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/*!
\page qtqml-modules-cppplugins.html
\title Creating C++ Plugins for QML
\brief Description of how to write C++ plugins for QML

\section1 Creating a Plugin

    The \l{QQmlEngine}{QML engine} load C++ plugins for QML.
    Such plugins are usually provided in a QML extension module, and can
    provide types and functionality for use by clients in QML documents
    which import the module.

    QQmlExtensionPlugin is a plugin interface that makes it possible to
    create QML extensions that can be loaded dynamically into QML applications.
    These extensions allow custom QML types to be made available to the
    QML engine.

    To write a QML extension plugin:
    \list 1
    \li Subclass QQmlExtensionPlugin
        \list
            \li Use the Q_PLUGIN_METADATA() macro to register the plugin with
                the Qt meta object system
            \li Override the \l{QQmlExtensionPlugin::}{registerTypes()} method
                and call qmlRegisterType() to register the types to be exported
                by the plugin
        \endlist
    \li Write a project file for the plugin
    \li Create a \l{Adding Module Metadata with a qmldir file}{qmldir file} to
        describe the plugin
    \endlist

    QML extension plugins are for either application-specific or library-like
    plugins. Library plugins should limit themselves to registering types, as
    any manipulation of the engine's root context may cause conflicts or other
    issues in the library user's code.

\section1 Plugin Example

    Suppose there is a new \c TimeModel C++ class that should be made available
    as a new QML element. It provides the current time through \c hour and \c minute
    properties.

    \snippet examples/qml/cppextensions/plugins/plugin.cpp 0
    \dots

    To make this type available, we create a plugin class named \c QExampleQmlPlugin
    which is a subclass of \l QQmlExtensionPlugin. It overrides the
    \l{QQmlExtensionPlugin::}{registerTypes()} method in order to register the \c TimeModel
    type using qmlRegisterType(). It also uses the Q_PLUGIN_METADATA() macro in the class
    definition to register the plugin with the Qt meta object system using a unique
    identifier for the plugin.

    \snippet examples/qml/cppextensions/plugins/plugin.cpp plugin

    The \c TimeModel class receives a \c{1.0} version of this plugin library, as
    a QML type called \c Time. The Q_ASSERT() macro can ensure the type namespace is
    imported correctly by any QML components that use this plugin. The
    \l{Defining QML Types from C++} article has more information about registering C++
    types into the runtime.

    For this example, the TimeExample source directory is in
    \c{com/nokia/TimeExample}.  The plugin's type namespace will mirror
    this structure, so the types are registered into the namespace
    "com.nokia.TimeExample".

    Additionally, the project file, in a \c .pro file, defines the project as a plugin library,
    specifies it should be built into the \c com/nokia/TimeExample directory, and registers
    the plugin target name and various other details:

    \code
    TEMPLATE = lib
    CONFIG += qt plugin
    QT += qml

    DESTDIR = com/nokia/TimeExample
    TARGET = qmlqtimeexampleplugin
    SOURCES += qexampleqmlplugin.cpp
    \endcode

    Finally, a \l{Adding Module Metadata with a qmldir file}{qmldir file} is required
    in the \c com/nokia/TimeExample directory to describe the plugin and the types that it
    exports. The plugin includes a \c Clock.qml file along with the \c qmlqtimeexampleplugin
    that is built by the project (as shown above in the \c .pro file) so both of these
    need to be specified in the \c qmldir file:

    \quotefile examples/qml/cppextensions/plugins/com/nokia/TimeExample/qmldir

    Once the project is built and installed, the new \c Time component is
    accessible by any QML component that imports the \c com.nokia.TimeExample
    module

    \snippet examples/qml/cppextensions/plugins/plugins.qml 0

    The full source code is available in the \l {qml/cppextensions/plugins}{plugins example}.


\section1 Reference

    \list
    \li \l {Writing QML Extensions with C++} - contains a chapter
    on creating QML plugins.
    \li \l{Defining QML Types from C++} - information about registering C++ types into
    the runtime.
    \li \l{How to Create Qt Plugins} - information about Qt plugins
    \endlist


*/