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/****************************************************************************
**
** Copyright (C) 2009 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.
**
** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:LGPL$
** 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 Technology Preview License Agreement accompanying
** this package.
**
** 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 1.1, included in the file LGPL_EXCEPTION.txt in this package.
**
** If you have questions regarding the use of this file, please contact
** Nokia at qt-info@nokia.com.
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
**
** $QT_END_LICENSE$
**
****************************************************************************/
/*!
\page object.html
\title Qt Object Model
\ingroup architecture
\brief A description of the powerful features made possible by Qt's dynamic object model.
The standard C++ object model provides very efficient runtime
support for the object paradigm. But its static nature is
inflexibile in certain problem domains. Graphical user interface
programming is a domain that requires both runtime efficiency and
a high level of flexibility. Qt provides this, by combining the
speed of C++ with the flexibility of the Qt Object Model.
Qt adds these features to C++:
\list
\o a very powerful mechanism for seamless object
communication called \l{signals and slots}
\o queryable and designable \l{Qt's Property System}{object
properties}
\o powerful \l{events and event filters}
\o contextual \l{i18n}{string translation for internationalization}
\o sophisticated interval driven \l timers that make it possible
to elegantly integrate many tasks in an event-driven GUI
\o hierarchical and queryable \l{Object Trees and Object Ownership}{object
trees} that organize object ownership in a natural way
\o guarded pointers (QPointer) that are automatically
set to 0 when the referenced object is destroyed, unlike normal C++
pointers which become dangling pointers when their objects are destroyed
\o a \l{metaobjects.html#qobjectcast}{dynamic cast} that works across
library boundaries.
\endlist
Many of these Qt features are implemented with standard C++
techniques, based on inheritance from QObject. Others, like the
object communication mechanism and the dynamic property system,
require the \l{Meta-Object System} provided
by Qt's own \l{moc}{Meta-Object Compiler (moc)}.
The meta-object system is a C++ extension that makes the language
better suited to true component GUI programming. Although
templates can be used to extend C++, the meta-object system
provides benefits using standard C++ that cannot be achieved with
templates; see \l{Why Doesn't Qt Use Templates for Signals and
Slots?}
\target Identity vs Value
\section1 Qt Objects: Identity vs Value
Some of the added features listed above for the Qt Object Model,
require that we think of Qt Objects as identities, not values.
Values are copied or assigned; identities are cloned. Cloning
means to create a new identity, not an exact copy of the old
one. For example, twins have different identities. They may look
identical, but they have different names, different locations, and
may have completely different social networks.
Then cloning an identity is a more complex operation than copying
or assigning a value. We can see what this means in the Qt Object
Model.
\bold{A Qt Object...}
\list
\o might have a unique \l{QObject::objectName()}. If we copy a Qt
Object, what name should we give the copy?
\o has a location in an \l{Object Trees and Object Ownership}
{object hierarchy}. If we copy a Qt Object, where should the copy
be located?
\o can be connected to other Qt Objects to emit signals to them or
to receive signals emitted by them. If we copy a Qt Object, how
should we transfer these connections to the copy?
\o can have \l{Qt's Property System} {new properties} added to it
at runtime that are not declared in the C++ class. If we copy a Qt
Object, should the copy include the properties that were added to
the original?
\endlist
For these reasons, Qt Objects should be treated as identities, not
as values. Identities are cloned, not copied or assigned, and
cloning an identity is a more complex operation than copying or
assigning a value. Therefore, QObject and all subclasses of
QObject (direct or indirect) have their \l{No copy constructor}
{copy constructor and assignment operator} disabled.
*/
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