You cannot create weak references to method objects. Method objects are short lived; they are created on the fly as you access the name on the instance. See the descriptor howto how that works.
When you access a method name, a new method object is created for you, and when you then add that method to the WeakSet
, no other references exist to it anymore, so garbage collection happily cleans it up again.
You'll have to store something less transient. Storing instance objects themselves would work, then call a predefined method on the registered callbacks:
def __del__(self):
for f in self.destroyCallback:
f.destroyedObjectListener(self)
and to register:
a1.destroyCallback.add(b)
You can also make b
itself a callable by giving it a __call__
method:
class ClassB:
def __call__(self,obj):
print('ClassB object %d is called because obj %d '
'is being destroyed' % (id(self), id(obj)))
Another approach would be to store a reference to the underlying function object plus a reference to the instance:
import weakref
class ClassA:
def __init__(self):
self._callbacks = []
def registerCallback(self, callback):
try:
# methods
callback_ref = weakref.ref(callback.__func__), weakref.ref(callback.__self__)
except AttributeError:
callback_ref = weakref.ref(callback), None
self._callbacks.append(callback_ref)
def __del__(self):
for callback_ref in self._callbacks:
callback, arg = callback_ref[0](), callback_ref[1]
if arg is not None:
# method
arg = arg()
if arg is None:
# instance is gone
continue
callback(arg, self)
continue
else:
if callback is None:
# callback has been deleted already
continue
callback(self)
Demo:
>>> class ClassB:
... def listener(self, deleted):
... print('ClassA {} was deleted, notified ClassB {}'.format(id(deleted), id(self)))
...
>>> def listener1(deleted):
... print('ClassA {} was deleted, notified listener1'.format(id(deleted)))
...
>>> def listener2(deleted):
... print('ClassA {} was deleted, notified listener2'.format(id(deleted)))
...
>>> # setup, one ClassA and 4 listeners (2 methods, 2 functions)
...
>>> a = ClassA()
>>> b1 = ClassB()
>>> b2 = ClassB()
>>> a.registerCallback(b1.listener)
>>> a.registerCallback(b2.listener)
>>> a.registerCallback(listener1)
>>> a.registerCallback(listener2)
>>>
>>> # deletion, we delete one instance of ClassB, and one function
...
>>> del b1
>>> del listener1
>>>
>>> # Deleting the ClassA instance will only notify the listeners still remaining
...
>>> del a
ClassA 4435440336 was deleted, notified ClassB 4435541648
ClassA 4435440336 was deleted, notified listener2
Try the following changes:
To update the WeakSet:
a1.destroyCallback.add(b)
so the WeakSet holds a reference to b.
Then in the __del__
method of ClassA, trigger the callback like this:
for f in self.destroyCallback:
f.destroyedObjectListener(self)