Development/Tutorials

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Tutorials are the fastest way of finding out what KDE will do for you, and how to do it. Here is a list of currently available tutorials for KDE4. Material for KDE3 and KDE2 is available on the bottom of this page.

Basics of KDE 4 Programming

Are you interested in writing applications with KDE 4? This tutorial series is aimed at those completely new to KDE programming.

Hello World: An introduction to the very basics of KDE4 programming
Creating the Main Window: This tutorial shows you the magic of an application's most important thing: The main window.
Using KActions: How to add actions to the menus and toolbars. Based on the MainWindow tutorial.
Physical Simulation: How to perform a physical simulation: animation and diagram
Saving and Loading: Introduces the KIO library while adding loading and saving support to our application.
Using SqLite databases and QtSql: Integrated databases without the need for a database server
Command line arguments: Adds the ability to specify which file to open from the command line to our text editor.
Introduction to CMake: How to use the CMake build system used by KDE4.
Common Programming Mistakes: Various common mistakes made while developing Qt and KDE applications and how to avoid them.
Debugging Linker Errors: How to understand and debug errors from the linker, at compile time.
Using Qt Creator to develop your KDE program: How to use Qt Creator as an IDE to develop KDE programs
Creating Libraries to share code: How to add the library to the buildsystem and how to prepare the source code.
Session Management: Make your application aware of X sessions
Icons: Deliver your application with icons that are automatically installed to the right places. Based on the Kaction Tutorial.
Desktop File: Let your application show up in the K menu and in application menus. Based on the Icons Tutorial.
Building an Existing KDE Application

If you want to improve an existing application, you can usually build and install it easily. This tutorial shows how to build an application in a way that doesn't interfere with your system. If you do not need to modify kdelibs this may be the easiest way to get started with development.

Testing And Debugging

Debugging your application: Tips, tools and techniques to apply when debugging your KDE application
Writing Unittests for Qt4 and KDE4 with QTestLib (Original link): Tutorial by Brad Hards that describes how to write unit tests using the QTestLib framework. It is presented as an example based tutorial, and is still under development.
Semi-automatic ways to detect code errors: Techniques you can use to detect errors in KDE code

Managing Configuration Data With KConfig

Introduction To KConfig: An overview of the KConfig classes and how to use them in your application code
Using KConfig XT: Tutorial on how to efficiently use the KConfig XT framework.
Updating KConfig Files: Tutorial on how to write an update script to keep changes in your application's config file format in sync with the user's already existing config file

Services: Applications and Plugins

Introduction to the Services Framework: An overview of the services framework in KDE and what it provides the application developer. Covers the system configuration cache (SyCoCa), the source data files and what the indexed information can be used for.
Finding Services Using Trader Queries: How to find services, such as plugins or mimetypes, that are indexed in the SyCoCa using Trader Query Syntax
Creating and Loading Plugins Using KService: Learn how to define custom plugin types, find installed plugins (including 3rd party plugins) and load them in an easy and portable fashion using KService.

Localization

Documentation

API Documentation: This tutorial explains how to document your APIs properly.
Man Pages: Writing and Generating Reference Manual Pages.
Source Code: http://quickgit.kde.org; http://websvn.kde.org

Accessibility

Accessibility Overview: A list of accessibility tutorials and general information.
Accessibility Checklist: What to look for in your application to make it accessible for as many people as possible.
Screen Reader: This tutorial will explain some details about using screen readers with KDE applications.
Text-To-Speech: How to utilize Jovie text-to-speech service in your application.

Application Automation and Scripting

D-Bus

Introduction to D-Bus: A straight-forward introduction to the core concepts in D-Bus from an application developer's perspective, this tutorial covers what D-Bus is and how it can be used by applications.
Accessing D-Bus Interfaces: A step-by-step guide to calling D-Bus methods and connecting to D-Bus signals using QtDBus.
Intermediate D-Bus: Tips to make use of QtDBus when faced with problematic real-world interfaces.
Creating D-Bus Interfaces: Learn how to expose functionality in your application by creating and using custom D-Bus interfaces. Covers generating the XML descriptions, instantiating interfaces at run time and setting up the build system with CMake.
Using Custom Types with D-Bus: Learn how to use your own types in classes exported on D-Bus. Covers marhaling and unmarshaling of objects, the integration of custom types into XML descriptions and registering the custom types with the Qt Meta Object system.
D-Bus Autostart Services: Turn your application into a D-Bus autostart service with this tutorial. This D-Bus feature, also known as "D-Bus service activation", will ensure that even when your application isn't running that D-Bus calls made to it will work by relying on the D-Bus daemon itself to start your app if and when needed.
Porting from DCOP to D-Bus: Port your applications from DCOP to D-Bus with this handy guide.

Konqueror

Creating Konqueror Service Menus: This tutorial shows you how to create mimetype-specific actions in Konqueror's context menu (aka "servicemenus").

Kross

Introduction to Kross: An introduction to the Kross Scripting Framework.
Hello World: A first application with working kross code.
Calling Functions in Kross: Simple demonstration of calling scripting functions
Connecting Signals and Slots in Kross: Simple demonstration of connecting object signals with script slots
Scripts as Plugins with Kross: This tutorial provides a step-by-step introduction how to integrate scripts as plugins into a KDE application.
Placing script actions in your application menus: Simple demonstration on how to extend you application menus to execute script files.
How to use an ActionCollection: A small Tutorial on How to use Kross::ActionCollections.

Calligra Plugin Tutorials

Calligra Overview

This document shows an overview of the different Calligra plugin types and tells you what each of their purpose and strengths are. If you are new with Calligra plugins, this is the place to start.

Calligra Plugin Creation

This gives a technical overview of what it means to write a Calligra plugin.

Creating Calligra Flake Plugins

This tutorial shows you how you can build a plugin for Calligra applications to allow you embed content in ODF documents using Flake.

Calligra Words Scripting

This tutorial shows how to script Calligra Words with Python, or JavaScript using Kross.

Calligra Sheets Scripting

This tutorial shows how to script Calligra Sheets with Python, or JavaScript using Kross.

SuperKaramba

SuperKaramba Tutorial: This tutorial provides an overview of SuperKaramba, theme files and scripting with Python, Ruby and JavaScript.

System Activity

Writing script actions for the process's context menu

This tutorial shows how to add a context menu action to show custom information about a process.

KWin

KWin Scripting Tutorial

This tutorial shows how to write a useful script for KWin.

QML Window Switcher Layouts

This tutorial documents the new QML layouts for the KWin Window Switcher

Plugins and KParts

Using KParts: A kPart is a plugin that you can just load into your application. For example, it is easy to integrate an editor (the katePart) or a console (the konsolePart) into your application's window.
Writing kontact plugins: Kontact plugins are KParts. This tutorial describes how you can write one.
Writing Qt Designer Plugins: Add your widgets to Qt Designer and thus make them usable in UI files.
KCM HowTo: KCM are plugins which are loaded by System Settings to display configuration elements. They can also be used within an application.

Search and Metadata

Strigi

Writing file analyzers: File analyzers extract data from files to display in the file dialogs and file managers. The data gathered this way is also used to search for files. KDE4 allows the use of multiple analyzers per file type. This tutorial describes how you can write new analyzers.

Nepomuk

See Nepomuk tutorials.

Hardware Awareness (Solid)

Introduction to Solid: An introduction to the Solid effort in general and it library in particular.
Listing Devices: How to use the Solid core library to discover the hardware and interact with the system.
Accessing Network Information: How to use the Solid system to get information about the network
Creating a Device Action: When your application is interested in registering actions with the system for removable hardware

Authorization and Privilege escalation (KAuth)

KAuth Basics: An overview of concepts and basic knowledge required to understand and use KAuth effectively
Using KAuth actions in your application: How to execute KAuth actions in your application, and how to integrate them tightly into your UI
Creating a KAuth helper to perform a privileged action: You will learn how to use KAuth's helpers and escalation facilities, and how to seamlessly make a privileged and non privileged portion of your application interact
Creating a KCM requiring authorization upon saving: Learn how to use the high level KCModule API to create KCModules handling authorization, and its UI integration, on their own

Multimedia (Phonon)

Phonon: The ;Introduction to Phonon tells how to compile and run the code. If you like to work in Python, try this version of the same tutorial
Writing Backends: How to start creating a new backend for the multimedia API
Resources: Please have a look at the online documentation for information on the Phonon API. If you prefer using Qt Assistant or Qt Creator you can also use our offline documentation.

Plasma

See Plasma tutorials.

Personal Information Management (Akonadi)

Using Akonadi in Applications: Displaying and modifying data provided by Akonadi
Developing Akonadi Resources: Akonadi Resources are agent programs which transport PIM data between Akonadi and a backend (files, servers, etc)
Using custom data types with Akonadi: Akonadi can handle arbitrary data as item payloads through the use of a plugin based serialization framework
Porting Applications which use KResource API: Applications using KDE's now deprecated KResource APIs, e.g. KABC or KCal, need to be ported to use their Akonadi equivalents

Kate / Kwrite

Getting started with KTextEditor plugins: Creating your first KTextEditor plugin
Developing a plugin with configuration dialog: Adding a configuration dialog to the Time & Date example
A small Editor: Create a small application using KTextEditor

KDevelop

KDevelop-PG-Qt Introduction: Information on the KDevelop parser generator, useful for language plugins.
Creating a class template: Instructions for creating a class template, which can be used to quickly generate classes from KDevelop.
Creating a project template: Instructions for creating a project template, which can be used for starting new project with KDevelop.

Printing

KDE mostly uses the Qt Printing infrastructure.

Hello World: Introduction to the KDE printing system

kioslaves

Collaboration

Open Collaboration Services (libattica)

Introduction to Attica: In this tutorial a simple widget showing information about a Person on the server is created.

Get Hot New Stuff

Get Hot New Stuff 3 - Download: How to use KHotNewStuff3 in your application.
Get Hot New Stuff 3 - Checking for Updates: How to check whether updates for installed stuff are available without showing the dialog/widget.
Get Hot New Stuff 3 - Upload: How to add an upload dialog to your application.

Old links for KNS2 and KNS1 content:

Introduction to Get Hot New Stuff 2: A short tutorial about how to use KHotNewStuff2 in your application. Deprecated, use version 3
Introduction to Get Hot New Stuff: An introduction to the developer-friendly network update system that allows KDE applications to fetch new application data at runtime in a user friendly manner.
KNewStuff Secure (Original Link): Tutorial showing how to share resources in a secured way (KDE 3.4 and later). By András Mantia <[email protected]>.

Goya

Introduction to Goya usage: An introduction for the Goya subsystem usage, which allows you to easily add widgets to your itemviews and connect their signals to your code, as they were real widgets.
Introduction to Goya usage (part 2): The second part of the tutorial, with a slightly more complex example than the first part.

Other programming languages

Python

An Introduction to PyQt: Starting off
PyQt by Example: Another introduction to PyQt
PyKDE WebKit Tutorial: A simple web browser application in PyKDE
101 Introduction to signals and slots: A simple introduction to Qt's signal and slot architecture.
PyKDE DBus Tutorial: An introduction to DBus communication using PyKDE
PyKDE KNotify Tutorial: An introduction to Knotify (Notifications and KJobs) using PyKDE

Ruby

KDE Ruby Korundum tutorial: A ruby version of Antonio Larrosa Jiménez's KDE tutorial by Richard Dale. See the Ruby Developers Corner for Qt tutorials and other info.
Qt4 Ruby Tutorial: Nokia's fabulous introductory tutorial to Qt, translated to Ruby.
Creating a Plasma Widget in Ruby: Tutorial that shows how to create your first Plasma Applet using the Ruby language.
Developing Qt4 Applications using Qt Designer and Ruby on Kubuntu: Tutorial that shows how to design a simple User Interface in Qt Designer and then use the resulting widget in a Qt Ruby application we build from scratch.
Ruby-Qt/KDE Book: There is also an approach to create an Ruby-Qt/KDE Book under a free license. The content will be created in this wiki.

Shell

Shell Scripting with KDE dialogs (Original Link): Tutorial by Brad Hards that describes how to use KDE dialogs in shell scripts with kdialog. It is presented as an example based tutorial.

Graphics Programming

QPainter Perfomance: Hints on avoiding common mistakes leading to poor performance when using QPainter

Using the KDE Games Libraries

KStandardGameAction: Using libkdegames to make your game fit the kdegames standard
Highscores: Implementing a simple highscore table into your game
Theme Selector: Using the libkdegames theme selection dialog
Palapeli Slicers: Creating a slicer plugin for Palapeli

KGLEngine

Installation and your first KGLItem: start your first kglengine application
kglpong: Now use our knowledge to make a pong

Using the KDE PIM Libraries

iCalendar functionality: Using kcal to manage iCalendar files

KDE2 and KDE3 Materials

KWallet
Porting Your Application from KDE 3 to KDE 4: These tutorials cover topics related to the migration from KDE 3 to KDE 4.
KDE3 Tutorials: These tutorials cover topics related to KDE3.
KDE2 Tutorials: These tutorials cover topics related to KDE2.