7.5. Function Pointers

Function pointers in C are bound as delegates in Vala. A delegate is a type that declares the function signature a function pointer should have. A function pointer can also have an associated data parameter called a target.

For delegates without targets, they can simply be treated as simple types.

For targeted delegates, the target must be included. Vala, by default, assumes this will be after the function pointer itself, but this can be adjusted with the delegate_target_pos. The position where the target is received is defined in the delegate’s definition; not the calling function.

A delegate with a target cannot be trivially duplicated, since the target must also be duplicated. Thus, targeted delegates are treated much like singly-owned classes, which can be reassigned, but not multiply referenced.

If the method is going to retain a reference to the delegate, then it needs a helper function to destroy the delegate after it has finished. This position is after the target, but can be set with the delegate_target_destroy_notify_pos.

If a delegate is being returned, which is rather rare, the target and destroy notifier are assumed to be out parameters.

typedef void (*foo_func)(int x, void *context);

void call_foo(foo_func f, void *context);
void call_foo_later(foo_func f, void *context, void(*free_context)(void*));
foo_func get_foo(void **context);
foo_func make_foo(void **context, void(**free_context)(void*));

[CCode (cname = "foo_func", has_target = true)]
public delegate void FooFunc (int x);

public void call_foo (FooFunc f);
public void call_foo_later (owned FooFunc f);
public unowned FooFunc get_foo ();
public FooFunc make_foo ();