Difference between revisions of "Development/Tutorials/Qt4 Ruby Tutorial/Chapter 2"

require 'Qt4'
 
app = Qt::Application.new(ARGV)
 
quit = Qt::PushButton.new('Quit')
quit.resize(75, 30)
quit.setFont(Qt::Font.new('Times', 18, Qt::Font::Bold))
 
Qt::Object.connect(quit, SIGNAL('clicked()'), app, SLOT('quit()'))
 
quit.show()
app.exec()

quit = Qt::PushButton.new('Quit')
</code>
 
This time, the button says <strong>Quit</strong> and that's exactly what the program will do when the user clicks the button.
 
<syntaxhighlight lang="ruby">
quit.resize(75, 30)
</code>
 
We've chosen another size for the button since the text is a bit shorter than "Hello world!". We could also have used [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qfontmetrics.html Qt::FontMetrics] to set right size, or let [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qpushbutton.html Qt::PushButton] choose a reasonable default.
 
<syntaxhighlight lang="ruby">
quit.setFont(Qt::Font.new('Times', 18, Qt::Font::Bold))
</code>
 
Here we choose a new font for the button, an 18-point bold font from the Times family. It is also possible to change the default font for the entire application, using [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qapplication.html#setFont Qt::Application::setFont()].
 
<syntaxhighlight lang="ruby">
Qt::Object.connect(quit, SIGNAL('clicked()'), app, SLOT('quit()'))
</code>
 
[http://doc.trolltech.com/4.2/qobject.html#connect Qt::Object::connect()] is perhaps the most central feature of Qt. Note that '''<tt>connect()</tt>''' in this context is a static function in [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qobject.html Qt::Object]. Do not confuse it with the '''<tt>connect()</tt>''' function in the Berkeley socket library.
 
This '''<tt>connect()</tt>''' call establishes a one-way connection between two Qt objects (objects that inherit [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qobject.html Qt::Object], directly or indirectly). Every Qt object can have both '''<tt>signals</tt>''' (to send messages) and '''<tt>slots</tt>''' (to receive messages). All widgets are Qt objects, since they inherit [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qwidget.html Qt::Widget], which in turn inherits [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qobject.html Qt::Object].
 
Here, the '''<tt>clicked()</tt>''' signal of '''<tt>quit</tt>''' is connected to the '''<tt>quit()</tt>''' slot of '''<tt>app</tt>''', so that when the button is clicked, the application quits.
 
The [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/signalsandslots.html Signals and Slots] documentation describes this topic in detail.
 
=== Running the Application ===
 
When you run this program, you will see an even smaller window than in Chapter 1, filled with an even smaller button.
 
=== Exercises ===
 
Try to resize the window. Click the button to close the application.
 
Are there any other signals in [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qpushbutton.html Qt::PushButton] you can connect to quit? [Hint: The [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qpushbutton.html Qt::PushButton] inherits most of its functionality from [http://doc.qt.nokia.com/latest/qabstractbutton.html Qt::AbstractButton].]
 
[[Category:Ruby]]