README

SignalHub is a Qt-inspired signal-slot implementation for PHP with strong type checking and flexible connection options. It allows for loose coupling between components while maintaining type safety.

Features

Type-safe signals and slots: All connections are checked for type compatibility at runtime
Flexible connection patterns: Support for both direct connections and wildcard patterns
Standalone signals: Create signals independent of objects
Object-owned signals: Define signals as part of your classes
Signal discovery: Find signals by name patterns
Priority-based execution: Control the order of slot execution
Unified API: Simple interface for working with both standalone and object signals

Installation

composer require quellabs/signal-hub

Basic Usage

Standalone Signals

use Quellabs\SignalHub\SignalHub;
use Quellabs\SignalHub\SignalHubLocator;

// Fetch the signal hub for registration and discovery
$hub = SignalHubLocator::getInstance();

// Create a standalone signal with a string parameter
$buttonClickedSignal = $hub->createSignal('button.clicked', ['string']);

// Connect a handler to the signal
$buttonClickedSignal->connect(function(string $buttonId) {
    echo "Button clicked: {$buttonId}\n";
});

// Emit the signal
$buttonClickedSignal->emit('submit-button');

Object-Owned Signals

use Quellabs\SignalHub\HasSignals;
use Quellabs\SignalHub\SignalHub;

class Button {
    use HasSignals;
    
    private string $label;
    
    public function __construct(string $label) {
        $this->label = $label;
        
        // Define signals for this object
        $this->createSignal('clicked', ['string']);    // Passes button label
        $this->createSignal('pressed', ['string']);    // Passes button label
        
        // Register with the hub (optional)
        $this->registerWithHub($hub);
    }
    
    public function click(): void {
        echo "Button '{$this->label}' was clicked\n";
        // Emit the signal with the button label as parameter
        $this->emit('clicked', $this->label);
    }
}

// Create a button
use Quellabs\SignalHub\SignalHub;
use Quellabs\SignalHub\SignalHubLocator;

// Fetch the signal hub for registration and discovery
$hub = SignalHubLocator::getInstance();

// Instantiate the button class
$button = new Button('Submit', $hub);

// Connect to the button's clicked signal
$button->signal('clicked')->connect(function(string $label) {
    echo "Handler received click from '{$label}'\n";
});

// Trigger the button click
$button->click();

Using Patterns for Connection

Direct Pattern Connection

You can use wildcards to connect to signals based on pattern matching:

// Create several signals
$buttonClickedSignal = $hub->createSignal('button.clicked', ['string']);
$buttonPressedSignal = $hub->createSignal('button.pressed', ['string']);

// Connect handler with a pattern directly on one signal
$buttonClickedSignal->connect(function(string $id) {
    echo "Pattern handler caught button event: {$id}\n";
}, 'button.*');

// This will trigger the handler when buttonClickedSignal is emitted
$buttonClickedSignal->emit('submit-button');

// But NOT when buttonPressedSignal is emitted
$buttonPressedSignal->emit('submit-button'); // Pattern handler not called

Signal Discovery with the Hub

The SignalHub provides powerful signal discovery capabilities:

// Find all signals matching a pattern
$buttonSignals = $hub->findSignals('button.*');

// Find all signals matching a pattern for a specific object
$buttonSignals = $hub->findSignals('clicked', $button);

// Connect to all found signals
foreach ($buttonSignals as $name => $signal) {
    echo "Found signal: {$name}\n";
    
    $signal->connect(function(string $id) use ($name) {
        echo "Handler for {$name} triggered with: {$id}\n";
    });
}

// Get a specific signal (standalone or object-owned)
$clickedSignal = $hub->getSignal('clicked', $button);       // Get object signal
$globalSignal = $hub->getSignal('application.started');     // Get standalone signal

// Get info about all registered signals
$allSignals = $hub->getAllSignals();
foreach ($allSignals as $signalInfo) {
    if ($signalInfo['standalone']) {
        echo "Standalone signal: {$signalInfo['name']}\n";
    } else {
        echo "Object signal: {$signalInfo['class']}::{$signalInfo['name']}\n";
    }
}

Advanced Features

Connection Priorities

Control the order in which slots are executed:

$signal->connect($debugHandler, null, 100);  // Will be called first (higher priority)
$signal->connect($normalHandler, null, 0);   // Will be called second (normal priority)

Type Checking

The system enforces strict type checking:

// Create a signal with specific parameter types
$signal = $hub->createSignal('user.login', ['string', 'int']);

// This will work - types match
$signal->connect(function(string $username, int $userId) {
    echo "User {$username} logged in with ID {$userId}";
});

// This will throw an exception - missing type hint
$signal->connect(function($username, $userId) {
    // Error: Slot parameter 0 is not typed
});

// This will throw an exception - wrong type
$signal->connect(function(string $username, string $userId) {
    // Error: Type mismatch for parameter 1
});

Disconnecting Handlers

// Connect a handler
$signal->connect($handler, 'handleEvent');

// Disconnect the handler
$signal->disconnect($handler, 'handleEvent');

// Or disconnect all handlers for this receiver
$signal->disconnect($handler);

Architecture Overview

The system consists of three main components:

SignalHub: Registry for signal creation and discovery
- createSignal() - Create signals
- getSignal() - Get a signal by name with optional owner
- findSignals() - Find signals by pattern with optional owner
- registerSignal() - Register signals with the hub
Signal: Core signal functionality
- connect() - Connect handlers (callable or object methods)
- emit() - Emit the signal with parameters
- disconnect() - Remove connections
HasSignals trait: Makes any class capable of having signals
- createSignal() - Create signals owned by the object
- emit() - Emit object signals
- signal() - Get a specific signal
- registerWithHub() - Register with the SignalHub

Differences from Qt

While inspired by Qt, there are some differences:

PHP doesn't support compile-time signal/slot connections, so all type checking is done at runtime
The pattern matching functionality is a PHP-specific extension not available in Qt
The SignalHub concept provides discovery capabilities beyond what Qt offers

Examples

Form Validation Example

class Form {
    use HasSignals;
    
    private string $name;
    
    public function __construct(string $name, SignalHub $hub = null) {
        $this->name = $name;
        
        $this->createSignal('submitted', ['string', 'array']); // form name, form data
        $this->createSignal('validated', ['string', 'bool']);  // form name, is valid
        
        if ($hub !== null) {
            $this->registerWithHub($hub);
        }
    }
    
    public function submit(array $data): void {
        // Emit submitted signal
        $this->emit('submitted', $this->name, $data);
        
        // Validate data
        $isValid = $this->validate($data);
        
        // Emit validation result
        $this->emit('validated', $this->name, $isValid);
    }
    
    private function validate(array $data): bool {
        // Example validation
        return !empty($data);
    }
}

// Create form and connect signals
$hub = new SignalHub();
$loginForm = new Form('login', $hub);

// Connect to form submission
$loginForm->signal('submitted')->connect(function(string $formName, array $data) {
    echo "Form {$formName} was submitted with data: " . json_encode($data) . "\n";
});

// Connect to validation result
$loginForm->signal('validated')->connect(function(string $formName, bool $isValid) {
    if ($isValid) {
        echo "Form {$formName} is valid\n";
    } else {
        echo "Form {$formName} has errors\n";
    }
});

// Submit the form
$loginForm->submit(['username' => 'john', 'password' => 'secret']);

Signal Access from Different Components

Access signals from various parts of your application through the unified API:

// Component 1: Creating and using signals directly
$button = new Button('Submit', $hub);
$button->click();

// Component 2: Working with buttons via the hub
$buttonSignal = $hub->getSignal('clicked', $button);
$buttonSignal->connect(function(string $label) {
    echo "Button handler attached via hub: {$label}\n";
});

// Component 3: Listening for all form signals
$formSignals = $hub->findSignals('form.*');

// Component 4: Creating a logger for all signals
$allSignals = $hub->getAllSignals();

foreach ($allSignals as $info) {
    $signal = $info['signal'];

    $signal->connect(function(...$args) use ($info) {
        $name = $info['standalone'] ? $info['name'] : "{$info['class']}::{$info['name']}";
        echo "LOG: Signal {$name} emitted\n";
    });
}

Best Practices

Use meaningful signal names, preferably in dot notation (e.g., 'user.login', 'form.submitted')
Always add type hints to signal handlers
Use the HasSignals trait for object-owned signals
Register important signals with the SignalHub for discovery
Use pattern matching for logging and debugging purposes
Keep signals focused on specific events
Consider using priorities for handlers that need to run first or last
Use the unified getSignal() and findSignals() methods for a consistent experience

License

This library is licensed under the MIT License.

quellabs / signal-hub

Maintainers

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