/**************************************************************************** ** ** Copyright (C) 2012 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies). ** Contact: http://www.qt-project.org/ ** ** This file is part of the documentation of the Qt Toolkit. ** ** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:FDL$ ** GNU Free Documentation License ** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Free ** Documentation License version 1.3 as published by the Free Software ** Foundation and appearing in the file included in the packaging of ** this file. ** ** Other Usage ** Alternatively, this file may be used in accordance with the terms ** and conditions contained in a signed written agreement between you ** and Nokia. ** ** ** ** ** ** $QT_END_LICENSE$ ** ****************************************************************************/ /*! \page qtqml-javascript-imports.html \title Importing JavaScript Files in QML Documents \brief Description of how to import and use JavaScript files in QML documents Both relative and absolute JavaScript URLs can be imported in QML documents. In the case of a relative URL, the location is resolved relative to the location of the \l {QML Document} that contains the import. If the script file is not accessible, an error will occur. If the JavaScript needs to be fetched from a network resource, the component's \l {QQmlComponent::status()}{status} is set to "Loading" until the script has been downloaded. Imported JavaScript files are always qualified using the "as" keyword. The qualifier for JavaScript files must be unique, so there is always a one-to-one mapping between qualifiers and JavaScript files. (This also means qualifiers cannot be named the same as built-in JavaScript objects such as \c Date and \c Math). The functions defined in an imported JavaScript file are available to objects defined in the importing QML document, via the \c{"Qualifier.functionName()"} syntax. \section1 Importing a JavaScript File from Another In QtQuick 2.0, support has been added to allow JavaScript files to import other JavaScript files and also QML type namespaces using a variation of the standard QML import syntax (where all of the previously described rules and qualifications apply). A JavaScript file may import another in the following fashion: \code .import "filename.js" as Qualifier \endcode For example: \code .import "factorial.js" as MathFunctions \endcode A JavaScript file may import a QML type namespace in the following fashion: \code .import TypeNamespace MajorVersion.MinorVersion as Qualifier \endcode For example: \code .import Qt.test 1.0 as JsQtTest \endcode In particular, this may be useful in order to access functionality provided via a singleton type; see qmlRegisterSingletonType() for more information. Due to the ability of a JavaScript file to import another script or QML module in this fashion in QtQuick 2.0, some extra semantics are defined: \list \li a script with imports will not inherit imports from the QML file which imported it (so accessing Component.error will fail, for example) \li a script without imports will inherit imports from the QML file which imported it (so accessing Component.error will succeed, for example) \li a shared script (i.e., defined as .pragma library) does not inherit imports from any QML file even if it imports no other scripts \endlist The first semantic is conceptually correct, given that a particular script might be imported by any number of QML files. The second semantic is retained for the purposes of backwards-compatibility. The third semantic remains unchanged from the current semantics for shared scripts, but is clarified here in respect to the newly possible case (where the script imports other scripts or modules). \section2 Code-Behind Implementation Files Most JavaScript files imported into a QML file are stateful implementations for the QML file importing them. In these cases, for QML component instances to behave correctly each instance requires a separate copy of the JavaScript objects and state. The default behavior when importing JavaScript files is to provide a unique, isolated copy for each QML component instance. If that JavaScript file does not import any other JavaScript files or QML type namespaces, its code will run in the same scope as the QML component instance and consequently can can access and manipulate the objects and properties declared in that QML component. Otherwise, it will have its own unique scope, and objects and properties of the QML component should be passed to the functions of the JavaScript file as parameters if they are required. \section2 Shared JavaScript Files (Libraries) Some JavaScript files act more like libraries - they provide a set of helper functions that take input and compute output, but never manipulate QML component instances directly. As it would be wasteful for each QML component instance to have a unique copy of these libraries, the JavaScript programmer can indicate a particular file is a shared library through the use of a pragma, as shown in the following example. \code // factorial.js .pragma library var factorialCount = 0; function factorial(a) { a = parseInt(a); // factorial recursion if (a > 0) return a * factorial(a - 1); // shared state factorialCount += 1; // recursion base-case. return 1; } function factorialCallCount() { return factorialCount; } \endcode The pragma declaration must appear before any JavaScript code excluding comments. Note that multiple QML documents can import \c{"factorial.js"} and call the factorial and factorialCallCount functions that it provides. The state of the JavaScript import is shared across the QML documents which import it, and thus the return value of the factorialCallCount function may be non-zero when called within a QML document which never calls the factorial function. As they are shared, .pragma library files cannot access QML component instance objects or properties directly, although QML values can be passed as function parameters. \section1 Including a JavaScript File from Another When a JavaScript file is imported, it must be imported with a qualifier. The functions in that file are then accessible from the importing script via the qualifier (that is, as \tt{Qualifier.functionName(params)}). Sometimes it is desirable to have the functions made available in the importing context without needing to qualify them, and in this circumstance the \l{QML:Qt::include()} {Qt.include()} function may be used to include one JavaScript file from another. This copies all functions from the other file into the current file's namespace, but ignores all pragmas and imports defined in that file. For example, the QML code below left calls \c showCalculations() in \c script.js, which in turn can call \c factorial() in \c factorial.js, as it has included \c factorial.js using \l {QML:Qt::include()}{Qt.include()}. \table \row \li {1,2} \snippet qml/integrating-javascript/includejs/app.qml 0 \li \snippet qml/integrating-javascript/includejs/script.js 0 \row \li \snippet qml/integrating-javascript/includejs/factorial.js 0 \endtable Notice that calling \l {QML:Qt::include()}{Qt.include()} copies all functions from \c factorial.js into the \c MyScript namespace, which means the QML component can also access \c factorial() directly as \c MyScript.factorial(). */