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diff --git a/doc/src/getting-started/gettingstarted.qdoc b/doc/src/getting-started/gettingstarted.qdoc new file mode 100644 index 0000000..391aec3 --- /dev/null +++ b/doc/src/getting-started/gettingstarted.qdoc @@ -0,0 +1,516 @@ +/**************************************************************************** +** +** 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 gettingstarted.html + + \title Getting Started + + Welcome to the world of Qt--the cross-platform GUI toolkit. In + this getting started guide, we teach basic Qt knowledge by + implementing a simple Notepad application. After reading this + guide, you should be ready to delve into our overviews and API + documentation, and find the information you need for the + application you are developing. + + \section1 Hello Notepad + + In this first example, we simply create and show a text edit in a + window frame on the desktop. This represents the simplest possible + Qt program that has a GUI. + + \image gs1.png + + Here is the code: + + \code + 1 #include <QApplication> + 2 #include <QTextEdit> + 3 + 4 int main(int argv, char **args) + 5 { + 6 QApplication app(argv, args); + 7 + 8 QTextEdit textEdit; + 9 textEdit.show(); +10 +11 return app.exec(); +12 } + \endcode + + Let's go through the code line by line. In the first two lines, we + include the header files for QApplication and QTextEdit, which are + the two classes that we need for this example. All Qt classes have + a header file named after them. + + Line 6 creates a QApplication object. This object manages + application-wide resources and is necessary to run any Qt program + that has a GUI. It needs \c argv and \c args because Qt accepts a + few command line arguments. + + Line 8 creates a QTextEdit object. A text edit is a visual element + in the GUI. In Qt, we call such elements widgets. Examples of + other widgets are scroll bars, labels, and radio buttons. A widget + can also be a container for other widgets; a dialog or a main + application window, for example. + + Line 9 shows the text edit on the screen in its own window frame. + Since widgets also function as containers (for instance a + QMainWindow, which has toolbars, menus, a status bar, and a few + other widgets), it is possible to show a single widget in its own + window. Widgets are not visible by default; the function + \l{QWidget::}{show()} makes the widget visible. + + Line 11 makes the QApplication enter its event loop. When a Qt + application is running, events are generated and sent to the + widgets of the application. Examples of events are mouse presses + and key strokes. When you type text in the text edit widget, it + receives key pressed events and responds by drawing the text + typed. + + To run the application, open a command prompt, and enter the + directory in which you have the \c .cpp file of the program. The + following shell commands build the program. + + \code + vattekar@positive:~/testing/gssnippets/part1$ qmake -project + vattekar@positive:~/testing/gssnippets/part1$ qmake + vattekar@positive:~/testing/gssnippets/part1$ make + \endcode + + This will leave an executable in the \c part1 directory (note that + on Windows, you may have to use \c nmake instead of \c make. Also, + the executable will be placed in part1/debug or part1/release). \c + qmake is Qt's build tool, which takes a configuration file. \c + qmake generates this for us when given the \c{-project} argument. + Given the configuration file (suffixed .pro), \c qmake produces a + \c make file that will build the program for you. We will look + into writing our own \c .pro files later. + + \section2 Learn More + + \table + \header + \o About + \o Here + \row + \o Widgets and Window Geometry + \o \l{Window and Dialog Widgets} + \row + \o Events and event handling + \o \l{The Event System} + \endtable + + \section1 Adding a Quit Button + + In a real application, you will normally need more than one + widget. We will now introduce a QPushButton beneath the text edit. + The button will exit the Notepad application when pushed (i.e., + clicked on with the mouse). + + \image gs2.png + + Let's take a look at the code. + + \code + 1 #include <QtGui> + 2 + 3 int main(int argv, char **args) + 4 { + 5 QApplication app(argv, args); + 6 + 7 QTextEdit textEdit; + 8 QPushButton quitButton("Quit"); + 9 +10 QObject::connect(&quitButton, SIGNAL(clicked()), qApp, SLOT(quit())); +11 +12 QVBoxLayout layout; +13 layout.addWidget(&textEdit); +14 layout.addWidget(&quitButton); +15 +16 QWidget window; +17 window.setLayout(&layout); +18 +19 window.show(); +20 +21 return app.exec(); +22 } + \endcode + + Line 1 includes QtGui, which contains all of Qt's GUI classes. + + Line 10 uses Qt's Signals and Slots mechanism to make the + application exit when the \gui {Quit button} is pushed. A slot is + a function that can be invoked at runtime using its name (as a + literal string). A signal is a function that when called will + invoke slots registered with it; we call that to connect the slot + to the signal and to emit the signal. + + \l{QApplication::}{quit()} is a slot of QApplication that exits + the application. \l{QPushButton::}{clicked()} is a signal that + QPushButton emits when it is pushed. The static + QObject::connect() function takes care of connecting the slot to + the signal. SIGNAL() and SLOT() are two macros that take the + function signatures of the signal and slot to connect. We also + need to give pointers to the objects that should send and receive + the signal. + + Line 12 creates a QVBoxLayout. As mentioned, widgets can contain + other widgets. It is possible to set the bounds (the location and + size) of child widgets directly, but it is usually easier to use a + layout. A layout manages the bounds of a widget's children. + QVBoxLayout, for instance, places the children in a vertical row. + + Line 13 and 14 adds the text edit and button to the layout. In + line 17, we set the layout on a widget. + + \section2 Learn More + + \table + \header + \o About + \o Here + \row + \o Signals and slots + \o \l{Signals & Slots} + \row + \o Layouts + \o \l{Layout Management}, + \l{Widgets and Layouts}, + \l{Layout Examples} + \row + \o The widgets that come with Qt + \o \l{Qt Widget Gallery}, + \l{Widget Examples} + \endtable + + \section1 Subclassing QWidget + + When the user wants to quit an application, you might want to + pop-up a dialog that asks whether he/she really wants to quit. In + this example, we subclass QWidget, and add a slot that we connect + to the \gui {Quit button}. + + \image gs3.png + + Let's look at the code: + + \code + 5 class Notepad : public QWidget + 6 { + 7 Q_OBJECT + 8 + 9 public: +10 Notepad(); +11 +12 private slots: +13 void quit(); +14 +15 private: +16 QTextEdit *textEdit; +17 QPushButton *quitButton; +18 }; + \endcode + + The \c Q_OBJECT macro must be first in the class definition, and + declares our class as a \c QObject (Naturally, it must also + inherit from QObject). A \l{QObject} adds several abilities to a + normal C++ class. Notably, the class name and slot names can be + queried at run-time. It is also possible to query a slot's + parameter types and invoke it. + + Line 13 declares the slot \c quit(). This is easy using the \c + slots macro. The \c quit() slot can now be connected to signals + with a matching signature (any signal that takes no parameters). + + Instead of setting up the GUI and connecting the slot in the \c + main() function, we now use \c{Notepad}'s constructor. + + \code + Notepad::Notepad() + { + textEdit = new QTextEdit; + quitButton = new QPushButton(tr("Quit")); + + connect(quitButton, SIGNAL(clicked()), this, SLOT(quit())); + + QVBoxLayout *layout = new QVBoxLayout; + layout->addWidget(textEdit); + layout->addWidget(quitButton); + + setLayout(layout); + + setWindowTitle(tr("Notepad")); + } + \endcode + + As you saw in the class definition, we use pointers to our \l + {QObject}s (\c textEdit and \c quitButton). As a rule, you should + always allocate \l{QObject}s on the heap and never copy them. + + We now use the function \l{QObject::}{tr()} around our user + visible strings. This function is necessary when you want to + provide your application in more than one language (e.g. English + and Chinese). We won't go into details here, but you can follow + the \c {Qt Linguist} link from the learn more table. + + \section2 Learn More + + \table + \header + \o About + \o Here + \row + \o tr() and internationalization + \o \l{Qt Linguist Manual}, + \l{Writing Source Code for Translation}, + \l{Hello tr() Example}, + \l{Internationalization with Qt} + \row + \o QObjects and the Qt Object model (This is essential to understand Qt) + \o \l{Object Model} + \row + \o qmake and the Qt build system + \o \l{qmake Manual} + \endtable + + \section2 Creating a .pro file + + For this example, we write our own \c .pro file instead of + using \c qmake's \c -project option. + + \code + HEADERS = notepad.h + SOURCES = notepad.cpp \ + main.cpp + \endcode + + The following shell commands build the example. + + \code + vattekar@positive:~/testing/gssnippets/part3$ qmake + vattekar@positive:~/testing/gssnippets/part3$ make + \endcode + + \section1 Using a QMainWindow + + Many applications will benefit from using a QMainWindow, which has + its own layout to which you can add a menu bar, dock widgets, tool + bars, and a status bar. QMainWindow has a center area that can be + occupied by any kind of widget. In our case, we will place our + text edit there. + + \image gs4.png + + Let's look at the new \c Notepad class definition. + + \code + #include <QtGui> + + class Notepad : public QMainWindow + { + Q_OBJECT + + public: + Notepad(); + + private slots: + void open(); + void save(); + void quit(); + + private: + QTextEdit *textEdit; + + QAction *openAction; + QAction *saveAction; + QAction *exitAction; + + QMenu *fileMenu; + }; + \endcode + + We include two more slots that can save and open a document. We + will implement these in the next section. + + Often, in a main window, the same slot should be invoked by + several widgets. Examples are menu items and buttons on a tool + bar. To make this easier, Qt provides QAction, which can be given + to several widgets, and be connected to a slot. For instance, both + QMenu and QToolBar can create menu items and tool buttons from the + same \l{QAction}s. We will see how this works shortly. + + As before, we use the \c {Notepad}s constructor to set up the + GUI. + + \code + Notepad::Notepad() + { + saveAction = new QAction(tr("&Open"), this); + saveAction = new QAction(tr("&Save"), this); + exitAction = new QAction(tr("E&xit"), this); + + connect(openAction, SIGNAL(triggered()), this, SLOT(open())); + connect(saveAction, SIGNAL(triggered()), this, SLOT(save())); + connect(exitAction, SIGNAL(triggered()), qApp, SLOT(quit())); + + fileMenu = menuBar()->addMenu(tr("&File")); + fileMenu->addAction(openAction); + fileMenu->addAction(saveAction); + fileMenu->addSeparator(); + fileMenu->addAction(exitAction); + + textEdit = new QTextEdit; + setCentralWidget(textEdit); + + setWindowTitle(tr("Notepad")); + } + \endcode + + \l{QAction}s are created with the text that should appear on the + widgets that we add them to (in our case, menu items). If we also + wanted to add them to a tool bar, we could have given + \l{QIcon}{icons} to the actions. + + When a menu item is clicked now, the item will trigger the action, + and the respective slot will be invoked. + + \section2 Learn More + + \table + \header + \o About + \o Here + \row + \o Main windows and main window classes + \o \l{Application Main Window}, + \l{Main Window Examples} + \row + \o MDI applications + \o QMdiArea, + \l{MDI Example} + \endtable + + \section1 Saving and Loading + + In this example, we will implement the functionality of the \c + open() and \c save() slots that we added in the previous example. + + \image gs5.png + + Let's start with the \c open() slot: + + \code + QString fileName = QFileDialog::getOpenFileName(this, tr("Open File"), "", + tr("Text Files (*.txt);;C++ Files (*.cpp *.h)")); + + if (fileName != "") { + QFile file(fileName); + if (!file.open(QIODevice::ReadOnly)) { + QMessageBox::critical(this, tr("Error"), + tr("Could not open file")); + return; + } + QString contents = file.readAll().constData(); + textEdit->setPlainText(contents); + file.close(); + } + \endcode + + The first step is asking the user for the name of the file to + open. Qt comes with QFileDialog, which is a dialog from which the + user can select a file. The image above shows the dialog on + Kubuntu. The static \l{QFileDialog::}{getOpenFileName()} function + displays a modal file dialog, and does not return until the user + has selected a file. It returns the file path of the file + selected, or an empty string if the user canceled the dialog. + + If we have a file name, we try to open the file with + \l{QIODevice::}{open()}, which returns true if the file could be + opened. We won't go into error handling here, but you can follow + the links from the learn more section. If the file could not be + opened, we use QMessageBox to display a dialog with an error + message (see the QMessageBox class description for further + details). + + Actually reading in the data is trivial using the + \l{QIODevice::}{readAll()} function, which returns all data in the + file in a QByteArray. The \l{QByteArray::}{constData()} returns all + data in the array as a const char*, which QString has a + constructor for. The contents can then be displayed in the text + edit. We then \l{QIODevice::}{close()} the file to return the file + descriptor back to the operating system. + + Now, let's move on to the the \c save() slot. + + \code + QString fileName = QFileDialog::getSaveFileName(this, tr("Save File"), "", + tr("Text Files (*.txt);;C++ Files (*.cpp *.h)")); + + if (fileName != "") { + QFile file(fileName); + if (!file.open(QIODevice::WriteOnly)) { + // error message + } else { + QTextStream stream(&file); + stream << textEdit->toPlainText(); + stream.flush(); + file.close(); + } + } + \endcode + + When we write the contents of the text edit to the file, we use + the QTextStream class, which wraps the QFile object. The text + stream can write QStrings directly to the file; QFile only accepts + raw data (char*) with the \l{QIODevice::}{write()} functions of + QIODevice. + + \section2 Learn More + + \table + \header + \o About + \o Here + \row + \o Files and I/O devices + \o QFile, QIODevice + \endtable + + \omit + \section1 Moving On + + This may not be true for the first release. + The Qt documentation comes with three getting started guides. You + have come to the end of the first, which concerns itself with + basic Qt concepts. We also have guides covering intermediate and + advanced topics. They are found here: You may also have noticed that the learn more sections in + this guide frequently linked to them. + Basic Qt Architecture + \endomit +*/ + |