summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/doc/src/tutorials/modelview.qdoc
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorJørgen Lind <jorgen.lind@nokia.com>2010-08-03 10:53:57 (GMT)
committerJørgen Lind <jorgen.lind@nokia.com>2010-08-03 10:53:57 (GMT)
commitd5491ecdde14659a913c9f476f18c45f1d9489bb (patch)
tree06cc52249feda9bd9e50ca47abb8ebd676c8a309 /doc/src/tutorials/modelview.qdoc
parent42cdfaf86d34afeb6448723839fef70fe477deed (diff)
parenta41128af5373a0225c3548abd3eb82cd7e8f7a0e (diff)
downloadQt-d5491ecdde14659a913c9f476f18c45f1d9489bb.zip
Qt-d5491ecdde14659a913c9f476f18c45f1d9489bb.tar.gz
Qt-d5491ecdde14659a913c9f476f18c45f1d9489bb.tar.bz2
Merge branch '4.7' of scm.dev.nokia.troll.no:qt/qt into lighthouse
Conflicts: configure
Diffstat (limited to 'doc/src/tutorials/modelview.qdoc')
-rwxr-xr-xdoc/src/tutorials/modelview.qdoc938
1 files changed, 938 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/doc/src/tutorials/modelview.qdoc b/doc/src/tutorials/modelview.qdoc
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..98096a0
--- /dev/null
+++ b/doc/src/tutorials/modelview.qdoc
@@ -0,0 +1,938 @@
+/****************************************************************************
+**
+** Copyright (C) 2010 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
+** All rights reserved.
+** Contact: Nokia Corporation (qt-info@nokia.com)
+**
+** This file is part of the documentation of the Qt Toolkit.
+**
+** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:FDL$
+** Commercial Usage
+** Licensees holding valid Qt Commercial licenses may use this file in
+** accordance with the Qt Commercial License Agreement provided with the
+** Software or, alternatively, in accordance with the terms contained in a
+** written agreement between you and Nokia.
+**
+** GNU Free Documentation License
+** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Free
+** Documentation License version 1.3 as published by the Free Software
+** Foundation and appearing in the file included in the packaging of this
+** file.
+**
+** If you have questions regarding the use of this file, please contact
+** Nokia at qt-info@nokia.com.
+** $QT_END_LICENSE$
+**
+****************************************************************************/
+
+/*!
+ \page modelview.html
+
+ \startpage {index.html}{Qt Reference Documentation}
+ \nextpage {modelview-part1.html}{Introduction}
+
+ \title Model/View Contents
+ \brief An introduction to ModelView programming
+
+ This tutorial gives an introduction to ModelView programming using the Qt
+ cross-platform framework.
+
+ \image treeview.png
+
+ \omit
+ It doesn't cover everything; the emphasis is on teaching the programming
+ philosophy of Model/View programming, and Qt's features are introduced as
+ needed. Some commonly used features are never used in this tutorial.
+ \endomit
+
+ In the process, we will learn about some basic technologies provided by Qt,
+ such as:
+
+ \list
+ \o The difference between standard and model/view widgets
+ \o Adapters betweeen forms and models
+ \o Developing a simple model/view application
+ \o Intermediate topics such as:
+ \list
+ \o Tree views
+ \o Selection
+ \o Predefined models
+ \o Delegates
+ \o Debugging with model test
+ \endlist
+ \endlist
+
+ If you are completely new to Qt, please read \l{How to Learn Qt} if you
+ have not already done so.
+
+ The tutorial's source code is located in Qt's \c examples/tutorials/modelview
+ directory.
+
+ \list 1
+ \o \l{modelview-part1.html}{Introduction}
+ \o \l{modelview-part2.html}{Developing a Simple Model/View Application}
+ \o \l{modelview-part3.html}{Intermediate Topics}
+ \o \l{modelview-part4.html}{Good Sources of Additional Information}
+ \endlist
+
+
+*/
+
+/*!
+ \page modelview-part1.html
+ \contentspage {modelview-index.html}{Model/View Contents}
+ \previouspage {modelview-index.html}{Model/View Contents}
+ \nextpage {modelview-part2.html}{Developing a Simple Model/View Application}
+ \title An Introduction to Model/View Programming
+
+ \section1 1. Introduction
+
+ Model/View is a technology used to separate data from views in widgets that
+ handle data sets. Standard widgets are not designed for separating data
+ from views and this is why Qt 4 has two different types of widgets. Both
+ types of widgets look the same, but they interact with data differently.
+
+ \table
+ \row
+ \o Standard widgets use data that is part of the widget.
+ \o \image standardwidget.png
+ \row
+ \o View classes operate on external data (the model)
+ \o \image modelview.png
+ \endtable
+
+ \section2 1.1 Standard Widgets
+
+ Let's have a closer look at a standard table widget. A table widget is a 2D
+ array of the data elements that the user can change. The table widget can
+ be integrated into a program flow by reading and writing the data elements
+ that the table widget provides. This method is very intuitive and useful in
+ many applications.
+
+ Displaying and editing a database table with a standard table widget can be
+ problematic. Two copies of the data have to be coordinated: one outside the
+ widget; one inside the widget. The developer needs to know where up-to-date
+ data is so the both copies contain the most recent data. The tight coupling
+ of presentation and data makes it harder to write unit tests.
+
+ \section2 1.2 Model/View to the Rescue
+
+ Model/view stepped up to provide a solution that uses a more versatile
+ architecture. Model/view eliminates the data consistency problems that may
+ occur with standard widgets. Model/view also makes it easier to use more
+ than one view of the same data because one model can be passed on to many
+ views. The most important difference is that model/view widgets do not
+ store data behind the table cells. In fact, they operate directly from your
+ data. Since view classes do not know your data's structure, you need to
+ provide a wrapper to make your data conform to the QAbstractItemModel
+ interface. A view uses this interface to read from and write to your data
+ and any class that implements QAbstractItemModel is a model. Once the view
+ receives a pointer to a model, it will read and display its content and be
+ its editor.
+
+ \section2 1.3 Overview of the Model/View Widgets
+
+ Here is an overview of the model/view widgets and their corresponding
+ standard widgets.
+
+ \table
+ \header
+ \o Widget
+ \o Standard Widget (a convenience class with data in
+ the widget)
+ \o Model/View View Class (for use with external data)
+ \row
+ \o \inlineimage listview.png
+ \o \l QListWidget
+ \o \l QListView
+ \row
+ \o \inlineimage tableview.png
+ \o \l QTableWidget
+ \o \l QTableView
+ \row
+ \o \inlineimage treeview.png
+ \o \l QTreeWidget
+ \o \l QTreeView
+ \row
+ \o \inlineimage columnview.png
+ \o
+ \o \l QColumnView shows a tree as a hierarchy of lists
+ \row
+ \o \inlineimage combobox.png
+ \o {2, 1} \l QComboBox can work as both a view class and also
+ as a traditional widget
+ \endtable
+
+ \section2 1.4 Using Adapters between Forms and Models
+
+ Having adapters between forms and models can come in handy.
+
+ We often prefer editing data stored in tables (e.g. in database tables) in
+ forms rather than in tables. There is no direct model/view counterpart for
+ separating data and views for widgets that operate on one value instead of
+ a dataset, so we need an adapter in order to connect the form to the source
+ of data.
+
+ \l QDataWidgetMapper is a great solution because it maps form widgets to a
+ table row and it makes it very easy to build forms for database tables.
+
+ \image widgetmapper.png
+
+ Another example of an adapter is QCompleter. Qt has QCompleter for
+ providing auto-completions in Qt widgets such as QComboBox and, as shown
+ below, QLineEdit. QCompleter uses a model as its data source, so QCompleter,
+ in itself, is a very handy adapter.
+
+ \image qcompleter.png
+*/
+
+/*!
+ \page modelview-part2-main-cpp.html
+ \title main.cpp
+ \quotefile tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/main.cpp
+*/
+
+/*!
+ \page modelview-part2.html
+ \contentspage {modelview-index.html}{Model/View Contents}
+ \previouspage {modelview-part1.html}{Introduction}
+ \nextpage {modelview-part3.html}{Intermediate Topics}
+ \title Model/View Chapter 2 - A Simple Model/View Application
+
+ \section1 2. A Simple Model/View Application
+
+ If you want to develop a model/view application, where should you start? We
+ recommend starting with a simple example and extending it step-by-step.
+ This makes understanding the architecture a lot easier. Trying to
+ understand the model/view architecture in detail before invoking the IDE
+ has proven to be less convenient for many developers. It is substantially
+ easier to start with a simple model/view application that has demo data.
+ Give it a try! Simply replace the data in the examples below with your own.
+
+ Below are 7 very simple and independent applications that show different
+ sides of model/view programming. The source code can be found inside the
+ \c{examples/tutorials/modelview} directory.
+
+ \section2 2.1 A Read Only Table
+
+ We start with an application that uses a QTableView to show data. We will
+ add editing capabilities later.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/main.cpp Quoting ModelView Tutorial
+
+ We have the usual \l {modelview-part2-main-cpp.html}{main()} function:
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/modelview.h Quoting ModelView Tutorial
+
+ The application is a \l QMainWindow that holds a \l QTableView.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/modelview.cpp Quoting ModelView Tutorial
+
+ Here is the interesting part: We use
+ \l{QTableView::setModel()}{tableView->setModel(new MyModel(this));} to
+ instantiate the Model and pass its pointer to \l {QTableView}{tableView()}.
+ \l{QTableView}{tableView} will invoke the methods of the pointer it has
+ received to find out two things:
+
+ \list
+ \o How many rows and columns should be displayed
+ \o What content should be printed into each cell.
+ \endlist
+
+ The model needs some code to respond to this.
+
+ We have a table data set, so let's start with QAbstractTableModel since it
+ is easier to use.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/mymodel.h Quoting ModelView Tutorial
+
+ QAbstractTableModel requires the implementation of three abstract methods.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/1_readonly/mymodel.cpp Quoting ModelView Tutorial
+
+ The number of rows and columns is set by
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::rowCount()}{MyModel::rowCount()} and
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::columnCount()}{MyModel::columnCount()}.
+ When the view has to know what the cell's text is, it calls the method.
+ Row and column information is specified with parameter \c index and the
+ role is set to \l{Qt::ItemDataRole}{Qt::DisplayRole}. Other roles are
+ covered in the next section. In our example, the data that should be
+ displayed is generated. In a real application, \c MyModel would have a
+ member called \c MyData, which serves as the target for all reading and
+ writing operations.
+
+ This small example demonstrates the passive nature of a model. The model
+ does not know when it will be used or which data is needed. It simply
+ provides data each time the view requests it.
+
+ What happens when the model 's data needs to be changed? How does the view
+ know when data changes and needs to be read again? The model has to emit a
+ signal that indicates what range of cells has changed. This will be
+ demonstrated in section 2.3.
+
+ \section2 2.2 Extending the Read Only Example with Roles
+
+ In addition to controlling what text the view displays, the model also
+ controls the text's appearance. When we slightly change the model, we get
+ the following result: \image readonlytable_role.png
+
+ In fact, nothing except for the \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{data()}
+ method needs to be changed to set fonts, background colour, alignment and a
+ checkbox.
+ Here is the \l{QAbstractItemModel::data()}{data()} method that produces the
+ result shown above:
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/2_formatting/mymodel.cpp Quoting ModelView Tutorial
+
+ Each formatting property will be requested from the model with a separate
+ call to the \l{QAbstractItemModel::data()}{data()} method. The \c role
+ parameter is used to let the model know which property is being requested:
+
+ \table
+ \header
+ \o Role (enum Qt::ItemDataRole )
+ \o Meaning
+ \o Type
+ \row
+ \o \l{Qt::ItemDataRole}{Qt::DisplayRole}
+ \o text
+ \o QString
+ \row
+ \o Qt::FontRole
+ \o font
+ \o QFont
+ \row
+ \o Qt::BackgroundRole
+ \o brush for the background of the cell
+ \o QBrush
+ \row
+ \o Qt::TextAlignmentRole
+ \o text alignment
+ \o enum Qt::AlignmentFlag
+ \row
+ \o {1, 3} Qt::CheckStateRole
+ \o {1, 3} suppresses checkboxes with \l{QVariant}{QVariant()},
+ sets checkboxes with Qt::Checked or Qt::Unchecked
+ \o {1, 3} \l{Qt::ItemDataRole}{enum Qt::ItemDataRole}
+ \endtable
+
+ Refer to the Qt namespace documentation to learn more about the
+ Qt::ItemDataRole enum's capabilities.
+
+ Now we need to determine how using a seperated model impacts the
+ application's performance, so let's trace how often the view calls the
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{data()} method. In order to track how often
+ the view calls the model, we have put a debug statement in the
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{data()} method, which logs onto stdio. In
+ our small example, \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{data()} will be called 42
+ times.
+ Each time you hover the cursor over the field,
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{data()} will be called again \mdash 7 times for
+ each cell. That's why it is important to make sure that your data is
+ available when \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{data()} is invoked and expensive
+ lookup operations are cached.
+
+ \section2 2.3 A Clock inside a Table Cell
+
+ \image clock.png
+
+ We still have a read only table, but this time the content changes every
+ second because we are showing the current time.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/3_changingmodel/mymodel.cpp quoting mymodel_QVariant
+
+ Something is missing to make the clock tick. We need to tell the view every
+ second that the time has changed and that it needs to be read again. We do
+ this with a timer. In the constructor, we set its interval to 1 second and
+ connect its timeout signal.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/3_changingmodel/mymodel.cpp quoting mymodel_a
+
+ Here is the corresponding slot:
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/3_changingmodel/mymodel.cpp quoting mymodel_b
+
+ We ask the view to read the data in the top left cell again by emitting the
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{dataChanged()} signal. Note that we did not
+ explicitly connect the \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{dataChanged()} signal to
+ the view. This happened automatically when we called
+ \l{QTableView::}{setModel()}.
+
+ \section2 2.4 Setting up Headers for Columns and Rows
+
+ Headers can be hidden via a view method: \c{tableView->verticalHeader()->hide();}
+ \image header.png
+
+ The header content, however, is set via the model, so we reimplement the
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::headerData()}{headerData()} method:
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/4_headers/mymodel.cpp quoting mymodel_c
+
+
+ \section2 2.5 The Minimal Editing Example
+
+ In this example, we are going to build an application that automatically
+ populates a window title with content by repeating values entered into
+ table cells.
+
+ The model decides whether editing capabilities are available . We only have
+ to modify the model in order for the available editing capabilities to be
+ enabled. This is done by reimplementing the following virtual methods:
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{setData()} and \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{flags()}.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/5_edit/mymodel.h Quoting ModelView Tutorial
+
+ We use \c QStringList m_gridData to store our data. This makes
+ \c m_gridData the core of MyModel. The rest of \c MyModel acts like a
+ wrapper and adapts \c m_gridData to the QAbstractItemModel interface. We
+ have also introduced the \c editCompleted() signal,
+ which makes it possible to transfer the modified text to the window title.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/5_edit/mymodel.cpp quoting mymodel_d
+
+ In the constructor, we fill \c QStringList gridData with 6 items (one item
+ for every field in the table):
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/5_edit/mymodel.cpp quoting mymodel_e
+
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::setData()}{setData()} will be called each time the
+ user edits a cell. The \c index parameter tells us which field has been
+ edited and \c value provides the result of the editing process. The role
+ will always be set to \c Qt::EditRole because our cells only contain text.
+ If a checkbox were present and user permissions are set to allow the
+ checkbox to be selected, calls would also be made with the role set to
+ \c Qt::CheckStateRole.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/5_edit/mymodel.cpp quoting mymodel_f
+
+ Various properties of a cell can be adjusted with
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::flags()}{flags()}. Returning
+ \c Qt::ItemIsEditable | \c Qt::ItemIsEnabled is enough to show an editor
+ that a cell has been selected. If editing one cell modifies more data than
+ the data in that particular cell, the model must emit a
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{dataChanged()} signal in order for the data that
+ has been changed to be read.
+*/
+
+/*!
+ \page modelview-part3.html
+ \contentspage {modelview-index.html}{Model/View Contents}
+ \previouspage {modelview-part2.html}{Developing a Simple Model/View Application}
+ \nextpage {modelview-part4.html}{Good Sources of Additional Information}
+ \title Model/View Chapter 3 - Intermediate Topics
+
+ \section1 3. Intermediate Topics
+
+ \section2 3.1 TreeView
+
+ You can convert the example above into an application with a tree view.
+ Simply replace QTableView with QTreeView, which results in a read/write
+ tree. No changes have to be made to the model. The tree won't have any
+ hierarchies because there aren't any hierarchies in the model itself.
+ \image dummy_tree.png
+
+
+ QListView, QTableView and QTreeView all use a model abstraction, which is a
+ merged list, table and tree. This makes it possible to use several different
+ types of view classes from the same model.
+ \image list_table_tree.png
+
+
+ This is how our example model looks so far:
+ \image example_model.png
+
+
+ We want to present a real tree. We have wrapped our data in the examples
+ above in order to make a model. This time we use QStandardItemModel, which
+ is a container for hierarchical data that also implements
+ QAbstractItemModel. To show a tree, QStandardItemModel must be populated
+ with \l{QStandardItem}{QStandardItems}, which are able to hold all the
+ standard properties of items like text, fonts, checkboxes or brushes.
+ \image tree_2_with_algorithm.png
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/6_treeview/modelview.cpp Quoting ModelView Tutorial
+
+ We simply instantiate a QStandardItemModel and add a couple of
+ \l{QStandardItem}{QStandardItems} to the constructor. We can then make a
+ hierarchical data structure because a QStandardItem can hold other
+ \l{QStandardItem}{QStandardItems}. Nodes are collapsed and expanded within
+ the view.
+
+ \section2 3.2 Working with Selections
+
+ We want to access a selected item's content in order to output it into the
+ window title together with the hierarchy level.
+ \image selection2.png
+
+ So let's create a couple of items:
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/7_selections/modelview.cpp quoting modelview_a
+
+ Views manage selections within a separate selection model, which can be
+ retrieved with the \l{QAbstractItemView::}{selectionModel()}
+ method. We retrieve the selection Model in order to connect a slot to its
+ \l{QAbstractItemView::}{selectionChanged()} signal.
+
+ \snippet examples/tutorials/modelview/7_selections/modelview.cpp quoting modelview_b
+
+ We get the model index that corresponds to the selection by calling
+ \l{QItemSelectionModel::currentIndex()}{treeView->selectionModel()->currentIndex()}
+ and we get the the field's string by using the model index. Then we just
+ calculate the item's \c hierarchyLevel. Top level items do not have
+ parents and the \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{parent()} method will return a
+ default constructed \l{QModelIndex}{QModelIndex()}. This is why we use the
+ \l{QAbstractItemModel::}{parent()} method to iterate to the top level while
+ counting the steps performed during iteration.
+
+ The selection model (as shown above) can be retrieved, but it can also be
+ set with \l{QAbstractItemView}{QAbstractItemView::setSelectionModel}. This
+ is how it's possible to have 3 view classes with synchronised selections
+ because only one instance of a selection model is used. The instance of a
+ selection model is retrieved from the first view class with
+ \l{QAbstractItemView::}{selectionModel()} and the result is assigned to the
+ second and third view class with \l{QAbstractItemView::}{setSelectionModel()}.
+
+ \section2 3.3 Predefined Models
+
+ The typical way to use model/view is to wrap specific data to make it
+ usable with view classes. Qt, however, also provides predefined models for
+ common underlying data structures. If one of the available data structures
+ is suitable for your application, a predefined model can be a good choice.
+
+ \table
+ \row
+ \o QStringListModel
+ \o Stores a list of strings
+ \row
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ \o Stores arbitrary hierarchical items
+ \row
+ \o QFileSystemModel\br
+ QDirModel
+ \o Encapsulate the local file system
+ \row
+ \o QSqlQueryModel
+ \o Encapsulate an SQL result set
+ \row
+ \o QSqlTableModel
+ \o Encapsulates an SQL table
+ \row
+ \o QSqlRelationalTableModel
+ \o Encapsulates an SQL table with foreign keys
+ \row
+ \o QSortFilterProxyModel
+ \o Sorts and/or filters another model
+
+ \endtable
+
+ \section2 3.4 Delegates
+
+ In all examples so far, data is presented as text or a checkbox in a cell
+ and is edited as text or a checkbox. The component that provides these
+ presentation and editing services is called a \e delegate. We are only just
+ beginning to work with the delegate because the view uses a default
+ delegate. But imagine that we want to have a different editor.(e.g. a
+ slider or a drop down list) Or imagine that we want to present data as
+ graphics. Let's take a look at an example called
+ \l{Star Delegate Example}{Star Delegate}, in which stars are used to show
+ a rating:
+ \image stardelegate.png
+
+ The view has a method that replaces the default delegate and installs a
+ custom delegate. This method is called
+ \l{QAbstractItemView::}{setItemDelegate()}. A new delegate can be written
+ by creating a class that inherits from QStyledItemDelegate. In order to
+ write a delegate that displays stars and has no input capabilities, we only
+ need to overwrite 2 methods.
+
+ \code
+ class StarDelegate : public QStyledItemDelegate
+ {
+ Q_OBJECT
+ public:
+ StarDelegate(QWidget *parent = 0);
+ void paint(QPainter *painter, const QStyleOptionViewItem &option,
+ const QModelIndex &index) const;
+ QSize sizeHint(const QStyleOptionViewItem &option,
+ const QModelIndex &index) const;
+ };
+ \endcode
+
+ \l{QStyledItemDelegate::}{paint()} draws stars depending on the content
+ of the underlying data. The data can be looked up with parameter
+ \l{QModelIndex::data()}{index.data()}.
+ \l{QAbstractItemDelegate::}{sizeHint()} specifies each star's dimensions
+ so the the cell will provide enough height and width to accommodate the
+ stars.
+
+ Writing custom delegates is the right choice if you want to show your data
+ with a custom graphical representation inside the grid of the view class.
+ If you want to leave the grid, you can write a custom view class.
+
+ \section2 3.5 Debugging with ModelTest
+
+ The passive nature of models provides new challenges for programmers.
+ Inconsistencies in the model can cause the application to crash. Since the
+ model is hit by numerous calls from the view, it is hard to find out which
+ call has crashed the application and which operation has introduced the
+ problem.
+
+ Qt provides software called
+ \l{http://labs.qt.nokia.com/page/Projects/Itemview/Modeltest}{ModelTest},
+ which checks models while your programming is running. Every time the model
+ is changed, ModelTest scans the model and reports errors with an assert.
+ This is especially important for tree models, since their hierarchical
+ nature leaves many possibilities for subtle inconsistencies.
+
+ Unlike view classes, ModelTest uses out of range indexes to test the model.
+ This means your application may crash with ModelTest even if it runs
+ perfectly without it. So you also need to handle all of the indexes that
+ are out of range when using ModelTest.
+
+
+ \section2 3.6 Model/View NG
+
+ \raw HTML
+ <table style="background-color:white;border:none;font: normal 13px/1.2 Verdana;">
+ <tr><td align="left" valign="top" style="background-color:white;border:none;padding:5px;">
+ \endraw
+
+ \raw HTML
+ <!-- wrap content table p has 0 padding and the padding for p outside of the table is 5px-->
+ \endraw
+
+ Model/View was introduced in Qt 4.0 and is a frequently used technology.
+ Feedback from developers and new development trends have shown that there
+ is a need to further develop the model/view technology. Therefore a
+ research project originated at Nokia is looking into ways to go beyond the
+ current implementation.
+
+ One limitation of model/view is that view classes are basically all fixed
+ grids. It is possible, but really hard to make a list view with icons
+ placed on a curve; or cells expanding on mouse over events to show
+ additional information.
+ In order to achieve graphically rich view experiences, Model/View NG will
+ use QGraphicsView to render elements. Nodel/View NG also aims to make
+ model/view programming more intuitive. One way to achieve this is to have
+ separate models for lists, tables and trees. The current model abstraction
+ is complex because it is capable of representing a list, a table or a tree.
+
+ Model/View NG is a research project. You are welcome to checkout the source
+ code, monitor progress and take part in discussions at the following
+ address: \l{http://labs.qt.nokia.com/page/Projects/Itemview/ItemviewsNG}
+
+ \raw HTML
+ </td><td align="right" valign="top">
+ \endraw
+
+ \inlineimage path.png
+
+ \raw HTML
+ </td></tr></table>
+ \endraw
+*/
+
+/*!
+ \page modelview-part4.html
+ \contentspage {modelview-index.html}{Model/View Contents}
+ \previouspage {modelview-part3.html}{Intermediate Topics}
+ \title Model/View Chapter 4 - Good Sources of Additional Information
+
+ \section1 4. Good Sources of Additional Information
+
+ \section2 4.1 Books
+
+ Model/View programming is covered quite extensively in the documentation of
+ Qt but also in several good books.
+
+ \list 1
+ \o \bold{C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4} / Jasmin Blanchette, Mark Summerfield,
+ \e{Prentice Hall, 2nd edition}, ISBN 0-13-235416-0. Also available in
+ German: C++ GUI Programmierung mit Qt 4: Die offizielle Einführung,
+ \e{Addison-Wesley}, ISBN 3-827327-29-6
+ \o \bold{The Book of Qt4, The Art of Building Qt Applications} / Daniel Molkentin,
+ \e{Open Source Press}, ISBN 1-59327-147-6.
+ Translated from \bold{Qt 4, Einführung in die Applikationsentwicklung},
+ \e{Open Source Press}, ISBN 3-937514-12-0.
+ \o \bold{Foundations of Qt Development} / Johan Thelin, \e{Apress}, ISBN 1-59059-831-8.
+ \endlist
+
+ More information about these books is available on the
+ \l{Books about Qt Programming}{Qt Web site}.
+
+ The following list provides an overview of example programs contained in the
+ books above. Some of them make very good templates for developing similar
+ applications.
+
+ \table
+ \header
+ \o example name
+ \o view class used
+ \o model used
+ \o aspects touched
+ \o
+ \row
+ \o Team Leaders
+ \o QListview
+ \o QStringListModel
+ \o
+ \o Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.6
+ \row
+ \o Directory Viewer
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o QDirModel
+ \o
+ \o Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.7
+ \row
+ \o Color Names
+ \o QListView
+ \o QSortFilterProxyModel
+ applied to QStringListModel
+ \o
+ \o Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.8
+ \row
+ \o Currencies
+ \o QTableView
+ \o custom model based on
+ QAbstractTableModel
+ \o read only
+ \o Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.10
+ \row
+ \o Cities
+ \o QTableView
+ \o custom model based on
+ QAbstractTableModel
+ \o read / write
+ \o Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.12
+ \row
+ \o Boolean Parser
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o custom model based on
+ QAbstractItemModel
+ \o read only
+ \o Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.14
+ \row
+ \o Track Editor
+ \o {2, 1} QTableWidget
+ \o custom delegate providing a custom editor
+ \o Book 1, Chapter 10, Figure 10.15
+
+ \row
+ \o Four directory views
+ \o QListView
+ QTableView
+ QTreeView
+ \o QDirModel
+ \o demonstrates the use of multiple views
+ \o Book2, Chapter 8.2
+ \row
+ \o Address Book
+ \o QListView
+ QTableView
+ QTreeView
+ \o custom model based on
+ QAbstractTableModel
+ \o read / write
+ \o Book2, Chapter 8.4
+ \row
+ \o Address Book with sorting
+ \o
+ \o QProxyModel
+ \o introducing sort and filter capabilities
+ \o Book2, Chapter 8.5
+ \row
+ \o Address Book
+ with checkboxes
+ \o
+ \o
+ \o introducing checkboxes in model/view
+ \o Book2, Chapter 8.6
+ \row
+ \o Address Book with transposed grid
+ \o
+ \o custom proxy Model based on QAbstractProxyModel
+ \o introducing a custom model
+ \o Book2, Chapter 8.7
+ \row
+ \o Address Book with drag and drop
+ \o
+ \o
+ \o introducing drag and drop support
+ \o Book2, Chapter 8.8
+ \row
+ \o Address Book with custom editor
+ \o
+ \o
+ \o introducing custom delegates
+ \o Book2, Chapter 8.9
+ \row
+ \o Views
+ \o QListView
+ QTableView
+ QTreeView
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ \o read only
+ \o Book 3, Chapter 5, figure 5-3
+ \row
+ \o Bardelegate
+ \o QTableView
+ \o
+ \o custom delegate for presentation based on QAbstractItemDelegate
+ \o Book 3, Chapter 5, figure 5-5
+ \row
+ \o Editdelegate
+ \o QTableView
+ \o
+ \o custom delegate for editing based on QAbstractItemDelegate
+ \o Book 3, Chapter 5, figure 5-6
+ \row
+ \o Singleitemview
+ \o custom view based on QAbstractItemView
+ \o
+ \o custom view
+ \o Book 3,
+ Chapter 5,
+ figure 5-7
+ \row
+ \o listmodel
+ \o QTableView
+ \o custom Model based on QAbstractTableModel
+ \o read only
+ \o Book 3, Chapter 5, Figure 5-8
+ \row
+ \o treemodel
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o custom Model based on QAbstractItemModel
+ \o read only
+ \o Book 3, Chapter 5, Figure 5-10
+ \row
+ \o edit integers
+ \o QListView
+ \o custom Model based on QAbstractListModel
+ \o read / write
+ \o Book 3, Chapter 5, Listing 5-37, Figure 5-11
+ \row
+ \o sorting
+ \o QTableView
+ \o QSortFilterProxyModel applied to QStringListModel
+ \o demonstrates sorting
+ \o Book 3, Chapter 5, Figure 5-12
+ \endtable
+
+
+ \section2 4.2 Qt Documentation
+
+ Qt 4.7 comes with 17 examples and 2 Demonstrations for model/view.
+ The examples can be found here: \l{Item Views Examples}
+ \table
+ \header
+ \o Example name
+ \o View class used
+ \o Model used
+ \o Aspects touched
+ \row
+ \o Address Book
+ \o QTableView
+ \o QAbstractTableModel
+ QSortFilterProxyModel
+ \o usage of QSortFilterProxyModel to generate different
+ subsets from one data pool
+ \row
+ \o Basic Sort/Filter Model
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ QSortFilterProxyModel
+ \o
+ \row
+ \o Chart
+ \o custom view
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ \o designing custom views that cooperate with selection models
+ \row
+ \o Color Editor Factory
+ \o {2, 1} QTableWidget
+ \o enhancing the standard delegate with a new custom editor to choose colours
+ \row
+ \o Combo Widget Mapper
+ \o QDataWidgetMapper to map QLineEdit, QTextEdit and QComboBox
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ \o shows how a QComboBox can serve as a view class
+ \row
+ \o Custom Sort/Filter Model
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ QSortFilterProxyModel
+ \o subclass QSortFilterProxyModel for advanced sorting and filtering
+ \row
+ \o Dir View
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o QDirModel
+ \o very small example to demonstrate how to assign a model to a view
+ \row
+ \o Editable Tree Model
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o custom tree model
+ \o comprehensive example for working with trees, demonstrates
+ editing cells and tree structure with an underlying custom
+ model
+ \row
+ \o Fetch More
+ \o QListView
+ \o custom list model
+ \o dynamically changing model
+ \row
+ \o Frozen Column
+ \o QTableView
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ \o
+ \row
+ \o Pixelator
+ \o QTableView
+ \o custom table model
+ \o implementation of a custom delegate
+ \row
+ \o Puzzle
+ \o QListView
+ \o custom list model
+ \o model/view with drag and drop
+ \row
+ \o Simple DOM Model
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o custom tree model
+ \o read only example for a custom tree model
+ \row
+ \o Simple Tree Model
+ \o QTreeView
+ \o custom tree model
+ \o read only example for a custom tree model
+ \row
+ \o Simple Widget Mapper
+ \o QDataWidgetMapper to map QLineEdit, QTextEdit and QSpinBox
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ \o basic QDataWidgetMapper usage
+ \row
+ \o Spin Box Delegate
+ \o QTableView
+ \o QStandardItemModel
+ \o custom delegate that uses a spin box as a cell editor
+ \row
+ \o Star Delegate
+ \o {2, 1} QTableWidget
+ \o comprehensive custom delegate example.
+ \endtable
+
+ \l{Qt Demonstrations}{Demonstrations} are similar to examples except
+ that no walkthrough is provided for the code. Demonstrations are also
+ sometimes more feature rich.
+
+ \list
+ \o The \bold Interview demonstration shows the same model and
+ selection being shared between three different views.
+ \o Demonstration \bold Spreadsheet demonstrates the use of a
+ table view as a spreadsheet, using custom delegates to render
+ each item according to the type of data it contains.
+ \endlist
+
+ A \l{Model/View Programming}{reference document} for model/view technology
+ is also available.
+*/