class QIODevice

The QIODevice class is the base interface class of all I/O devices in Qt. More…

Inheritance diagram of PySide6.QtCore.QIODevice

Inherited by: QSerialPort, QNetworkReply, QLocalSocket, QAbstractSocket, QUdpSocket, QTcpSocket, QWaveDecoder, QProcess, QFileDevice, QSaveFile, QFile, QTemporaryFile, QSslSocket, QBuffer, QCoapReply, QCoapResourceDiscoveryReply, QBluetoothSocket

Synopsis

Methods

Virtual methods

Signals

Note

This documentation may contain snippets that were automatically translated from C++ to Python. We always welcome contributions to the snippet translation. If you see an issue with the translation, you can also let us know by creating a ticket on https:/bugreports.qt.io/projects/PYSIDE

Detailed Description

Warning

This section contains snippets that were automatically translated from C++ to Python and may contain errors.

QIODevice provides both a common implementation and an abstract interface for devices that support reading and writing of blocks of data, such as QFile , QBuffer and QTcpSocket. QIODevice is abstract and cannot be instantiated, but it is common to use the interface it defines to provide device-independent I/O features. For example, Qt’s XML classes operate on a QIODevice pointer, allowing them to be used with various devices (such as files and buffers).

Before accessing the device, open() must be called to set the correct OpenMode (such as ReadOnly or ReadWrite). You can then write to the device with write() or putChar() , and read by calling either read() , readLine() , or readAll() . Call close() when you are done with the device.

QIODevice distinguishes between two types of devices: random-access devices and sequential devices.

  • Random-access devices support seeking to arbitrary positions using seek() . The current position in the file is available by calling pos() . QFile and QBuffer are examples of random-access devices.

  • Sequential devices don’t support seeking to arbitrary positions. The data must be read in one pass. The functions pos() and size() don’t work for sequential devices. QTcpSocket and QProcess are examples of sequential devices.

You can use isSequential() to determine the type of device.

QIODevice emits readyRead() when new data is available for reading; for example, if new data has arrived on the network or if additional data is appended to a file that you are reading from. You can call bytesAvailable() to determine the number of bytes that are currently available for reading. It’s common to use bytesAvailable() together with the readyRead() signal when programming with asynchronous devices such as QTcpSocket, where fragments of data can arrive at arbitrary points in time. QIODevice emits the bytesWritten() signal every time a payload of data has been written to the device. Use bytesToWrite() to determine the current amount of data waiting to be written.

Certain subclasses of QIODevice , such as QTcpSocket and QProcess , are asynchronous. This means that I/O functions such as write() or read() always return immediately, while communication with the device itself may happen when control goes back to the event loop. QIODevice provides functions that allow you to force these operations to be performed immediately, while blocking the calling thread and without entering the event loop. This allows QIODevice subclasses to be used without an event loop, or in a separate thread:

  • waitForReadyRead() - This function suspends operation in the calling thread until new data is available for reading.

  • waitForBytesWritten() - This function suspends operation in the calling thread until one payload of data has been written to the device.

  • waitFor….() - Subclasses of QIODevice implement blocking functions for device-specific operations. For example, QProcess has a function called waitForStarted() which suspends operation in the calling thread until the process has started.

Calling these functions from the main, GUI thread, may cause your user interface to freeze. Example:

gzip = QProcess()
gzip.start("gzip", QStringList() << "-c")
if not gzip.waitForStarted():
    return False
gzip.write("uncompressed data")
compressed = QByteArray()
while gzip.waitForReadyRead():
    compressed += gzip.readAll()

By subclassing QIODevice , you can provide the same interface to your own I/O devices. Subclasses of QIODevice are only required to implement the protected readData() and writeData() functions. QIODevice uses these functions to implement all its convenience functions, such as getChar() , readLine() and write() . QIODevice also handles access control for you, so you can safely assume that the device is opened in write mode if writeData() is called.

Some subclasses, such as QFile and QTcpSocket, are implemented using a memory buffer for intermediate storing of data. This reduces the number of required device accessing calls, which are often very slow. Buffering makes functions like getChar() and putChar() fast, as they can operate on the memory buffer instead of directly on the device itself. Certain I/O operations, however, don’t work well with a buffer. For example, if several users open the same device and read it character by character, they may end up reading the same data when they meant to read a separate chunk each. For this reason, QIODevice allows you to bypass any buffering by passing the Unbuffered flag to open() . When subclassing QIODevice , remember to bypass any buffer you may use when the device is open in Unbuffered mode.

Usually, the incoming data stream from an asynchronous device is fragmented, and chunks of data can arrive at arbitrary points in time. To handle incomplete reads of data structures, use the transaction mechanism implemented by QIODevice . See startTransaction() and related functions for more details.

Some sequential devices support communicating via multiple channels. These channels represent separate streams of data that have the property of independently sequenced delivery. Once the device is opened, you can determine the number of channels by calling the readChannelCount() and writeChannelCount() functions. To switch between channels, call setCurrentReadChannel() and setCurrentWriteChannel() , respectively. QIODevice also provides additional signals to handle asynchronous communication on a per-channel basis.

__init__()

Constructs a QIODevice object.

__init__(parent)
Parameters:

parent – QObject

Constructs a QIODevice object with the given parent.

aboutToClose()

This signal is emitted when the device is about to close. Connect this signal if you have operations that need to be performed before the device closes (e.g., if you have data in a separate buffer that needs to be written to the device).

atEnd()
Return type:

bool

Returns true if the current read and write position is at the end of the device (i.e. there is no more data available for reading on the device); otherwise returns false.

For some devices, atEnd() can return true even though there is more data to read. This special case only applies to devices that generate data in direct response to you calling read() (e.g., /dev or /proc files on Unix and macOS, or console input / stdin on all platforms).

bytesAvailable()
Return type:

int

Warning

This section contains snippets that were automatically translated from C++ to Python and may contain errors.

Returns the number of bytes that are available for reading. This function is commonly used with sequential devices to determine the number of bytes to allocate in a buffer before reading.

Subclasses that reimplement this function must call the base implementation in order to include the size of the buffer of QIODevice . Example:

def bytesAvailable(self):

    return buffer.size() + QIODevice.bytesAvailable()

See also

bytesToWrite() readyRead() isSequential()

bytesToWrite()
Return type:

int

For buffered devices, this function returns the number of bytes waiting to be written. For devices with no buffer, this function returns 0.

Subclasses that reimplement this function must call the base implementation in order to include the size of the buffer of QIODevice .

bytesWritten(bytes)
Parameters:

bytes – int

This signal is emitted every time a payload of data has been written to the device’s current write channel. The bytes argument is set to the number of bytes that were written in this payload.

bytesWritten() is not emitted recursively; if you reenter the event loop or call waitForBytesWritten() inside a slot connected to the bytesWritten() signal, the signal will not be reemitted (although waitForBytesWritten() may still return true).

See also

readyRead()

canReadLine()
Return type:

bool

Warning

This section contains snippets that were automatically translated from C++ to Python and may contain errors.

Returns true if a complete line of data can be read from the device; otherwise returns false.

Note that unbuffered devices, which have no way of determining what can be read, always return false.

This function is often called in conjunction with the readyRead() signal.

Subclasses that reimplement this function must call the base implementation in order to include the contents of the QIODevice ‘s buffer. Example:

def canReadLine(self):

    return buffer.contains('\n') or QIODevice.canReadLine()

See also

readyRead() readLine()

channelBytesWritten(channel, bytes)
Parameters:

  • channel – int

  • bytes – int

This signal is emitted every time a payload of data has been written to the device. The bytes argument is set to the number of bytes that were written in this payload, while channel is the channel they were written to. Unlike bytesWritten() , it is emitted regardless of the current write channel .

channelBytesWritten() can be emitted recursively - even for the same channel.

channelReadyRead(channel)
Parameters:

channel – int

This signal is emitted when new data is available for reading from the device. The channel argument is set to the index of the read channel on which the data has arrived. Unlike readyRead() , it is emitted regardless of the current read channel .

channelReadyRead() can be emitted recursively - even for the same channel.

close()

First emits aboutToClose() , then closes the device and sets its OpenMode to NotOpen. The error string is also reset.

See also

setOpenMode() OpenMode

commitTransaction()

Completes a read transaction.

For sequential devices, all data recorded in the internal buffer during the transaction will be discarded.

currentReadChannel()
Return type:

int

Returns the index of the current read channel.

currentWriteChannel()
Return type:

int

Returns the index of the current write channel.

errorString()
Return type:

str

Returns a human-readable description of the last device error that occurred.

See also

setErrorString()

getChar()
Return type:

bool

Reads one character from the device and stores it in c. If c is None, the character is discarded. Returns true on success; otherwise returns false.

isOpen()
Return type:

bool

Returns true if the device is open; otherwise returns false. A device is open if it can be read from and/or written to. By default, this function returns false if openMode() returns NotOpen.

See also

openMode() OpenMode

isReadable()
Return type:

bool

Returns true if data can be read from the device; otherwise returns false. Use bytesAvailable() to determine how many bytes can be read.

This is a convenience function which checks if the OpenMode of the device contains the ReadOnly flag.

See also

openMode() OpenMode

isSequential()
Return type:

bool

Returns true if this device is sequential; otherwise returns false.

Sequential devices, as opposed to a random-access devices, have no concept of a start, an end, a size, or a current position, and they do not support seeking. You can only read from the device when it reports that data is available. The most common example of a sequential device is a network socket. On Unix, special files such as /dev/zero and fifo pipes are sequential.

Regular files, on the other hand, do support random access. They have both a size and a current position, and they also support seeking backwards and forwards in the data stream. Regular files are non-sequential.

See also

bytesAvailable()

isTextModeEnabled()
Return type:

bool

Returns true if the Text flag is enabled; otherwise returns false.

isTransactionStarted()
Return type:

bool

Returns true if a transaction is in progress on the device, otherwise false.

isWritable()
Return type:

bool

Returns true if data can be written to the device; otherwise returns false.

This is a convenience function which checks if the OpenMode of the device contains the WriteOnly flag.

See also

openMode() OpenMode

open(mode)
Parameters:

mode – Combination of OpenModeFlag

Return type:

bool

Opens the device and sets its OpenMode to mode. Returns true if successful; otherwise returns false. This function should be called from any reimplementations of open() or other functions that open the device.

See also

openMode() OpenMode

openMode()
Return type:

Combination of OpenModeFlag

Returns the mode in which the device has been opened; i.e. ReadOnly or WriteOnly.

See also

setOpenMode() OpenMode

peek(maxlen)
Parameters:

maxlen – int

Return type:

QByteArray

Warning

This section contains snippets that were automatically translated from C++ to Python and may contain errors.

This is an overloaded function.

Peeks at most maxSize bytes from the device, returning the data peeked as a QByteArray .

Example:

def isExeFile(file):

    return file.peek(2) == "MZ"

This function has no way of reporting errors; returning an empty QByteArray can mean either that no data was currently available for peeking, or that an error occurred.

See also

read()

peek(buffer, maxlen)
Parameters:

  • buffer – PyBuffer

  • maxlen – int

Return type:

int

pos()
Return type:

int

For random-access devices, this function returns the position that data is written to or read from. For sequential devices or closed devices, where there is no concept of a “current position”, 0 is returned.

The current read/write position of the device is maintained internally by QIODevice , so reimplementing this function is not necessary. When subclassing QIODevice , use seek() to notify QIODevice about changes in the device position.

putChar(c)
Parameters:

c – int

Return type:

bool

Writes the character c to the device. Returns true on success; otherwise returns false.

read(maxlen)
Parameters:

maxlen – int

Return type:

QByteArray

This is an overloaded function.

Reads at most maxSize bytes from the device, and returns the data read as a QByteArray .

This function has no way of reporting errors; returning an empty QByteArray can mean either that no data was currently available for reading, or that an error occurred.

read(buffer, maxlen)
Parameters:

  • buffer – PyBuffer

  • maxlen – int

Return type:

int

readAll()
Return type:

QByteArray

Reads all remaining data from the device, and returns it as a byte array.

This function has no way of reporting errors; returning an empty QByteArray can mean either that no data was currently available for reading, or that an error occurred. This function also has no way of indicating that more data may have been available and couldn’t be read.

readChannelCount()
Return type:

int

Returns the number of available read channels if the device is open; otherwise returns 0.

readChannelFinished()

This signal is emitted when the input (reading) stream is closed in this device. It is emitted as soon as the closing is detected, which means that there might still be data available for reading with read() .

See also

atEnd() read()

abstract readData(maxlen)
Parameters:

maxlen – int

Return type:

PyObject

Reads up to maxSize bytes from the device into data, and returns the number of bytes read or -1 if an error occurred.

If there are no bytes to be read and there can never be more bytes available (examples include socket closed, pipe closed, sub-process finished), this function returns -1.

This function is called by QIODevice . Reimplement this function when creating a subclass of QIODevice .

When reimplementing this function it is important that this function reads all the required data before returning. This is required in order for QDataStream to be able to operate on the class. QDataStream assumes all the requested information was read and therefore does not retry reading if there was a problem.

This function might be called with a maxSize of 0, which can be used to perform post-reading operations.

readLine([maxlen=0])
Parameters:

maxlen – int

Return type:

QByteArray

This is an overloaded function.

Reads a line from the device, but no more than maxSize characters, and returns the result as a byte array.

This function has no way of reporting errors; returning an empty QByteArray can mean either that no data was currently available for reading, or that an error occurred.

readLine(buffer, maxlen)
Parameters:

  • buffer – PyBuffer

  • maxlen – int

Return type:

int

readLineData(maxlen)
Parameters:

maxlen – int

Return type:

PyObject

Reads up to maxSize characters into data and returns the number of characters read.

This function is called by readLine() , and provides its base implementation, using getChar() . Buffered devices can improve the performance of readLine() by reimplementing this function.

readLine() appends a ‘\0’ byte to data; readLineData() does not need to do this.

If you reimplement this function, be careful to return the correct value: it should return the number of bytes read in this line, including the terminating newline, or 0 if there is no line to be read at this point. If an error occurs, it should return -1 if and only if no bytes were read. Reading past EOF is considered an error.

readyRead()

This signal is emitted once every time new data is available for reading from the device’s current read channel. It will only be emitted again once new data is available, such as when a new payload of network data has arrived on your network socket, or when a new block of data has been appended to your device.

readyRead() is not emitted recursively; if you reenter the event loop or call waitForReadyRead() inside a slot connected to the readyRead() signal, the signal will not be reemitted (although waitForReadyRead() may still return true).

Note for developers implementing classes derived from QIODevice : you should always emit readyRead() when new data has arrived (do not emit it only because there’s data still to be read in your buffers). Do not emit readyRead() in other conditions.

See also

bytesWritten()

reset()
Return type:

bool

Seeks to the start of input for random-access devices. Returns true on success; otherwise returns false (for example, if the device is not open).

Note that when using a QTextStream on a QFile , calling reset() on the QFile will not have the expected result because QTextStream buffers the file. Use the seek() function instead.

See also

seek()

rollbackTransaction()

Rolls back a read transaction.

Restores the input stream to the point of the startTransaction() call. This function is commonly used to rollback the transaction when an incomplete read was detected prior to committing the transaction.

seek(pos)
Parameters:

pos – int

Return type:

bool

For random-access devices, this function sets the current position to pos, returning true on success, or false if an error occurred. For sequential devices, the default behavior is to produce a warning and return false.

When subclassing QIODevice , you must call QIODevice::seek() at the start of your function to ensure integrity with QIODevice ‘s built-in buffer.

setCurrentReadChannel(channel)
Parameters:

channel – int

Sets the current read channel of the QIODevice to the given channel. The current input channel is used by the functions read() , readAll() , readLine() , and getChar() . It also determines which channel triggers QIODevice to emit readyRead() .

setCurrentWriteChannel(channel)
Parameters:

channel – int

Sets the current write channel of the QIODevice to the given channel. The current output channel is used by the functions write() , putChar() . It also determines which channel triggers QIODevice to emit bytesWritten() .

setErrorString(errorString)
Parameters:

errorString – str

Sets the human readable description of the last device error that occurred to str.

See also

errorString()

setOpenMode(openMode)
Parameters:

openMode – Combination of OpenModeFlag

Sets the OpenMode of the device to openMode. Call this function to set the open mode if the flags change after the device has been opened.

See also

openMode() OpenMode

setTextModeEnabled(enabled)
Parameters:

enabled – bool

If enabled is true, this function sets the Text flag on the device; otherwise the Text flag is removed. This feature is useful for classes that provide custom end-of-line handling on a QIODevice .

The IO device should be opened before calling this function.

size()
Return type:

int

For open random-access devices, this function returns the size of the device. For open sequential devices, bytesAvailable() is returned.

If the device is closed, the size returned will not reflect the actual size of the device.

skip(maxSize)
Parameters:

maxSize – int

Return type:

int

Skips up to maxSize bytes from the device. Returns the number of bytes actually skipped, or -1 on error.

This function does not wait and only discards the data that is already available for reading.

If the device is opened in text mode, end-of-line terminators are translated to ‘\n’ symbols and count as a single byte identically to the read() and peek() behavior.

This function works for all devices, including sequential ones that cannot seek() . It is optimized to skip unwanted data after a peek() call.

For random-access devices, skip() can be used to seek forward from the current position. Negative maxSize values are not allowed.

skipData(maxSize)
Parameters:

maxSize – int

Return type:

int

Skips up to maxSize bytes from the device. Returns the number of bytes actually skipped, or -1 on error.

This function is called by QIODevice . Consider reimplementing it when creating a subclass of QIODevice .

The base implementation discards the data by reading into a dummy buffer. This is slow, but works for all types of devices. Subclasses can reimplement this function to improve on that.

startTransaction()

Starts a new read transaction on the device.

Defines a restorable point within the sequence of read operations. For sequential devices, read data will be duplicated internally to allow recovery in case of incomplete reads. For random-access devices, this function saves the current position. Call commitTransaction() or rollbackTransaction() to finish the transaction.

Note

Nesting transactions is not supported.

See also

commitTransaction() rollbackTransaction()

ungetChar(c)
Parameters:

c – int

Puts the character c back into the device, and decrements the current position unless the position is 0. This function is usually called to “undo” a getChar() operation, such as when writing a backtracking parser.

If c was not previously read from the device, the behavior is undefined.

Note

This function is not available while a transaction is in progress.

waitForBytesWritten(msecs)
Parameters:

msecs – int

Return type:

bool

For buffered devices, this function waits until a payload of buffered written data has been written to the device and the bytesWritten() signal has been emitted, or until msecs milliseconds have passed. If msecs is -1, this function will not time out. For unbuffered devices, it returns immediately.

Returns true if a payload of data was written to the device; otherwise returns false (i.e. if the operation timed out, or if an error occurred).

This function can operate without an event loop. It is useful when writing non-GUI applications and when performing I/O operations in a non-GUI thread.

If called from within a slot connected to the bytesWritten() signal, bytesWritten() will not be reemitted.

Reimplement this function to provide a blocking API for a custom device. The default implementation does nothing, and returns false.

Warning

Calling this function from the main (GUI) thread might cause your user interface to freeze.

See also

waitForReadyRead()

waitForReadyRead(msecs)
Parameters:

msecs – int

Return type:

bool

Blocks until new data is available for reading and the readyRead() signal has been emitted, or until msecs milliseconds have passed. If msecs is -1, this function will not time out.

Returns true if new data is available for reading; otherwise returns false (if the operation timed out or if an error occurred).

This function can operate without an event loop. It is useful when writing non-GUI applications and when performing I/O operations in a non-GUI thread.

If called from within a slot connected to the readyRead() signal, readyRead() will not be reemitted.

Reimplement this function to provide a blocking API for a custom device. The default implementation does nothing, and returns false.

Warning

Calling this function from the main (GUI) thread might cause your user interface to freeze.

See also

waitForBytesWritten()

write(data)
Parameters:

data – QByteArray

Return type:

int

This is an overloaded function.

Writes the content of data to the device. Returns the number of bytes that were actually written, or -1 if an error occurred.

See also

read() writeData()

writeChannelCount()
Return type:

int

Returns the number of available write channels if the device is open; otherwise returns 0.

abstract writeData(data, len)
Parameters:

  • data – str

  • len – int

Return type:

int

Writes up to maxSize bytes from data to the device. Returns the number of bytes written, or -1 if an error occurred.

This function is called by QIODevice . Reimplement this function when creating a subclass of QIODevice .

When reimplementing this function it is important that this function writes all the data available before returning. This is required in order for QDataStream to be able to operate on the class. QDataStream assumes all the information was written and therefore does not retry writing if there was a problem.

See also

read() write()