TrollTech Releases Embedded Qt PDA environment

Justin Davies writes: "TrollTech will be making the embedded Qt environment for PDA systems on Monday available under a commercial and GPL license on monday. The environment will contain an application launcher, window manager and input methods including a virtual keyboard. This provides the first common Linux enironment for PDA systems allowing an easy porting system from the desktop to the PDA."

Comments

I want this on my desktop.

[be-fan]

Getting a port of this to the desktop would be seriously cool. Finally, you can mate the selvte Linux kernel to the svelte embedded Qt library instead of X + Qt +KDE and not end up with an ugly bastard child. However, one thing bothers me. If Qt/embedded works with the frame buffer, it means it doesn't use hardware acceleration. That's a travasty! I mean with a little work, this could be so much better (since KDE apps are enough to make a decent system) (for many users) than the system we have today. Are there any plans to allow a hardware acceleration architecture here? I mean QNX Photon does hardware acceleration on a lot of graphics cards, and I'm pretty sure that a lot of embedded systems contain some form of acceleration in their video chips.

Re:But why?

[SilverSun]

Have you actually spend a second and read the article?

But the Qt Palmtop Environment uses Qt/Embedded, so there is no need for an X11 server, no extra client libraries, no separate window manager, no layer-upon-layer of toolkits -- Qt/Embedded works directly with the Linux framebuffer.

This is an example of GPL "virality" used right

[kinkie]

Their dual-licensing terms are great imo.

You want to develop some GPL software? Sure you can, great. You'll use a great library and toolkit and you'll benefit the world at large, not just your pockets. You want proprietary? Sure, here's the means and here's the fee. Want to try it out? Sure, as long as you don't distribute what you do with it...

Many times GPL's "virality" has been cited as an obstacle against the adoption of Free Software concept and its results (calling them products would not make them any justice). But I think that the path TT took is the classic "Columbus' egg" which can satisfy everybody.

Way to go, TT!

Re:But why?

[Ex Machina]

This actually doesn't use X. Widgets like QT or GTK are not inherently linked to X. Its just that the Linux versiosn use X for the underlying layer. The win32 versions use win32 APIs.

Re:But why?

[be-fan]

What's wrong with C++. It's not like Qt is based on multiple inherited, RTTI & exception-using, virtual iterators. A lot of it is just like C with looser variable declaration rules and structures that contain functions. There is nothing inherntly bloated about C++, its all a matter of what your application uses. Ideally, the development platform for this would use a subset of C++, with STL, RTTI, and exceptions disabled. By getting rid of some of the obscure aspects of the language (which you shouldn't be using anyway unless you have a damn good reason) you can get something more structured than C, without the bloat often found in C++.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

PDA

[Mr_Icon]

I don't think calling someone a "Cutie" qualifies as a Public Display of Affection. And frankly, I'm sick and tired of all those sexual harrassment laws...