moc - generate Qt meta object support code

moc [-o file] [-i] [-f] [-k] [-ldbg] [-nw] [-p path] [-q path] [-v] file

This page documents the Meta Object Compiler for the Qt GUI application framework. The moc reads one or more C++ class declarations from a C++ header or source file and generates one C++ source file containing meta object information for the classes. The C++ source file generated by the moc must be compiled and linked with the implementation of the class (or it can be #included into the class's source file).

If you use qmake to create your Makefiles, build rules will be included that call the moc when required, so you will not need to use the moc directly.

In brief, the meta object system is a structure used by Qt (see http://doc.trolltech.com) for component programming and run time type information. It adds properties and inheritance information to (some) classes and provides a new type of communication between those instances of those classes, signal-slot connections.

-o file

Write output to file rather than to stdout.

-f

Force the generation of an #include statement in the output. This is the default for files whose name matches the regular expression .[hH][^.]* (i.e. the extension starts with H or h ). This option is only useful if you have header files that do not follow the standard naming conventions.

-i

Do not generate an #include statement in the output. This may be used to run moc on a C++ file containing one or more class declarations. You should then #include the meta object code in the .cpp file (see USAGE below). If both -f and -i are present, the last one wins.

-nw

Do not generate any warnings. Not recommended.

-ldbg

Write a flood of lex debug information to stdout.

-p path

Makes moc prepend path/ to the file name in the generated #include statement (if one is generated).

-q path

Makes moc prepend path/ to the file name of qt #include files in the generated code.

-v

Displays the version of moc and Qt.

You can explicitly tell the moc not to parse parts of a header file. It recognizes any C++ comment (//) that contains the substrings MOC_SKIP_BEGIN or MOC_SKIP_END. They work as you would expect and you can have several levels of them. The net result as seen by the moc is as if you had removed all lines between a MOC_SKIP_BEGIN and a MOC_SKIP_END

moc is almost always invoked by make(1), not by hand.

moc is typically used with an input file containing class declarations like this:

class YourClass : public QObject {
    Q_OBJECT
    Q_PROPERTY( ... )
    Q_CLASSINFO( ... )

public: YourClass( QObject * parent=0, const char * name=0 ); ~YourClass();

signals:

public slots:

};

Here is a useful makefile rule if you only use GNU make:

m%.cpp: %.h
        moc $< -o $@

If you want to write portably, you can use individual rules of the following form:

mNAME.cpp: NAME.h
        moc $< -o $@

You must also remember to add mNAME.cpp to your SOURCES (substitute your favorite name) variable and mNAME.o to your OBJECTS variable.

(While we prefer to name our C++ source files .cpp, the moc doesn't know that, so you can use .C, .cc, .CC, .cxx or even .c++ if you prefer.)

If you have class declarations in C++ files, we recommend that you use a makefile rule like this:

NAME.o: mNAME.cpp

mNAME.cpp: NAME.cpp moc -i $< -o $@

This guarantees that make(1) will run the moc before it compiles NAME.cpp. You can then put

#include "nNAME.cpp"

at the end of NAME.cpp, where all the classes declared in that file are fully known.

Sometimes you may get linkage errors, saying that YourClass::className() is undefined or that YourClass lacks a vtbl. Those errors happen most often when you forget to compile the moc-generated C++ code or include that object file in the link command.

The moc will warn you about a number of dangerous or illegal constructs.

The moc does not expand #include or #define, it simply skips any preprocessor directives it encounters. This is regrettable, but is normally not a problem in practice.

The moc does not handle all of C++. The main problem is that class templates cannot have signals or slots. This is an important bug. Here is an example:

class SomeTemplate<int> : public QFrame {
    Q_OBJECT
    ....
signals:
    void bugInMocDetected( int );
};

Less importantly, the following constructs are illegal. All of them have have alternatives which we think are usually better, so removing these limitations is not a high priority for us.

Multiple inheritance requires QObject to be first.

class SomeClass : public QObject, public OtherClass {
    ...
};

Function pointers cannot be arguments to signals or slots.

class SomeClass : public QObject {
    Q_OBJECT
    ...
public slots:
    // illegal
    void apply( void (*apply)(List *, void *), void * );
};

typedef void (*ApplyFunctionType)( List *, void * );

Friend declarations cannot be placed in signals or slots sections

class SomeClass : public QObject {
    Q_OBJECT
    ...
signals:
    friend class ClassTemplate<char>; // illegal
};

Signals and slots cannot be upgraded

class Whatever : public QButtonGroup {
    ...
public slots:
    QButtonGroup::buttonPressed; // illegal
    ...
};

Type macros cannot be used for signal and slot arguments

#ifdef ultrix
#define SIGNEDNESS(a) unsigned a
#else
#define SIGNEDNESS(a) a
#endif
class Whatever : public QObject {
    ...
signals:
    void someSignal( SIGNEDNESS(int) ); // illegal
};

A #define without arguments works.

Nested classes cannot be in the signals or slots sections nor have signals or slots

class A {
    Q_OBJECT
public:
    class B {
    public slots: // illegal
        void b();
        ...
    };
signals:
    class B {  // illegal
        void b();
	...
    }:
};

Constructors cannot be used in signals or slots sections

class SomeClass : public QObject {
    Q_OBJECT
public slots:
    SomeClass( QObject *parent, const char *name )
        : QObject( parent, name ) {} // illegal
    ...
};

Properties need to be declared before the public section that contains the respective get and set functions

class SomeClass : public QObject {
    Q_OBJECT
public:
    ...
    // illegal
    Q_PROPERTY( Priority priority READ priority WRITE setPriority )
    Q_ENUMS( Priority )
    enum Priority { High, Low, VeryHigh, VeryLow };
    void setPriority( Priority );
    Priority priority() const;
    ...
};

class SomeClass : public QObject {
    Q_OBJECT
    Q_PROPERTY( Priority priority READ priority WRITE setPriority )
    Q_ENUMS( Priority )
public:
    ...
    enum Priority { High, Low, VeryHigh, VeryLow };
    void setPriority( Priority );
    Priority priority() const;
    ...
};

http://www.trolltech.com, C++ ARM, section r.11.3 (for the answer to the quiz), and http://doc.trolltech.com (for complete Qt documentation).