[GSoC 2014] QML, Quick and Qt Designer in KDevelop

[Denis Steckelmacher]

On 03/07/2014 12:33 PM, Aleix Pol wrote:
> On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 8:55 AM, Andreas Pakulat <apaku at gmx.de
> <mailto:apaku at gmx.de>> wrote:
>
>     Hi,
>
>     On Fri, Mar 7, 2014 at 12:17 AM, Aleix Pol <aleixpol at kde.org
>     <mailto:aleixpol at kde.org>> wrote:
>
>         To be honest, I don't think a QML Editor is in the scope of a
>         GSoC, if Nokia+Digia didn't manage to do it
>
>
>     Can you elaborate on that? QtCreator has a graphical QML editor at
>     least in 2.8 and 3.0. AFAIK it supports both Qt4's qml version as
>     well as the new version in Qt5.
>     Andreas
>
>
> They do have it, but I don't know anybody who has used it successfully
> and remained happy afterwards.
>
> Aleix

I've just tested the QML designer, and I agree that it is not very 
user-friendly. Completely hiding the source code is not a very good 
idea, I think. QML has been invented to be easily edited, so masking it 
and using a clumsy interface is not very efficient.

What I like about the QML/JS plugin is that it focuses on the code (it's 
a KDevelop language support plugin) while providing help. Previewing 
properties is a very good idea, and this idea may be further expanded by 
allowing the user to preview the component it is modifying.

Imagine, for instance, that you have a window with tabs with panels with 
controls, all in QML. When your cursor is on a property of the window, a 
preview pane shows the whole window, and a property pane shows all the 
properties you can change where you are. If you move your cursor into a 
tab or a panel, then only the component containing the cursor (and its 
children) is rendered in the preview. The property window only displays 
the properties of the current component.

Maybe an effect editor could be integrated into the preview pane. It 
could for instance display the nice rounded rectangle you are designing, 
while allowing you to edit its animations, states and transitions, and 
shader effects.

This way, the user has complete power and sees all the code, but 
KDevelop also offers nice tools to help him. Do you think it is a good idea?

Do you think it could be a good GSoC project to implement the points you 
have given in another email (understanding imports, parsing binary 
modules, better integration of the documentation system and ensuring 
that the DUChain is correct) and also to implement a property view pane 
and a preview pane?