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** Copyright (C) 2009 Nokia Corporation and/or its subsidiary(-ies).
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\page mac-differences.html
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\title Qt for Mac OS X - Specific Issues
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\brief A description of issues with Qt that are specific to Mac OS X.
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\ingroup platform-notes
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This file outlines known issues and possible workarounds when
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using Qt on Mac OS X. Contact Qt's technical support team if you find
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additional issues which are not covered here. (See also the
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document \l{qtmac-as-native.html} {Qt is Mac OS X Native}.)
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\section1 GUI Applications
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Mac OS X handles most applications as "bundles". A bundle is a
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directory structure that groups related files together (e.g.,
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widgets.app/). GUI applications in particular must be run from a
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bundle or by using the open(1), because Mac OS X needs the bundle
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to dispatch events correctly, as well as for accessing the menu
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If you are using older versions of GDB you must run with the full
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path to the executable. Later versions allow you to pass the
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bundle name on the command line.
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Mac OS X always double buffers the screen so the
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Qt::WA_PaintOnScreen attribute has no effect. Also it is
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impossible to paint outside of a paint event so
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Qt::WA_PaintOutsidePaintEvent has no effect either.
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\section1 Library Support
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\section2 Qt libraries as frameworks
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By default, Qt is built as a set of frameworks. Frameworks is the
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Mac OS X "preferred" way of distributing libraries. There are
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definite advantages to using them. See
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\l{http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPFrameworks/index.html}
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{Apple's Framework Programming Guide} for more information.
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In general, this shouldn't be an issue because qmake takes care of
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the specifics for you. The
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\l{http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPFrameworks/index.html}
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{Framework Programming Guide} discusses issues to keep in mind
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when choosing frameworks over the more typical, dynamic libraries.
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However, one point to remember is: \bold {Frameworks always link
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with "release" versions of libraries}.
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If you actually want to use a \e{debug} version of a Qt framework,
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you must ensure that your application actually loads that debug
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version. This is often done by using the DYLD_IMAGE_SUFFIX
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environment variables, but that way often doesn't work so well.
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Instead, you can temporarily swap your debug and release versions,
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which is documented in
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\l{http://developer.apple.com/technotes/tn2004/tn2124.html#SECJUSTONELIB}
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{Apple's "Debugging Magic" technical note}.
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If you don't want to use frameworks, simply configure Qt with
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\section2 Bundle-Based Libraries
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If you want to use some dynamic libraries in your Mac OS X
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application bundle (the application directory), create a
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subdirectory named "Frameworks" in the application bundle
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directory and place your dynamic libraries there. The application
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will find a dynamic library if it has the install name
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\e{@executable_path/../Frameworks/libname.dylib}.
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If you use \c qmake and Makefiles, use the \c QMAKE_LFLAGS_SONAME setting:
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\snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_mac-differences.qdoc 0
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Alternatively, you can modify the install name using the
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install_name_tool(1) on the command line. See its manpage for more
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Note that the \c DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH environment variable will
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override these settings, and any other default paths, such as a
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lookup of dynamic libraries inside \c /usr/lib and similar default
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\section2 Combining Libraries
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If you want to build a new dynamic library combining the Qt 4
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dynamic libraries, you need to introduce the \c{ld -r} flag. Then
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relocation information is stored in the output file, so that
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this file could be the subject of another \c ld run. This is done
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by setting the \c -r flag in the \c .pro file, and the \c LFLAGS
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\section2 Initialization Order
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dyld(1) calls global static initializers in the order they are
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linked into your application. If a library links against Qt and
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references globals in Qt (from global initializers in your own
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library), be sure to link your application against Qt before
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linking it against the library. Otherwise the result will be
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undefined because Qt's global initializers have not been called
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\section1 Compile-Time Flags
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The follewing flags are helpful when you want to define Mac OS X specific
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\o Q_OS_DARWIN is defined when Qt detects you are on a
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Darwin-based system (including the Open Source version)
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\o Q_WS_MAC is defined when the Mac OS X GUI is present.
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\o QT_MAC_USE_COCOA is defined when Qt is built to use the Cocoa framework.
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If it is not present, then Qt is using Carbon.
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A additional flag, Q_OS_MAC, is defined as a convenience whenever
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Q_OS_DARWIN is defined.
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If you want to define code for specific versions of Mac OS X, use
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the availability macros defined in /usr/include/AvailabilityMacros.h.
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See QSysInfo for information on runtime version checking.
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\section1 Mac OS X Native API Access
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\section2 Accessing the Bundle Path
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The Mac OS X application is actually a directory (ending with \c
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.app). This directory contains sub-directories and files. It may
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be useful to place items (e.g. plugins, online-documentation,
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etc.) inside this bundle. You might then want to find out where
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the bundle resides on the disk. The following code returns the
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path of the application bundle:
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\snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_mac-differences.qdoc 1
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Note: When OS X is set to use Japanese, a bug causes this sequence
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to fail and return an empty string. Therefore, always test the
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For more information about using the CFBundle API, see
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\l{http://developer.apple.com/documentation/CoreFoundation/Reference/CFBundleRef/index.html}
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{Apple's Developer Website}.
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\section2 Translating the Application Menu and Native Dialogs
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The items in the Application Menu will be merged correctly for
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your localized application, but they will not show up translated
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\l{http://developer.apple.com/documentation/CoreFoundation/Conceptual/CFBundles/Concepts/BundleAnatomy.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/20001119-105003-BAJFDAAG}
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{add a localized resource folder} to the application bundle.
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The main thing you need to do is create a file called
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locversion.plist. Here is an example for Norwegian:
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\snippet doc/src/snippets/code/doc_src_mac-differences.qdoc 2
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Now when you run the application with your preferred language set
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to Norwegian, you should see menu items like "Avslutt" instead of
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\section1 User Interface
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\section2 Right-Mouse Clicks
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If you want to provide right-mouse click support for Mac OS X, use
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the QContextMenuEvent class. This will map to a context menu
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event, i.e., a menu that will display a pop-up selection. This is
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the most common use of right-mouse clicks, and maps to a
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control-click with the Mac OS X one-button mouse support.
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Qt will automatically detect your menu bars for you and turn
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them into Mac native menu bars. Fitting this into your existing Qt
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application will normally be automatic. However, if you have
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special needs, the Qt implementation currently selects a menu
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bar by starting at the active window
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(i.e. QApplication::activeWindow()) and applying the following
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\i If the window has a QMenuBar, then it is used.
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\i If the window is modal, then its menu bar is used. If no menu
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bar is specified, then a default menu bar is used (as
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\i If the window has no parent, then the default menu bar is used
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(as documented below).
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These tests are followed all the way up the parent window chain
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until one of the above rules is satisifed. If all else fails, a
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default menu bar will be created. Note the default menu bar on
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Qt is an empty menu bar. However, you can create a different
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default menu bar by creating a parentless QMenuBar. The first one
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created will be designated the default menu bar and will be used
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whenever a default menu bar is needed.
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Note that using native menu bars introduces certain limitations on
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Qt classes. See the \l{#Limitations}{list of limitations} below
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for more information about these.
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\section2 Special Keys
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To provide the expected behavior for Qt applications on Mac OS X,
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the Qt::Meta, Qt::MetaModifier, and Qt::META enum values
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correspond to the Control keys on the standard Macintosh keyboard,
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and the Qt::Control, Qt::ControlModifier, and Qt::CTRL enum values
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correspond to the Command keys.
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\section1 Limitations
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\section2 Menu Actions
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\o Actions in a QMenu with accelerators that have more than one
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keystroke (QKeySequence) will not display correctly, when the
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QMenu is translated into a Mac native menu bar. The first key
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will be displayed. However, the shortcut will still be
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activated as on all other platforms.
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\o QMenu objects used in the native menu bar are not able to
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handle Qt events via the normal event handlers.
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For Carbon, you will have to install a Carbon event handler on
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the menu bar in order to receive Carbon events that are similar
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to \l{QMenu::}{showEvent()}, \l{QMenu::}{hideEvent()}, and
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\l{QMenu::}{mouseMoveEvent()}. For Cocoa, you will have to
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install a delegate on the menu itself to be notified of these
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changes. Alternatively, consider using the QMenu::aboutToShow()
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and QMenu::aboutToHide() signals to keep track of menu visibility;
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these provide a solution that should work on all platforms
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\section2 Native Widgets
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Qt has support for sheets and drawers, represented in the
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window flags by Qt::Sheet and Qt::Drawer respectiviely. Brushed
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metal windows can also be created by using the
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Qt::WA_MacMetalStyle window attribute.
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\page qt-mac-cocoa-licensing.html
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\title Contributions to the Following QtGui Files: qapplication_cocoa_p.h, qapplication_mac.mm, qdesktopwidget_mac.mm qeventdispatcher_mac.mm qeventdispatcher_mac_p.h qmacincludes_mac.h qt_cocoa_helpers.mm qt_cocoa_helpers_p.h qwidget_mac.mm qsystemtrayicon_mac.mm
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\contentspage {Other Licenses Used in Qt}{Contents}
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\brief License information for contributions by Apple, Inc. to specific parts of the Qt/Mac Cocoa port.
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Copyright (C) 2007-2008, Apple, Inc.
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Redistribution and use in source and binary forms, with or without
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modification, are permitted provided that the following conditions are met:
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\o Redistributions of source code must retain the above copyright notice,
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this list of conditions and the following disclaimer.
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\o Redistributions in binary form must reproduce the above copyright notice,
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this list of conditions and the following disclaimer in the documentation
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and/or other materials provided with the distribution.
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\o Neither the name of Apple, Inc. nor the names of its contributors
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may be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software
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without specific prior written permission.
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THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED BY THE COPYRIGHT HOLDERS AND CONTRIBUTORS
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"AS IS" AND ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT
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LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR
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A PARTICULAR PURPOSE ARE DISCLAIMED. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE COPYRIGHT OWNER OR
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CONTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL,
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EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,
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PROCUREMENT OF SUBSTITUTE GOODS OR SERVICES; LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR
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PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF
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LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING
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NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE USE OF THIS
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SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.