Tips of the day

[Ian Wadham]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Alexander Dymo" <cloudtemple at mksat.net>
Sent: Saturday, October 11, 2003 6:13 AM
> Please everybody who has good tips on how to use KDevelop
> ( or how to reveal the hidden power of KDevelop :) ) post it here 
>
Heh! Heh! Heh! The power is truly hidden, like the treasures
of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, but I'll try to give some tips ...

All of these have been hard-won after many hours and days of
patient experimentation, so I am sorry they are so long.  I hope
Alexander or others can provide more elegant ways to reach
the same objectives.  Tips follow:

--------
If you wish to develop an application that
follows the KDE standards, you can get a
good start from menu item
New Project->C++->KDE->Application Framework.
Also, have a look at KDE 3.0 Architecture,
http://developer.kde.org/documentation/library/kdeqt/kde3arch.
--------
When writing a user manual in XML Docbook format,
as required in KDE applications, start with the
template index.docbook file generated by menu item
New Project->C++->KDE->Application Framework.
It contains comments that explain what should
go in each chapter and section.
--------
To get KDE Help Center to display an XML Docbook
manual in readable form, switch to "root" user,
cd to $KDEDIR/share/doc/HTML/en, check that no
other application has the same name as yours,
then mkdir appname, cd appname and make a
symbolic link back to your index.docbook file.
Next time you run your application, your manual
should be accessible from the Help menu.
--------
The Automake and QMake Manager windows provide
an excellent overview of your project structure, source code,
data files, icons and documentation.  Use left-click
to navigate or open files for text editing.  Use
right-click and popup menus to change the structure or
the way the application is built or to open files with
any application (e.g. a graphics editor).
--------
In IDEAL User Interface mode, use the "." (stickpin)
icon to make a side or bottom window stay visible
after you open a file or finish compiling or whatever.
The icon is at the top right of the window.
--------
To see more detail or less on your compiler and linker
output, use Settings->Configure KDevelop->General and
the Compiler Output radio buttons.
--------
The small bar that separates the top and bottom part
of the Automake and QMake Manager windows can be
dragged to adjust the size of each part.
--------
Selecting Settings->Show Menubar is as heartbreaking as
letting go of a helium balloon ... :(  But don't worry, you
can get the Menubar back by pressing Ctrl+M.  That's
if you remember this tip when it happens to you ... ;-)
--------
C++ applications can hog memory by failing to delete
objects that are no longer in use.  This is called a
memory leak.  Run Tools->Valgrind to test your
application for memory leaks before you release it.
--------
To create a "tarball" (a single compressed file) for
distributing your application, run Tools->Project
Distribution and Publishing->Create Source Archive.
When decompressed and untarred (tar xvzf), the
application can be installed by ./configure, make
and make install (probably as root).
--------
Use Project->New Class to create skeleton files for
a new class.  Click on Generate QObject child class
or Generate QWidget child class if you wish to use
Qt signals and slots.
--------
To handle data files in Automake Manager, first add
a subproject (e.g. pics) and, before adding any targets,
right-click on the new subproject and select Options,
Prefixes and Add.  Now enter a short name (e.g. pics
again) and the path to an installation directory
(e.g. in KDE, use $(kde_datadir)/appname/pics).  Now,
when you add a target, select Data File for the Primary,
"pics" for the prefix and any non-blank string for the
"file name" (it only matters in compileable targets).
Any files you add to the target "Data in pics" will be
copied when your application is installed.
--------

All the best, Ian W.



-
to unsubscribe from this list send an email to kdevelop-request at kdevelop.org with the following body:
unsubscribe ╩your-email-address╚