Signals and slots

Picture a big playground with lots of kids. Each kid has their own toy, and they can play with it however they want. Sometimes, a kid might want to share their toy with another kid, but they don't want to give it away permanently - they just want the other kid to be able to play with it for a little bit.

Signals and slots are like this playground. A signal is like a toy that a kid wants to share temporarily. When the kid decides they want to share their toy, they make a signal by shouting "Hey, I want to share my toy with someone! Who wants to play with it?" This is kind of like a message being sent out that someone wants to share something.

Other kids who are interested in playing with the toy can respond to the signal. They do this by going over to the kid who made the signal, and saying something like "I want to play with your toy!" This is called connecting to the signal, like plugging a toy into an outlet to make it work.

Once a connection is made, the kid who made the signal can start sharing their toy with the other kid. They might show them how the toy works, or let them play with it themselves for a little bit. This is called emitting the signal, or sending out the message that the toy is available for someone else to use.

This whole process is called a slot. It's like a designated space on the playground where kids can share their toys. Each slot has its own rules and procedures for how signals are made and connections are established.

In computer programming, signals and slots work in a similar way. A signal is a message that an object sends out when something happens - like a button being clicked, or a value being changed. Other objects can listen for these signals, and when they hear them, they can react in some way.

This listening process is like connecting to the signal. When an object wants to listen for a signal, it creates a slot - a designated space where it can handle the signal when it comes in. When the signal is emitted, the object's slot is triggered, and it can perform some action in response.

So, signals and slots are a way for different objects in a computer program to communicate with each other. They work like the kids on a playground sharing toys - one object sends out a message that something is happening, and other objects listen for that message and react accordingly.