Qt Script For Applications 1.0 Released Today

hpj writes "Trolltech today released QSA. An ECMA based scripting extension to Qt (On which KDE is based) which allows easily adding scripting support to Qt (And in extension KDE applications). It is licensed like Qt under GPL as well as commercial licenses for Windows, Mac and X11 for those GPL is not suitable."

Comments

Problem with Slashdot Users Page

[Andy_R]

I can't seem to find the 'stop showing me every damn press release that trolltech makes' button in my preferences.

Re:Problem with Slashdot Users Page

[sporty]

Realize, the press release is the announcement of a product. No one does press-releases for FreeBSD or Linux. The closest you see is an "Announcemnet".

So ease up. If I didn't read the press release, I wouldn't know about the product which seems quite interesting.

Re:Problem with Slashdot Users Page

[computerme]

Because Trolltechs rules? Yep.

Re:Problem with Slashdot Users Page

[Micah]

Actually this could be pretty significant. It means that applications such as KOffice (and the rest of KDE) could have a *nice* *easy* scripting solution just like Microsoft's VBA (but better).

I for one am looking forward to seeing this in use.

Redundant

[Anonymous Coward]

KJS (KDE JavaScript) already provides full ecma script for any applications that choose to make themselves scriptable. The KDE controls all have basic scriptability provided, so this is redundant for KDE.

Looks like TrollTech is once again stealing KDE's ideas.

Re:Redundant

[Anonymous Coward]

Looks like TrollTech is once again stealing KDE's ideas.

I guess by "stealing" you are referring to the
fact that trolltech hired the KDE
developer who wrote KJS and paid him to improve
the library, then released it as open source?

Re:Redundant

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice try, troll. Apple has been using KJS as part of their JavaScriptCore framework for over a year now, and have been silently adding changes back without fanfare or press releases. Next thing you know, TrollTech will have hired the KHTML programmers and put it under a free license too.

It's reasons like this that I prefer BSD licenses.

Re:Redundant

[Samrobb]

Looks like TrollTech is once again stealing KDE's ideas.

What - you mean, they're implementing a publicly available standard again?

How dare they do something that... that... that immoral!

Why, next thing you know, they'll be claiming they did it to provide an implementation of a uniform cross-platform scripting environment for Qt users. As if we're foolish enough to believe that!

Well, too bad, Trollies - thank's to good ol' Anonymous Coward, we're on to you now!!

Re:Redundant

[valkadesh]

AFAIK, KJS is based on ECMAScript Edition 3 (implemented in JavaScript 1.5 and JScript 5.5). QSA is based on the forthcoming Edition 4, which is way different from the previous version. (Edition 4 is implemented in JScript.NET and the yet-to-be-released JavaScript 2.0).
To learn more on ECMAScript v. 4, see here.

Re:Redundant

[Anonymous Coward]

Nice try, troll. Apple has been using KJS as part of their JavaScriptCore framework for over a year now, and have been silently adding changes back without fanfare or press releases.

Yes, Apple publicly thanked KJS author Harri Porten, and TrollTech hired him.

Your point again was?

Re:Redundant

[Anonymous Coward]

Your insinuation is ridiculous, companies only hire when there is a need, not because they come from some feel good happy-land.

Re:Redundant

[Anonymous Coward]

v4 is quite bloated, as far as I can see. Javascript used to be a very elegant, small, SELF-with-C++-family-syntax prototyped language.

Re:Redundant

[Anonymous Coward]

Actually the do employ Lars Knoll, the original author of KHTML; he's been there for several years...

GPL

[P145M4]

[...]Windows, Mac and X11 for those GPL is not suitable[...]

bullshit
Why should the GPL not be suitable for Windows ?

I'll stick to GTK+/Gnome

Re:GPL

[rmull]

It should probably read "for those for whom the GPL is not suitable."

Re:GPL

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, the second "sentence" is a fragment.

Re:GPL

[PhilHibbs]

They have released the full source to Qt on Linux under the GPL.

They have implemented a Windows graphics layer that allows Qt applications to run on Windows. They have not released this under the GPL, which is their right.

I wonder how much work would be involved in implementing a Windows graphics layer for Qt.

Re:GPL

[drgnvale]

They have implemented a Windows graphics layer

Actually, they implemented all of Qt for windows, and mac, and linux. Not just the graphics parts. The whole point of Qt is cross platform developement, not linux development. As for implementing Qt in windows, it makes sense that you could take the GPL'd unix version, and port it to windows. That port would also be under the GPL... and thus windows users would have a Qt without having to pay so much for the devel license. As for how much work, the code isn't bad at all. If you know your C++, and your win32, it shouldn't be that hard.

Re:GPL

[PhilHibbs]

Actually, they implemented all of Qt for windows, and mac, and linux. Not just the graphics parts.

Sure, I meant that the Windows graphics layer was not GPL'd.

Re:GPL

[drgnvale]

Sure, I meant that the Windows graphics layer was not GPL'd.

And I meant that none of Qt for windows, including the threading, the networking, the database, etc is GPL'd. My point is that you'd need to do more than port the graphics components over :-)

MacOSX Compile

[Dave9876]

I'm not too sure if it's going to happen to anyone else or it was just my bad luck. But if if bitches about not having a license when trying to compile it under OSX, try "touch LICENSE.GPL" before running "./configure".

Re:MacOSX Compile

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks! Seems to be building now. I had similar problems w/symlinking some shared libs when building the Qt/Mac stuff too.

Re:MacOSX Compile

[Anonymous Coward]

Why not use JavaScriptCore from the darwin web site? It's the KDE Javascript, used in Safari, Sherlock, and a couple other places in OS X land. And it's tested by Apple for integration.

scripting framework

[vinsci]

Why add just one scripting language, when you can get them all? If you're lucky enough ;-) to develop in Java, you'll be interested in the open source Bean Scripting Framework from IBM.

The Bean Scripting Framework (BSF) is an architecture for incorporating scripting into Java applications and applets. Scripting languages such as Netscape Rhino (Javascript), VBScript, Perl, Tcl, Python, NetRexx and Rexx are commonly used to augment an application's function or to script together a set of application components to form an application.

There are many scripting languages implemented in Java, including Netscape's Rhino implementation of ECMAScript, Jacl and JPython. While each of these is embeddable in Java and provides the ability to interact with Java from the language, using a specific scripting language binds an application to that single language.

The Java world currently does not have a well-defined scripting architecture that allows Java applications to incorporate scripting easily - BSF is such an architecture. The BSF architecture allows an application to be scripted from any BSF supported language, without any scripting language dependencies.

BSF supports both directions of scripting: in one case where the Java-side is in charge and runs/evaluates scripts at will, and in the other case the script runs and controls Java beans. Notice that while we use the word "bean", it is used loosely - BSF works with any Java object and not just a true bean.

Re:scripting framework

[baka_boy]

Most environment have one, if not several, options for adding "scripting hooks" to an application -- Apple's AEOSA/AppleScript, Microsoft's Windows Scripting Host, the GIMP's PDB, etc. That one should exist for Java is not really a surprise.

However, it would be nice to see someone develop a portable system of this sort, which could just be used as a common bit of infrastructure on any platform. PDB (procedural database), as used in the GIMP, probably has a good chance of being the most portable, as I think it's only significant dependencies are on glib, which runs on Linux, OS X, and Windows quite nicely.

Better than Mozilla/Spidermonkey Javascript?

[Anonymous Coward]

Spidermonkey's API is a royal pain to use - especially in a multithreaded program. Is Qt/Script easier to use? How about speed?

Dependant on Qt?

[TomorrowPlusX]

I would assume this is dependant on Qt, but I'm curious to what extent... right now I'm working on a system in which I use SWIG to bind python to c++ (and visa vera) on Mac OSX -- there's nothing wrong with the current system, but I'm eager to explore alternative mechanisms, for ... you know... time wasting and just-in-case paranoia.

If Qt Script can be made to be freestanding language binding system and interpreter, but with no GUI I'd be happy as a clam.

But, the info on the trolltech page was inadequate.

Does anybody know?

Re:Dependant on Qt?

[Anonymous Coward]

and is it threadsafe?

Re:Dependant on Qt?

[Anonymous Coward]

very interesting. I'm doing the same thing myself (python + swig + C++ on mac os x) and I'm currently having a ***** of a time getting things to link properly.

I'm trying to build everything dynamic, since the swig wrappers will be happier that way. I can manage to get stuff to build by hand, but it seems to static link all my C++ libraries into each python module - definatly what I don't want to happen.

May I ask if your code is available or if you have any good resources for getting things to build and play nicely in this environment?

(Posting anon because my home net connection died, so no email :/)

Re:Dependant on Qt?

[e8johan]

You can use it without prividing a Qt GUI, but you still need to use Qt as QSA uses the metadata provided by the Qt object model.

It's called BASH!

[leonbrooks]

Which runs on Linux, Mac OS X and MS-Windows (CygWin). And because it's such a sloppy language, it's eminently suited to MS-Windows.

My real favourite all-weather candidate is Ruby.

Harri Porten and the KJS Framework

[yerricde]

KJS author Harri Porten

Expect a lawsuit from Scholastic Inc., the publisher of the Harry Potter novels by J. K. Rowling.

more about Scholastic's recent legal activities