Contents

QCPlugIn

A base class to subclass for writing custom patches.

Declaration

class QCPlugIn

Overview

The QCPlugIn class provides the base class to subclass for writing custom Quartz Composer patches. You implement a custom patch by subclassing QCPlugIn, overriding the appropriate methods, packaging the code as an NSBundle object, and installing the bundle in the appropriate location. A bundle can contain more than one subclass of QCPlugIn, allowing you to provide a suite of custom patches in one bundle. Quartz Composer Custom Patch Programming Guide provides detailed instructions on how to create and package a custom patch. QCPlugIn Class Reference supplements the information in the programming guide.

The methods related to the executing the custom patch (called when the Quartz Composer engine is rendering) are passed an opaque object that conforms to the QCPlugInContext protocol. This object represents the execution context of the QCPlugIn object. You should not retain the execution context or use it outside of the scope of the execution method that it is passed to.

Topics

Defining the Characteristics of a Custom Patch

Executing a Custom Patch

Performing Custom Tasks During Execution

Defining Patch and Property Port Attributes

Defining Internal Settings

Supporting Saving and Retrieving Internal Settings

Adding Ports Dynamically

Getting and Setting Port Values

Loading Bundle and Custom Patches Manually

Ordering Property Ports

Constants

Instance Methods

See Also

Related Documentation

  • Quartz Composer Custom Patch Programming Guide

Classes