What is it?
Now owned by Nokia following the
takeover of
Trolltech earlier this year,
Qt is a cross-platform
application framework for desktop and embedded applications,
with a strong history in Gui development. It is particularly
associated with C++ development for Linux, but the Qt API and tools
are consistent across all supported platforms, and applications can
be ported without rewriting.
As well as Nokia, it is used by Motorola in its user interface,
by the OpenMoko
Linux-for-mobile-phones project, by
Adobe
in Photoshop, by Skype, and by
Google in applications such asGoogle Earth. IBM and
Hewlett-Packard are among vendors which use and/or distribute Qt.
It is used widely by CAD and other graphics products suppliers.
The Qt Embedded Application Framework for C++ development is
available for both http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Embedded_Linux
Embedded Linux and
Windows CE,
and is the key to the "Qt Everywhere" strategy. Trolltech recently
added integration with the WebKit open
source web browser engine, enabling native desktop applications
developed with Qt to be extended to or combined with web
applications.
Qt claims some impressive increases in developer productivity
and time-to-market, in addition to the time saved in moving
applications to other platforms.
Where did it originate?
In 1994 Trolltech co-founders Haavard Nord and "chief troll"
Eirik Chambe-Eng were designing software for ultrasound equipment
when they encountered the poor quality of cross-platform C++
development tools, and set out to create something that would
reduce the time -up to half- that developers spent simply porting
C++ applications to other platforms.
What is it for?
QT has C++ application frameworks for Linux (and Solaris, HP-UX,
AIX and other Unix variants), Windows (with Visual Studio.Net
integration), and Mac OSX. It is the basis of the KDE desktop
environment. The C++ library has more than 400 C++ classes covering
most of the infrastructure requirements of application development.
Qt Jambi, Qt's application framework for Java, keeps pace with
other Qt releases (both are at 4.4) but also has features specific
to Java development. Qt can also be used with C#, C, Python, Ruby,
PHP and Perl.
What makes it special?
Integration with WebKit opens up platforms which use it, such as
Apple's Safari browser (used in the iPhone), Nokia's Series 60
browser, Google's Android platform, and the Adobe Integrated
Runtime.
How difficult is it to master?
Once they have
learned
the Qt API, developers can produce applications which will run
unchanged on all the current major operating systems. But you will
need a working knowledge of C++ (and Gui) development.
Where is it used?
Trolltech claims 5,000 user companies, including Lockheed
Martin, Chevron Texaco, Deutsche Telekom and Siemens, the European
Space Agency and NASA, Lucasfilms and Walt Disney Feature
Animation. Qt is also used in the interactive version of the
standard reference work, Birds of the Western Palearctic, and in
many graphical design, product design, games, and mathematical,
scientific and medical visualisation applications. See
http://trolltech.com/company/customers/coolapps.
Rates of pay
Embedded C++ with Linux up to £50k.
Training
The Trolltech-endorsed C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4 is
published by Prentice Hall. Trolltech's global range means that
courses are offered in the UK at long intervals. The forthcoming
Programming with Qt in London in December will cost 2600 euros for
five days.
Other
courses are also available.