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40 ****************************************************************************/ |
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41 |
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42 /*! |
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43 \page activeqt-server.html |
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44 \title Building ActiveX servers and controls with Qt |
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45 |
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46 \brief The QAxServer module is a Windows-only static library that |
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47 you can use to turn a standard Qt binary into a COM server. |
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48 |
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49 The QAxServer module is part of the \l ActiveQt framework. It |
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50 consists of three classes: |
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51 |
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52 \list |
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53 \o QAxFactory defines a factory for the creation of COM objects. |
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54 \o QAxBindable provides an interface between the Qt widget and the |
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55 COM object. |
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56 \o QAxAggregated can be subclassed to implement additional COM interfaces. |
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57 \endlist |
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58 |
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59 Some \l{ActiveQt Examples}{example implementations} of ActiveX |
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60 controls and COM objects are provided. |
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61 |
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62 \sa {ActiveQt Framework} |
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63 |
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64 Topics: |
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65 |
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66 \tableofcontents |
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67 |
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68 \section1 Using the Library |
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69 |
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70 To turn a standard Qt application into a COM server using the |
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71 QAxServer library you must add \c qaxserver as a CONFIG setting |
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72 in your \c .pro file. |
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73 |
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74 An out-of-process executable server is generated from a \c .pro |
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75 file like this: |
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76 |
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77 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 0 |
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78 |
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79 To build an in-process server, use a \c .pro file like this: |
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80 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 1 |
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81 |
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82 The files \c qaxserver.rc and \c qaxserver.def are part of the |
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83 framework and can be used from their usual location (specify a |
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84 path in the \c .pro file), or copied into the project directory. |
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85 You can modify these files as long as it includes any file as the |
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86 type library entry, ie. you can add version information or specify |
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87 a different toolbox icon. |
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88 |
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89 The \c qaxserver configuration will cause the \c qmake tool to add the |
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90 required build steps to the build system: |
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91 |
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92 \list |
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93 \o Link the binary against \c qaxserver.lib instead of \c qtmain.lib |
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94 \o Call the \l idc tool to generate an IDL file for the COM server |
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95 \o Compile the IDL into a type library using the MIDL tool (part of the |
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96 compiler installation) |
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97 \o Attach the resulting type library as a binary resource to the server |
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98 binary (again using the \l idc tool) |
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99 \o Register the server |
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100 \endlist |
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101 |
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102 Note that the QAxServer build system is not supported on Windows 98/ME |
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103 (attaching of resources to a binary is not possible there), but a server |
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104 built on Windows NT/2000/XP will work on previous Windows versions as well. |
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105 |
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106 To skip the post-processing step, also set the \c qaxserver_no_postlink |
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107 configuration. |
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108 |
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109 Additionally you can specify a version number using the \c VERSION |
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110 variable, e.g. |
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111 |
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112 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 2 |
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113 |
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114 The version number specified will be used as the version of the type |
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115 library and of the server when registering. |
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116 |
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117 \section2 Out-of-Process vs. In-Process |
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118 |
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119 Whether your COM server should run as a stand-alone executable |
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120 or as a shared library in the client process depends mainly on the |
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121 type of COM objects you want to provide in the server. |
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122 |
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123 An executable server has the advantage of being able to run as a |
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124 stand-alone application, but adds considerable overhead to the |
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125 communication between the COM client and the COM object. If the |
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126 control has a programming error only the server process running |
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127 the control will crash, and the client application will probably |
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128 continue to run. Not all COM clients support executable servers. |
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129 |
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130 An in-process server is usually smaller and has faster startup |
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131 time. The communication between client and server is done directly |
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132 through virtual function calls and does not introduce the overhead |
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133 required for remote procedure calls. However, if the server crashes the |
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134 client application is likely to crash as well, and not every |
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135 functionality is available for in-process servers (i.e. register in |
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136 the COM's running-object-table). |
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137 |
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138 Both server types can use Qt either as a shared library, or statically |
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139 linked into the server binary. |
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140 |
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141 \section2 Typical Errors During the Post-Build Steps |
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142 |
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143 For the ActiveQt specific post-processing steps to work the |
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144 server has to meet some requirements: |
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145 |
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146 \list |
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147 \o All controls exposed can be created with nothing but a QApplication |
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148 instance being present |
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149 \o The initial linking of the server includes a temporary type |
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150 library resource |
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151 \o All dependencies required to run the server are in the system path |
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152 (or in the path used by the calling environment; note that Visual |
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153 Studio has its own set of environment variables listed in the |
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154 Tools|Options|Directories dialog). |
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155 \endlist |
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156 |
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157 If those requirements are not met one ore more of the following |
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158 errors are likely to occur: |
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159 |
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160 \section3 The Server Executable Crashes |
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161 |
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162 To generate the IDL the widgets exposed as ActiveX controls need to |
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163 be instantiated (the constructor is called). At this point, nothing |
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164 else but a QApplication object exists. Your widget constructor must |
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165 not rely on any other objects to be created, e.g. it should check for |
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166 null-pointers. |
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167 |
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168 To debug your server run it with -dumpidl outputfile and check where |
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169 it crashes. |
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170 |
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171 Note that no functions of the control are called. |
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172 |
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173 \section3 The Server Executable Is Not a Valid Win32 Application |
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174 |
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175 Attaching the type library corrupted the server binary. This is a |
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176 bug in Windows and happens only with release builds. |
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177 |
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178 The first linking step has to link a dummy type library into the |
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179 executable that can later be replaced by idc. Add a resource file |
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180 with a type library to your project as demonstrated in the examples. |
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181 |
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182 \section3 "Unable to locate DLL" |
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183 |
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184 The build system needs to run the server executable to generate |
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185 the interface definition, and to register the server. If a dynamic |
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186 link library the server links against is not in the path this |
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187 might fail (e.g. Visual Studio calls the server using the |
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188 enivronment settings specified in the "Directories" option). Make |
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189 sure that all DLLs required by your server are located in a |
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190 directory that is listed in the path as printed in the error |
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191 message box. |
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192 |
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193 \section3 "Cannot open file ..." |
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194 |
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195 The ActiveX server could not shut down properly when the last |
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196 client stopped using it. It usually takes about two seconds for |
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197 the application to terminate, but you might have to use the task |
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198 manager to kill the process (e.g. when a client doesn't release |
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199 the controls properly). |
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200 |
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201 \section1 Implementing Controls |
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202 |
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203 To implement a COM object with Qt, create a subclass of QObject |
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204 or any existing QObject subclass. If the class is a subclass of QWidget, |
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205 the COM object will be an ActiveX control. |
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206 |
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207 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 3 |
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208 |
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209 The Q_OBJECT macro is required to provide the meta object information |
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210 about the widget to the ActiveQt framework. |
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211 |
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212 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 4 |
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213 |
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214 Use the Q_CLASSINFO() macro to specify the COM identifiers for the COM |
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215 object. \c ClassID and \c InterfaceID are required, while \c EventsID is |
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216 only necessary when your object has signals. To generate these identifiers, |
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217 use system tools like \c uuidgen or \c guidgen. |
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218 |
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219 You can specify additional attributes for each of your classes; see |
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220 \l{Class Information and Tuning} for details. |
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221 |
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222 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 5 |
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223 |
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224 Use the Q_PROPERTY() macro to declare properties for the ActiveX control. |
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225 |
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226 Declare a standard constructor taking a parent object, and functions, |
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227 signals and slots like for any QObject subclass. |
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228 \footnote |
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229 If a standard constructor is not present the compiler will issue |
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230 an error "no overloaded function takes 2 parameters" when using |
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231 the default factory through the QAXFACTORY_DEFAULT() macro. If you |
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232 cannot provide a standard constructor you must implement a |
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233 QAxFactory custom factory and call the constructor you have in |
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234 your implementation of QAxFactory::create. |
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235 \endfootnote |
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236 |
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237 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 6 |
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238 |
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239 The ActiveQt framework will expose properties and public slots as ActiveX |
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240 properties and methods, and signals as ActiveX events, and convert between |
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241 the Qt data types and the equivalent COM data types. |
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242 |
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243 \section2 Data Types |
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244 |
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245 The Qt data types that are supported for properties are: |
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246 |
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247 \table |
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248 \header |
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249 \o Qt data type |
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250 \o COM property |
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251 \row |
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252 \o bool |
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253 \o VARIANT_BOOL |
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254 \row |
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255 \o QString |
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256 \o BSTR |
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257 \row |
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258 \o int |
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259 \o int |
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260 \row |
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261 \o uint |
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262 \o unsigned int |
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263 \row |
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264 \o double |
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265 \o double |
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266 \row |
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267 \o \l qlonglong |
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268 \o CY |
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269 \row |
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270 \o \l qulonglong |
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271 \o CY |
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272 \row |
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273 \o QColor |
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274 \o OLE_COLOR |
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275 \row |
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276 \o QDate |
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277 \o DATE |
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278 \row |
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279 \o QDateTime |
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280 \o DATE |
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281 \row |
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282 \o QTime |
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283 \o DATE |
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284 \row |
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285 \o QFont |
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286 \o IFontDisp* |
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287 \row |
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288 \o QPixmap |
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289 \o IPictureDisp* |
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290 \footnote |
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291 COM cannot marshal IPictureDisp accross process boundaries, |
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292 so QPixmap properties cannot be called for out-of-process servers. You |
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293 can however marshal the image data via e.g. temporary files. See the |
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294 Microsoft |
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295 \link http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;[LN];Q150034 KB article |
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296 Q150034 \endlink for more information. |
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297 \endfootnote |
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298 \row |
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299 \o QVariant |
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300 \o VARIANT |
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301 \row |
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302 \o QVariantList (same as QList\<QVariant\>) |
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303 \o SAFEARRAY(VARIANT) |
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304 \row |
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305 \o QStringList |
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306 \o SAFEARRAY(BSTR) |
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307 \row |
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308 \o QByteArray |
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309 \o SAFEARRAY(BYTE) |
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310 \row |
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311 \o QRect |
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312 \o User defined type |
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313 \row |
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314 \o QSize |
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315 \o User defined type |
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316 \row |
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317 \o QPoint |
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318 \o User defined type |
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319 \endtable |
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320 |
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321 The Qt data types that are supported for parameters in signals and |
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322 slots are: |
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323 \table |
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324 \header |
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325 \o Qt data type |
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326 \o COM parameter |
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327 \row |
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328 \o bool |
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329 \o [in] VARIANT_BOOL |
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330 \row |
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331 \o bool& |
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332 \o [in, out] VARIANT_BOOL* |
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333 \row |
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334 \o QString, const QString& |
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335 \o [in] BSTR |
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336 \row |
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337 \o QString& |
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338 \o [in, out] BSTR* |
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339 \row |
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340 \o QString& |
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341 \o [in, out] BSTR* |
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342 \row |
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343 \o int |
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344 \o [in] int |
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345 \row |
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346 \o int& |
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347 \o [in,out] int |
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348 \row |
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349 \o uint |
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350 \o [in] unsigned int |
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351 \row |
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352 \o uint& |
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353 \o [in, out] unsigned int* |
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354 \row |
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355 \o double |
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356 \o [in] double |
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357 \row |
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358 \o double& |
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359 \o [in, out] double* |
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360 \row |
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361 \o QColor, const QColor& |
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362 \o [in] OLE_COLOR |
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363 \row |
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364 \o QColor& |
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365 \o [in, out] OLE_COLOR* |
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366 \row |
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367 \o QDate, const QDate& |
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368 \o [in] DATE |
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369 \row |
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370 \o QDate& |
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371 \o [in, out] DATE* |
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372 \row |
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373 \o QDateTime, const QDateTime& |
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374 \o [in] DATE |
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375 \row |
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376 \o QDateTime& |
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377 \o [in, out] DATE* |
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378 \row |
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379 \o QFont, const QFont& |
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380 \o [in] IFontDisp* |
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381 \row |
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382 \o QFont& |
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383 \o [in, out] IFontDisp** |
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384 \row |
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385 \o QPixmap, const QPixmap& |
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386 \o [in] IPictureDisp* |
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387 \row |
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388 \o QPixmap& |
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389 \o [in, out] IPictureDisp** |
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390 \row |
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391 \o QList\<QVariant\>, const QList\<QVariant\>& |
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392 \o [in] SAFEARRAY(VARIANT) |
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393 \row |
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394 \o QList\<QVariant\>& |
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395 \o [in, out] SAFEARRAY(VARIANT)* |
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396 \row |
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397 \o QStringList, const QStringList& |
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398 \o [in] SAFEARRAY(BSTR) |
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399 \row |
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400 \o QStringList& |
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401 \o [in, out] SAFEARRAY(BSTR)* |
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402 \row |
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403 \o QByteArray, const QByteArray& |
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404 \o [in] SAFEARRAY(BYTE) |
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405 \row |
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406 \o QByteArray& |
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407 \o [in, out] SAFEARRAY(BYTE)* |
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408 \row |
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409 \o QObject* |
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410 \o [in] IDispatch* |
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411 \row |
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412 \o QRect& |
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413 \footnote |
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414 OLE needs to marshal user defined types by reference (ByRef), and cannot |
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415 marshal them by value (ByVal). This is why const-references and object |
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416 parameters are not supported for QRect, QSize and QPoint. Also note that |
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417 servers with this datatype require Windows 98 or DCOM 1.2 to be installed. |
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418 \endfootnote |
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419 \o [in, out] struct QRect (user defined) |
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420 \row |
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421 \o QSize& |
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422 \o [in, out] struct QSize (user defined) |
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423 \row |
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424 \o QPoint& |
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425 \o [in, out] struct QPoint (user defined) |
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426 \endtable |
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427 |
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428 Also supported are exported enums and flags (see Q_ENUMS() and |
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429 Q_FLAGS()). The in-parameter types are also supported as |
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430 return values. |
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431 |
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432 Properties and signals/slots that have parameters using any other |
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433 data types are ignored by the ActiveQt framework. |
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434 |
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435 \section2 Sub-Objects |
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436 |
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437 COM objects can have multiple sub-objects that can represent a sub element |
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438 of the COM object. A COM object representing a multi-document spread sheet |
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439 application can for example provide one sub-object for each spread sheet. |
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440 |
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441 Any QObject subclass can be used as the type for a sub object in ActiveX, as |
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442 long as it is known to the QAxFactory. Then the type can be used in properties, |
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443 or as the return type or paramter of a slot. |
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444 |
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445 \section2 Property Notification |
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446 |
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447 To make the properties bindable for the ActiveX client, use multiple |
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448 inheritance from the QAxBindable class: |
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449 |
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450 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 7 |
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451 |
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452 When implementing the property write functions, use the |
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453 QAxBindable class's requestPropertyChange() and propertyChanged() |
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454 functions to allow ActiveX clients to bind to the control |
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455 properties. |
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456 \footnote |
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457 This is not required, but gives the client more control over |
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458 the ActiveX control. |
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459 \endfootnote |
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460 |
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461 \section1 Serving Controls |
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462 |
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463 To make a COM server available to the COM system it must be registered |
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464 in the system registry using five unique identifiers. |
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465 These identifiers are provided by tools like \c guidgen or \c uuidgen. |
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466 The registration information allows COM to localize the binary providing |
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467 a requested ActiveX control, marshall remote procedure calls to the |
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468 control and read type information about the methods and properties exposed |
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469 by the control. |
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470 |
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471 To create the COM object when the client asks for it the server must export |
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472 an implementation of a QAxFactory. The easist way to do this is to use a set |
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473 of macros: |
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474 |
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475 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 8 |
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476 |
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477 This will export \c MyWidget and \c MyWidget2 as COM objects that can be |
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478 created by COM clients, and will register \c MySubType as a type that can |
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479 be used in properties and parameters of \c MyWidget and \c MyWidget2. |
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480 |
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481 The \link QAxFactory QAxFactory class documentation \endlink explains |
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482 how to use this macro, and how to implement and use custom factories. |
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483 |
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484 For out-of-process executable servers you can implement a main() |
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485 function to instantiate a QApplication object and enter the event |
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486 loop just like any normal Qt application. By default the |
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487 application will start as a standard Qt application, but if you |
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488 pass \c -activex on the command line it will start as an ActiveX |
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489 server. Use QAxFactory::isServer() to create and run a standard |
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490 application interface, or to prevent a stand-alone execution: |
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491 |
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492 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 9 |
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493 |
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494 This is however not necessary as ActiveQt provides a default implementation |
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495 of a main function. The default implemenation calls QAxFactory::startServer(), |
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496 creates a QApplication instance and calls exec(). |
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497 |
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498 To build the ActiveX server executable run \c qmake |
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499 to generate the makefile, and use your compiler's |
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500 make tool as for any other Qt application. The make process will |
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501 also register the controls in the system registry by calling the |
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502 resulting executable with the \c -regserver command line option. |
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503 |
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504 If the ActiveX server is an executable, the following command line |
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505 options are supported: |
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506 \table |
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507 \header \o Option \o Result |
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508 \row \o \c -regserver \o Registers the server in the system registry |
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509 \row \o \c -unregserver \o Unregisters the server from the system registry |
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510 \row \o \c -activex \o Starts the application as an ActiveX server |
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511 \row \o \c{-dumpidl <file> -version x.y} \o Writes the server's IDL to the |
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512 specified file. The type library will have version x.y |
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513 \endtable |
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514 |
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515 In-process servers can be registered using the \c regsvr32 tool available |
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516 on all Windows systems. |
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517 |
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518 \section2 Typical Compile-Time Problems |
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519 |
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520 The compiler/linker errors listed are based on those issued by the |
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521 Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 compiler. |
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522 |
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523 \section3 "No overloaded function takes 2 parameters" |
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524 |
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525 When the error occurs in code that uses the QAXFACTORY_DEFAULT() |
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526 macro, the widget class had no constructor that can be used by the |
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527 default factory. Either add a standard widget constructor or |
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528 implement a custom factory that doesn't require one. |
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529 |
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530 When the error occurs in code that uses the QAXFACTORY_EXPORT() |
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531 macro, the QAxFactory subclass had no appropriate constructor. |
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532 Provide a public class constructor like |
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533 |
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534 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 10 |
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535 |
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536 for your factory class. |
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537 |
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538 \section3 "Syntax error: bad suffix on number" |
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539 |
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540 The unique identifiers have not been passed as strings into the |
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541 QAXFACTORY_EXPORT() or QAXFACTORY_DEFAULT() macro. |
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542 |
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543 \section3 "Unresolved external symbol _ucm_instantiate" |
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544 |
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545 The server does not export an implementation of a QAxFactory. Use |
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546 the QAXFACTORY_EXPORT() macro in one of the project's |
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547 implementation files to instantiate and export a factory, or use |
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548 the QAXFACTORY_DEFAULT() macro to use the default factory. |
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549 |
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550 \section3 "_ucm_initialize already defined in ..." |
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551 |
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552 The server exports more than one implementation of a QAxFactory, |
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553 or exports the same implementation twice. If you use the default |
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554 factory, the QAXFACTORY_DEFAULT() macro must only be used once in |
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555 the project. Use a custom QAxFactory implementation and the |
|
556 QAXFACTORY_EXPORT() macro if the server provides multiple ActiveX |
|
557 controls. |
|
558 |
|
559 \section2 Distributing QAxServer Binaries |
|
560 |
|
561 ActiveX servers written with Qt can use Qt either as a shared |
|
562 library, or have Qt linked statically into the binary. Both ways |
|
563 will produce rather large packages (either the server binary |
|
564 itself becomes large, or you have to ship the Qt DLL). |
|
565 |
|
566 \section3 Installing Stand-Alone Servers |
|
567 |
|
568 When your ActiveX server can also run as a stand-alone application, |
|
569 run the server executable with the \c -regserver command line |
|
570 parameter after installing the executable on the target system. |
|
571 After that the controls provided by the server will be available to |
|
572 ActiveX clients. |
|
573 |
|
574 \section3 Installing In-Process Servers |
|
575 |
|
576 When your ActiveX server is part of an installation package, use the |
|
577 \c regsvr32 tool provided by Microsoft to register the controls on |
|
578 the target system. If this tool is not present, load the DLL into |
|
579 your installer process, resolve the \c DllRegisterServer symbol and |
|
580 call the function: |
|
581 |
|
582 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 11 |
|
583 |
|
584 \section3 Distributing Servers over the Internet |
|
585 |
|
586 If you want to use controls in your server in web-pages you need to |
|
587 make the server available to the browser used to view your page, and |
|
588 you need to specify the location of the server package in your page. |
|
589 |
|
590 To specify the location of a server, use the CODEBASE attribute in |
|
591 the OBJECT tag of your web-site. The value can point to the server |
|
592 file itself, to an INF file listing other files the server requires |
|
593 (e.g. the Qt DLL), or a compressed CAB archive. |
|
594 |
|
595 INF and CAB files are documented in almost every book available about |
|
596 ActiveX and COM programming as well as in the MSDN library and various |
|
597 other Online resources. The examples include INF files that can be used |
|
598 to build CAB archives: |
|
599 |
|
600 \snippet examples/activeqt/simple/simple.inf 0 |
|
601 |
|
602 The CABARC tool from Microsoft can easily generate CAB archives: |
|
603 |
|
604 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 12 |
|
605 |
|
606 The INF files assume a static build of Qt, so no dependencies to other DLLs |
|
607 are listed in the INF files. To distribute an ActiveX server depending on |
|
608 DLLs you must add the dependencies, and provide the library files |
|
609 with the archive. |
|
610 |
|
611 \section1 Using the Controls |
|
612 |
|
613 To use the ActiveX controls, e.g. to embed them in a web page, use |
|
614 the \c <object> HTML tag. |
|
615 |
|
616 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 13 |
|
617 |
|
618 To initialize the control's properties, use |
|
619 |
|
620 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 14 |
|
621 |
|
622 If the web browser supports scripting use JavaScript, VBScript |
|
623 and forms to script the control. The |
|
624 \l{ActiveQt Examples} include demonstration HTML pages for the example |
|
625 controls. |
|
626 |
|
627 \section2 Supported and Unsupported ActiveX Clients |
|
628 |
|
629 The following is largly based on our own experiements with ActiveX |
|
630 controls and client applications, and is by no means complete. |
|
631 |
|
632 \section3 Supported Clients |
|
633 |
|
634 These standard applications work with ActiveX controls developed with |
|
635 ActiveQt. Note that some clients support only in-process controls. |
|
636 |
|
637 \list |
|
638 \o Internet Explorer |
|
639 \o Microsoft ActiveX Control Test Container |
|
640 \o Microsoft Visual Studio 6.0 |
|
641 \o Microsoft Visual Studio.NET/2003 |
|
642 \o Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 |
|
643 \o MFC- and ATL-based containers |
|
644 \o Sybase PowerBuilder |
|
645 \o ActiveQt based containers |
|
646 \endlist |
|
647 |
|
648 Microsoft Office applications are supported, but you need to register |
|
649 the controls as "Insertable" objects. Reimplement QAxFactory::registerClass |
|
650 to add this attribute to the COM class, or set the "Insertable" class info |
|
651 for your class to "yes" using the Q_CLASSINFO macro. |
|
652 |
|
653 \section3 Unsupported Clients |
|
654 |
|
655 We have not managed to make ActiveQt based COM objects work with the |
|
656 following client applications. |
|
657 |
|
658 \list |
|
659 \o Borland C++ Builder (Versions 5 and 6) |
|
660 \o Borland Delphi |
|
661 \endlist |
|
662 |
|
663 \section2 Typical Runtime Errors |
|
664 |
|
665 \section3 The Server Does Not Respond |
|
666 |
|
667 If the system is unable to start the server (check with the task |
|
668 manager whether the server runs a process), make sure that no DLL |
|
669 the server depends on is missing from the system path (e.g. the Qt |
|
670 DLL!). Use a dependency walker to view all dependencies of the server |
|
671 binary. |
|
672 |
|
673 If the server runs (e.g. the task manager lists a process), see |
|
674 the following section for information on debugging your server. |
|
675 |
|
676 \section3 The Object Cannot Be Created |
|
677 |
|
678 If the server could be built and registered correctly during the build |
|
679 process, but the object cannot be initiliazed e.g. by the OLE/COM Object |
|
680 Viewer application, make sure that no DLL the server depends on is |
|
681 missing from the system path (e.g. the Qt DLL). Use a dependency walker |
|
682 to view all dependencies of the server binary. |
|
683 |
|
684 If the server runs, see the following section for information on |
|
685 debugging your server. |
|
686 |
|
687 \section2 Debugging Runtime Errors |
|
688 |
|
689 To debug an in-process server in Visual Studio, set the server project |
|
690 as the active project, and specify a client "executable for debug |
|
691 session" in the project settings (e.g. use the ActiveX Test Container). |
|
692 You can set breakpoints in your code, and also step into ActiveQt and |
|
693 Qt code if you installed the debug version. |
|
694 |
|
695 To debug an executable server, run the application in a debugger |
|
696 and start with the command line parameter \c -activex. Then start |
|
697 your client and create an instance of your ActiveX control. COM |
|
698 will use the existing process for the next client trying to create |
|
699 an ActiveX control. |
|
700 |
|
701 \section1 Class Information and Tuning |
|
702 |
|
703 To provide attributes for each COM class, use the Q_CLASSINFO macro, which is part of |
|
704 Qt's meta object system. |
|
705 |
|
706 \table |
|
707 \header |
|
708 \o Key |
|
709 \o Meaning of value |
|
710 \row |
|
711 \o Version |
|
712 \o The version of the class (1.0 is default) |
|
713 \row |
|
714 \o Description |
|
715 \o A string describing the class. |
|
716 \row |
|
717 \o ClassID |
|
718 \o The class ID. |
|
719 You must reimplement QAxFactory::classID if not specified. |
|
720 \row |
|
721 \o InterfaceID |
|
722 \o The interface ID. |
|
723 You must reimplement QAxFactory::interfaceID if not specified. |
|
724 \row |
|
725 \o EventsID |
|
726 \o The event interface ID. |
|
727 No signals are exposed as COM events if not specified. |
|
728 \row |
|
729 \o DefaultProperty |
|
730 \o The property specified represents the default property of this class. |
|
731 Ie. the default property of a push button would be "text". |
|
732 \row |
|
733 \o DefaultSignal |
|
734 \o The signal specified respresents the default signal of this class. |
|
735 Ie. the default signal of a push button would be "clicked". |
|
736 \row |
|
737 \o LicenseKey |
|
738 \o Object creation requires the specified license key. The key can be |
|
739 empty to require a licensed machine. By default classes are not |
|
740 licensed. Also see the following section. |
|
741 \row |
|
742 \o StockEvents |
|
743 \o Objects expose stock events if value is "yes". |
|
744 See \l QAxFactory::hasStockEvents() |
|
745 \row |
|
746 \o ToSuperClass |
|
747 \o Objects expose functionality of all super-classes up to and |
|
748 including the class name in value. |
|
749 See \l QAxFactory::exposeToSuperClass() |
|
750 \row |
|
751 \o Insertable |
|
752 \o If the value is "yes" the class is registered to be "Insertable" |
|
753 and will be listed in OLE 2 containers (ie. Microsoft Office). This |
|
754 attribute is not be set by default. |
|
755 \row |
|
756 \o Aggregatable |
|
757 \o If the value is "no" the class does not support aggregation. By |
|
758 default aggregation is supported. |
|
759 \row |
|
760 \o Creatable |
|
761 \o If the value is "no" the class cannot be created by the client, |
|
762 and is only available through the API of another class (ie. the |
|
763 class is a sub-type). |
|
764 \row |
|
765 \o RegisterObject |
|
766 \o If the value is "yes" objects of this class are registered with |
|
767 OLE and accessible from the running object table (ie. clients |
|
768 can connect to an already running instance of this class). This |
|
769 attribute is only supported in out-of-process servers. |
|
770 \row |
|
771 \o MIME |
|
772 \o The object can handle data and files of the format specified in the |
|
773 value. The value has the format mime:extension:description. Multiple |
|
774 formats are separated by a semicolon. |
|
775 \row |
|
776 \o CoClassAlias |
|
777 \o The classname used in the generated IDL and in the registry. This is |
|
778 esp. useful for C++ classes that live in a namespace - by default, |
|
779 ActiveQt just removes the "::" to make the IDL compile. |
|
780 \endtable |
|
781 |
|
782 Note that both keys and values are case sensitive. |
|
783 |
|
784 The following declares version 2.0 of a class that exposes only its |
|
785 own API, and is available in the "Insert Objects" dialog of Microsoft |
|
786 Office applications. |
|
787 |
|
788 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 15 |
|
789 |
|
790 \section2 Developing Licensed Components |
|
791 |
|
792 If you develop components you might want to control who is able to instantiate |
|
793 those components. Since the server binary can be shipped to and registered on |
|
794 any client machine it is possible for anybody to use those components in his |
|
795 own software. |
|
796 |
|
797 Licensing components can be done using a variety of techniques, e.g. the code |
|
798 creating the control can provide a license key, or the machine on which the |
|
799 control is supposed to run needs to be licensed. |
|
800 |
|
801 To mark a Qt class as licensed specify a "LicenseKey" using the |
|
802 Q_CLASSINFO() macro. |
|
803 |
|
804 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 16 |
|
805 |
|
806 The key is required to be able to create an instance of \c MyLicensedControl |
|
807 on a machine that is not licensed itself. The licensed developer can now |
|
808 redistributes the server binary with his application, which creates the control |
|
809 using the value of "LicenseKey", while users of the application cannot create |
|
810 the control without the license key. |
|
811 |
|
812 If a single license key for the control is not sufficient (ie. you want |
|
813 differnet developers to receive different license keys) you can specify an |
|
814 empty key to indicate that the control requires a license, and reimplement |
|
815 \l QAxFactory::validateLicenseKey() to verify that a license exists on the |
|
816 system (ie. through a license file). |
|
817 |
|
818 \section2 More Interfaces |
|
819 |
|
820 ActiveX controls provided by ActiveQt servers support a minimal set of COM |
|
821 interfaces to implement the OLE specifications. When the ActiveX class inherits |
|
822 from the QAxBindable class it can also implement additional COM interfaces. |
|
823 |
|
824 Create a new subclass of QAxAggregated and use multiple inheritance |
|
825 to subclass additional COM interface classes. |
|
826 |
|
827 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 17 |
|
828 |
|
829 Reimplement the QAxAggregated::queryInterface() function to |
|
830 support the additional COM interfaces. |
|
831 |
|
832 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 18 |
|
833 |
|
834 Since \c ISomeCOMInterface is a subclass of \c IUnknown you will |
|
835 have to implement the \c QueryInterface(), \c AddRef(), and \c |
|
836 Release() functions. Use the QAXAGG_IUNKNOWN macro in your |
|
837 class definition to do that. If you implement the \c IUnknown |
|
838 functions manually, delegate the calls to the interface pointer |
|
839 returned by the QAxAggregated::controllingUnknown() function, |
|
840 e.g. |
|
841 |
|
842 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 19 |
|
843 |
|
844 Do not support the \c IUnknown interface itself in your |
|
845 \l{QAxAggregated::queryInterface()}{queryInterface()} |
|
846 implementation. |
|
847 |
|
848 Implement the methods of the COM interfaces, and use QAxAggregated::object() |
|
849 if you need to make calls to the QObject subclass implementing the control. |
|
850 |
|
851 In your QAxBindable subclass, implement |
|
852 QAxBindable::createAggregate() to return a new object of the |
|
853 QAxAggregated subclass. |
|
854 |
|
855 \snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_qaxserver.qdoc 20 |
|
856 */ |