Development/Tutorials/Plasma4/JavaScript/API: Difference between revisions

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    = Introduction to Plasmoids JavaScript API  =
    = Introduction to the Plasmoid JavaScript API  =


    If you have not done so already, please read the "plasmoid" design document first.  
    This document provides an overview/reference of the Simplified JavaScript API for Plasmoids. The "Simplified" refers to the fact that it isn't a full binding to all of Qt or KDE's libraries, but a highly focused set of bindings designed to make writing Plasmoids fast and easy, while remaining powerful.


    == What Is A Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid?  ==
    The API in this documentation covers the JavaScript API as it appears in the KDE Software Compilation as of version 4.4 and higher. Changes between versions are noted in the documentation, including when new API functionality was introduced. This API ships as part of the KDE Base Runtime package, so can be relied on being there by any application that is Powered By KDE.
     
    = Examples and Tutorials =
     
    Tutorials can be found [[Development/Tutorials/Plasma|in the Plasma tutorials area here on Techbase]] and full, functioning examples can be found in the [https://projects.kde.org/projects/kde/kdeexamples KDE Examples] repository in the {{path|plasma/javascript}} folder.
     
    = Using QML =
     
    Starting with the KDE Platform 4.7 release, the Plasma team recommends writing your Plasmoids with [http://qt.nokia.com/qtquick/ QtQuick] technologies with the [http://techbase.kde.org/Development/Tutorials/Plasma#QML_Plasmoids Plasma QML integration API].
     
    The QML API uses the same API as the Simplified JavaScript API with the exception of User Interface Elements, Animations and Events which are provided instead by QML itself.
     
    The benefits of writing your Plasmoid with QML can include faster development with more sophisticated results visually and in its usability as well as much better performance when run in a QML-only Plasma shell such as Plasma Active.
     
    = What Is A Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid?  =


    This document describes the native Plasma API available to Simplified JavaScript Plasmoids. What makes them "Simplified" is that they do not have access to the entire C++ API in the Plasma, KDE and Qt libraries (let alone things lower in the API stack). This helps ensure that these Plasmoids are more likely to work properly between releases as changes in underlying API don't affect them as well as allowing Plasma to offer stronger security guarantees around them.  
    This document describes the native Plasma API available to Simplified JavaScript Plasmoids. What makes them "Simplified" is that they do not have access to the entire C++ API in the Plasma, KDE and Qt libraries (let alone things lower in the API stack). This helps ensure that these Plasmoids are more likely to work properly between releases as changes in underlying API don't affect them as well as allowing Plasma to offer stronger security guarantees around them.  
    Line 13: Line 27:
    What follows is a description of the runtime environment available to a Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid.  
    What follows is a description of the runtime environment available to a Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid.  


    == QtScript  ==
    = QtScript  =


    The Simplified JavaScript API is powered by Qt's QtScript system which provides access to a full featured ECMA Script interpreter. If it works in ECMA Script, it will work in a Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid. As an interesting implementation note, QtScript uses the high performance ECMA Script interpreter from WebKit and shares this code with QtWebKit.  
    The Simplified JavaScript API is powered by Qt's QtScript system which provides access to a full featured ECMA Script interpreter. If it works in ECMA Script, it will work in a Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid. As an interesting implementation note, QtScript uses the high performance ECMA Script interpreter from WebKit and shares this code with QtWebKit.  


    On top of the ECMA Script language, QtScript provides Qt integration features. Probably the most useful one in this context is the use of signals and slots which is Qt's callback mechanism. Signals may be emitted in QtScript by calling the signal method in question, a signal can be connected to a slot by using the connect() method (and disconnected with diconnnect()) and any function defined in the Plasmoid may be used as a slot. For example: <code javascript="javascript">
    On top of the ECMA Script language, QtScript provides Qt integration features. Probably the most useful one in this context is the use of signals and slots which is Qt's callback mechanism. Signals may be emitted in QtScript by calling the signal method in question, a signal can be connected to a slot by using the connect() method (and disconnected with disconnect()) and any function defined in the Plasmoid may be used as a slot. For example: <syntaxhighlight lang="javascript">
    function onClick()
    function onClick()
    {
    {
    Line 33: Line 47:
    button.clicked.connect(onFirstClick)
    button.clicked.connect(onFirstClick)
    button.clicked()
    button.clicked()
    </code> This will print out:  
    </syntaxhighlight> This will print out:  


    <code>
    <syntaxhighlight lang="text">
    We got clicked!
    We got clicked!
    First click!
    First click!
    </code>  
    </syntaxhighlight>  
     
    on the console when the Plasmoid starts, and the "We got clicked!" again whenever the button is clicked by the user.
     
    == The Global plasmoid Object  ==
     
    There is a global object available to the Plasmoid called, appropriately, "plasmoid". It has a number of useful properties (some of which are read only, but many of which are read/write), functions, constant values and callbacks. Each are enumerated below.
     
    === Callbacks  ===
     
    There are some events that are generated by Plasma for the Plasmoid. These can often be caught by providing a function assigned to a specific name in the plasmoid object. For instance, to get notified of form factor changes, one would provide a formFactorChanged method as follows: <code javascript="javascript">
    plasmoid.formFactorChanged = function() {
     
        print("the form factor has changed to: " + plasmoid.formFactor())
     
    }
    </code>
     
    === Environment  ===
     
    A set of read-only properties (and in most cases notification functions) that tell the plasmoid about its current environment:
     
    *apiVersion: the integer version of the Simlified JavaScript API in the current execution environment; can be used to change behaviour or usage of functions depending on the version number.
     
    *formFactor: one of Planar (e.g. on a desktop or in an application main view), Horizontal, Vertical or MediaCenter. When the form factor changes, the plasmoid.formFactorChanged function, if defined in the Plasmoid, is called.
    *location: one of Floating (no specific location), Desktop (on the application's main view are), FullScreen, LeftEdge, RightEdge, TopEdge or ButtomEdge. When the location changes, the plasmoid.locatationChanged function, if defined in the Plasmoid, is called.
    *immutable: this property is set to true when the Plasmoid is set to not be movable or otherwise changeable, and false otherwise. Configuration is still usually allowed in this state. When the immutability changes, the plasmoid.immutabilityChanged function, if defined in the Plasmoid, is called.
    *currentActivity: the current contextual activity name. When the current activity changes, the plasmoid.currentActivityChanged function, if defined in the Plasmoid, is called.
    *shouldConserveResources: true if the plasmoid should not be doing anything that would create too much draw on power, e.g. when on a device with low battery power it may be a good idea not to run a computationally expensive but optional animation
     
    === Properties  ===
     
    A set of read/write properties that allow the Plasmoid to set various visual or functional properties:
     
    *aspectRatioMode: defines how to treat the aspect ratio of a Plasmoid when resizing it, one of:
    **IgnoreAspectRatio: The Plasmoid can be freely resized
    **KeepAspectRatio: The Plasmoid keeps a fixed aspect ratio
    **Square: The Plasmoid is always a square
    **ConstrainedSquare: The Plasmoid is no wider (in horizontal formfactors) or no higher (in vertical ones) than a square
    **FixedSize: The Plasmoid cannot be resized
    *busy: set to true when the Plasmoid is currently processing or waiting for data and the user interface should be blocked while doing so; will generally show a full-Plasmoid animated overlay to denote business
     
    === Geometry  ===
     
    Functions:
     
    *resize(width, height)
    *setMinimumSize(width, height)
    *setPreferredSize(width, height)
     
    Properties:
     
    *rect: the current rect of the Plasmoid; note that the top left may be not be the origin point (0,0); this property is read only
     
    === Painting and Layout  ===
     
    To paint directly on to the canvas, a widget may implement the paintInterface function in the plasmoid object:
    <code javascript>
        plasmoid.paintInterface = function(painter) { /* painting code goes here*/ }
    </code>
    See the Painting section below for information about helpful classes and functions that can be used when implementing a paintInterface function.
     
    Functions:
     
    *update() triggers a full repaint of the Plasmoid.
    *update(QRectF rect) triggers a repaint of the rect area of the Plasmoid.
    *failedToLaunch(bool failed, string reason) sets the launch status of the Plasmoid; if set to true, the script will stop executing and the reason message, if any, will be displayed to the user.
     
    Properties:
     
    *layout: the QGraphicsLayout associated with the Plasmoid for laying out top level items; this property is read-write, though the property is not usually set as one can simply do "new LinearLayout" (or one of the other layout classes provided) and it will be automatically associated with the Plasmoid.
     
    === Access To Packaged Files  ===
     
    Functions:
     
    *string file(string type, string fileName): returns the path to a file named fileName in the Plasmoid package of the given type; e.g. file("images", "mypixmap.png")
    *string file(string type): returns the path to a file named as part of the package, e.g.: file("mainscript")
    *bool include(string filename): attempts to include the script defined from the package's scripts directory
     
    === Configuration Data  ===
     
    ==== Declaring Config Values  ====
     
    KConfigXt XML -&gt; main.xml
     
    ==== Accessing Configuration Data  ====
     
    * activeConfig
    * readConfig(string key)
    * writConfig(string key, var value)
     
    ==== User Customization  ====
     
    Qt UI file
     
    * plasmoid.configChanged() callback function called when the configuration is changed external to the Plasmoid, e.g. when the user changes settings in a configuration dialog.
     
    == User Interface Elements  ==
     
    === Plasma Widgets  ===
     
    The Plasma framework provides a set of standard user interface elmenets such as pushbuttons and checkboxes for use in Plasmoids, and these are available from the Simplified Javascript API as well. These elements follow the Plasma style and other conventions so that widgets blend well both visually and functionally with other Plasma elements.
     
    === Properties  ===
     
    By default, all of the Plasma user interface elements have the following properties:
     
    *''string'' '''stylesheet'''<br>A CSS stylesheet describing visual properties to apply to the widget; see [http://doc.trolltech.com/4.5/stylesheet.html the Qt Documentation for more information]
     
    *objectName
    *opacity
    *enabled
    *visible
    *pos
    *x
    *y
    *z
    *rotation
    *scale
    *transformOriginPoint
    *palette
    *font
    *size
    *focusPolicy
    *geometry
     
    === Signals  ===
     
    *opacityChanged()
    *visibleChanged()
    *enabledChanged()
    *xChanged()
    *yChanged()
    *zChanged()
    *rotationChanged()
    *scaleChanged()
     
    === UI Element Gallery  ===
     
    ====BusyWidget====
    *boolean running
    *string label
    *function clicked()
    ====CheckBox====
    *string text
    *string image
    *string styleSheet
    *boolean isChecked
    *function toggled(bool)
    ====ComboBox====
    *string text
    *string styleSheet
    *function activated(QString)
    *function textChanged(QString)
    *function clear()
    ====FlashingLabel====
    *boolean autohide
    *object color
    *number duration
    *function kill()
    *function fadeIn()
    *function fadeOut()
    *function flash(QString,int,QTextOption)
    *function flash(QString,int)
    *function flash(QString)
    *function flash(QPixmap,int,Qt::Alignment)
    *function flash(QPixmap,int)
    *function flash(QPixmap)
    ====Frame====
    *number frameShadow
    *string text
    *string image
    *string styleSheet
    *number Plain
    *number Raised
    *number Sunken
    ====GroupBox====
    *string text
    *string styleSheet
    ====IconWidget====
    *string text
    *string infoText
    *object icon
    *object textBackgroundColor
    *object iconSize
    *string svg
    *undefined action
    *number orientation
    *number numDisplayLines
    *function pressed(bool)
    *function clicked()
    *function doubleClicked()
    *function activated()
    *function changed()
    *function setPressed(bool)
    *function setPressed()
    *function setUnpressed()
    *function setIcon(QString)
    ====ItemBackground====
    *object target
    *object targetItem
    *function appearanceChanged()
    *function animationStep(qreal)
    *function targetReached(QRectF)
    *function targetItemReached(QGraphicsItem*)
    ====Label====
    *string text
    *string image
    *number alignment
    *boolean hasScaledContents
    *string styleSheet
    *function linkActivated(QString)
    *function linkHovered(QString)
    *function dataUpdated(QString,Plasma::DataEngine::Data)
    ====LineEdit====
    *string text
    *boolean isClearButtonShown
    *string styleSheet
    *function editingFinished()
    *function returnPressed()
    *function textEdited(QString)
    *function textChanged(QString)
    ====Meter====
    *number minimum
    *number maximum
    *number value
    *string svg
    *number meterType
    *function dataUpdated(QString,Plasma::DataEngine::Data)
    *number BarMeterHorizontal
    *number BarMeterVertical
    *number AnalogMeter
    ====PushButton====
    *string text
    *string image
    *undefined action
    *object icon
    *boolean checkable
    *boolean checked
    *boolean down
    *function pressed()
    *function released()
    *function clicked()
    *function toggled(bool)
    ====RadioButton====
    *string text
    *string image
    *string styleSheet
    *boolean isChecked
    *function toggled(bool)
    ====ScrollWidget====
    *object widget
    *number horizontalScrollBarPolicy
    *number verticalScrollBarPolicy
    *object scrollPosition
    *object contentsSize
    *object viewportGeometry
    *string styleSheet
    *function ensureRectVisible(QRectF)
    *function ensureItemVisible(QGraphicsItem*)
    *function registerAsDragHandle(QGraphicsWidget*)
    *function unregisterAsDragHandle(QGraphicsWidget*)
    ====ScrollBar====
    *number singleStep
    *number pageStep
    *number value
    *number minimum
    *number maximum
    *function valueChanged(int)
    *function setValue(int)
    *function setOrientation(Qt::Orientation)
    ====Separator====
    *number orientation
    ====SignalPlotter====
    *string title
    *string unit
    *boolean useAutoRange
    *number horizontalScale
    *boolean showVerticalLines
    *object verticalLinesColor
    *number verticalLinesDistance
    *boolean verticalLinesScroll
    *boolean showHorizontalLines
    *object horizontalLinesColor
    *object fontColor
    *number horizontalLinesCount
    *boolean showLabels
    *boolean showTopBar
    *object backgroundColor
    *string svgBackground
    *boolean thinFrame
    *boolean stackPlots
    ====Slider====
    *number maximum
    *number minimum
    *number value
    *number orientation
    *string styleSheet
    *function sliderMoved(int)
    *function valueChanged(int)
    *function setMaximum(int)
    *function setMinimum(int)
    *function setRange(int,int)
    *function setValue(int)
    *function setOrientation(Qt::Orientation)
    ====SpinBox====
    *number maximum
    *number minimum
    *number value
    *string styleSheet
    *function sliderMoved(int)
    *function valueChanged(int)
    *function editingFinished()
    *function setMaximum(int)
    *function setMinimum(int)
    *function setRange(int,int)
    *function setValue(int)
    ====SvgWidget====
    *undefined svg
    *string elementID
    *function clicked(Qt::MouseButton)
    ====TabBar====
    *number currentIndex
    *number count
    *string styleSheet
    *boolean tabBarShown
    *function currentChanged(int)
    *function setCurrentIndex(int)
    *function insertTab(int,QIcon,QString,QGraphicsLayoutItem*)
    *function insertTab(int,QIcon,QString)
    *function insertTab(int,QString,QGraphicsLayoutItem*)
    *function insertTab(int,QString)
    *function addTab(QIcon,QString,QGraphicsLayoutItem*)
    *function addTab(QIcon,QString)
    *function addTab(QString,QGraphicsLayoutItem*)
    *function addTab(QString)
    *function removeTab(int)
    *function takeTab(int)
    *function tabAt(int)
    *function setTabText(int,QString)
    *function tabText(int)
    *function setTabIcon(int,QIcon)
    *function tabIcon(int)
    ====TextEdit====
    *string text
    *boolean readOnly
    *function textChanged()
    *function dataUpdated(QString,Plasma::DataEngine::Data)
    ====ToolButton====
    *string text
    *boolean autoRaise
    *string image
    *undefined action
    *function clicked()
    *function pressed()
    *function released()
    ====TreeView====
    *undefined model
    *string styleSheet
    ====VideoWidget====
    *string url
    *number currentTime
    *number totalTime
    *number remainingTime
    *number usedControls
    *boolean controlsVisible
    *string styleSheet
    *function tick(qint64)
    *function aboutToFinish()
    *function nextRequested()
    *function previousRequested()
    *function play()
    *function pause()
    *function stop()
    *function seek(qint64)
    *function mediaObject()
    *function audioOutput()
    *number NoControls
    *number Play
    *number Pause
    *number Stop
    *number PlayPause
    *number Previous
    *number Next
    *number Progress
    *number Volume
    *number OpenFile
    *number DefaultControls
    ====WebView====
    *object url
    *string html
    *boolean dragToScroll
    *object scrollPosition
    *object contentsSize
    *object viewportGeometry
    *function loadProgress(int)
    *function loadFinished(bool)
     
    === Layouts  ===
     
    ==== LinearLayout ====
    * number spacing
    * QtOrientation setOrientation
    * function removeAt
    * function addStretch
    * function setStretchFactor
    * function setAlignment
    * function insertStretch
    * function setItemSpacing
    * function setContentsMargins
    * function addItem
    * function removeItem
    * function insertItem
    * function toString
     
    ==== AnchorLayout ====
    * number horizontalSpacing
    * number verticalSpacing
    * function setSpacing
    * function removeAt
    * function addAnchor
    * function anchor
    * function addAnchors
    * function addCornerAnchors
    * function toString
     
    ==== GridLayout ====
    * number horizontalSpacing
    * number verticalSpacing
    * function rowSpacing
    * function setRowSpacing
    * function columnSpacing
    * function setColumnSpacing
    * function rowMinimumHeight
    * function setRowMinimumHeight
    * function rowPreferredHeight
    * function setRowPreferredHeight
    * function rowMaximumHeight
    * function setRowMaximumHeight
    * function rowFixedHeight
    * function setRowFixedHeight
    * function columnMinimumWidth
    * function setColumnMinimumWidth
    * function columnPreferredWidth
    * function setColumnPreferredWidth
    * function columnMaximumWidth
    * function setColumnMaximumWidth
    * function columnFixedWidth
    * function setColumnFixedWidth
    * function remoteAt
    * function setAlignment
    * function setSpacing
    * function setContentsMargins
    * function addItem
    * function toString
     
    === Undocumented Properties and Functions  ===
     
    There are a handful of other undocumented properties and functions available to UI elements. These are not supported or guaranteed to exist in future versions however, and as such should be used or relied upon.
     
    == Animations  ==
     
    An animation object can be retrieved by calling the animation(string) method. The string corresponds to the Plasma::Animator::Animation enumeration, and currently the following are supported (case insensitive) along with a list of their properties:
     
    *fade
    *grow
    *expand
    *pause
    *pulse
    *rotate
    *rotateStacked
    *slide
     
    All animations support the following properties:
     
    *duration (int): length of the animation in ms.
    *widgetToAnimate: the QGraphicsWidget (e.g. a Plasma::Widget) to operate on.
    *forwards (bool): true if the animation should play forwards or false if backwards (rewind).
    *visible (bool): whether or not the animation is currently visible (??!?!)
     
    By default the animation object is associated with the plasmoid itself. By setting the widgetToAnimate property, however, it can be re-assigned to any QGraphicsWidget (e.g. Plasma widgets such as push buttons, sliders, etc) one wants.
     
    Animations may also be put into groups for convenient sequential or parallel running by creating an AnimationGroup object and then calling add(widget) on it. The parallel (bool) property holds whether or not the animations should be run in parallel or sequentially. The default is sequential.
     
    == Painting  ==
     
    See the "Painting and Layout" section, part of the Global Plasmoid chapter, for information on using these classes within a widget.
     
    === Pixmaps  ===
     
    The QPixmap object allows widgets to use pixmaps for painting. Widgets may include pixmaps in various common formats (PNG, JPEG, GIF, etc.) in the contents/images/ directory of the Plasmoid package and load them by passing the name of the file into the pixmap contrustor:
    <code javascript>
        var pixmap = new QPixmap("myimage.png")
    </code>
    In addition to being used as a file load, some objects return or take pixmaps and the QPixmap object facilitates that as well.
     
    *Properties
    **bool isNull: returns true if the pixmap is empty or not
    **QRectF rect: the rect of the pixmap
    **QPixmap scaled(width, height): returns a scaled version of the pixmap with width and height dimensions.
     
    === SVG Images  ===
     
    Plasma makes heavy usage of SVG images. More information on this industry standard scalable vector format can be found here:
     
    :http://www.w3.org/Graphics/SVG/
     
    Free and Open Source Software tools for creating SVGs include Inkscape and Karbon13. Widgets may include their own SVG files in the contents/images/ directdory or may use SVG images that are part of the standard Plasma Desktop Theme as documented here:
     
    :http://techbase.kde.org/Projects/Plasma/Theme
     
    Two classes are provide: Svg and FrameSvg. Svg allows loading and painting entire SVG documents or individual elements in an SVG document. FrameSvg extends Svg with methods to paint bordered frames from specially crafted SVG documents (see the Plasma Desktop Theme documentation for more information on this).
     
    ====Svg====
    *Constructors
    **Svg(fileName): fileName can be a file in the desktop theme or the plasmoid package
    *object size
    *boolean multipleImages
    *string imagePath
    *boolean usingRenderingCache
    *function repaintNeeded()
    *function pixmap(QString)
    *function pixmap()
    *function paint(QPainter*,QPointF,QString)
    *function paint(QPainter*,QPointF)
    *function paint(QPainter*,int,int,QString)
    *function paint(QPainter*,int,int)
    *function paint(QPainter*,QRectF,QString)
    *function paint(QPainter*,QRectF)
    *function paint(QPainter*,int,int,int,int,QString)
    *function paint(QPainter*,int,int,int,int)
    *function resize(qreal,qreal)
    *function resize(QSizeF)
    *function resize()
    *function elementSize(QString)
    *function elementRect(QString)
    *function hasElement(QString)
    *function elementAtPoint(QPoint)
    *function isValid()
    ====FrameSvg====
    *Constructors
    **FrameSvg(fileName): fileName can be a file in the desktop theme or the plasmoid package
    *boolean multipleImages
    *function setEnabledBorders(EnabledBorders)
    *function enabledBorders()
    *function resizeFrame(QSizeF)
    *function frameSize()
    *function marginSize(Plasma::MarginEdge)
    *function getMargins(qreal&amp;,qreal&amp;,qreal&amp;,qreal&amp;)
    *function contentsRect()
    *function setElementPrefix(Plasma::Location)
    *function setElementPrefix(QString)
    *function hasElementPrefix(QString)
    *function hasElementPrefix(Plasma::Location)
    *function prefix()
    *function mask()
    *function setCacheAllRenderedFrames(bool)
    *function cacheAllRenderedFrames()
    *function framePixmap()
    *function paintFrame(QPainter*,QRectF,QRectF)
    *function paintFrame(QPainter*,QRectF)
    *function paintFrame(QPainter*,QPointF)
    *function paintFrame(QPainter*)
     
    === Painting on the Canvas  ===
     
    ==== QColor ====
     
    *Constructors:
    **QColor
    **QColor(string colorName)
    **QColor(number red, number green, number blue, number alpha)
    *number red
    *number green
    *number blue
    *number alpha
    *boolean isValid
     
    ==== QFont ====
     
    *Constructors:
    **QFont
    **QFont(string fontName)
    **QFont(string fontName, number pointSize)
    **QFont(string fontName, number pointSize, number weight)
    **QFont(string fontName, number pointSize, number weight, boolean italic)
    *string key
    *string lastResortFamily
    *string lastResortFont
    *string defaultFamily
    *boolean exactMatch
    *string toString
    *boolean bold
    *string family
    *boolean fixedPitch
    *undefined fromString
    *boolean italic
    *boolean kerning
    *boolean overline
    *number pixelSize
    *number pointSize
    *number pointSizeF
    *boolean strikeOut
    *number stretch
    *boolean underline
    *number weight
    *function isCopyOf
    *function resolve
     
    ====QPainter ====
    * Constructors
    ** QPainter
    ** QPainter(object paintDevice): used to start a painter on a specific QWidget; rarely if ever needed in a JavaScript Plasmoid
    * object background
    * number backgroundMode
    * object brush
    * undefined setBrush
    * object brushOrigin
    * undefined clipping
    * object clipPath
    * object clipRegion
    * number compositionMode
    * object font
    * number layoutDirection
    * number opacity
    * object pen
    * number renderHints
    * undefined transform
    * object viewport
    * boolean viewTransformEnabled
    * object window
    * object worldMatrix
    * object worldTransform
    * boolean worldMatrixEnabled
    * object combinedMatrix
    * object combinedTransform
    * boolean isActive
    * function begin
    * function end
    * function boundingRect
    * function drawChord
    * function drawConvexPolygon
    * function drawArc
    * function drawEllipse
    * function drawImage
    * function drawLine
    * function drawLines
    * function drawPath
    * function drawPicture
    * function drawPie
    * function drawPixmap
    * function drawPoint
    * function drawPoints
    * function drawPolygon
    * function drawPolyline
    * function drawRect
    * function drawRects
    * function drawRoundRect
    * function drawText
    * function drawTiledPixmap
    * function eraseRect
    * function fillPath
    * function fillRect
    * function resetMatrix
    * function resetTransform
    * function restore
    * function rotate
    * function save
    * function scale
    * function setClipRect
    * function setRenderHint
    * function shear
    * function strokePath
    * function testRenderHint
    * function toString
    * function translate
     
    ==== QPen ====
    *Constructors:
    **QPen
    * object brush
    * object color
    * number capStyle
    * number joinStyle
    * number style
    * number dashOffset
    * number miterLimit
    * number width
    * boolean isSolid
    * number red
    * number green
    * number blue
    * number alpha
    * boolean isValid
     
    ==== QRectF ====
     
    *Constructors:
    **QRectF
    **QRectF(number x, number y, number width, number height)
    *function adjust
    *object adjusted
    *function translate
    *function setCoords
    *function setRect
    *function contains
    *function moveBottom
    *function moveLeft
    *function moveRight
    *function moveTo
    *function moveTop
    *boolean isEmpty
    *boolean isNull
    *boolean isValid
    *number left
    *number top
    *number bottom
    *number right
    *number height
    *number width
    *number x
    *number y
     
    ==== QSizeF ====
     
    *Constructors:
    **QSizeF
    **QSizeF(number width, number height)
    *number height
    *number width
     
    ==== QPoint ====
     
    *Constructors:
    **QPoint
    **QPoint(number x, number y)
    *bool isNull
    *number manhattanLength
    *number x
    *number y
     
    <br>
     
    == Accessing Sources of Data  ==
     
    See the [[Development/Tutorials/Plasma/JavaScript/DataEngine|JavaScript Plasmoid DataEngine tutorials]]
     
    === Global Functions ===
    * dataEngine(string name): returns a DataEngine object
    * service(string dataEngineName, string sourceName): returns a ServiceObject, see also DataEngine::serviceForSource
     
    === DataEngine ===
    * object sources
    * boolean valid
    * string icon
    * function destroyed(QObject*)
    * function destroyed()
    * function deleteLater()
    * function sourceAdded(QString)
    * function sourceRemoved(QString)
    * function scheduleSourcesUpdated()
    * function removeSource(QString)
    * function updateAllSources()
    * function forceImmediateUpdateOfAllVisualizations()
    * function sources()
    * function serviceForSource(QString)
    * function name()
    * function connectSource(QString,QObject*,uint,Plasma::IntervalAlignment)
    * function connectSource(QString,QObject*,uint)
    * function connectSource(QString,QObject*)
    * function connectAllSources(QObject*,uint,Plasma::IntervalAlignment)
    * function connectAllSources(QObject*,uint)
    * function connectAllSources(QObject*)
    * function disconnectSource(QString,QObject*)
    * function containerForSource(QString)
    * function query(QString)
     
    === Service ===
    * function finished(Plasma::ServiceJob*)
    * function operationsChanged()
    * function serviceReady(Plasma::Service*)
    * function setDestination(QString)
    * function destination()
    * function operationNames()
    * function operationDescription(QString)
    * function startOperationCall(KConfigGroup,QObject*)
    * function startOperationCall(KConfigGroup)
    * function isOperationEnabled(QString)
    * function name()
    * function associateWidget(QWidget*,QString)
    * function disassociateWidget(QWidget*)
    * function associateWidget(QGraphicsWidget*,QString)
    * function disassociateWidget(QGraphicsWidget*)
    * function parametersFromDescription(KConfigGroup)
     
    == Other Functions and Classes  ==
    === Print and Debug ===
    * print(string message): prints message to console
    * debug(string message): print message to console if it is running in a KDE debug build
     
    === GraphicsItem ===
    This class represents an item on the canvas. Support is only provided so that GraphicsItem objects returned or taken by other objects work. There is no meaningful API provided directly in the JavaScript runtime for these objects and they should not need to be used directly.
     
    === IOJob ===
    This object is returned by input/output access for asynchronous file and data access (see the section on Extensions for documentation on getUrl).
     
    Functions:
    * kill()
    * suspend()
    * resume()
     
    Signals:
    * data(IOJob job, ByteArray data): emitted whenever data arrives. If data is empty (data.length == 0) then the transmission has completed.
    * dataReq(IOJob job, ByteArray data): when sending data, this signal is emitted when data is requested; add the data to be sent ot the data member, or leave it empty to signal that the process is complete and there is no more data to send
    * finished(IOJob job): emitted when the transmission has completed
    * suspended(IOJob job): emitted when the job has been suspeneded
    * resumed(IOJob job)
    * canceled(IOJob job)
    * connected(IOJob job)
    * redirection(IOJob job, Url to)
    * permanentRedirection(IOJob job, Url from, Url to)
    * mimetype(IOJob job, String mimetype)       
     
    === Timer ===
    Read-write properties:
    * boolean isActive: true if active, false if not
    * boolean singleShot: true if the timer will fire once when started, false if it will fire repeatedly until stopped
    * boolean interval: the interval in milliseconds that the timer will trigger
     
    Functions:
    * start(int msec): starts the timer with msec as the interval
    * start(): starts the timer with the default interval
    * stop(): stops the timer
     
    Signals:
    * timeout(): this signal is emitted whenever the timer interval is reached
     
    === Url ===
    Read-only properties:
    * toString: the URL as a String object
     
    Read-write properties:
    * protocol
    * host
    * path
    * user
    * password
     
    === ByteArray ===
    This class provides an array of bytes. This is often used by data centric objects, such as the Job classes returned by getUrl.
     
    Read-only properties:
    * length
     
    Functions:
    * chop(number numBytes) chops numBytes from the end of the array
    * bool equals(ByteArray other)
    * ByteArray left(number len) return len bytes from the left of the array
    * ByteArray mid(number pos, number len) returns an array of bytes starting a post and length len (if len is -1, it returns all remaining bytes)
    * ByteArray remove(number pos, number len) removes len bytes starting at index pos from the array and returns it
    * ByteArray right(number len) returns len bytes from the right of the array
    * ByteArray simplified() returns a byte array that has whitespace removed from the start and the end, and which has each sequence of internal whitespace replaced with a single space
    * ByteArray toBase64() returns the array encoded in base64
    * ByteArray toLower() returns a lowercased copy of the array
    * ByteArray toUpper() returns an uppercased copy of the array
    * ByteArray trimmed() returns a copy of the array with whitespace remove from the start and end
    * truncate(number pos) truncates the array at index pos
    * String toLatin1String() returns a Latin1-ized string based on the array
    * String valueOf() returns the raw data in the array as a string
     
    == Extensions  ==
    An API extension is a security controlled set of functions and objects that are loaded on demand. These extensions are requested by the widget by listing the required and the optional extensions (if any) it wants loaded in its metadata.desktop file. This way, even prior to the widget being loaded, Plasma can know what it will want.
     
    Required extensions are requested using the X-Plasma-RequiredExtensions key, and optional extensions with the X-Plasma-OptionalExtensions. For example:
     
    <code ini>
    X-Plasma-RequiredExtensions=FileDialog,MyCustomQScriptExtension
    X-Plasma-OptionalExtensions=LaunchApp,HTTP
    </code>
     
    The Simplified Javascript Engine then decides if the widget will actually get that extension or not. Failure to load a required extension will result in script execution being aborted.
     
    Each of the built-in extensions provided are described below.
     
    === FileDialog ===
     
    Provides access to open and save dialog classes: OpenFileDialog and SaveFileDialog. Both are non-modal and run asynchronously, so the signals must be used. Other than the name difference (and resulting UI variance) the API for each is identical:
     
    * Constructors
    ** '''OpenFileDialog'''
    ** '''SaveFileDialog'''
    * Properties
    ** Read Only
    *** ''array(Url)'' '''urls''': the selected file, as a Url object
    *** ''Url'' '''baseUrl''', the current path (minus filename) as a Url
    *** ''string '''file''': the selected file, as a string
    *** ''array(string)'' '''files''': selected files (plural), as an array of strings
    ** Read/Write
    *** Url url: the current Url, can be read from when the user is done or assigned before to set the starting path
    *** string filter: a string representing the mimetype filter; e.g. "*.cpp|C++ Source Files\n*.h|Header files" or "*.cpp" or "*.cpp|*h"
    *** boolean localOnly: true to show only local files, false if network locations are Ok as well
    *** boolean directoriesOnly: true to only allow selection of a directory (not a file)
    *** boolean existingOnly: true if only existing files/directories may be selected
    * Functions
    ** show(): when called, the dialog will be shown to the user
    * Signals
    ** accepted(FileDialogProxy): emitted when the file dialog has been successfully accepted by the user with one or more files/directories.
    ** finished(FileDialogProxy): emitted when the file dialog closes, included when cancelled/closed without being accepted
     
    === LocalIO ===
    This extension allows access to local files.
     
    Functions:
    * getUrl(Url url): attempts to fetch the file, returns an IOJob object
    * getUrl(String url): attempts to fetch the file, returns an IOJob object
     
    === NetworkIO ===
    This extensions allows access to network addresses.
     
    Functions:
    * getUrl(Url url): attempts to fetch the file, returns an IOJob object
    * getUrl(String url): attempts to fetch the file, returns an IOJob object
     
    === HTTP ===
    This extension allows access to data and files via http and https.


    Functions:
    on the console when the Plasmoid starts, and the "We got clicked!" again whenever the button is clicked by the user.
    * getUrl(Url url): attempts to fetch the file, returns an IOJob object
    * getUrl(String url): attempts to fetch the file, returns an IOJob object


    === LaunchApp ===
    The object that emitted the signal that caused a slot to be called can be retrieved using the ''QObject'' '''sender''' read-only property of the global '''plasmoid''' object.


    Adds methods to the global plasmoid object that allow launching applications, running commands and opening files and urls.
    = API =


    * ''bool'' '''runApplication(string application[, array files])''' <br>Runs an application by name (can reference an installed .desktop file as well as an executable in the user's $PATH) with an optional array of files. The file array may contain either Urls or strings. Returns true on success, false on failure.
    * [[../API-PlasmoidObject|The Global plasmoid Object]]
    * ''bool'' '''runApplication(string exe[, array args])''' <br>Runs the executable with the given arguments. Returns true on success, false on failure.
    * [[../API-Enumerations|Global Enumerations]]
    * ''bool'' '''openUrl([string|Url] url)''': <br>Opens the url in the default application (or asks the user if there is no default application for the file). The url parameter may be either a string or a Url. Returns true on success, false on failure.
    * [[../API-Events|Events]]
    * [[../API-UIElements|User Interface Elements]]
    * [[../API-Animations|Animations]]
    * [[../API-Painting|Painting]]
    * [[../API-DataEnginesServices|Accessing Sources of Data with DataEngines and Services]]
    * [[../API-Print|Printing To Console and Debug Output]]
    * [[../API-IOJobs|Asynchronous Input/Output (IO) Jobs]]
    * [[../API-Timers|Timers]]
    * [[../API-Misc|Utility API and Objects]]
    * [[../API-Extensions|Extensions]]
    ** [[../API-FileDialog|File Dialog]]
    ** [[../API-LocalIO|Local IO]]
    ** [[../API-NetworkIO|Network IO]]
    ** [[../API-HTTP|HTTP]]
    ** [[../API-LaunchApp|Launching Applications]]
    * [[../API-Addons|Custom Addons (Plugins) in Javascript]]

    Latest revision as of 23:27, 11 September 2014

    Introduction to the Plasmoid JavaScript API

    This document provides an overview/reference of the Simplified JavaScript API for Plasmoids. The "Simplified" refers to the fact that it isn't a full binding to all of Qt or KDE's libraries, but a highly focused set of bindings designed to make writing Plasmoids fast and easy, while remaining powerful.

    The API in this documentation covers the JavaScript API as it appears in the KDE Software Compilation as of version 4.4 and higher. Changes between versions are noted in the documentation, including when new API functionality was introduced. This API ships as part of the KDE Base Runtime package, so can be relied on being there by any application that is Powered By KDE.

    Examples and Tutorials

    Tutorials can be found in the Plasma tutorials area here on Techbase and full, functioning examples can be found in the KDE Examples repository in the plasma/javascript folder.

    Using QML

    Starting with the KDE Platform 4.7 release, the Plasma team recommends writing your Plasmoids with QtQuick technologies with the Plasma QML integration API.

    The QML API uses the same API as the Simplified JavaScript API with the exception of User Interface Elements, Animations and Events which are provided instead by QML itself.

    The benefits of writing your Plasmoid with QML can include faster development with more sophisticated results visually and in its usability as well as much better performance when run in a QML-only Plasma shell such as Plasma Active.

    What Is A Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid?

    This document describes the native Plasma API available to Simplified JavaScript Plasmoids. What makes them "Simplified" is that they do not have access to the entire C++ API in the Plasma, KDE and Qt libraries (let alone things lower in the API stack). This helps ensure that these Plasmoids are more likely to work properly between releases as changes in underlying API don't affect them as well as allowing Plasma to offer stronger security guarantees around them.

    To denote that this Plasmoid is a Simplified JavaScript widget, ensure that in the metadata.desktop file there is this line:

    X-Plasma-API=javascript

    What follows is a description of the runtime environment available to a Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid.

    QtScript

    The Simplified JavaScript API is powered by Qt's QtScript system which provides access to a full featured ECMA Script interpreter. If it works in ECMA Script, it will work in a Simplified JavaScript Plasmoid. As an interesting implementation note, QtScript uses the high performance ECMA Script interpreter from WebKit and shares this code with QtWebKit.

    On top of the ECMA Script language, QtScript provides Qt integration features. Probably the most useful one in this context is the use of signals and slots which is Qt's callback mechanism. Signals may be emitted in QtScript by calling the signal method in question, a signal can be connected to a slot by using the connect() method (and disconnected with disconnect()) and any function defined in the Plasmoid may be used as a slot. For example:

    function onClick()
    {
        print("We got clicked!")
    }
    
    function onFirstClick()
    {
        print("First click!")
        button.clicked.disconnect(onFirstClick)
    }
    
    button = new PushButton
    button.clicked.connect(onClick)
    button.clicked.connect(onFirstClick)
    button.clicked()
    

    This will print out:

    We got clicked!
    First click!
    

    on the console when the Plasmoid starts, and the "We got clicked!" again whenever the button is clicked by the user.

    The object that emitted the signal that caused a slot to be called can be retrieved using the QObject sender read-only property of the global plasmoid object.

    API