Confused about directory structure
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Qt 5.12, Qt Creator 4.8.0, Windows 7 32-bit, MSVC 2017 32-bit
This is my first QML project. I don't recall exactly how I wound up with the directory structure that I have, since I knew exactly nothing when I started. I think I used New File or Project, and created an empty Qt Quick application under 5.11, although now I'm on 5.12.
The problem is I'm suddenly seeing most of my files in two places in the Qt Creator projects pane. Here's what I've got (described conceptually, because the actual file lists are long, and proprietary).
My directory tree looks like this:
MyProject: MyProject.pro MyProject.pro.user qml.qrc (*.qml files, including main.qml) (*.js files) (*.cpp files, including main.cpp) (*.h files that go with the .cpp files) emu: (*.* proprietary data files) help: (*.html and *.png files used by webengine) images: (*.png files used by QML)My project file looks like this:
QT += qml quick webengine CONFIG += c++17 SOURCES += \ (*.cpp files) HEADERS += \ (*.h files) RESOURCES += qml.qrc qml_scenes.depends = \ (*.qml and *.js files, each preceded by $$PWD/) qml_scenes.commands = QMAKE_EXTRA_TARGETS += qml_scenesMy qml.qrc file looks like this:
<RCC> <qresource prefix="/"> (*.qml files, wrapped in "file" tags) (*.js files, wrapped in "file" tags) (emu/*, help/*, and images/* files, wrapped in "file" tags) </qresource> </RCC>The problem is that the tree I see in Qt Creator looks like this:
MyProject.pro Headers: (*.h files) Sources: (*.qml files) (*.cpp files) qml.qrc / emu: (emu/* files) help: (help/* files) images: (images/* files) (*.qml files) (*.js files) Resources C:\blahblahblah\qml_qmlcache.qrc / emu: (emu/* files) help: (help/* files) images: (images/* files) (*.qml files) (*.js files)Everything seems to compile and run, although I haven't tried deploying anything yet. But this looks Wrong. I don't understand where this arrangement comes from.
Questions:- Why do I see nothing under Resources, except under qml_qmlcache.qrc?
- Why are my QML files appearing under Sources, along with my .cpp files? They weren't there a while ago. They were just listed under qml.qrc.
- Where do the "Sources", "Headers", and "Resources" virtual folder names come from?
- Shouldn't my resources be under Resources?
- What is qml_qmlcache.qrc, and why should it even be visible to me?
- Shouldn't my QML files be under Resources, since that's what they are, and not under Sources?
- When I look at various examples, they look very different from this. Any advice on how my directory structure and project file should really be set up?
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It looks like when the Build Settings page adds "CONFIG+=qtquickcompiler", for each xyz.qml file it generates an xyz_qml.cpp that contains a big array of bytes which I assume are byte codes that encode the .qml more efficiently. Since these get compiled as C++, they are considered sources, so Qt Creator implicitly treats the .qml files as sources, too. The result is that the resource system contains these compiled .qml files rather than the original text.
So I guess this is W.A.D., and the fact that the .qml files appear twice in the Projects tree is just a bit of unfortunate ugliness that doesn't really mean anything.
But I'm still wondering if there are any better ways to organize my source and resources. Do people sometimes push either their C++ source or their QML source down a level in the directory structure? Does that cause any issues? I don't really like having them in the same folder with the .pro file and the .qrc file.
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Looks very weird to me. Can you close the project. Remove *.pro.user files. Reload pro file.
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Nuking *.user didn't change anything, but I noticed that it was doing this on the Release build but not the Debug build. The difference is that the Release build configuration's qmake command includes "CONFIG+=qtquickcompiler" but the Debug build doesn't. I guess that redefines *.qml files as "source" files, since they are going to be "compiled" into byte-codes. It's unfortunate that they nonetheless appear in two places in the tree, under Sources, as well as under Sources, then qml.qrc, then /, but that's not a big deal. That long C:\blahblahblah\qml_qmlcache.qrc branch under Resources contains what's left of my resources after the .qml files are removed, since that's what will end up in the resources part of the executable. I guess this is W.A.D.
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Hi @pderocco, Welcome to Qt world!
I look like something mysterious phenomenon,too.
I tried creating a project file from your conceptually description.
Please see the difference with my project view result.
And, i hope that you look at the my created project file.
You may find something different from your project file.
Please confirm for my project where pushed at github. -
@KazuoAsano Because of your language settings, I can't tell if that's a display of the release or the debug build. When you select the release build, do you not see the .qml files under Sources?
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Sorry, The screenshot was debug.
I try again.
Oh! wonder, Project view differed between release and debug!Debug mode
Release mode
I don't know much about this....
I think that These changes have no effect on application, only cosmetic problem....The extension qrc file is a resource collection file.
If you don't use the resource system, you need to deploy qml files and images together with executable files.When registered qml/image file in the resource collection file, It's store in the application executable file as a binary file.
Therefore, you only need to deploy the executable file. -
It looks like when the Build Settings page adds "CONFIG+=qtquickcompiler", for each xyz.qml file it generates an xyz_qml.cpp that contains a big array of bytes which I assume are byte codes that encode the .qml more efficiently. Since these get compiled as C++, they are considered sources, so Qt Creator implicitly treats the .qml files as sources, too. The result is that the resource system contains these compiled .qml files rather than the original text.
So I guess this is W.A.D., and the fact that the .qml files appear twice in the Projects tree is just a bit of unfortunate ugliness that doesn't really mean anything.
But I'm still wondering if there are any better ways to organize my source and resources. Do people sometimes push either their C++ source or their QML source down a level in the directory structure? Does that cause any issues? I don't really like having them in the same folder with the .pro file and the .qrc file.
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@pderocco ,
I had the same opinion,too. I searched variously knowing your opinion.Certainly, Qt Quick Compiler can generate from "xyz.qml" to "xyz_qml.cpp".
However, it had known problems at currentry.The compiler is strictly tied to the Qt version due to its use of internal data structures.
At this point we cannot guarantee binary and source compatibilities for these internal data structures and therefore when upgrading to a new Qt version, an update of the compiler is required.
It is also necessary to re-compile previously compiled .qml files when upgrading the compiler.Qt Documentation : Qt Quick Compiler Known Issues
and
Qt Documentation : Qt Quick CompilerIf you are using Qt 5.12 and you use Qt 5.13 in the future, you may not be able to use cpp-file generated from qml-file at Qt5.12.
but QML Application using memory can be greatly reduced by Qt Quick Compiler.
http://blog.qt.io/blog/2018/11/16/qt-quick-performance-improvements-qt-5-12-lts/
I believe it will be improved in the future.
In reference informations.
In my case, It have made a directory structure as below.- /src [Function Code directory] *.cpp/*.h
- /ui [UI Code directory] *.ui / *.qml / *.js
- /res [Resource directory] *.png / *.icon
