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/****************************************************************************
**
** Copyright (C) 2014 Ford Motor Company
** Contact: https://www.qt.io/licensing/
**
** This file is part of the QtRemoteObjects module of the Qt Toolkit.
**
** $QT_BEGIN_LICENSE:LGPL21$
** Commercial License Usage
** Licensees holding valid commercial Qt licenses may use this file in
** accordance with the commercial license agreement provided with the
** Software or, alternatively, in accordance with the terms contained in
** a written agreement between you and The Qt Company. For licensing terms
** and conditions see http://www.qt.io/terms-conditions. For further
** information use the contact form at http://www.qt.io/contact-us.
**
** GNU Lesser General Public License Usage
** Alternatively, this file may be used under the terms of the GNU Lesser
** General Public License version 2.1 or version 3 as published by the Free
** Software Foundation and appearing in the file LICENSE.LGPLv21 and
** LICENSE.LGPLv3 included in the packaging of this file. Please review the
** following information to ensure the GNU Lesser General Public License
** requirements will be met: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/lgpl.html and
** http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/lgpl-2.1.html.
**
** As a special exception, The Qt Company gives you certain additional
** rights. These rights are described in The Qt Company LGPL Exception
** version 1.1, included in the file LGPL_EXCEPTION.txt in this package.
**
** $QT_END_LICENSE$
**
****************************************************************************/
/*!
\page qtremoteobjects-source.html
\title Qt Remote Objects Source
\brief Introduction to using Source
\target Source
\section1 Source Objects

A Remote Object Source is the QObject that is responsible for the
implementation of the exposed API.

At a high level, you have a choice of using a QObject type directly as a source
or defining the desired API in a .rep template for use with the \l {repc}
compiler.

If you already have a fully defined QObject, it can become a Source simply by
passing it to \l {QRemoteObjectHostBase::enableRemoting()}. This lets other
processes/devices create a \l {Replica} of the object to interact with (see \l
{Remote Object Interaction}). You can then instantiate \l {QRemoteObjectDynamicReplica}s
of your object, or use the \l {QOBJECT_REPLICA} macro in your project file,
which will use \l {repc} to create a header file describing the Replica for
use in that process/on that device (and provides compile-time checks).

Letting \l {repc} generate a \l {Source} header file for your project (using
the \l {REPC_SOURCE} macro) provides three options of implementing the desired
API. If your class name was Foo, the options would be the following (and see \l
{The rep file format} for help in creating a rep file)

\list
\li \l {TypeSimpleSource} {FooSimpleSource} inheritance
\li \l {TypeSource} {FooSource} inheritance
\li \l {TypeAPI} {FooSourceAPI} usage with your own QObject
\endlist

\target TypeSimpleSource
There is a <Type>SimpleSource class defined in the header, which provides
basic getter/setter methods for each property and implements data members of
the correct property type in the header. Here "<Type>" represents the class
name from the .rep file, so if your class is of type "MyType" in the .rep file,
there will be a MyTypeSimpleSource class declared in the produced header file.
This is a fast way to get started using the API. To use this class, you need to
inherit from this class and implement any defined slots (which are pure virtual
in the generated header file). Whatever logic is needed to manage the
exposed properties and define when Signals need to be emitted would be added to
the overriding class as well.

\target TypeSource
If you need to hide the implementation details, you can use the <Type>Source
class instead, which is the 2nd class declared in the same resulting header
file. This class definition does not provide data members, and makes the
getter/setter functions pure virtual as well. You have more flexibility in how
you implement the class, although you need to write more code. This defines the
API for both the source and replica side from a single .rep template file.

\target TypeAPI
Finally, there is the <Type>SourceAPI class generated in the header. This is a
templated class, for use specifically by the templated version of \l
{QRemoteObjectHostBase::enableRemoting()} function overload, which allows you to
use any QObject that supports the desired API as the source. You will get
compile-time warnings if the class does not provide the correct API, and using
this class allows you to hide or convert properties or signal/slot parameters.

\note The QObject API is \b never exposed. For instance, while a \l
{Replica} will have a destroyed signal, the destroyed signal of the source is
not propagated. The \l {Source} and each \l {Replica} are unique QObjects with
their own connections. The API that is exposed is defined by the .rep template
used by \l {repc}, or in the case of raw QObjects, all API elements defined in
the inheritance chain from a specific ancestor. Unless you define
Q_CLASSINFO("RemoteObject Type") in an ancestor, the QObject's parent is used.
If Q_CLASSINFO("RemoteObject Type") is used, that class's API is the lowest
level of API used.

\section1 Identifying Sources

Since more than one \l {Source} can be shared by a host node, each \l
{Source} requires a name. All \l {repc} generated headers include a way for the
node to determine the class name (Q_CLASSINFO for replica/simplesource/source
types, or a static name() function for the SourceAPI type). If you pass your
own QObject type to \l {QRemoteObjectHostBase::enableRemoting()}, the name will
be determined using the following logic:
\list
    \li If the object or any of its ancestors has Q_CLASSINFO of type
        "RemoteObject Type" defined, the provided name will be used.
    \li Otherwise, the QObject's objectName (if set) will be
        used. \li If neither is available, the call to
        \l {QRemoteObjectHostBase::enableRemoting()} will fail, returning False.
\endlist
*/