Connect logic to your QML user interface

Connect a backend to do calculations and supply your user interface with data to display

To integrate logic into the application, we need C++ backend classes that can do the important calculations. Writing logic in the QML files is discouraged, so try to move as much as possible to the backend such that QML is used only for displaying the user interface.

We will use the Using separate files in a C++ project tutorial code as our base.

Project structure

kirigami-tutorial/
├── CMakeLists.txt
├── org.kde.tutorial.desktop
└── src/
    ├── CMakeLists.txt
    ├── main.cpp
    ├── Main.qml ----------------------- # Modified
    └── components/
        ├── CMakeLists.txt ------------- # Modified
        ├── AddDialog.qml
        ├── KountdownDelegate.qml
        ├── ExposePage.qml ------------- # New
        ├── backend.h ------------------ # New
        └── backend.cpp ---------------- # New

Changes to existing code

src/components/backend.h

First, create the header file that will have code exposed to QML, namely the Backend type:

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#pragma once

#include <QObject>
#include <qqmlintegration.h>

class Backend : public QObject
{
    Q_OBJECT
    QML_ELEMENT
    QML_SINGLETON

public:
    explicit Backend(QObject *parent = nullptr);
};

There are two things needed to expose C++ code to QML, and one of them is simply using the QML_ELEMENT macro, available in the <QtQml/qqmlregistration.h> header.

The backend will be created as a singleton, which means it will only be created once and exist for the whole duration of the application lifetime. For this, we use the QML_SINGLETON macro.

src/components/backend.cpp

We can add our initial code for the constructor to backend.cpp:

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#include "backend.h"

Backend::Backend(QObject *parent)
    : QObject(parent)
{}

src/components/ExposePage.qml

From now on, the backend will be known to QML as the Backend QML type. It is contained in a module called org.kde.tutorial.components.

This means that just by adding the import in a QML file, it is possible to use the code exposed from C++:

import org.kde.tutorial.components

To start from a clean slate using the existent application code, create a new QML component that contains an empty page:

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import org.kde.kirigami as Kirigami
import org.kde.tutorial.components

Kirigami.Page {
    title: "Exposing to QML Tutorial"
    // ...
}

src/Main.qml

To actually show the new page, let's create a menu option that pushes the new page to the application, just so we can test the model more easily.

For this, we can use a new Kirigami.Action together with Qt.createComponent() to generate the page on the fly:

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    globalDrawer: Kirigami.GlobalDrawer {
        isMenu: true
        actions: [
            Kirigami.Action {
                text: i18n("Exposing to QML")
                icon.name: "kde"
                onTriggered: pageStack.push(Qt.createComponent("org.kde.tutorial.components", "ExposePage"))
            },
            Kirigami.Action {
                text: i18n("Quit")
                icon.name: "application-exit-symbolic"
                shortcut: StandardKey.Quit
                onTriggered: Qt.quit()
            }
        ]
    }

src/components/CMakeLists.txt

Lastly, add the newly created backend.h, backend.cpp and ExposePage.qml to CMake:

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add_library(kirigami-hello-components)

ecm_add_qml_module(kirigami-hello-components
    URI "org.kde.tutorial.components"
    GENERATE_PLUGIN_SOURCE
)

ecm_target_qml_sources(kirigami-hello-components
    SOURCES
    AddDialog.qml
    KountdownDelegate.qml
    ExposePage.qml
)

target_sources(kirigami-hello-components
    PRIVATE
    backend.cpp backend.h
)

ecm_finalize_qml_module(kirigami-hello-components)

install(TARGETS kirigami-hello-components ${KDE_INSTALL_TARGETS_DEFAULT_ARGS})

Adding the files to an existing QML module in CMake is the second part to exposing code to QML.

Note that the QML module should have been created with either ecm_add_qml_module() or qt_add_qml_module(), as they are required for declarative registration.

Now you should be able to compile and install the project with the same steps as before.

Making it functional

src/components/backend.h

Now we have connected the class holding the future logic to the application, but it still doesn't do anything. To change that, let's add a property to the class. Properties are a lot more than a simple variable. They can inform the UI about changes so it can update the right areas.

Right under the QML_SINGLETON macro, add a new Q_PROPERTY.

Q_PROPERTY(QString introductionText READ introductionText WRITE setIntroductionText NOTIFY introductionTextChanged)

This may seem like a lot of code to just read and write some code from the backend. However, a closer look reveals that reading the property from the UI can already run some logic—same when it is written to. In this case, it will automatically inform the frontend and backend of changes.

The reading and writing is based on the concept of getter and setter functions. Go ahead and add a new private attribute to your class that holds the data, as well as the relevant getter and setter functions.

Add a new private section with the following:

private:
    QString m_introductionText = QStringLiteral("Hello World!");

And add the following to the existing public section:

public:
    QString introductionText() const;
    void setIntroductionText(const QString &introductionText);
    Q_SIGNAL void introductionTextChanged();

The first function is the getter, the second the setter, and the third a signal that is emitted when the property is changed. They match the READ, WRITE and NOTIFY parts of the above Q_PROPERTY.

The result should look like the following:

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#pragma once

#include <QObject>
#include <qqmlintegration.h>

class Backend : public QObject
{
    Q_OBJECT
    QML_ELEMENT
    QML_SINGLETON
    Q_PROPERTY(QString introductionText READ introductionText WRITE setIntroductionText NOTIFY introductionTextChanged)
public:
    explicit Backend(QObject *parent = nullptr);
    QString introductionText() const;
    void setIntroductionText(const QString &introductionText);
    Q_SIGNAL void introductionTextChanged();
private:
    QString m_introductionText = QStringLiteral("Hello World!");
};

src/components/backend.cpp

The signal doesn't need any implementation in the backend.cpp file, since it doesn't do much more than being emitted, but the getter and setter need to be implemented similar to the following:

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#include "backend.h"

Backend::Backend(QObject *parent)
    : QObject(parent)
{}

QString Backend::introductionText() const
{
    return m_introductionText;
}

void Backend::setIntroductionText(const QString &introductionText)
{
    m_introductionText = introductionText;
    Q_EMIT introductionTextChanged();
}

As you can see, when the setter is called, the signal will be emitted, and inform the ui and backend of the change.

src/components/ExposePage.qml

To display the text, add a Kirigami.Heading to src/components/ExposePage.qml under the title property of the Kirigami.Page component we added to the code.

The resulting code in that part of the file should look like this:

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import org.kde.kirigami as Kirigami
import org.kde.tutorial.components

Kirigami.Page {
    title: "Exposing to QML Tutorial"
    Kirigami.Heading {
        anchors.centerIn: parent
        text: Backend.introductionText
    }
}

Our app so far

Existing code:

CMakeLists.txt

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cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)
project(kirigami-tutorial)

find_package(ECM 6.0.0 REQUIRED NO_MODULE)
set(CMAKE_MODULE_PATH ${ECM_MODULE_PATH})

include(KDEInstallDirs)
include(KDECMakeSettings)
include(KDECompilerSettings NO_POLICY_SCOPE)
include(ECMFindQmlModule)
include(ECMQmlModule)

find_package(Qt6 REQUIRED COMPONENTS
    Core
    Quick
    Test
    Gui
    QuickControls2
    Widgets
)

find_package(KF6 REQUIRED COMPONENTS
    Kirigami
    I18n
    CoreAddons
    QQC2DesktopStyle
    IconThemes
)

ecm_find_qmlmodule(org.kde.kirigami REQUIRED)

add_subdirectory(src)

install(PROGRAMS org.kde.tutorial.desktop DESTINATION ${KDE_INSTALL_APPDIR})

feature_summary(WHAT ALL INCLUDE_QUIET_PACKAGES FATAL_ON_MISSING_REQUIRED_PACKAGES)

src/main.cpp

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#include <QApplication>
#include <QQmlApplicationEngine>
#include <QtQml>
#include <QUrl>
#include <QQuickStyle>
#include <KLocalizedContext>
#include <KLocalizedString>
#include <KIconTheme>

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
    KIconTheme::initTheme();
    QApplication app(argc, argv);
    KLocalizedString::setApplicationDomain("tutorial");
    QApplication::setOrganizationName(QStringLiteral("KDE"));
    QApplication::setOrganizationDomain(QStringLiteral("kde.org"));
    QApplication::setApplicationName(QStringLiteral("Kirigami Tutorial"));
    QApplication::setDesktopFileName(QStringLiteral("org.kde.tutorial"));

    QApplication::setStyle(QStringLiteral("breeze"));
    if (qEnvironmentVariableIsEmpty("QT_QUICK_CONTROLS_STYLE")) {
        QQuickStyle::setStyle(QStringLiteral("org.kde.desktop"));
    }

    QQmlApplicationEngine engine;

    engine.rootContext()->setContextObject(new KLocalizedContext(&engine));
    engine.loadFromModule("org.kde.tutorial", "Main");

    if (engine.rootObjects().isEmpty()) {
        return -1;
    }

    return app.exec();
}

src/CMakeLists.txt

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add_executable(kirigami-hello)

ecm_add_qml_module(kirigami-hello
    URI
    org.kde.tutorial
)

target_sources(kirigami-hello
    PRIVATE
    main.cpp
)

ecm_target_qml_sources(kirigami-hello
    SOURCES
    Main.qml
)

target_link_libraries(kirigami-hello
    PRIVATE
    Qt6::Quick
    Qt6::Qml
    Qt6::Gui
    Qt6::QuickControls2
    Qt6::Widgets
    KF6::I18n
    KF6::CoreAddons
    KF6::IconThemes
    kirigami-hello-components
)

install(TARGETS kirigami-hello ${KDE_INSTALL_TARGETS_DEFAULT_ARGS})

add_subdirectory(components)

src/components/KountdownDelegate.qml

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import QtQuick
import QtQuick.Layouts
import QtQuick.Controls as Controls
import org.kde.kirigami as Kirigami

Kirigami.AbstractCard {
    contentItem: Item {
        implicitWidth: delegateLayout.implicitWidth
        implicitHeight: delegateLayout.implicitHeight
        GridLayout {
            id: delegateLayout
            anchors {
                left: parent.left
                top: parent.top
                right: parent.right
            }
            rowSpacing: Kirigami.Units.largeSpacing
            columnSpacing: Kirigami.Units.largeSpacing
            columns: root.wideScreen ? 4 : 2

            Kirigami.Heading {
                level: 1
                text: i18n("%1 days", Math.round((date-Date.now())/86400000))
            }

            ColumnLayout {
                Kirigami.Heading {
                    Layout.fillWidth: true
                    level: 2
                    text: name
                }
                Kirigami.Separator {
                    Layout.fillWidth: true
                    visible: description.length > 0
                }
                Controls.Label {
                    Layout.fillWidth: true
                    wrapMode: Text.WordWrap
                    text: description
                    visible: description.length > 0
                }
            }
            Controls.Button {
                Layout.alignment: Qt.AlignRight
                Layout.columnSpan: 2
                text: i18n("Edit")
            }
        }
    }
}

src/components/AddDialog.qml

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import QtQuick
import QtQuick.Layouts
import QtQuick.Controls as Controls
import org.kde.kirigami as Kirigami

Kirigami.Dialog {
    id: addDialog
    title: i18nc("@title:window", "Add kountdown")
    standardButtons: Kirigami.Dialog.Ok | Kirigami.Dialog.Cancel
    padding: Kirigami.Units.largeSpacing
    preferredWidth: Kirigami.Units.gridUnit * 20

    Kirigami.FormLayout {
        Controls.TextField {
            id: nameField
            Kirigami.FormData.label: i18nc("@label:textbox", "Name*:")
            onAccepted: descriptionField.forceActiveFocus()
        }
        Controls.TextField {
            id: descriptionField
            Kirigami.FormData.label: i18nc("@label:textbox", "Description:")
            onAccepted: dateField.forceActiveFocus()
        }
        Controls.TextField {
            id: dateField
            Kirigami.FormData.label: i18nc("@label:textbox", "ISO Date*:")
            inputMask: "D999-99-99"
            onAccepted: addDialog.accepted()
        }
        Controls.Label {
            text: "* = required fields"
        }
    }
    Component.onCompleted: {
        const button = standardButton(Kirigami.Dialog.Ok);
        button.enabled = Qt.binding( () => requiredFieldsFilled() );
    }
    onAccepted: {
        if (!addDialog.requiredFieldsFilled()) return;
        appendDataToModel();
        clearFieldsAndClose();
    }
    function requiredFieldsFilled() {
        return (nameField.text !== "" && dateField.acceptableInput);
    }
    function appendDataToModel() {
        kountdownModel.append({
            name: nameField.text,
            description: descriptionField.text,
            date: new Date(dateField.text)
        });
    }
    function clearFieldsAndClose() {
        nameField.text = ""
        descriptionField.text = ""
        dateField.text = ""
        addDialog.close();
    }
}

Code written/modified in this page:

src/Main.qml

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import QtQuick
import QtQuick.Layouts
import QtQuick.Controls as Controls
import org.kde.kirigami as Kirigami
import org.kde.tutorial.components

Kirigami.ApplicationWindow {
    id: root

    width: 600
    height: 400

    title: i18nc("@title:window", "Day Kountdown")

    globalDrawer: Kirigami.GlobalDrawer {
        isMenu: true
        actions: [
            Kirigami.Action {
                text: i18n("Exposing to QML")
                icon.name: "kde"
                onTriggered: pageStack.push(Qt.createComponent("org.kde.tutorial.components", "ExposePage"))
            },
            Kirigami.Action {
                text: i18n("Quit")
                icon.name: "application-exit-symbolic"
                shortcut: StandardKey.Quit
                onTriggered: Qt.quit()
            }
        ]
    }

    ListModel {
        id: kountdownModel
    }

    AddDialog {
        id: addDialog
    }

    pageStack.initialPage: Kirigami.ScrollablePage {
        title: i18nc("@title", "Kountdown")

        actions: [
            Kirigami.Action {
                id: addAction
                icon.name: "list-add-symbolic"
                text: i18nc("@action:button", "Add kountdown")
                onTriggered: addDialog.open()
            }
        ]

        Kirigami.CardsListView {
            id: cardsView
            model: kountdownModel
            delegate: KountdownDelegate {}
        }
    }
}

src/components/CMakeLists.txt

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add_library(kirigami-hello-components)

ecm_add_qml_module(kirigami-hello-components
    URI "org.kde.tutorial.components"
    GENERATE_PLUGIN_SOURCE
)

ecm_target_qml_sources(kirigami-hello-components
    SOURCES
    AddDialog.qml
    KountdownDelegate.qml
    ExposePage.qml
)

target_sources(kirigami-hello-components
    PRIVATE
    backend.cpp backend.h
)

ecm_finalize_qml_module(kirigami-hello-components)

install(TARGETS kirigami-hello-components ${KDE_INSTALL_TARGETS_DEFAULT_ARGS})

src/components/backend.h

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#pragma once

#include <QObject>
#include <qqmlintegration.h>

class Backend : public QObject
{
    Q_OBJECT
    QML_ELEMENT
    QML_SINGLETON
    Q_PROPERTY(QString introductionText READ introductionText WRITE setIntroductionText NOTIFY introductionTextChanged)
public:
    explicit Backend(QObject *parent = nullptr);
    QString introductionText() const;
    void setIntroductionText(const QString &introductionText);
    Q_SIGNAL void introductionTextChanged();
private:
    QString m_introductionText = QStringLiteral("Hello World!");
};

src/components/backend.cpp

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#include "backend.h"

Backend::Backend(QObject *parent)
    : QObject(parent)
{}

QString Backend::introductionText() const
{
    return m_introductionText;
}

void Backend::setIntroductionText(const QString &introductionText)
{
    m_introductionText = introductionText;
    Q_EMIT introductionTextChanged();
}

src/components/ExposePage.qml

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import org.kde.kirigami as Kirigami
import org.kde.tutorial.components

Kirigami.Page {
    title: "Exposing to QML Tutorial"
    Kirigami.Heading {
        anchors.centerIn: parent
        text: Backend.introductionText
    }
}

Now compile and start your program again. You'll see that the new page has a centered Heading saying "Hello World!".

Congratulations, you learned:

How to register backend types to QML
Add new elements to the QML file
Create new QObject subclasses
How to add properties and what they do
What signals are

If you want to know more about the integration between QML and C++, we recommend reading the official Qt documentation.

About page

Connect C++ models to your QML user interface