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/*!
\example painting/basicdrawing
\title Basic Drawing Example
\ingroup examples-painting
\brief The Basic Drawing example shows how to display basic
graphics primitives in a variety of styles using the QPainter
class.
\brief The Basic Drawing example shows how to display basic graphics
primitives in a variety of styles using the QPainter class.
QPainter performs low-level painting on widgets and other paint
devices. The class can draw everything from simple lines to
complex shapes like pies and chords. It can also draw aligned text
and pixmaps. Normally, it draws in a "natural" coordinate system,
but it can in addition do view and world transformation.
\image basicdrawing-example.png
The example provides a render area, displaying the currently
active shape, and lets the user manipulate the rendered shape and
its appearance using the QPainter parameters: The user can change
the active shape (\uicontrol Shape), and modify the QPainter's pen (\uicontrol
{Pen Width}, \uicontrol {Pen Style}, \uicontrol {Pen Cap}, \uicontrol {Pen Join}),
brush (\uicontrol {Brush Style}) and render hints (\uicontrol
Antialiasing). In addition the user can rotate a shape (\uicontrol
Transformations); behind the scenes we use QPainter's ability to
manipulate the coordinate system to perform the rotation.
The Basic Drawing example consists of two classes:
\list
\li \c RenderArea is a custom widget that renders multiple
copies of the currently active shape.
\li \c Window is the application's main window displaying a
\c RenderArea widget in addition to several parameter widgets.
\endlist
First we will review the \c Window class, then we will take a
look at the \c RenderArea class.
\section1 Window Class Definition
The Window class inherits QWidget, and is the application's main
window displaying a \c RenderArea widget in addition to several
parameter widgets.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.h 0
We declare the various widgets, and three private slots updating
the \c RenderArea widget: The \c shapeChanged() slot updates the
\c RenderArea widget when the user changes the currently active
shape. We call the \c penChanged() slot when either of the
QPainter's pen parameters changes. And the \c brushChanged() slot
updates the \c RenderArea widget when the user changes the
painter's brush style.
\section1 Window Class Implementation
In the constructor we create and initialize the various widgets
appearing in the main application window.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 1
First we create the \c RenderArea widget that will render the
currently active shape. Then we create the \uicontrol Shape combobox,
and add the associated items (i.e. the different shapes a QPainter
can draw).
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 2
QPainter's pen is a QPen object; the QPen class defines how a
painter should draw lines and outlines of shapes. A pen has
several properties: Width, style, cap and join.
A pen's width can be \e zero or greater, but the most common width
is zero. Note that this doesn't mean 0 pixels, but implies that
the shape is drawn as smoothly as possible although perhaps not
mathematically correct.
We create a QSpinBox for the \uicontrol {Pen Width} parameter.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 3
The pen style defines the line type. The default style is solid
(Qt::SolidLine). Setting the style to none (Qt::NoPen) tells the
painter to not draw lines or outlines. The pen cap defines how
the end points of lines are drawn. And the pen join defines how
two lines join when multiple connected lines are drawn. The cap
and join only apply to lines with a width of 1 pixel or greater.
We create \l {QComboBox}es for each of the \uicontrol {Pen Style}, \uicontrol
{Pen Cap} and \uicontrol {Pen Join} parameters, and adds the associated
items (i.e the values of the Qt::PenStyle, Qt::PenCapStyle and
Qt::PenJoinStyle enums respectively).
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 4
The QBrush class defines the fill pattern of shapes drawn by a
QPainter. The default brush style is Qt::NoBrush. This style tells
the painter to not fill shapes. The standard style for filling is
Qt::SolidPattern.
We create a QComboBox for the \uicontrol {Brush Style} parameter, and add
the associated items (i.e. the values of the Qt::BrushStyle enum).
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 5
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 6
Antialiasing is a feature that "smoothes" the pixels to create
more even and less jagged lines, and can be applied using
QPainter's render hints. QPainter::RenderHints are used to specify
flags to QPainter that may or may not be respected by any given
engine.
We simply create a QCheckBox for the \uicontrol Antialiasing option.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 7
The \uicontrol Transformations option implies a manipulation of the
coordinate system that will appear as if the rendered shape is
rotated in three dimensions.
We use the QPainter::translate(), QPainter::rotate() and
QPainter::scale() functions to implement this feature represented
in the main application window by a simple QCheckBox.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 8
Then we connect the parameter widgets with their associated slots
using the static QObject::connect() function, ensuring that the \c
RenderArea widget is updated whenever the user changes the shape,
or any of the other parameters.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 9
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 10
Finally, we add the various widgets to a layout, and call the \c
shapeChanged(), \c penChanged(), and \c brushChanged() slots to
initialize the application. We also turn on antialiasing.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 11
The \c shapeChanged() slot is called whenever the user changes the
currently active shape.
First we retrieve the shape the user has chosen using the
QComboBox::itemData() function. This function returns the data for
the given role in the given index in the combobox. We use
QComboBox::currentIndex() to retrieve the index of the shape, and
the role is defined by the Qt::ItemDataRole enum; \c IdRole is an
alias for Qt::UserRole.
Note that Qt::UserRole is only the first role that can be used for
application-specific purposes. If you need to store different data
in the same index, you can use different roles by simply
incrementing the value of Qt::UserRole, for example: 'Qt::UserRole
+ 1' and 'Qt::UserRole + 2'. However, it is a good programming
practice to give each role their own name: 'myFirstRole =
Qt::UserRole + 1' and 'mySecondRole = Qt::UserRole + 2'. Even
though we only need a single role in this particular example, we
add the following line of code to the beginning of the \c
window.cpp file.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 0
The QComboBox::itemData() function returns the data as a QVariant,
so we need to cast the data to \c RenderArea::Shape. If there is
no data for the given role, the function returns
QVariant::Invalid.
In the end we call the \c RenderArea::setShape() slot to update
the \c RenderArea widget.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 12
We call the \c penChanged() slot whenever the user changes any of
the pen parameters. Again we use the QComboBox::itemData()
function to retrieve the parameters, and then we call the \c
RenderArea::setPen() slot to update the \c RenderArea widget.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 13
The brushChanged() slot is called whenever the user changes the
brush parameter which we retrieve using the QComboBox::itemData()
function as before.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 14
If the brush parameter is a gradient fill, special actions are
required.
The QGradient class is used in combination with QBrush to specify
gradient fills. Qt currently supports three types of gradient
fills: linear, radial and conical. Each of these is represented by
a subclass of QGradient: QLinearGradient, QRadialGradient and
QConicalGradient.
So if the brush style is Qt::LinearGradientPattern, we first
create a QLinearGradient object with interpolation area between
the coordinates passed as arguments to the constructor. The
positions are specified using logical coordinates. Then we set the
gradient's colors using the QGradient::setColorAt() function. The
colors is defined using stop points which are composed by a
position (between 0 and 1) and a QColor. The set of stop points
describes how the gradient area should be filled. A gradient can
have an arbitrary number of stop points.
In the end we call \c RenderArea::setBrush() slot to update the \c
RenderArea widget's brush with the QLinearGradient object.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 15
A similar pattern of actions, as the one used for QLinearGradient,
is used in the cases of Qt::RadialGradientPattern and
Qt::ConicalGradientPattern.
The only difference is the arguments passed to the constructor:
Regarding the QRadialGradient constructor the first argument is
the center, and the second the radial gradient's radius. The third
argument is optional, but can be used to define the focal point of
the gradient inside the circle (the default focal point is the
circle center). Regarding the QConicalGradient constructor, the
first argument specifies the center of the conical, and the second
specifies the start angle of the interpolation.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 16
If the brush style is Qt::TexturePattern we create a QBrush from a
QPixmap. Then we call \c RenderArea::setBrush() slot to update the
\c RenderArea widget with the newly created brush.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/window.cpp 17
Otherwise we simply create a brush with the given style and a
green color, and then call \c RenderArea::setBrush() slot to
update the \c RenderArea widget with the newly created brush.
\section1 RenderArea Class Definition
The \c RenderArea class inherits QWidget, and renders multiple
copies of the currently active shape using a QPainter.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.h 0
First we define a public \c Shape enum to hold the different
shapes that can be rendered by the widget (i.e the shapes that can
be rendered by a QPainter). Then we reimplement the constructor as
well as two of QWidget's public functions: \l
{QWidget::minimumSizeHint()}{minimumSizeHint()} and \l
{QWidget::sizeHint()}{sizeHint()}.
We also reimplement the QWidget::paintEvent() function to be able
to draw the currently active shape according to the specified
parameters.
We declare several private slots: The \c setShape() slot changes
the \c RenderArea's shape, the \c setPen() and \c setBrush() slots
modify the widget's pen and brush, and the \c setAntialiased() and
\c setTransformed() slots modify the widget's respective
properties.
\section1 RenderArea Class Implementation
In the constructor we initialize some of the widget's variables.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 0
We set its shape to be a \uicontrol Polygon, its antialiased property to
be false and we load an image into the widget's pixmap
variable. In the end we set the widget's background role, defining
the brush from the widget's \l {QWidget::palette}{palette} that
will be used to render the background. QPalette::Base is typically
white.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 2
The \c RenderArea inherits QWidget's \l
{QWidget::sizeHint()}{sizeHint} property holding the recommended
size for the widget. If the value of this property is an invalid
size, no size is recommended.
The default implementation of the QWidget::sizeHint() function
returns an invalid size if there is no layout for the widget, and
returns the layout's preferred size otherwise.
Our reimplementation of the function returns a QSize with a 400
pixels width and a 200 pixels height.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 1
\c RenderArea also inherits QWidget's
\l{QWidget::minimumSizeHint()}{minimumSizeHint} property holding
the recommended minimum size for the widget. Again, if the value
of this property is an invalid size, no size is recommended.
The default implementation of QWidget::minimumSizeHint() returns
an invalid size if there is no layout for the widget, and returns
the layout's minimum size otherwise.
Our reimplementation of the function returns a QSize with a 100
pixels width and a 100 pixels height.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 3
\codeline
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 4
\codeline
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 5
The public \c setShape(), \c setPen() and \c setBrush() slots are
called whenever we want to modify a \c RenderArea widget's shape,
pen or brush. We set the shape, pen or brush according to the
slot parameter, and call QWidget::update() to make the changes
visible in the \c RenderArea widget.
The QWidget::update() slot does not cause an immediate
repaint; instead it schedules a paint event for processing when Qt
returns to the main event loop.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 6
\codeline
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 7
With the \c setAntialiased() and \c setTransformed() slots we
change the state of the properties according to the slot
parameter, and call the QWidget::update() slot to make the changes
visible in the \c RenderArea widget.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 8
Then we reimplement the QWidget::paintEvent() function. The first
thing we do is to create the graphical objects we will need to
draw the various shapes.
We create a vector of four \l {QPoint}s. We use this vector to
render the \uicontrol Points, \uicontrol Polyline and \uicontrol Polygon
shapes. Then we create a QRect, defining a rectangle in the plane,
which we use as the bounding rectangle for all the shapes excluding
the \uicontrol Path and the \uicontrol Pixmap.
We also create a QPainterPath. The QPainterPath class provides a
container for painting operations, enabling graphical shapes to be
constructed and reused. A painter path is an object composed of a
number of graphical building blocks, such as rectangles, ellipses,
lines, and curves. For more information about the QPainterPath
class, see the \l {painting/painterpaths}{Painter Paths}
example. In this example, we create a painter path composed of one
straight line and a Bezier curve.
In addition we define a start angle and an arc length that we will
use when drawing the \uicontrol Arc, \uicontrol Chord and \uicontrol Pie shapes.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 9
We create a QPainter for the \c RenderArea widget, and set the
painters pen and brush according to the \c RenderArea's pen and
brush. If the \uicontrol Antialiasing parameter option is checked, we
also set the painter's render hints. QPainter::Antialiasing
indicates that the engine should antialias edges of primitives if
possible.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 10
Finally, we render the multiple copies of the \c RenderArea's
shape. The number of copies is depending on the size of the \c
RenderArea widget, and we calculate their positions using two \c
for loops and the widgets height and width.
For each copy we first save the current painter state (pushes the
state onto a stack). Then we translate the coordinate system,
using the QPainter::translate() function, to the position
determined by the variables of the \c for loops. If we omit this
translation of the coordinate system all the copies of the shape
will be rendered on top of each other in the top left cormer of
the \c RenderArea widget.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 11
If the \uicontrol Transformations parameter option is checked, we do an
additional translation of the coordinate system before we rotate
the coordinate system 60 degrees clockwise using the
QPainter::rotate() function and scale it down in size using the
QPainter::scale() function. In the end we translate the coordinate
system back to where it was before we rotated and scaled it.
Now, when rendering the shape, it will appear as if it was rotated
in three dimensions.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 12
Next, we identify the \c RenderArea's shape, and render it using
the associated QPainter drawing function:
\list
\li QPainter::drawLine(),
\li QPainter::drawPoints(),
\li QPainter::drawPolyline(),
\li QPainter::drawPolygon(),
\li QPainter::drawRect(),
\li QPainter::drawRoundedRect(),
\li QPainter::drawEllipse(),
\li QPainter::drawArc(),
\li QPainter::drawChord(),
\li QPainter::drawPie(),
\li QPainter::drawPath(),
\li QPainter::drawText() or
\li QPainter::drawPixmap()
\endlist
Before we started rendering, we saved the current painter state
(pushes the state onto a stack). The rationale for this is that we
calculate each shape copy's position relative to the same point in
the coordinate system. When translating the coordinate system, we
lose the knowledge of this point unless we save the current
painter state \e before we start the translating process.
\snippet painting/basicdrawing/renderarea.cpp 13
Then, when we are finished rendering a copy of the shape we can
restore the original painter state, with its associated coordinate
system, using the QPainter::restore() function. In this way we
ensure that the next shape copy will be rendered in the correct
position.
We could translate the coordinate system back using
QPainter::translate() instead of saving the painter state. But
since we in addition to translating the coordinate system (when
the \uicontrol Transformation parameter option is checked) both rotate
and scale the coordinate system, the easiest solution is to save
the current painter state.
*/