1qwtinstall(3) Qwt User's Guide qwtinstall(3)
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6 qwtinstall - Installing Qwt
7
10 Stable Qwt releases are available from the Qwt project page.
11 Qwt-6.2.0 consists of 4 files:
13 • qwt-6.2.0.zip
15 Zip file with the Qwt sources and the html documentation for Windows
16 • qwt-6.2.0.tar.bz2
18 Compressed tar file with the Qwt sources and the html documentation
19 for UNIX systems ( Linux, Mac, ... )
20 • qwt-6.2.0.pdf
22 Qwt documentation as PDF document.
23 • qwt-6.2.0.qch
25 Qwt documentation as Qt Compressed Help document, that can be loaded
26 into the Qt Assistant or Creator. In the Qt Creator context sensitive
27 help will be available like for Qt classes.
28 Precompiled Qwt Designer plugins, that are compatible with some binary
30 packages of the Qt Creator:
31 • qwtdesigner-6.2.0-*.zip
33
35 Beside headers, libraries and the html version of the class
36 documentation a proper Qwt installation contains a Designer plugin and
37 a Qwt features file for building applications using Qwt.
38 All files will be copied to an installation directory, that is
40 configurable by editing qwtconfig.pri. Its default settings is:
41 • Windows
43 C:\Qwt-6.2.0
44 • Unix like systems
46 /usr/local/qwt-6.2.0
47 For the rest of the document this install path will be written as
49 ${QWT_ROOT} and needs to be replaced by the real path in all commands
50 below.
51 It is not unlikely, to have more than one installation of Qwt on the
53 same system. F.e for using the Qwt Designer plugin in the Qt Creator a
54 version of Qwt is necessary with the same Qt and compiler combination,
55 that had been used for building the Qt Creator ( see 'Help->About Qt
56 Creator ...' ).
57 Installing Qwt is done in 3 steps, that are quite common on UNIX
59 systems.
60 1. Configuration
62 In the configuration step all parameters are set to control how to
63 build and install Qwt
64 2. Build
66 In the build step binaries are built from the source files.
67 3. Installation
69 The installation copies and rearranges all files that are
70 necessary to build Qwt applications to a target directory.
71 The installation doesn't modify the system beside copying files to a
73 directory in a proper way. After removing build and installation
74 directories the system is in the same state as it was before.
75 Configuration
77 Configuring Qwt has to be done by editing the Project files used for
78 building:
79 • qwtbuild.pri
81 qwtbuild.pri contains settings for how to build Qwt. All settings of
82 this file are only for building Qwt itself and doesn't have an impact
83 on how an application using Qwt is built. Usually its default
84 settings doesn't need to be modified.
85 • qwtconfig.pri
87 qwtconfig.pri defines what modules of Qwt will be built and where to
88 install them. qwtconfig.pri gets installed together with the Qwt
89 features file qwt.prf and all its settings are known to project files
90 for building Qwt applications.
91 In qwtconfig.pri the meaning of each option is explained in detail -
93 it's worth reading it before running into problems later.
94 Build and installation
96 The Qt Creator is a graphical frontend for calling qmake/make and -
97 technically - it could be used for building and installing Qwt. But as
98 this way requires a lot more understanding of details the following
99 step by step instructions are for the easier way using the command
100 line.
101 Unix-like systems
103 The first step before creating the Makefile is to check that the
104 correct version of qmake is used. F.e. on older Linux distribution you
105 often find a Qt3 qmake and in the path.
106 The default setting of qmake is to generate a makefile that builds Qwt
108 for the same environment where the version of qmake has been built for.
109 So creating a makefile usually means something like:
110 cd qwt-6.2.0
112 /usr/local/Qt-5.0.1/bin/qmake qwt.pro
113 The generated Makefile includes all paths related to the chosen Qt
115 version and the next step is:
116 make
118 ( On multicore systems you can speed up building the Qwt libraries
120 with running several jobs simultaneously: f.e. 'make -j4' on a dual
121 core. )
122 Finally you have to install everything below the directories you have
124 specified in qwtconfig.pri. Usually this is one of the system
125 directories ( /usr/local, /opt, ... ) where you don't have write
126 permission and then the installation needs to be done as root:
127 sudo make install
129 ( On systems where sudo is not supported you can do the same with: su
131 -c 'make install' )
132 Windows
134 Qt packages offer a command line interface, that can be found in the Qt
135 application menu: f.e 'All Programs -> Qt -> Command Prompt'. It is not
136 mandatory to use it, but probably the easiest way as it offers an
137 environment, where everything is initialized for a version of Qt ( f.e
138 qmake is in the PATH ).
139 Creating a makefile usually means something like:
141 cd qwt-6.2.0
143 qmake qwt.pro
144 The generated makefile includes all paths related to the chosen Qt
146 version.
147 MinGW
149 For MinGW builds the name of the make tool is 'mingw32-make'
150 mingw32-make
152 ( On multicore systems you can speed up building the Qwt libraries
154 with running several jobs simultaneously: 'mingw32-make -j' )
155 Finally you have to install everything below the directories you have
157 specified in qwtconfig.pri.
158 mingw32-make install
160 MSVC
162 For MSVC builds the name of the make tool is 'nmake'. Alternatively it
163 is possible to use 'jom' ( https://wiki.qt.io/Jom ), that is usually
164 included in a Qt Creator package.
165 nmake
167 Finally you have to install everything below the directories you have
169 specified in qwtconfig.pri.
170 nmake install
172
174 Designer plugin
175 The Designer plugin and the corresponding Qwt library ( if the plugin
176 has not been built self containing ) have to be compatible with Qt
177 version of the application loading it ( usually the Qt Creator ) - what
178 is often a different version of the Qt libraries you want to build your
179 application with. F.e on Windows the Qt Creator is usually built with a
180 MSVC compiler - even if included in a MinGW package !
181 To help Qt Designer/Creator with locating the Qwt Designer plugin you
183 have to set the environment variable QT_PLUGIN_PATH, modify qt.conf -
184 or install the plugin to one of the application default paths.
185 The Qt documentation explains all options in detail:
187 • https://doc.qt.io/qt-5/deployment-plugins.html
189 • https://doc.qt.io/qtcreator/adding-plugins.html
191 F.e. on a Linux system you could add the following lines to .bashrc:
193 QT_PLUGIN_PATH="${QWT_ROOT}/plugins:$QT_PLUGIN_PATH"
195 export QT_PLUGIN_PATH
196 When the plugin has not been built including the Qwt library ( see
198 QwtDesignerSelfContained in qwtconfig.pri ) the Qt Designer/Creator
199 also needs to locate the Qwt libraries. On Unix systems the path to the
200 installed library is compiled into the plugin ( see rpath, ldd ), but
201 on Windows the Qt Creator needs to be configured ( ( Running a Qwt
202 application ) in the same way as for any application using Qwt.
203 In case of problems the diagnostics of Qt Creator and Designer are very
205 limited ( usually none ), but setting the environment variable
206 QT_DEBUG_PLUGINS might help. In the Qt Creator it is possible to check
207 which plugins were loaded successfully and for certain problems it also
208 lists those that were recognized but failed ( Tools > Form Editor >
209 About Qt Designer Plugins ).
210 Online Help
212 The Qwt class documentation can be loaded into the Qt Creator:
213 • open the settings dialog from the Tools->Options menu
215 • raise the tab 'Help->Documentation'.
217 • press the Add button and select qwt-6.2.0.qch.
219 Now the context sensitive help ( F1 ) works for Qwt classes.
221 For browsing the documentation in the Qt Assistant:
223 • open the settings dialog from the Edit->Preferences menu
225 • raise the tab Documentation.
227 • press the Add button and select qwt-6.2.0.qch.
229
231 All flags and settings that are necessary to compile and link an
232 application using Qwt can be found in the file
233 ${QWT_ROOT}/features/qwt.prf.
234 When using qmake it can included from the application project file in 2
236 different ways:
237 • Adding Qwt as qmake feature
239 When using the qmake feature mechanism you can bind a special
241 version of qmake to a special installation of Qwt without having to
242 add this dependency to the application project. How to add Qwt as
243 feature is documented in the qmake docs.
244 After adding Qwt as a feature f.e on Linux as a persistent property
246 ....
247 qmake -set QMAKEFEATURES ${QWT_ROOT}/features
249 .. the following line can be added to the application project file:
252 CONFIG += qwt
254 • Including qwt.prf in the application project file
257 Instead of using qwt.prf as qmake feature it can be included from
259 the application project file:
260 include ( ${QWT_ROOT}/features/qwt.prf )
263 The advantage of using a direct include is, that all settings of
265 qwt.prf are known to the application project file ( qmake features are
266 included after the application project file has been parsed ) and it
267 can be implemented depending on - f.e. settings made in qwtconfig.pri.
268 On Unix platforms it is possible to link a runtime path into the
270 executable, so that the location of the Qwt libraries can be found
271 without having to configure a runtime environment:
272 • QMAKE_LFLAGS_RPATH
274 • QMAKE_RPATH
276 • QMAKE_RPATHDIR
278
280 When using Qwt as shared library ( DLL ) the dynamic linker has to find
281 it according to the rules of the operating system.
282 Windows
284 The only reasonable way to configure the runtime environment - without
285 having to copy the Qwt libraries around - is to modify the PATH
286 variable. F.e. this could be done by adding the following line to some
287 batch file:
288 set PATH=%PATH%;${QWT_ROOT}
290 GNU/Linux
292 Read the documentation about:
293 • ldconfig
295 • /etc/ld.so.conf
297 • LD_LIBRARY_PATH
299 Using the ldd command a configuration can be tested.
301Version 6.2.0 Sun Jul 18 2021 qwtinstall(3)