Tail-f function in qt

devfeel

hi
I have a file from which I will extract data and display. The file will keep on getting new entries from other program. Now My gui should be able to extract new entries from the file. Something like "tail -f" in linux.
Is there any way to implement such thing in qt.
Thank you

tzander

what you want is a pipe, not an ever growing file.

Either use RPC pipes, or, preferably, on unix use mknod to use file-system based streams. The latter you can just use QFile on.

devfeel

Thanks Thomas...
If possible can u please provide some sample or a code snippet or guide to some docks...i m trying but not able to get properly...

tzander

sure;

http://linuxprograms.wordpress.com/2008/02/15/programming-with-fifo-mkfifo-mknod/

in Qt you can just use QFile.

devfeel

Thanks thomas...
but the problem is the file from which i have to get data is in csv format and i dont have control over it to change...and it has to be a csv file itself...so is there anyway of getting data from that csv file on the fly

tzander

Ok, I'm probably going too fast and assuming knowledge of unix filesystem details.

In unix you can create a stream between two applications by just creating a special file on the filesystem. One application can then write to it and another application can read from it.
The beauty of this approach is that your application does not have to do anything different in parsing content from the pipe or from a normal file.
They are both accessible using the QFile class, with little-to-no alterations.

Read more in your basic unix tech manual about mknod and S_FIFO.

As such, the content of the file is irrelevant when you use a fifo-node as a file, you just make one application write to it and the other reads it at the same time. Using normal file APIs.

Reading a csv file is just like regular, which means using QFile and things like QString::split or something like that.
I'm sure there are some simple csv parsers written in qt findable using google if thats what your biggest problem is :)

Code_ReaQtor

[quote author="Thomas Zander" date="1361953152"]
Reading a csv file is just like regular, which means using QFile and things like QString::split or something like that.
I'm sure there are some simple csv parsers written in qt findable using google if thats what your biggest problem is :)[/quote]

Using QString::split is ONLY convenient if the file has no embedded "commas". QRegExp is another way but trust me there are no Universal Regular Expression for CSV files.

I have a different approach I wrote a weeks ago. @devfeel, if you have time to read, you may visit my blog at "QtSimplify":http://qtsimplify.blogspot.com/2013/02/dealing-with-csv-files-easy-way.html

devfeel

Thanks thomas...
I am able to extract the contents from the csv file...no issue in it...my only aim is that as and when the csv file is updated, my gui should also get updated...

And I am unable to write the contents of the csv file to fifo file...

tzander

bq. And I am unable to write the contents of the csv file to fifo file…

why?

devfeel

This is the code...dont know what i am doing wrong
@#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#define MAX 512

int main()
{
int fd;
char * myfifo = "myfifo";

    /* create the FIFO (named pipe) */
    mkfifo(myfifo, 0666);

    /* write  to the FIFO */
    open(myfifo, O_WRONLY);

FILE *file, *file2;
char line[MAX];

file = fopen("alert.csv", "r");
//file2 = fopen(myfifo, "w");
while (fgets(line,sizeof(line),file) != NULL)
{
/*Write the line */
fputs(line, myfifo);
printf(line);

}
fclose (file);
// fclose (file2);
unlink(myfifo);
close(fd);
return 0;
}
@

tobias.hunger

If you just run a process as a QProcess and need to get its output you could also just have it print to stdout and use QProcess' methods to access the output.

tzander

After you create the fifo, you open it like its a file, then it works.

Your app modified;
@
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#define MAX 512

int main()
{
    int fd;
        char * myfifo = "myfifo";

        /* create the FIFO (named pipe) */
        mkfifo(myfifo, 0666);

        /* write  to the FIFO */
        open(myfifo, O_WRONLY);

  FILE *file, *file2;
  char line[MAX];

  file = fopen&#40;"alert.csv", "r"&#41;;
  file2 = fopen&#40;myfifo, "w"&#41;;
  while (fgets(line,sizeof(line),file) != NULL)
  {
    /*Write the line */
    fputs(line, file2);
    printf(line);

  }
  fclose (file);
 // fclose (file2);
   unlink&#40;myfifo&#41;;
   close(fd);
  return 0;
}

@

Naturally, its a pipe, a first-in-first-out pipe.
If you put stuff in but nobody is on the other side to read it, it will soon stop being able to take more in.

So start a second shell and type
tail -f myfifo
directly after your app started.

devfeel

Thanks for having so much patience with me...
Now its working..but the fifo is not updating as and how the alert.csv is updating...

devfeel

Dear Thomas
My gui app is unable to get the contents from the fifo file...even though starting simultaneously...
The below code is to write to fifo file
@ #include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <unistd.h>
#define MAX 512

int main()
{
    int fd;
        char * myfifo = "myfifo";

        /* create the FIFO (named pipe) */
        mkfifo(myfifo, 0666);

        /* write  to the FIFO */
        open(myfifo, O_WRONLY);

  FILE *file, *file2;
  char line[MAX];

  file = fopen&#40;"alert.csv", "r"&#41;;
  file2 = fopen&#40;myfifo, "w"&#41;;
  while (fgets(line,sizeof(line),file) != NULL)
  {
    /*Write the line */
    fputs(line, file2);
    printf(line);

  }
  fclose (file);
 // fclose (file2);
   unlink&#40;myfifo&#41;;
   close(fd);
  return 0;
}@

The below code is to display the contents from the fifo file
@#include "mainwindow.h"
#include "ui_mainwindow.h"
#include "QtGui"
#include <stdio.h>
#include <string.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <fcntl.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <unistd.h>
QTableWidgetItem *item;
int row=0,column=0;
MainWindow::MainWindow(QWidget *parent) :
QMainWindow(parent),
ui(new Ui::MainWindow)
{
ui->setupUi(this);
ui->alertshow->setColumnWidth(0,200);
ui->alertshow->setColumnWidth(1,250);
}

MainWindow::~MainWindow()
{
delete ui;
}

void MainWindow::on_update_clicked()
{
QString line;
int fd;
char * myfifo = "/root/qt/untitled4/myfifo";

    /* create the FIFO (named pipe) */
    //mkfifo(myfifo, 0666);

fd=mkfifo(myfifo, S_IFIFO | 0666);
//qDebug()<<fd;
/* write to the FIFO */
open(myfifo, O_RDONLY);
//qDebug()<<fd;

 QFile file2(myfifo);

file2.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly | QIODevice::Text);
QTextStream in(&file2);
while (!in.atEnd())
{
    qDebug()<<"inside while";
 line = in.readLine();
 qDebug()<<line;
 QString delimiterPattern(",");
 QStringList fonts = line.split(delimiterPattern);

         qDebug() << fonts;

display(fonts);
// row++;
file2.close();

}
qDebug()<<"outside";

}

void MainWindow::display(QStringList list)
{
for(int i=0;i<list.count();i++)

{
//i++;
// qDebug()<<i;
QString li=list[i];

item=new QTableWidgetItem(li);
ui->alertshow->setItem(row,column,item);
column++;
}
}@

tzander

Your beginning idea was that you want to update whenever something new is written by the first program.
A fifo can do that, but indeed its a bit tricky.
The basic concept behind the fifo is that its blocking. So your code that reads from the fifo will never return. Not untill you delete the fifo, at least.

As such you likely want to run the read in a different thread and make it notify the main gui thread whenever a new line was successfully read.
It also means you never close the file.

devfeel

Hi Thomas...
fifo was giving some problems..so used pipe...in terminal i open my gui executable with tail command.
i.e tail -f alert.csv | ./mygui

i am getting all the values in console using qdebug...but mygui is freezing and displaying nothing.... any idea?
@QTableWidgetItem *item;
int row=0,column=0;
MainWindow::MainWindow(QWidget *parent) :
QMainWindow(parent),
ui(new Ui::MainWindow)
{
ui->setupUi(this);
ui->alertshow->setColumnWidth(0,200);
ui->alertshow->setColumnWidth(1,250);
}

MainWindow::~MainWindow()
{
delete ui;
}

void MainWindow::on_update_clicked()
{
QString line;

QTextStream in(stdin);
do
{
    qDebug()<<"inside while";
 line = in.readLine();
 qDebug()<<line;
 QString delimiterPattern(",");
 QStringList fonts = line.split(delimiterPattern);

 qDebug() <<"fonts"<< fonts;
 display(fonts);
  
}while(!line.isNull());

qDebug()<<"outside";

}

void MainWindow::display(QStringList list)
{
for(int i=0;i<list.count();i++)
{

QString li=list[i];
qDebug()<<"csv"<<li;
item=new QTableWidgetItem(li);
ui->alertshow->setItem(row,column,item);
column++;
}
}
@

SGaist

Aren't you running the do while loop forever ?

Try with line.isEmpty(), IIRC "" is empty but not null.

Hope it helps

tzander

You switched to reading a pipe, but the actual problem is not with the fifo its that your method on_update_clicked() will never return.

What you may not realize is that this means that the painting system will never do anything anymore, since its waiting for the on_update_clicked method to finish.

So, I think the fifo was a great idea, I suggest using that again.

I realize that threads are not easy, so let me suggest a different approach that will work too.
You can modify your on_update_clicked to exit when there is no data to read. See QIODevice::canReadLine()

If you get tired of pressing the button you might want to instead connect that slot up to the QIODevice::readyRead() signal from your input file.

GOod luck!

devfeel

Thanks SGaist...it didnt worked...

And Thomas i tried with fifo also...same issue...I have attached the code yesterday...if possible check...I am working on readyread as u said...

devfeel

The below code is giving error...can you please help
@QTextStream in(stdin);
QObject::connect(in, SIGNAL(readyRead()), this, SLOT(readcsv()));@

error: no matching function for call to 'MainWindow::connect(QTextStream&, const char [13], MainWindow* const, const char [11])'