/** \class ctkPimpl ctkPimpl \brief Utility macros for handling private implementations. It is in addition to QtGlobal: Q_DECLARE_PRIVATE, Q_DECLARE_PUBLIC, Q_D and Q_Q. Application code generally doesn't have to be concerned about hiding its implementation details, but when writing library code it is important to maintain a constant interface, both source and binary. Maintaining a constant source interface is easy enough, but keeping the binary interface constant means moving implementation details into a private class. The PIMPL, or d-pointer, idiom is a common method of implementing this separation. ctkPimpl offers a convenient way to connect the public and private sides of your class. \section start Getting Started Before you declare the public class, you need to make a forward declaration of the private class. The private class must have the same name as the public class, followed by the word Private. \subsection pub The Public Class Generally, you shouldn't keep any data members in the public class without a good reason. Functions that are part of the public interface should be declared in the public class, and functions that need to be available to subclasses (for calling or overriding) should be in the protected section of the public class. To connect the private class to the public class, include the Q_DECLARE_PRIVATE macro in the private section of the public class. Additionally, you must construct the d_ptr pointer in the constructor of the public class. \subsection priv The Private Class As mentioned above, data members should usually be kept in the private class. This allows the memory layout of the private class to change without breaking binary compatibility for the public class. Functions that exist only as implementation details, or functions that need access to private data members, should be implemented here. To define the private class, nothing special needs to be done, except if you want the private class to have access to the public class. Then use Q_DECLARE_PUBLIC and create a public class pointer member. The constructor of the private class should take a public class reference as a parameter. \section cross Accessing Private Members Use the Q_D() macros from functions in the public class to access the private class. Similarly, functions in the private class can invoke functions in the public class by using the Q_Q() macro. */ #ifndef __ctkPimpl_h #define __ctkPimpl_h // Qt includes #include /*! \relates ctkPimpl * Define a public class constructor with no argument * * Also make sure the Pimpl is initalized */ #define CTK_CONSTRUCTOR_NO_ARG_CPP(PUB) \ PUB::PUB(): d_ptr(new PUB##Private) \ { \ } /*! \relates ctkPimpl * Define a public class constructor with one argument * * Also make sure the Pimpl is initalized */ #define CTK_CONSTRUCTOR_1_ARG_CPP(PUB, _ARG1) \ PUB::PUB(_ARG1 _parent) \ : Superclass( _parent ) \ , d_ptr(new PUB##Private) \ { \ } /*! \relates ctkPimpl * Define the setter in the public class. * * This should be put in the .cxx file of the public class. The parameter are * the name of the public class (PUB), the type of the argument to return (_TYPE), * the name of the getter(_NAME) and the name of the variable in the Private class(_VARNAME). */ #define CTK_SET_CPP(PUB, _TYPE, _NAME, _VARNAME) \ void PUB::_NAME(_TYPE var) \ { \ Q_D(PUB); \ d->_VARNAME = var; \ } /*! \relates ctkPimpl * Define the setter in the public class. * * This should be put in the .cxx file of the public class. The parameter are * the name of the public class (PUB), the type of the argument to return (_TYPE), * the name of the setter(_NAME) and the name of the variable in the Private class(_VARNAME). */ #define CTK_GET_CPP(PUB, _TYPE, _NAME, _VARNAME) \ _TYPE PUB::_NAME()const \ { \ Q_D(const PUB); \ return d->_VARNAME; \ } #endif