This library implements the framework for {\bf KDE} parts, which are elaborate widgets with a user-interface defined in terms of actions (menu items, toolbar icons...). See {\bf KParts::Part}{\rm (p.\,\pageref{classKParts_1_1Part})}.

The library also provides a framework for applications that want to use parts. Such applications need to inherit their main window from {\bf KParts::Main\-Window}{\rm (p.\,\pageref{classKParts_1_1MainWindow})} and provide a so-called shell GUI, which provides a basic skeleton GUI with part-independent functionality/actions.

Some KParts applications won't be specific to a given part, but expect to be able to embed, for instance, all types of viewers out there. For this the basic functionality of any viewer has been implemented in {\bf KParts::Read\-Only\-Part}{\rm (p.\,\pageref{classKParts_1_1ReadOnlyPart})}, which viewer-like parts should inherit from. The same applies to {\bf KParts::Read\-Write\-Part}{\rm (p.\,\pageref{classKParts_1_1ReadWritePart})}, which is for editor-like parts.

You can add actions to an existing KParts app from \char`\"{}outside\char`\"{}, defining the code for those actions in a shared library. This mechanism is obviously called plugins, and implemented by {\bf KParts::Plugin}{\rm (p.\,\pageref{classKParts_1_1Plugin})}.

For a complete, and very simple, example of how to use KParts to display any kind of file (i.e. making a generic viewer), see the docu for KParts::Component\-Factory::create\-Part\-Instance\-From\-Query 