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How to declare a global changeable variable?

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  • G GCDX

    Hi coders,
    I realised that I should not have use a DEFINES += variable in my QT.pro file, hence i was thinking of a way to change it to a global changeable variable in the app. But, after much googling and searching i could not find a solution, could someone point me in the right direction and show me documentation too?

    jsulmJ Offline
    jsulmJ Offline
    jsulm
    Lifetime Qt Champion
    wrote on last edited by
    #2

    @GCDX Global variables are a sign of bad design.
    But if you really need it do:

    // In some header file
    extern int globalVar;
    
    // in some cpp file
    int globalVar = 0;
    

    Then include that header file where you need access to the global variable.

    https://forum.qt.io/topic/113070/qt-code-of-conduct

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    • A Offline
      A Offline
      Aditya1309
      wrote on last edited by
      #3

      @GCDX said in How to declare a global changeable variable?:

      could someone point me in the right direction and show me documentation too

      Hi you can use extern variable declare in some .h header file and use .cpp file to define it. Since the scope is golbal it can be accessed from outside also.
      Take a look at this

      file3.h
      extern int global_variable; /* Declaration of the variable */

      file1.c
      #include "file3.h" /* Declaration made available here /
      #include "prog1.h" /
      Function declarations */

      /* Variable defined here /
      int global_variable = 37; /
      Definition checked against declaration */

      int increment(void) { return global_variable++; }

      file2.c

      #include "file3.h"
      #include "prog1.h"
      #include <stdio.h>

      void use_it(void)
      {
      printf("Global variable: %d\n", global_variable++);
      }

      https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1433204/how-do-i-use-extern-to-share-variables-between-source-files

      1 Reply Last reply
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      • mrjjM Offline
        mrjjM Offline
        mrjj
        Lifetime Qt Champion
        wrote on last edited by
        #4

        Hi
        Word of Warning.
        While one global variable won't ruin your life, using this method
        for sharing data between classes will soon be a mess.
        But i read it as you want one global variable to control something so
        you should be all right :)

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        • G Offline
          G Offline
          GCDX
          wrote on last edited by
          #5

          @mrjj @Aditya1309 Thanks for all the help

          mrjjM JonBJ 2 Replies Last reply
          0
          • G GCDX

            @mrjj @Aditya1309 Thanks for all the help

            mrjjM Offline
            mrjjM Offline
            mrjj
            Lifetime Qt Champion
            wrote on last edited by
            #6

            @GCDX
            Can i ask what the global will control ?
            I understand you first use a #define from .pro file but need app to alter value.
            so i wonder what its role is :)
            Just to know.

            G 1 Reply Last reply
            0
            • G GCDX

              @mrjj @Aditya1309 Thanks for all the help

              JonBJ Offline
              JonBJ Offline
              JonB
              wrote on last edited by
              #7

              @GCDX
              #defines and "variables" have nothing to do with each other.

              Unless Qt has a good reason for advising otherwise(?), I see no reason why a .pro file should not have a DEFINES += ... for stuff you have a good reason to want to define.

              As @mrjj asks, perhaps it would be a good idea to explain what you are actually trying to achieve?

              G 1 Reply Last reply
              2
              • mrjjM mrjj

                @GCDX
                Can i ask what the global will control ?
                I understand you first use a #define from .pro file but need app to alter value.
                so i wonder what its role is :)
                Just to know.

                G Offline
                G Offline
                GCDX
                wrote on last edited by
                #8

                @mrjj I want to extract the API key of a user and save it as a global variable to access the other features of the website! I've already done it and it works!

                1 Reply Last reply
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                • JonBJ JonB

                  @GCDX
                  #defines and "variables" have nothing to do with each other.

                  Unless Qt has a good reason for advising otherwise(?), I see no reason why a .pro file should not have a DEFINES += ... for stuff you have a good reason to want to define.

                  As @mrjj asks, perhaps it would be a good idea to explain what you are actually trying to achieve?

                  G Offline
                  G Offline
                  GCDX
                  wrote on last edited by
                  #9

                  @JonB OKay i see, its because i was editing a QT code that was written by someone else. So he used a define and i assume define was a static global variable that is used but could not really find out how to write a dynamic global variable

                  JonBJ 1 Reply Last reply
                  0
                  • G GCDX

                    @JonB OKay i see, its because i was editing a QT code that was written by someone else. So he used a define and i assume define was a static global variable that is used but could not really find out how to write a dynamic global variable

                    JonBJ Offline
                    JonBJ Offline
                    JonB
                    wrote on last edited by
                    #10

                    @GCDX
                    What did/does his DEFINE actually read?

                    G 1 Reply Last reply
                    0
                    • JonBJ JonB

                      @GCDX
                      What did/does his DEFINE actually read?

                      G Offline
                      G Offline
                      GCDX
                      wrote on last edited by
                      #11

                      @JonB It needs an API key. However, the problem is that if too many use the API key it will be a threat to the server and the API key will get banned

                      JonBJ 1 Reply Last reply
                      0
                      • G GCDX

                        @JonB It needs an API key. However, the problem is that if too many use the API key it will be a threat to the server and the API key will get banned

                        JonBJ Offline
                        JonBJ Offline
                        JonB
                        wrote on last edited by
                        #12

                        @GCDX
                        I can only imagine this means: at present there is a DEFINE for a constant number/string for some "API key", and you want to change that to be a variable which can be assigned at runtime (somehow) so that it can vary.

                        G 1 Reply Last reply
                        0
                        • JonBJ JonB

                          @GCDX
                          I can only imagine this means: at present there is a DEFINE for a constant number/string for some "API key", and you want to change that to be a variable which can be assigned at runtime (somehow) so that it can vary.

                          G Offline
                          G Offline
                          GCDX
                          wrote on last edited by
                          #13

                          @JonB Yes, i want it to change such that every user who downloads the app can generate their own API key so a single API key won't be the one polling the system

                          JonBJ 1 Reply Last reply
                          0
                          • G GCDX

                            @JonB Yes, i want it to change such that every user who downloads the app can generate their own API key so a single API key won't be the one polling the system

                            JonBJ Offline
                            JonBJ Offline
                            JonB
                            wrote on last edited by JonB
                            #14

                            @GCDX
                            Then you do indeed need to change over from the DEFINE to a variable! (The existing DEFINE is not a "static global variable", it's a [pre-processor] constant, which is quite different.)

                            G 1 Reply Last reply
                            1
                            • JonBJ JonB

                              @GCDX
                              Then you do indeed need to change over from the DEFINE to a variable! (The existing DEFINE is not a "static global variable", it's a [pre-processor] constant, which is quite different.)

                              G Offline
                              G Offline
                              GCDX
                              wrote on last edited by
                              #15

                              @JonB Yes its global variable using extern in a globalvariable.h file.

                              mrjjM 1 Reply Last reply
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                              • G GCDX

                                @JonB Yes its global variable using extern in a globalvariable.h file.

                                mrjjM Offline
                                mrjjM Offline
                                mrjj
                                Lifetime Qt Champion
                                wrote on last edited by
                                #16

                                @GCDX
                                And you also need to save it to a file or will user generate new each time?

                                G 1 Reply Last reply
                                0
                                • mrjjM mrjj

                                  @GCDX
                                  And you also need to save it to a file or will user generate new each time?

                                  G Offline
                                  G Offline
                                  GCDX
                                  wrote on last edited by
                                  #17

                                  @mrjj do i need to use QFileDialog for this??

                                  JonBJ mrjjM 3 Replies Last reply
                                  0
                                  • G GCDX

                                    @mrjj do i need to use QFileDialog for this??

                                    JonBJ Offline
                                    JonBJ Offline
                                    JonB
                                    wrote on last edited by JonB
                                    #18

                                    @GCDX
                                    Read up on http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qsettings.html#details for an explanation (including sub-topic Platform-Specific Notes). In the usual case, you do not ask the user where to save the settings (your QFileDialog), you allow Qt to save it in the "default" place for your OS.

                                    QSettings automatically saves your changes for you.

                                    [EDIT: I'm not sure why I started talking about QSettings here, I thought you/@mrjj had mentioned it, but perhaps not --- I may have been getting mixed up with another question I was answering! Nonetheless, it's a possible way of saving something to file if that's what you want...]

                                    1 Reply Last reply
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                                    • G GCDX

                                      @mrjj do i need to use QFileDialog for this??

                                      mrjjM Offline
                                      mrjjM Offline
                                      mrjj
                                      Lifetime Qt Champion
                                      wrote on last edited by
                                      #19

                                      @GCDX
                                      Only if user should select file name himself.
                                      else you will just save it using QFile to a writable location , you can find lookup using
                                      http://doc.qt.io/qt-5/qstandardpaths.html

                                      1 Reply Last reply
                                      1
                                      • G GCDX

                                        @mrjj do i need to use QFileDialog for this??

                                        JonBJ Offline
                                        JonBJ Offline
                                        JonB
                                        wrote on last edited by
                                        #20

                                        @GCDX
                                        If you ask the user for a file name/path to save to, you are going to have to ask the user for the same path in order to read it back at a later date. This does not sound likely! More like @mrjj's suggestion of saving to a standard file name in a standard directory so that you can re-read it subsequently automatically.

                                        1 Reply Last reply
                                        1
                                        • G Offline
                                          G Offline
                                          GCDX
                                          wrote on last edited by
                                          #21

                                          @JonB @mrjj Hmm this is interesting, however, i read the QSettings documentation and i am a little confused. How does QSettings store a permanent change? If not shouldn't i used QSettings instead of the extern global variable??

                                          mrjjM 1 Reply Last reply
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