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<h3><a name="toc">Contents</a></h3>
<ul>
<li class="level1"><a href="#defining-the-addressbook-class">Defining the AddressBook Class</a></li>
<li class="level1"><a href="#implementing-the-addressbook-class">Implementing the AddressBook Class</a></li>
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<h1 class="title">Part 2 - Adding Addresses</h1>
<span class="subtitle"></span>
<!-- $$$tutorials/addressbook/part2-description -->
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<p>Files:</p>
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<li><a href="tutorials-addressbook-part2-addressbook-cpp.html">tutorials/addressbook/part2/addressbook.cpp</a></li>
<li><a href="tutorials-addressbook-part2-addressbook-h.html">tutorials/addressbook/part2/addressbook.h</a></li>
<li><a href="tutorials-addressbook-part2-main-cpp.html">tutorials/addressbook/part2/main.cpp</a></li>
<li><a href="tutorials-addressbook-part2-part2-pro.html">tutorials/addressbook/part2/part2.pro</a></li>
</ul>
<p>The next step in creating the address book is to implement some user interactions.</p>
<p class="centerAlign"><img src="images/addressbook-tutorial-part2-add-contact.png" alt="" /></p><p>We will provide a push button that the user can click to add a new contact. Also, some form of data structure is needed to store these contacts in an organized way.</p>
<a name="defining-the-addressbook-class"></a>
<h2>Defining the AddressBook Class</h2>
<p>Now that we have the labels and input fields set up, we add push buttons to complete the process of adding a contact. This means that our <tt>addressbook.h</tt> file now has three <a href="qpushbutton.html">QPushButton</a> objects declared and three corresponding public slots.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> <span class="keyword">public</span> <span class="keyword">slots</span>:
<span class="type">void</span> addContact();
<span class="type">void</span> submitContact();
<span class="type">void</span> cancel();</pre>
<p>A slot is a function that responds to a particular signal. We will discuss this concept in further detail when implementing the <tt>AddressBook</tt> class. However, for an overview of Qt's signals and slots concept, you can refer to the <a href="signalsandslots.html#signals-and-slots">Signals and Slots</a> document.</p>
<p>Three <a href="qpushbutton.html">QPushButton</a> objects (<tt>addButton</tt>, <tt>submitButton</tt>, and <tt>cancelButton</tt>) are now included in our private variable declarations, along with <tt>nameLine</tt> and <tt>addressText</tt>.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> <span class="keyword">private</span>:
<span class="type"><a href="qpushbutton.html">QPushButton</a></span> <span class="operator">*</span>addButton;
<span class="type"><a href="qpushbutton.html">QPushButton</a></span> <span class="operator">*</span>submitButton;
<span class="type"><a href="qpushbutton.html">QPushButton</a></span> <span class="operator">*</span>cancelButton;
<span class="type"><a href="qlineedit.html">QLineEdit</a></span> <span class="operator">*</span>nameLine;
<span class="type"><a href="qtextedit.html">QTextEdit</a></span> <span class="operator">*</span>addressText;</pre>
<p>We need a container to store our address book contacts, so that we can traverse and display them. A <a href="qmap.html">QMap</a> object, <tt>contacts</tt>, is used for this purpose as it holds a key-value pair: the contact's name as the <i>key</i>, and the contact's address as the <i>value</i>.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> <span class="type"><a href="qmap.html">QMap</a></span><span class="operator"><</span><span class="type"><a href="qstring.html">QString</a></span><span class="operator">,</span> <span class="type"><a href="qstring.html">QString</a></span><span class="operator">></span> contacts;
<span class="type"><a href="qstring.html">QString</a></span> oldName;
<span class="type"><a href="qstring.html">QString</a></span> oldAddress;
};</pre>
<p>We also declare two private <a href="qstring.html">QString</a> objects, <tt>oldName</tt> and <tt>oldAddress</tt>. These objects are needed to hold the name and address of the contact that was last displayed, before the user clicked <b>Add</b>. So, when the user clicks <b>Cancel</b>, we can revert to displaying the details of the last contact.</p>
<a name="implementing-the-addressbook-class"></a>
<h2>Implementing the AddressBook Class</h2>
<p>Within the constructor of <tt>AddressBook</tt>, we set the <tt>nameLine</tt> and <tt>addressText</tt> to read-only, so that we can only display but not edit existing contact details.</p>
<pre class="qml"> ...
nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setReadOnly(<span class="keyword">true</span>);
...
addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setReadOnly(<span class="keyword">true</span>);</pre>
<p>Then, we instantiate our push buttons: <tt>addButton</tt>, <tt>submitButton</tt>, and <tt>cancelButton</tt>.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> addButton <span class="operator">=</span> <span class="keyword">new</span> <span class="type"><a href="qpushbutton.html">QPushButton</a></span>(tr(<span class="string">"&Add"</span>));
addButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>show();
submitButton <span class="operator">=</span> <span class="keyword">new</span> <span class="type"><a href="qpushbutton.html">QPushButton</a></span>(tr(<span class="string">"&Submit"</span>));
submitButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>hide();
cancelButton <span class="operator">=</span> <span class="keyword">new</span> <span class="type"><a href="qpushbutton.html">QPushButton</a></span>(tr(<span class="string">"&Cancel"</span>));
cancelButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>hide();</pre>
<p>The <tt>addButton</tt> is displayed by invoking the <a href="qwidget.html#show">show()</a> function, while the <tt>submitButton</tt> and <tt>cancelButton</tt> are hidden by invoking <a href="qwidget.html#hide">hide()</a>. These two push buttons will only be displayed when the user clicks <b>Add</b> and this is handled by the <tt>addContact()</tt> function discussed below.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> connect(addButton<span class="operator">,</span> SIGNAL(clicked())<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="keyword">this</span><span class="operator">,</span> SLOT(addContact()));
connect(submitButton<span class="operator">,</span> SIGNAL(clicked())<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="keyword">this</span><span class="operator">,</span> SLOT(submitContact()));
connect(cancelButton<span class="operator">,</span> SIGNAL(clicked())<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="keyword">this</span><span class="operator">,</span> SLOT(cancel()));</pre>
<p>We connect the push buttons' <a href="qabstractbutton.html#clicked">clicked()</a> signal to their respective slots. The figure below illustrates this.</p>
<p class="centerAlign"><img src="images/addressbook-tutorial-part2-signals-and-slots.png" alt="" /></p><p>Next, we arrange our push buttons neatly to the right of our address book widget, using a <a href="qvboxlayout.html">QVBoxLayout</a> to line them up vertically.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> <span class="type"><a href="qvboxlayout.html">QVBoxLayout</a></span> <span class="operator">*</span>buttonLayout1 <span class="operator">=</span> <span class="keyword">new</span> <span class="type"><a href="qvboxlayout.html">QVBoxLayout</a></span>;
buttonLayout1<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addWidget(addButton<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="type"><a href="qt.html">Qt</a></span><span class="operator">::</span>AlignTop);
buttonLayout1<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addWidget(submitButton);
buttonLayout1<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addWidget(cancelButton);
buttonLayout1<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addStretch();</pre>
<p>The <a href="qboxlayout.html#addStretch">addStretch()</a> function is used to ensure the push buttons are not evenly spaced, but arranged closer to the top of the widget. The figure below shows the difference between using <a href="qboxlayout.html#addStretch">addStretch()</a> and not using it.</p>
<p class="centerAlign"><img src="images/addressbook-tutorial-part2-stretch-effects.png" alt="" /></p><p>We then add <tt>buttonLayout1</tt> to <tt>mainLayout</tt>, using <a href="qgridlayout.html#addLayout">addLayout()</a>. This gives us nested layouts as <tt>buttonLayout1</tt> is now a child of <tt>mainLayout</tt>.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> <span class="type"><a href="qgridlayout.html">QGridLayout</a></span> <span class="operator">*</span>mainLayout <span class="operator">=</span> <span class="keyword">new</span> <span class="type"><a href="qgridlayout.html">QGridLayout</a></span>;
mainLayout<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addWidget(nameLabel<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">0</span><span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">0</span>);
mainLayout<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addWidget(nameLine<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">0</span><span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">1</span>);
mainLayout<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addWidget(addressLabel<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">1</span><span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">0</span><span class="operator">,</span> <span class="type"><a href="qt.html">Qt</a></span><span class="operator">::</span>AlignTop);
mainLayout<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addWidget(addressText<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">1</span><span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">1</span>);
mainLayout<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>addLayout(buttonLayout1<span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">1</span><span class="operator">,</span> <span class="number">2</span>);</pre>
<p>Our layout coordinates now look like this:</p>
<p class="centerAlign"><img src="images/addressbook-tutorial-part2-labeled-layout.png" alt="" /></p><p>In the <tt>addContact()</tt> function, we store the last displayed contact details in <tt>oldName</tt> and <tt>oldAddress</tt>. Then we clear these input fields and turn off the read-only mode. The focus is set on <tt>nameLine</tt> and we display <tt>submitButton</tt> and <tt>cancelButton</tt>.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> <span class="type">void</span> AddressBook<span class="operator">::</span>addContact()
{
oldName <span class="operator">=</span> nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>text();
oldAddress <span class="operator">=</span> addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>toPlainText();
nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>clear();
addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>clear();
nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setReadOnly(<span class="keyword">false</span>);
nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setFocus(<span class="type"><a href="qt.html">Qt</a></span><span class="operator">::</span>OtherFocusReason);
addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setReadOnly(<span class="keyword">false</span>);
addButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setEnabled(<span class="keyword">false</span>);
submitButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>show();
cancelButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>show();
}</pre>
<p>The <tt>submitContact()</tt> function can be divided into three parts:</p>
<ol class="1">
<li>We extract the contact's details from <tt>nameLine</tt> and <tt>addressText</tt> and store them in <a href="qstring.html">QString</a> objects. We also validate to make sure that the user did not click <b>Submit</b> with empty input fields; otherwise, a <a href="qmessagebox.html">QMessageBox</a> is displayed to remind the user for a name and address.<pre class="cpp"> <span class="type">void</span> AddressBook<span class="operator">::</span>submitContact()
{
<span class="type"><a href="qstring.html">QString</a></span> name <span class="operator">=</span> nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>text();
<span class="type"><a href="qstring.html">QString</a></span> address <span class="operator">=</span> addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>toPlainText();
<span class="keyword">if</span> (name<span class="operator">.</span>isEmpty() <span class="operator">|</span><span class="operator">|</span> address<span class="operator">.</span>isEmpty()) {
<span class="type"><a href="qmessagebox.html">QMessageBox</a></span><span class="operator">::</span>information(<span class="keyword">this</span><span class="operator">,</span> tr(<span class="string">"Empty Field"</span>)<span class="operator">,</span>
tr(<span class="string">"Please enter a name and address."</span>));
<span class="keyword">return</span>;
}</pre>
</li>
<li>We then proceed to check if the contact already exists. If it does not exist, we add the contact to <tt>contacts</tt> and we display a <a href="qmessagebox.html">QMessageBox</a> to inform the user that the contact has been added.<pre class="cpp"> <span class="keyword">if</span> (<span class="operator">!</span>contacts<span class="operator">.</span>contains(name)) {
contacts<span class="operator">.</span>insert(name<span class="operator">,</span> address);
<span class="type"><a href="qmessagebox.html">QMessageBox</a></span><span class="operator">::</span>information(<span class="keyword">this</span><span class="operator">,</span> tr(<span class="string">"Add Successful"</span>)<span class="operator">,</span>
tr(<span class="string">"\"%1\" has been added to your address book."</span>)<span class="operator">.</span>arg(name));
} <span class="keyword">else</span> {
<span class="type"><a href="qmessagebox.html">QMessageBox</a></span><span class="operator">::</span>information(<span class="keyword">this</span><span class="operator">,</span> tr(<span class="string">"Add Unsuccessful"</span>)<span class="operator">,</span>
tr(<span class="string">"Sorry, \"%1\" is already in your address book."</span>)<span class="operator">.</span>arg(name));
<span class="keyword">return</span>;
}</pre>
<p>If the contact already exists, again, we display a <a href="qmessagebox.html">QMessageBox</a> to inform the user about this, preventing the user from adding duplicate contacts. Our <tt>contacts</tt> object is based on key-value pairs of name and address, hence, we want to ensure that <i>key</i> is unique.</p>
</li>
<li>Once we have handled both cases mentioned above, we restore the push buttons to their normal state with the following code:<pre class="cpp"> <span class="keyword">if</span> (contacts<span class="operator">.</span>isEmpty()) {
nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>clear();
addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>clear();
}
nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setReadOnly(<span class="keyword">true</span>);
addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setReadOnly(<span class="keyword">true</span>);
addButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setEnabled(<span class="keyword">true</span>);
submitButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>hide();
cancelButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>hide();
}</pre>
</li>
</ol>
<p>The screenshot below shows the <a href="qmessagebox.html">QMessageBox</a> object we use to display information messages to the user.</p>
<p class="centerAlign"><img src="images/addressbook-tutorial-part2-add-successful.png" alt="" /></p><p>The <tt>cancel()</tt> function restores the last displayed contact details and enables <tt>addButton</tt>, as well as hides <tt>submitButton</tt> and <tt>cancelButton</tt>.</p>
<pre class="cpp"> <span class="type">void</span> AddressBook<span class="operator">::</span>cancel()
{
nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setText(oldName);
nameLine<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setReadOnly(<span class="keyword">true</span>);
addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setText(oldAddress);
addressText<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setReadOnly(<span class="keyword">true</span>);
addButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>setEnabled(<span class="keyword">true</span>);
submitButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>hide();
cancelButton<span class="operator">-</span><span class="operator">></span>hide();
}</pre>
<p>The general idea behind adding a contact is to give the user the flexibility to click <b>Submit</b> or <b>Cancel</b> at any time. The flowchart below further explains this concept:</p>
<p class="centerAlign"><img src="images/addressbook-tutorial-part2-add-flowchart.png" alt="" /></p></div>
<!-- @@@tutorials/addressbook/part2 -->
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