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diff --git a/doc/src/development/moc.qdoc b/doc/src/development/moc.qdoc new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..747c68d6a0 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/src/development/moc.qdoc @@ -0,0 +1,335 @@ +/**************************************************************************** +** +** Copyright (C) 2009 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies). +** Contact: Nokia Corporation (qt-info@nokia.com) +** +** This file is part of the documentation of the Qt Toolkit. +** +** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:LGPL$ +** No Commercial Usage +** This file contains pre-release code and may not be distributed. +** You may use this file in accordance with the terms and conditions +** contained in the either Technology Preview License Agreement or the +** Beta Release License Agreement. +** +** GNU Lesser General Public License Usage +** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Lesser +** General Public License version 2.1 as published by the Free Software +** Foundation and appearing in the file LICENSE.LGPL included in the +** packaging of this file. Please review the following information to +** ensure the GNU Lesser General Public License version 2.1 requirements +** will be met: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html. +** +** In addition, as a special exception, Nokia gives you certain +** additional rights. These rights are described in the Nokia Qt LGPL +** Exception version 1.0, included in the file LGPL_EXCEPTION.txt in this +** package. +** +** GNU General Public License Usage +** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU +** General Public License version 3.0 as published by the Free Software +** Foundation and appearing in the file LICENSE.GPL included in the +** packaging of this file. Please review the following information to +** ensure the GNU General Public License version 3.0 requirements will be +** met: http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/gpl.html. +** +** If you are unsure which license is appropriate for your use, please +** contact the sales department at http://qt.nokia.com/contact. +** $QT_END_LICENSE$ +** +****************************************************************************/ + +/*! + \page moc.html + \title Using the Meta-Object Compiler (moc) + \ingroup qttools + \keyword moc + + The Meta-Object Compiler, \c moc, is the program that handles + \l{Meta-Object System}{Qt's C++ extensions}. + + The \c moc tool reads a C++ header file. If it finds one or more + class declarations that contain the Q_OBJECT macro, it + produces a C++ source file containing the meta-object code for + those classes. Among other things, meta-object code is required + for the signals and slots mechanism, the run-time type information, + and the dynamic property system. + + The C++ source file generated by \c moc must be compiled and + linked with the implementation of the class. + + If you use \l qmake to create your makefiles, build rules will be + included that call the moc when required, so you will not need to + use the moc directly. For more background information on \c moc, + see \l{Why Doesn't Qt Use Templates for Signals and Slots?} + + \section1 Usage + + \c moc is typically used with an input file containing class + declarations like this: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/moc/myclass1.h 0 + + In addition to the signals and slots shown above, \c moc also + implements object properties as in the next example. The + Q_PROPERTY() macro declares an object property, while + Q_ENUMS() declares a list of enumeration types within the class + to be usable inside the \l{Qt's Property System}{property + system}. + + In the following example, we declare a property of the + enumeration type \c Priority that is also called \c priority and + has a get function \c priority() and a set function \c + setPriority(). + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/moc/myclass2.h 0 + + The Q_FLAGS() macro declares enums that are to be used + as flags, i.e. OR'd together. Another macro, Q_CLASSINFO(), + allows you to attach additional name/value pairs to the class's + meta-object: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/moc/myclass3.h 0 + + The output produced by \c moc must be compiled and linked, just + like the other C++ code in your program; otherwise, the build + will fail in the final link phase. If you use \c qmake, this is + done automatically. Whenever \c qmake is run, it parses the + project's header files and generates make rules to invoke \c moc + for those files that contain a Q_OBJECT macro. + + If the class declaration is found in the file \c myclass.h, the + moc output should be put in a file called \c moc_myclass.cpp. + This file should then be compiled as usual, resulting in an + object file, e.g., \c moc_myclass.obj on Windows. This object + should then be included in the list of object files that are + linked together in the final building phase of the program. + + \section1 Writing Make Rules for Invoking \c moc + + For anything but the simplest test programs, it is recommended + that you automate running the \c{moc}. By adding some rules to + your program's makefile, \c make can take care of running moc + when necessary and handling the moc output. + + We recommend using the \l qmake makefile generation tool for + building your makefiles. This tool generates a makefile that does + all the necessary \c moc handling. + + If you want to create your makefiles yourself, here are some tips + on how to include moc handling. + + For Q_OBJECT class declarations in header files, here is a + useful makefile rule if you only use GNU make: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 0 + + If you want to write portably, you can use individual rules of + the following form: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 1 + + You must also remember to add \c moc_foo.cpp to your \c SOURCES + (substitute your favorite name) variable and \c moc_foo.o or \c + moc_foo.obj to your \c OBJECTS variable. + + Both examples assume that \c $(DEFINES) and \c $(INCPATH) expand + to the define and include path options that are passed to the C++ + compiler. These are required by \c moc to preprocess the source + files. + + While we prefer to name our C++ source files \c .cpp, you can use + any other extension, such as \c .C, \c .cc, \c .CC, \c .cxx, and + \c .c++, if you prefer. + + For Q_OBJECT class declarations in implementation (\c .cpp) + files, we suggest a makefile rule like this: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 2 + + This guarantees that make will run the moc before it compiles + \c foo.cpp. You can then put + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 3 + + at the end of \c foo.cpp, where all the classes declared in that + file are fully known. + + \section1 Command-Line Options + + Here are the command-line options supported by the moc: + + \table + \header \o Option \o Description + + \row + \o \c{-o<file>} + \o Write output to \c <file> rather than to standard output. + + \row + \o \c{-f[<file>]} + \o Force the generation of an \c #include statement in the + output. This is the default for header files whose extension + starts with \c H or \c h. This option is useful if you have + header files that do not follow the standard naming conventions. + The \c <file> part is optional. + + \row + \o \c -i + \o Do not generate an \c #include statement in the output. + This may be used to run the moc on on a C++ file containing one or + more class declarations. You should then \c #include the meta-object + code in the \c .cpp file. + + \row + \o \c -nw + \o Do not generate any warnings. (Not recommended.) + + \row + \o \c {-p<path>} + \o Makes the moc prepend \c {<path>/} to the file name in the + generated \c #include statement. + + \row + \o \c {-I<dir>} + \o Add dir to the include path for header files. + + \row + \o \c{-E} + \o Preprocess only; do not generate meta-object code. + + \row + \o \c {-D<macro>[=<def>]} + \o Define macro, with optional definition. + + \row + \o \c{-U<macro>} + \o Undefine macro. + + \row + \o \c{@<file>} + \o Read additional command-line options from \c{<file>}. + Each line of the file is treated as a single option. Empty lines + are ignored. Note that this option is not supported within the + options file itself (i.e. an options file can't "include" another + file). + + \row + \o \c{-h} + \o Display the usage and the list of options. + + \row + \o \c {-v} + \o Display \c{moc}'s version number. + + \row + \o \c{-Fdir} + + \o Mac OS X. Add the framework directory \c{dir} to the head of + the list of directories to be searched for header files. These + directories are interleaved with those specified by -I options + and are scanned in a left-to-right order (see the manpage for + gcc). Normally, use -F /Library/Frameworks/ + + \endtable + + You can explicitly tell the moc not to parse parts of a header + file. \c moc defines the preprocessor symbol \c Q_MOC_RUN. Any + code surrounded by + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 4 + + is skipped by the \c moc. + + \section1 Diagnostics + + \c moc will warn you about a number of dangerous or illegal + constructs in the Q_OBJECT class declarations. + + If you get linkage errors in the final building phase of your + program, saying that \c YourClass::className() is undefined or + that \c YourClass lacks a vtable, something has been done wrong. + Most often, you have forgotten to compile or \c #include the + moc-generated C++ code, or (in the former case) include that + object file in the link command. If you use \c qmake, try + rerunning it to update your makefile. This should do the trick. + + \section1 Limitations + + \c moc does not handle all of C++. The main problem is that class + templates cannot have signals or slots. Here is an example: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 5 + + Another limitation is that moc does not expand macros, so you + for example cannot use a macro to declare a signal/slot + or use one to define a base class for a QObject. + + Less importantly, the following constructs are illegal. All of + them have alternatives which we think are usually better, so + removing these limitations is not a high priority for us. + + \section2 Multiple Inheritance Requires QObject to Be First + + If you are using multiple inheritance, \c moc assumes that the + first inherited class is a subclass of QObject. Also, be sure + that only the first inherited class is a QObject. + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 6 + + Virtual inheritance with QObject is \e not supported. + + \section2 Function Pointers Cannot Be Signal or Slot Parameters + + In most cases where you would consider using function pointers as + signal or slot parameters, we think inheritance is a better + alternative. Here is an example of illegal syntax: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 7 + + You can work around this restriction like this: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 8 + + It may sometimes be even better to replace the function pointer + with inheritance and virtual functions. + + \section2 Enums and Typedefs Must Be Fully Qualified for Signal and Slot Parameters + + When checking the signatures of its arguments, QObject::connect() + compares the data types literally. Thus, + \l{Qt::Alignment}{Alignment} and \l{Qt::Alignment} are treated as + two distinct types. To work around this limitation, make sure to + fully qualify the data types when declaring signals and slots, + and when establishing connections. For example: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 9 + + \section2 Type Macros Cannot Be Used for Signal and Slot Parameters + + Since \c moc doesn't expand \c{#define}s, type macros that take + an argument will not work in signals and slots. Here is an + illegal example: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 10 + + A macro without parameters will work. + + \section2 Nested Classes Cannot Have Signals or Slots + + Here's an example of the offending construct: + + \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_moc.qdoc 11 + + \section2 Signal/Slot return types cannot be references + + Signals and slots can have return types, but signals or slots returning references + will be treated as returning void. + + \section2 Only Signals and Slots May Appear in the \c signals and \c slots Sections of a Class + + \c moc will complain if you try to put other constructs in the \c + signals or \c slots sections of a class than signals and slots. + + \sa {Meta-Object System}, {Signals and Slots}, {Qt's Property System} +*/ |