Qt5 Tutorial Q_OBJECT Macro - 2020

The Q_OBJECT Macro is probably one of the weirdest things to whoever beginning to use Qt.

Qt QObject Class says:

The Q_OBJECT macro must appear in the private section of a class definition that declares its own signals and slots or that uses other services provided by Qt's meta-object system.

class MyClass : public QObject
{
    Q_OBJECT

public:
    MyClass(QObject *parent = 0);
    ~MyClass();

signals:
    void mySignal();

public slots:
    void mySlot();
};

So, it sounds like we need it to use signal and slot, and probably for other purposes (meta-object related) as well.

Another doc related to moc explains:

The Meta-Object Compiler, moc, is the program that handles Qt's C++ extensions.

The moc tool reads a C++ header file. If it finds one or more class declarations that contain the Q_OBJECT macro, it produces a C++ source file containing the meta-object code for those classes. Among other things, meta-object code is required for the signals and slots mechanism, the run-time type information, and the dynamic property system.

Another doc on Signal and Slot:

All classes that contain signals or slots must mention Q_OBJECT at the top of their declaration. They must also derive (directly or indirectly) from QObject.

Note that when we want to make connection between signal and slot, we actually do it with Object scope:

QObject::connect(sender, signal, receiver, slot):

1. Quick answer: No.
2. Better anser: Well, just put it there always.

Actually, the Q_OBJECT macro is only required if meta-object code has to be produced by the moc tool in order to use the signals and slots mechanism, the run-time type information, the dynamic property system and translating features for internationalization.

While it is possible to use QObject as a base class without the Q_OBJECT macro and without meta object code, neither signals and slots nor the other features described here will be available if the Q_OBJECT macro is not used.

In general, it seems that all Qt developers have been strongly recommend to use Q_Object for every subclass of QObject whether or not they actually use the features listed above.

Qt 5 Tutorial

1. Hello World
2. Signals and Slots
3. Q_OBJECT Macro
4. MainWindow and Action
5. MainWindow and ImageViewer using Designer A
6. MainWindow and ImageViewer using Designer B
7. Layouts
8. Layouts without Designer
9. Grid Layouts
10. Splitter
11. QDir
12. QFile (Basic)
13. Resource Files (.qrc)
14. QComboBox
15. QListWidget
16. QTreeWidget
17. QAction and Icon Resources
18. QStatusBar
19. QMessageBox
20. QTimer
21. QList
22. QListIterator
23. QMutableListIterator
24. QLinkedList
25. QMap
26. QHash
27. QStringList
28. QTextStream
29. QMimeType and QMimeDatabase
30. QFile (Serialization I)
31. QFile (Serialization II - Class)
32. Tool Tips in HTML Style and with Resource Images
33. QPainter
34. QBrush and QRect
35. QPainterPath and QPolygon
36. QPen and Cap Style
37. QBrush and QGradient
38. QPainter and Transformations
39. QGraphicsView and QGraphicsScene
40. Customizing Items by inheriting QGraphicsItem
41. QGraphicsView Animation
42. FFmpeg Converter using QProcess
43. QProgress Dialog - Modal and Modeless
44. QVariant and QMetaType
45. QtXML - Writing to a file
46. QtXML - QtXML DOM Reading
47. QThreads - Introduction
48. QThreads - Creating Threads
49. Creating QThreads using QtConcurrent
50. QThreads - Priority
51. QThreads - QMutex
52. QThreads - GuiThread
53. QtConcurrent QProgressDialog with QFutureWatcher
54. QSemaphores - Producer and Consumer
55. QThreads - wait()
56. MVC - ModelView with QListView and QStringListModel
57. MVC - ModelView with QTreeView and QDirModel
58. MVC - ModelView with QTreeView and QFileSystemModel
59. MVC - ModelView with QTableView and QItemDelegate
60. QHttp - Downloading Files
61. QNetworkAccessManager and QNetworkRequest - Downloading Files
62. Qt's Network Download Example - Reconstructed
63. QNetworkAccessManager - Downloading Files with UI and QProgressDialog
64. QUdpSocket
65. QTcpSocket
66. QTcpSocket with Signals and Slots
67. QTcpServer - Client and Server
68. QTcpServer - Loopback Dialog
69. QTcpServer - Client and Server using MultiThreading
70. QTcpServer - Client and Server using QThreadPool
71. Asynchronous QTcpServer - Client and Server using QThreadPool
72. Qt Quick2 QML Animation - A
73. Qt Quick2 QML Animation - B
74. Short note on Ubuntu Install
75. OpenGL with QT5
76. Qt5 Webkit : Web Browser with QtCreator using QWebView Part A
77. Qt5 Webkit : Web Browser with QtCreator using QWebView Part B
78. Video Player with HTML5 QWebView and FFmpeg Converter
79. Qt5 Add-in and Visual Studio 2012
80. Qt5.3 Installation on Ubuntu 14.04
81. Qt5.5 Installation on Ubuntu 14.04
82. Short note on deploying to Windows