1 <?xml version='1.0' encoding="ISO-8859-1"?>
2 <chapter id="chapter-gobject">
3 <title>The GObject base class</title>
6 The two previous chapters discussed the details of GLib's Dynamic Type System
7 and its signal control system. The GObject library also contains an implementation
8 for a base fundamental type named <type><link linkend="GObject">GObject</link></type>.
12 <type><link linkend="GObject">GObject</link></type> is a fundamental classed instantiable type. It implements:
14 <listitem><para>Memory management with reference counting</para></listitem>
15 <listitem><para>Construction/Destruction of instances</para></listitem>
16 <listitem><para>Generic per-object properties with set/get function pairs</para></listitem>
17 <listitem><para>Easy use of signals</para></listitem>
19 All the GNOME libraries which use the GLib type system (like GTK+ and GStreamer)
20 inherit from <type><link linkend="GObject">GObject</link></type> which is why it is important to understand
21 the details of how it works.
24 <sect1 id="gobject-instantiation">
25 <title>Object instantiation</title>
28 The <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> family of functions can be used to instantiate any
29 GType which inherits from the GObject base type. All these functions make sure the class
30 and instance structures have been correctly initialized by glib's type system and
31 then invoke at one point or another the constructor class method which is used to:
34 Allocate and clear memory through <function><link linkend="g-type-create-instance">g_type_create_instance</link></function>,
37 Initialize the object' instance with the construction properties.
40 Although one can expect all class and instance members (except the fields
41 pointing to the parents) to be set to zero, some consider it good practice to explicitly set them.
45 Objects which inherit from GObject are allowed to override this constructor class method:
46 they should however chain to their parent constructor method before doing so:
48 GObject* (*constructor) (GType type,
49 guint n_construct_properties,
50 GObjectConstructParam *construct_properties);
55 The example below shows how <type>MamanBar</type> overrides the parent's constructor:
57 #define MAMAN_TYPE_BAR (maman_bar_get_type ())
58 #define MAMAN_BAR(obj) (G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE_CAST ((obj), MAMAN_TYPE_BAR, MamanBar))
59 #define MAMAN_BAR_CLASS(klass) (G_TYPE_CHECK_CLASS_CAST ((klass), MAMAN_TYPE_BAR, MamanBarClass))
60 #define MAMAN_IS_BAR(obj) (G_TYPE_CHECK_INSTANCE_TYPE ((obj), MAMAN_TYPE_BAR))
61 #define MAMAN_IS_BAR_CLASS(klass) (G_TYPE_CHECK_CLASS_TYPE ((klass), MAMAN_TYPE_BAR))
62 #define MAMAN_BAR_GET_CLASS(obj) (G_TYPE_INSTANCE_GET_CLASS ((obj), MAMAN_TYPE_BAR, MamanBarClass))
64 typedef struct _MamanBar MamanBar;
65 typedef struct _MamanBarClass MamanBarClass;
69 /* instance members */
72 struct _MamanBarClass {
78 /* used by MAMAN_TYPE_BAR */
79 GType maman_bar_get_type (void);
82 maman_bar_constructor (GType type,
83 guint n_construct_properties,
84 GObjectConstructParam *construct_properties)
89 /* Invoke parent constructor. */
91 GObjectClass *parent_class;
92 klass = MAMAN_BAR_CLASS (g_type_class_peek (MAMAN_TYPE_BAR));
93 parent_class = G_OBJECT_CLASS (g_type_class_peek_parent (klass));
94 obj = parent_class->constructor (type,
95 n_construct_properties,
96 construct_properties);
105 maman_bar_instance_init (GTypeInstance *instance,
108 MamanBar *self = (MamanBar *)instance;
113 maman_bar_class_init (gpointer g_class,
114 gpointer g_class_data)
116 GObjectClass *gobject_class = G_OBJECT_CLASS (g_class);
117 MamanBarClass *klass = MAMAN_BAR_CLASS (g_class);
119 gobject_class->constructor = maman_bar_constructor;
122 GType maman_bar_get_type (void)
124 static GType type = 0;
126 static const GTypeInfo info = {
127 sizeof (MamanBarClass),
128 NULL, /* base_init */
129 NULL, /* base_finalize */
130 maman_bar_class_init, /* class_init */
131 NULL, /* class_finalize */
132 NULL, /* class_data */
135 maman_bar_instance_init /* instance_init */
137 type = g_type_register_static (G_TYPE_OBJECT,
144 If the user instantiates an object <type>MamanBar</type> with:
146 MamanBar *bar = g_object_new (MAMAN_TYPE_BAR, NULL);
148 If this is the first instantiation of such an object, the <function>maman_b_class_init</function>
149 function will be invoked after any <function>maman_b_base_class_init</function> function.
150 This will make sure the class structure of this new object is correctly initialized. Here,
151 <function>maman_bar_class_init</function> is expected to override the object's class methods
152 and setup the class' own methods. In the example above, the constructor method is the only
153 overridden method: it is set to <function>maman_bar_constructor</function>.
157 Once <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> has obtained a reference to an initialized
158 class structure, it invokes its constructor method to create an instance of the new
159 object. Since it has just been overridden by <function>maman_bar_class_init</function>
160 to <function>maman_bar_constructor</function>, the latter is called and, because it
161 was implemented correctly, it chains up to its parent's constructor. The problem here
162 is how we can find the parent constructor. An approach (used in GTK+ source code) would be
163 to save the original constructor in a static variable from <function>maman_bar_class_init</function>
164 and then to re-use it from <function>maman_bar_constructor</function>. This is clearly possible
165 and very simple but I was told it was not nice and the preferred way is to use the
166 <function><link linkend="g-type-class-peek">g_type_class_peek</link></function> and <function><link linkend="g-type-class-peek-parent">g_type_class_peek_parent</link></function> functions.
170 Finally, at one point or another, <function>g_object_constructor</function> is invoked
171 by the last constructor in the chain. This function allocates the object's instance' buffer
172 through <function><link linkend="g-type-create-instance">g_type_create_instance</link></function>
173 which means that the instance_init function is invoked at this point if one
174 was registered. After instance_init returns, the object is fully initialized and should be
175 ready to answer any user-request. When <function><link linkend="g-type-create-instance">g_type_create_instance</link></function>
176 returns, <function>g_object_constructor</function> sets the construction properties
177 (i.e. the properties which were given to <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function>) and returns
178 to the user's constructor which is then allowed to do useful instance initialization...
182 The process described above might seem a bit complicated (it <emphasis>is</emphasis> actually
183 overly complicated in my opinion..) but it can be summarized easily by the table below which
184 lists the functions invoked by <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> and their order of
189 The array below lists the functions invoked by <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> and
190 their order of invocation:
192 <table id="gobject-construction-table">
193 <title><function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function></title>
195 <colspec colwidth="*" colnum="1" align="left"/>
196 <colspec colwidth="*" colnum="2" align="left"/>
197 <colspec colwidth="8*" colnum="3" align="left"/>
201 <entry>Invocation time</entry>
202 <entry>Function Invoked</entry>
203 <entry>Function's parameters</entry>
204 <entry>Remark</entry>
209 <entry morerows="3">First call to <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> for target type</entry>
210 <entry>target type's base_init function</entry>
211 <entry>On the inheritance tree of classes from fundamental type to target type.
212 base_init is invoked once for each class structure.</entry>
214 I have no real idea on how this can be used. If you have a good real-life
215 example of how a class' base_init can be used, please, let me know.
219 <!--entry>First call to <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> for target type</entry-->
220 <entry>target type's class_init function</entry>
221 <entry>On target type's class structure</entry>
223 Here, you should make sure to initialize or override class methods (that is,
224 assign to each class' method its function pointer) and create the signals and
225 the properties associated to your object.
229 <!--entry>First call to <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> for target type</entry-->
230 <entry>interface' base_init function</entry>
231 <entry>On interface' vtable</entry>
235 <!--entry>First call to <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> for target type</entry-->
236 <entry>interface' interface_init function</entry>
237 <entry>On interface' vtable</entry>
241 <entry morerows="1">Each call to <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> for target type</entry>
242 <entry>target type's class constructor method: GObjectClass->constructor</entry>
243 <entry>On object's instance</entry>
245 If you need to complete the object initialization after all the construction properties
246 are set, override the constructor method and make sure to chain up to the object's
247 parent class before doing your own initialization.
248 In doubt, do not override the constructor method.
252 <!--entry>Each call to <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> for target type</entry-->
253 <entry>type's instance_init function</entry>
254 <entry>On the inheritance tree of classes from fundamental type to target type.
255 the instance_init provided for each type is invoked once for each instance
258 Provide an instance_init function to initialize your object before its construction
259 properties are set. This is the preferred way to initialize a GObject instance.
260 This function is equivalent to C++ constructors.
269 Readers should feel concerned about one little twist in the order in which functions
270 are invoked: while, technically, the class' constructor method is called
271 <emphasis>before</emphasis> the GType's instance_init function (since
272 <function><link linkend="g-type-create-instance">g_type_create_instance</link></function> which calls instance_init is called by
273 <function>g_object_constructor</function> which is the top-level class
274 constructor method and to which users are expected to chain to), the user's code
275 which runs in a user-provided constructor will always run <emphasis>after</emphasis>
276 GType's instance_init function since the user-provided constructor
277 <emphasis>must</emphasis> (you've been warned) chain up <emphasis>before</emphasis>
278 doing anything useful.
282 <sect1 id="gobject-memory">
283 <title>Object memory management</title>
286 The memory-management API for GObjects is a bit complicated but the idea behind it
287 is pretty simple: the goal is to provide a flexible model based on reference counting
288 which can be integrated in applications which use or require different memory management
289 models (such as garbage collection, aso...). The methods which are used to
290 manipulate this reference count are described below.
295 gpointer g_object_ref (gpointer object);
296 void g_object_unref (gpointer object);
301 typedef void (*GWeakNotify) (gpointer data,
302 GObject *where_the_object_was);
303 void g_object_weak_ref (GObject *object,
306 void g_object_weak_unref (GObject *object,
309 void g_object_add_weak_pointer (GObject *object,
310 gpointer *weak_pointer_location);
311 void g_object_remove_weak_pointer (GObject *object,
312 gpointer *weak_pointer_location);
316 void g_object_run_dispose (GObject *object);
320 <sect2 id="gobject-memory-refcount">
321 <title>Reference count</title>
324 The functions <function><link linkend="g-object-ref">g_object_ref</link></function>/<function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function> respectively
325 increase and decrease the reference count.These functions are thread-safe as of GLib 2.8.
326 The reference count is, unsurprisingly, initialized to one by
327 <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function> which means that the caller
328 is currently the sole owner of the newly-created reference.
329 When the reference count reaches zero, that is,
330 when <function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function> is called by the last client holding
331 a reference to the object, the <emphasis>dispose</emphasis> and the
332 <emphasis>finalize</emphasis> class methods are invoked.
335 Finally, after <emphasis>finalize</emphasis> is invoked,
336 <function><link linkend="g-type-free-instance">g_type_free_instance</link></function> is called to free the object instance.
337 Depending on the memory allocation policy decided when the type was registered (through
338 one of the <function>g_type_register_*</function> functions), the object's instance
339 memory will be freed or returned to the object pool for this type.
340 Once the object has been freed, if it was the last instance of the type, the type's class
341 will be destroyed as described in <xref linkend="gtype-instantiable-classed"/> and
342 <xref linkend="gtype-non-instantiable-classed"/>.
346 The table below summarizes the destruction process of a GObject:
347 <table id="gobject-destruction-table">
348 <title><function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function></title>
350 <colspec colwidth="*" colnum="1" align="left"/>
351 <colspec colwidth="*" colnum="2" align="left"/>
352 <colspec colwidth="8*" colnum="3" align="left"/>
356 <entry>Invocation time</entry>
357 <entry>Function Invoked</entry>
358 <entry>Function's parameters</entry>
359 <entry>Remark</entry>
364 <entry morerows="1">Last call to <function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function> for an instance
367 <entry>target type's dispose class function</entry>
368 <entry>GObject instance</entry>
370 When dispose ends, the object should not hold any reference to any other
371 member object. The object is also expected to be able to answer client
372 method invocations (with possibly an error code but no memory violation)
373 until finalize is executed. dispose can be executed more than once.
374 dispose should chain up to its parent implementation just before returning
379 <!--entry>Last call to <function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function> for an instance
382 <entry>target type's finalize class function</entry>
383 <entry>GObject instance</entry>
385 Finalize is expected to complete the destruction process initiated by
386 dispose. It should complete the object's destruction. finalize will be
388 finalize should chain up to its parent implementation just before returning
390 The reason why the destruction process is split is two different phases is
391 explained in <xref linkend="gobject-memory-cycles"/>.
395 <entry morerows="3">Last call to <function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function> for the last
396 instance of target type
398 <entry>interface' interface_finalize function</entry>
399 <entry>On interface' vtable</entry>
400 <entry>Never used in practice. Unlikely you will need it.</entry>
403 <!--entry>Last call to <function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function>for the last
404 instance of target type
406 <entry>interface' base_finalize function</entry>
407 <entry>On interface' vtable</entry>
408 <entry>Never used in practice. Unlikely you will need it.</entry>
411 <!--entry>Last call to <function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function> for the last
412 instance of target type
414 <entry>target type's class_finalize function</entry>
415 <entry>On target type's class structure</entry>
416 <entry>Never used in practice. Unlikely you will need it.</entry>
419 <!--entry>Last call to <function><link linkend="g-object-unref">g_object_unref</link></function> for the last
420 instance of target type
422 <entry>type's base_finalize function</entry>
423 <entry>On the inheritance tree of classes from fundamental type to target type.
424 base_init is invoked once for each class structure.</entry>
425 <entry>Never used in practice. Unlikely you will need it.</entry>
434 <sect2 id="gobject-memory-weakref">
435 <title>Weak References</title>
438 Weak References are used to monitor object finalization:
439 <function><link linkend="g-object-weak-ref">g_object_weak_ref</link></function> adds a monitoring callback which does
440 not hold a reference to the object but which is invoked when the object runs
441 its dispose method. As such, each weak ref can be invoked more than once upon
442 object finalization (since dispose can run more than once during object
447 <function><link linkend="g-object-weak-unref">g_object_weak_unref</link></function> can be used to remove a monitoring
448 callback from the object.
452 Weak References are also used to implement <function><link linkend="g-object-add-weak-pointer">g_object_add_weak_pointer</link></function>
453 and <function><link linkend="g-object-remove-weak-pointer">g_object_remove_weak_pointer</link></function>. These functions add a weak reference
454 to the object they are applied to which makes sure to nullify the pointer given by the user
455 when object is finalized.
460 <sect2 id="gobject-memory-cycles">
461 <title>Reference counts and cycles</title>
464 Note: the following section was inspired by James Henstridge. I guess this means that
465 all praise and all curses will be directly forwarded to him.
469 GObject's memory management model was designed to be easily integrated in existing code
470 using garbage collection. This is why the destruction process is split in two phases:
471 the first phase, executed in the dispose handler is supposed to release all references
472 to other member objects. The second phase, executed by the finalize handler is supposed
473 to complete the object's destruction process. Object methods should be able to run
474 without program error (that is, without segfault :) in-between the two phases.
478 This two-step destruction process is very useful to break reference counting cycles.
479 While the detection of the cycles is up to the external code, once the cycles have been
480 detected, the external code can invoke <function><link linkend="g-object-dispose">g_object_dispose</link></function> which
481 will indeed break any existing cycles since it will run the dispose handler associated
482 to the object and thus release all references to other objects.
486 Attentive readers might now have understood one of the rules about the dispose handler
487 we stated a bit sooner: the dispose handler can be invoked multiple times. Let's say we
488 have a reference count cycle: object A references B which itself references object A.
489 Let's say we have detected the cycle and we want to destroy the two objects. One way to
490 do this would be to invoke <function><link linkend="g-object-dispose">g_object_dispose</link></function> on one of the
495 If object A releases all its references to all objects, this means it releases its
496 reference to object B. If object B was not owned by anyone else, this is its last
497 reference count which means this last unref runs B's dispose handler which, in turn,
498 releases B's reference on object A. If this is A's last reference count, this last
499 unref runs A's dispose handler which is running for the second time before
500 A's finalize handler is invoked !
504 The above example, which might seem a bit contrived can really happen if your
505 GObject's are being handled by language bindings. I would thus suggest the rules stated above
506 for object destruction are closely followed. Otherwise, <emphasis>Bad Bad Things</emphasis>
512 <sect1 id="gobject-properties">
513 <title>Object properties</title>
516 One of GObject's nice features is its generic get/set mechanism for object
517 properties. When an object
518 is instantiated, the object's class_init handler should be used to register
519 the object's properties with <function><link linkend="g-object-class-install-property">g_object_class_install_property</link></function>
520 (implemented in <filename>gobject.c</filename>).
524 The best way to understand how object properties work is by looking at a real example
527 /************************************************/
529 /************************************************/
532 MAMAN_BAR_CONSTRUCT_NAME = 1,
533 MAMAN_BAR_PAPA_NUMBER,
537 maman_bar_instance_init (GTypeInstance *instance,
540 MamanBar *self = (MamanBar *)instance;
544 maman_bar_set_property (GObject *object,
549 MamanBar *self = (MamanBar *) object;
551 switch (property_id) {
552 case MAMAN_BAR_CONSTRUCT_NAME: {
553 g_free (self->priv->name);
554 self->priv->name = g_value_dup_string (value);
555 g_print ("maman: %s\n",self->priv->name);
558 case MAMAN_BAR_PAPA_NUMBER: {
559 self->priv->papa_number = g_value_get_uchar (value);
560 g_print ("papa: %u\n",self->priv->papa_number);
564 /* We don't have any other property... */
565 G_OBJECT_WARN_INVALID_PROPERTY_ID(object,property_id,pspec);
571 maman_bar_get_property (GObject *object,
576 MamanBar *self = (MamanBar *) object;
578 switch (property_id) {
579 case MAMAN_BAR_CONSTRUCT_NAME: {
580 g_value_set_string (value, self->priv->name);
583 case MAMAN_BAR_PAPA_NUMBER: {
584 g_value_set_uchar (value, self->priv->papa_number);
588 /* We don't have any other property... */
589 G_OBJECT_WARN_INVALID_PROPERTY_ID(object,property_id,pspec);
595 maman_bar_class_init (gpointer g_class,
596 gpointer g_class_data)
598 GObjectClass *gobject_class = G_OBJECT_CLASS (g_class);
599 MamanBarClass *klass = MAMAN_BAR_CLASS (g_class);
602 gobject_class->set_property = maman_bar_set_property;
603 gobject_class->get_property = maman_bar_get_property;
605 pspec = g_param_spec_string ("maman-name",
606 "Maman construct prop",
608 "no-name-set" /* default value */,
609 G_PARAM_CONSTRUCT_ONLY | G_PARAM_READWRITE);
610 g_object_class_install_property (gobject_class,
611 MAMAN_BAR_CONSTRUCT_NAME,
614 pspec = g_param_spec_uchar ("papa-number",
615 "Number of current Papa",
616 "Set/Get papa's number",
617 0 /* minimum value */,
618 10 /* maximum value */,
619 2 /* default value */,
621 g_object_class_install_property (gobject_class,
622 MAMAN_BAR_PAPA_NUMBER,
626 /************************************************/
628 /************************************************/
632 bar = g_object_new (MAMAN_TYPE_SUBBAR, NULL);
633 g_value_init (&val, G_TYPE_CHAR);
634 g_value_set_char (&val, 11);
635 g_object_set_property (G_OBJECT (bar), "papa-number", &val);
637 The client code just above looks simple but a lot of things happen under the hood:
641 <function><link linkend="g-object-set-property">g_object_set_property</link></function> first ensures a property
642 with this name was registered in bar's class_init handler. If so, it calls
643 <function><link linkend="object-set-property">object_set_property</link></function> which first walks the class hierarchy,
644 from bottom, most derived type, to top, fundamental type to find the class
645 which registered that property. It then tries to convert the user-provided GValue
646 into a GValue whose type if that of the associated property.
650 If the user provides a signed char GValue, as is shown
651 here, and if the object's property was registered as an unsigned int,
652 <function><link linkend="g-value-transform">g_value_transform</link></function> will try to transform the input signed char into
653 an unsigned int. Of course, the success of the transformation depends on the availability
654 of the required transform function. In practice, there will almost always be a transformation
656 <para>Its behaviour might not be what you expect but it is up to you to actually avoid
657 relying on these transformations.
660 which matches and conversion will be carried out if needed.
664 After transformation, the <type><link linkend="GValue">GValue</link></type> is validated by
665 <function><link linkend="g-param-value-validate">g_param_value_validate</link></function> which makes sure the user's
666 data stored in the <type><link linkend="GValue">GValue</link></type> matches the characteristics specified by
667 the property's <type><link linkend="GParamSpec">GParamSpec</link></type>. Here, the <type><link linkend="GParamSpec">GParamSpec</link></type> we
668 provided in class_init has a validation function which makes sure that the GValue
669 contains a value which respects the minimum and maximum bounds of the
670 <type><link linkend="GParamSpec">GParamSpec</link></type>. In the example above, the client's GValue does not
671 respect these constraints (it is set to 11, while the maximum is 10). As such, the
672 <function><link linkend="g-object-set-property">g_object_set_property</link></function> function will return with an error.
676 If the user's GValue had been set to a valid value, <function><link linkend="g-object-set-property">g_object_set_property</link></function>
677 would have proceeded with calling the object's set_property class method. Here, since our
678 implementation of Foo did override this method, the code path would jump to
679 <function>foo_set_property</function> after having retrieved from the
680 <type><link linkend="GParamSpec">GParamSpec</link></type> the <emphasis>param_id</emphasis>
683 It should be noted that the param_id used here need only to uniquely identify each
684 <type><link linkend="GParamSpec">GParamSpec</link></type> within the <type><link linkend="FooClass">FooClass</link></type> such that the switch
685 used in the set and get methods actually works. Of course, this locally-unique
686 integer is purely an optimization: it would have been possible to use a set of
687 <emphasis>if (strcmp (a, b) == 0) {} else if (strcmp (a, b) == 0) {}</emphasis> statements.
690 which had been stored by
691 <function><link linkend="g-object-class-install-property">g_object_class_install_property</link></function>.
695 Once the property has been set by the object's set_property class method, the code path
696 returns to <function><link linkend="g-object-set-property">g_object_set_property</link></function> which calls
697 <function><link linkend="g-object-notify-queue-thaw">g_object_notify_queue_thaw</link></function>. This function makes sure that
698 the "notify" signal is emitted on the object's instance with the changed property as
699 parameter unless notifications were frozen by <function><link linkend="g-object-freeze-notify">g_object_freeze_notify</link></function>.
703 <function><link linkend="g-object-thaw-notify">g_object_thaw_notify</link></function> can be used to re-enable notification of
704 property modifications through the "notify" signal. It is important to remember that
705 even if properties are changed while property change notification is frozen, the "notify"
706 signal will be emitted once for each of these changed properties as soon as the property
707 change notification is thawed: no property change is lost for the "notify" signal. Signal
708 can only be delayed by the notification freezing mechanism.
712 It sounds like a tedious task to set up GValues every time when one wants to modify a property.
713 In practice one will rarely do this. The functions <function><link linkend="g-object-set-property">g_object_set_property</link></function>
714 and <function><link linkend="g-object-get-property">g_object_get_property</link></function>
715 are meant to be used by language bindings. For application there is an easier way and
716 that is described next.
719 <sect2 id="gobject-multi-properties">
720 <title>Accessing multiple properties at once</title>
723 It is interesting to note that the <function><link linkend="g-object-set">g_object_set</link></function> and
724 <function><link linkend="g-object-set-valist">g_object_set_valist</link></function> (vararg version) functions can be used to set
725 multiple properties at once. The client code shown above can then be re-written as:
729 g_object_set (G_OBJECT (foo),
731 "maman-name", "test",
734 This saves us from managing the GValues that we were needing to handle when using
735 <function><link linkend="g-object-set-property">g_object_set_property</link></function>.
736 The code above will trigger one notify signal emission for each property modified.
740 Of course, the _get versions are also available: <function><link linkend="g-object-get">g_object_get</link></function>
741 and <function><link linkend="g-object-get-valist">g_object_get_valist</link></function> (vararg version) can be used to get numerous
746 These high level functions have one drawback - they don't provide a return result.
747 One should pay attention to the argument types and ranges when using them.
748 A know source of errors is to e.g. pass a gfloat instead of a gdouble and thus
749 shifting all subsequent parameters by four bytes. Also forgetting the terminating
750 NULL will lead to unexpected behaviour.
754 Really attentive readers now understand how <function><link linkend="g-object-new">g_object_new</link></function>,
755 <function><link linkend="g-object-newv">g_object_newv</link></function> and <function><link linkend="g-object-new-valist">g_object_new_valist</link></function>
756 work: they parse the user-provided variable number of parameters and invoke
757 <function><link linkend="g-object-set">g_object_set</link></function> on the parameters only after the object has been successfully constructed.
758 Of course, the "notify" signal will be emitted for each property set.
763 <!-- @todo tell here about how to pass use handle properties in derived classes -->