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authorJerome Pasion <jerome.pasion@nokia.com>2011-02-21 14:18:32 (GMT)
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+/*!
+ \title Scalability
+ \page scalability.html
+
+ \omit preliminary docs for next SDK release \endomit
+ \omit Somewhere I need to mention applications with more than
+ one page (top-level layouts). \endomit
+
+ A scalable application is an application that can run on more than
+ one form factor. In particular, it can cope with different screen
+ sizes, DPI, and aspect ratios. You need to consider scalability
+ when:
+
+ \list
+ \o your application will be deployed to more than one device
+ handset, or more than one device form factor.
+ \o your application will be deployed for a long period of time,
+ so that new device handsets might appear on the market after
+ your initial deployment.
+ \endlist
+
+ This document discusses how scalable applications can be created.
+
+ \section1 Developing Scalable UIs
+
+ This section shows the basics of how we advice scalable
+ applications to be implemented using QML. We recommend that you
+ follow these techniques:
+
+ \list
+ \o Create separate top-level layout
+ definitions for each form factor.
+ \o Keep the layouts small and let components
+ scale relative to their immediate parent.
+ \o Define device independent measurements, such as dp
+ (device independent pixels), and use
+ these to scale components and for layout measurement.
+ \o Define layouts in a
+ proportional way using the built-in layout features of QML.
+ \endlist
+
+ Using small top-level layouts makes your codebase smaller and
+ easier to maintain. Also, components that scales relative to their
+ parent are more reusable. The layouts should be children of the
+ applications root item. You can change between them by, for
+ instance, using the opacity property of Item; that is, if your
+ application has more tham one top-level layout.
+
+ You should define the measurements separate from the UI, for
+ instance by using a JavaScript object that you fill in with a
+ script on application start up.
+
+ QML's provides several ways of laying out components, e.g, using
+ anchor based layout, the more classic Grid; Column; and Row
+ elements, and by setting the dimensions of Items directly. When
+ laying out components in scalable applications, you should
+ generally prefer using anchors and set width and height based on
+ parent size where possible. Layouts are not only relevant to
+ top-level layouts; components often contain child Items.
+
+ The following sections describe in more detail the different
+ aspects of scalability that should be considered in order to
+ achieve the desired level of flexibility within your application.
+
+ \section1 Implementing the Top-Level Layouts
+
+ As mentioned, each application should use separate top-level
+ layout QML definitions to support separate layout configurations /
+ form factors.
+
+ Consider an application that has to be deployed to at least two
+ devices, which both have very different screen sizes and DPI
+ values. The two form factors of the application will share many
+ common components and attributes, and will most likely connect to
+ the same data model.
+
+ Therefore, the top level definitions should be quite
+ straightforward and short, with the majority of the functionality
+ refactored into contained Components. It is important to try to
+ avoid unnecessary duplication between these top level definitions,
+ in order to improve maintainability.
+
+ There are some patterns that you might consider when designing
+ your top level layouts:
+
+ \list
+ \o In some cases, the contents of an entire page in a smaller
+ handset could form a component element of a layout in a
+ larger device. Therefore, consider making that a separate
+ component (i.e. defined in a separate QML file), and in the
+ smaller handset, the Page will simply contain an instance of
+ that component. On the larger device, there may be enough
+ space to show two separate items. For example, in an email
+ viewer, if the screen is large enough, it may be possible to
+ show the email list view, and the email reader view side by
+ side.
+ \o In some cases, the contents of a view might be quite similar
+ on all screen sizes, but with an expanded content area. In
+ this case, it may be possible to re-use the same layout
+ definition, if defined appropriately using anchors.
+ \endlist
+
+ The Loader component can be used to load separate QML files based
+ on some criteria, such as Device Profile resolution. In the case
+ of form factor, this information will not change during the
+ application's lifetime, therefore there is no issue with memory
+ usage or performance.
+
+ \section1 Defining Measurements
+
+ When you are defining the measurements within an application or
+ component layout, there are a number aspects to consider:
+
+ \list
+ \o The layout structure, the high level relationship between
+ items. Which item is the parent? How are the items arranged
+ relatively on the screen? Are they in a grid or column?
+ \o The layout measurements. How big is an item, or a margin
+ inside the edge of an item, or an anchor between items?
+ \o The constraints imposed by the container. This might be
+ ApplicationWindow contents in the case of a Page, or it may
+ be some other container in the case of a Button.
+ \o The implicit size of contained items. Some child items will
+ require a certain amount of space, such as a button
+ containing a text. That may also depend on the current
+ platform and style. How do you ensure that you leave enough
+ space, and what happens if your children change size?
+ \endlist
+
+ These aspects combine together to resolve the final layout for a
+ given Device Profile. However, although there are dependencies
+ between them, it is important to manage and control the different
+ aspects separately.
+
+ It is strongly recommended that Layout measurements should be
+ stored in a separate place from the component layout structure
+ definition files. The reason for this is that layout structure,
+ for a given form factor, can be re-used for different Device
+ Profiles. However, measurements will almost always vary between
+ Device Profiles or Device Categories.
+
+ If the opposite approach (complete duplication of entire QML
+ files) was taken, then all of the layout states and structure
+ definitions would be duplicated between the copied QML files, and
+ only the measurement values would change.
+
+ The main benefit of using separate measurement definition files
+ are:
+
+ \list
+ \o To reduce the amount of duplication, and hence increase
+ maintainability.
+ \o It becomes much easier to change the layout structure,
+ perhaps due to subsequent specification changes. In that
+ case, the layout structure can be modified once, and many or
+ all of the layout measurements would remain unchanged.
+ \o It becomes much easier to add support for additional Device
+ Profiles, simply by adding another measurement definition
+ file.
+ \endlist
+
+ \section1 Using QML's Layout Features
+
+ For a given form factor, top level Layouts structure definitions,
+ or component layout structure definitions, should in general be
+ defined in a proportional way using a combination of
+
+ \list
+ \o \l{Item::}{anchors} within an Item
+ \o \l{Row} / \l{Column} / \l{Grid}
+ \o simple javascript expressions such as width: Math.round(parent.width / 3.0).
+ \endlist
+
+ These basic building blocks, along with the powerful evaluation
+ capabilities of javascript expressions within every QML binding,
+ are designed to allow the majority of the layout structure
+ definition to be defined in a Device Profile independent way.
+
+ There are some limitations of the basic grid type layouts. They
+ are designed to accommodate a number of Items, but use the current
+ sizes of those items. There is a similar issue with the basic
+ anchor type layout. In particular, it can be difficult to spread a
+ number of child items proportionately across an area of their
+ container.
+
+ By combining the features of the layout managers with simple
+ javascript expressions, a richer variety of designs can be
+ expressed, without having to resort to additional layout
+ measurement parameters or measurement values.
+
+ Here are some things not to do with layouts:
+
+ \list
+ \o Don't define complex javascript functions that are regularly
+ evaluated. This will cause poor performance, particularly
+ during animated transitions.
+ \o Don't define all of your layouts using x, y, width and
+ height. Reserve this for items that cannot easily be defined
+ using anchors (anchors are evaluated in a more efficient
+ way).
+ \o Don't make assumptions about the container size, or about
+ the size of child items. Try to make flexible layout
+ definitions that can absorb changes in the available space.
+ \endlist
+
+ \section1 Orientation Switches
+
+ Application top level page definitions, and reusable component
+ definitions, should use one QML layout definition for the layout
+ structure. This single definition should include the layout design
+ for separate Device Orientations and Aspect Ratios. The reason for
+ this is that performance during an orientation switch is critical,
+ and it is therefore a good idea to ensure that all of the
+ components needed by both orientations are loaded when the
+ orientation changes.
+
+ On the contrary, you should perform thorough tests if you choose
+ to use a Loader to load additional QML that is needed in separate
+ orientations, as this will affect the performance of the
+ orientation change.
+
+ In order to enable layout animations between the orientations, the
+ anchor definitions must reside within the same containing
+ component. Therefore the structure of an page or a component
+ should consist of a common set of child components, a common set
+ of anchor definitions, and a collection of states (defined in a
+ StateGroup) representing the different aspect ratios supported by
+ the component. (However note that orientation change animations
+ are not possible on Symbian due to compatibility support for S60
+ applications).
+
+ If a component, contained within a Page element, needs to be
+ hosted in numerous different form factor definitions, then the
+ layout states of the view should depend on the aspect ratio of the
+ page (its immediate container). Similarly, different instances of
+ a component might be situated within numerous different containers
+ in a UI, and so its layout states should be determined by the
+ aspect ratio of its parent. The conclusion is that layout states
+ should always follow the aspect ratio of the direct container (not
+ the "orientation" of the current device screen). The only
+ exception to this is of course the top level Window definition,
+ which is handled by the framework.
+
+ Within each layout State, you should define the relationships
+ between items using native QML layout definitions. See below for
+ more information. During transitions between the states (triggered
+ by the top level orientation change), in the case of anchor
+ layouts, AnchorAnimation elements can be used to control the
+ transitions. In some cases, you can also use a NumberAnimation on
+ e.g. the width of an item. Remember to avoid complex javascript
+ calculations during each frame of animation. Using simple anchor
+ definitions and anchor animations can help with this in the
+ majority of cases.
+
+ There are a few additional cases to consider:
+
+ \list
+ \o What if you have a single page that looks completely
+ different between landscape and portrait, i.e. all of the
+ child items are different? For each Page, have two child
+ components, with separate layout definitions, and make one
+ or other of the items have zero opacity in each state. You
+ can use a cross-fade animation by simply applying a
+ NumberAnimation transition to the opacity.
+ \o What if you have a single page that shares 30% or more of
+ the same layout contents between portrait and landscape? In
+ that case, consider having one component with landscape and
+ portrait states, and a collection of separate child items
+ whose opacity (or position) depends on the orientation
+ state. This will enable you to use layout animations for the
+ items that are shared between the orientations, whilst the
+ other items are either faded in/out, or animated on/off
+ screen.
+ \o What if you have two pages on a handheld device that need to
+ be on screen at the same time, for example on a larger form
+ factor device? In this case, notice that your view component
+ will no longer be occupying the full screen. Therefore it's
+ important to remember in all components (in particular, list
+ delegate items) should depend on the size of the containing
+ component width, not on the screen width. It may be
+ necessary to set the width in a Component.onCompleted()
+ handler in this case, to ensure that the list item delegate
+ has been constructed before the value is set.
+ \o What if the two orientations take up too much memory to have
+ them both in memory at once? Use a Loader if necessary, if
+ you cannot keep both versions of the view in memory at once,
+ but beware performance on the cross-fade animation during
+ layout switch. One solution could be to have two "splash
+ screen" items that are children of the Page, then you cross
+ fade between those during rotation. Then you can use a
+ Loader to load another child component that loads the actual
+ model data to another child Item, and cross-fade to that
+ when the Loader has completed.
+ \endlist
+ */
+