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Trolltech Releases First Qt 4 Technology Preview
An anonymous reader writes "Trolltech has announced the availability of the first Qt 4 Technical Preview. Qt 4, the next major release of the popular cross-platform C++ application framework which KDE is based on, is scheduled for final release in late Q1, 2005. Download mirrors here, here and here."
I just wish I could use it when developing cross-platform GPL-programs. :(
Your wish is trolltechs command.
Your wish is trolltechs command.
Well, no it's not. There is no free edition of Qt for Windows. If you want to develop a program that will run on Windows, you'll need to buy it.
If you can't do Windows, it kind of throws out the whole crossplatform thing.
IT'S FREE!
It's only not free if you intend to create non-free programs with it.
It's not free for the Windows version, even if you want to create a free program that will run on Windows, which is why the original poster said crossplatform.
I seem to remember seeing notes from a KDE conference where there was a presentation about Qt4, and KDE plan was to make the next major release use it. I think I misunderstood or KDE plans have changed, since they released 3.3 beta1 with a very ambitious release schedule. Perhaps the plan is to get 3.3 out with some good features and fixes, before the massive turmoil of moving Qt3->Qt4 begins for KDE 4... But AINA KDE Developer
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I guess you could compile the X11 version to run under Cygwin/X11. But I'm not sure that counts as "cross platform"...
You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
You really can't compare Qt with GTK because Qt is more like a development platform/framework than a just a GUI-library. WxWidgets is much closer to Qt than GTK will ever be (and it uses GTK for GUI-drawing on X11), but Wx is nowhere as mature as Qt at this point.
:P
I started to use Wx for an application I'm working on, but it was impossible to even get a decent looking TreeView/CList with checkboxes which resizes in a sane way. After much frustration with Wx I switched to plain GTK in which I could great a GUI the way I wanted to, but now instead I have to look for external libraries for everything like sound playback, database connectivity, networking support, regexps, and much much more. It's like hell to support on several platforms.
If Qt-Free was avaiable on Windows I could stick to Qt-conventions and support the application on all platforms with just a simple recompile.
My other account has a 3-digit UID.
Firstly, under a commercial license (which is ~$1000)
Secondly, under the GPL for non-commercial usage only
However, QT for Windows is not released under the second license, meaning that if you want to develop with QT and the Windows platform - even if you are a non-commercial entity - you must purchase a commercial license (or manage to persuade the nice folk at TT to grant you a license, as a few open source projects have managed to do).
I feel this limits the target market... as one of the reasons to even begin coding in QT (other than the WONDERFUL documentation :p), is the promise of cross platform availibility. I have heard it is possible to compile under win32 platform with cygwin and mingw - but I cannot confirm this
Anyway, as I develop primarily for *nix platforms, this is not a big issue for me, but I would like to see QT opened up for the windows platform. That way I'm not limited in the future if I decide to work with another platform.
KDE 4.0 will be based on QT 4.
:)
Now there's 3.3 point release before that
I've been using wxWidgets for quite a while. I must admit that it took a little getting used to, but I don't think the parent post does wx justice. Sure wx isn't as mature as Qt, but it is Open Source (which /. ers should like), it can be used in commercial apps (which people that like selling software should like), and the guys working on it put in a ton of time making a great library. The differences between wx 2.4.2 and 2.5.2 are quite impressive, and their current MacOS guy seems to be making an effort to bring wxMac along by leaps and bounds.
Resizing isn't as tough as you think, look into wxSizer objects. If you want a more robust basic tree control, take a look at wxTreeMultiCtrl, or sub-class wxTreeCtrl and make your own. It's the beauty of the system. I've used tree controls in several applications without such pains.
It's always a bit of a trip learning a new GUI toolkit, but the sheer volume of great tools included in wxWidgets overshadows any pitfalls found right now.
Just MHO.
- Sighuh?
This does not seem to have been posted yet...
I've you really want to have GLP'd QT on Win32 help out here...
Otherwise stop moaning about it.
GTK+/Win looks fine nowadays, especially with the native skin. I know lots of people that happily use Gaim without knowing it's in a different toolkit.
Qt Non-commercial for Windows is based on ancient Qt 2.3.
Qt Non-commercial for Windows requires Microsoft Visual Studio 6, which is priced out of my league. Most hobbyists on Windows would prefer something that works with MinGW, a port of GCC to Windows, and Dev-C++, an IDE around MinGW.
Qt Non-commercial for Windows is not published as source code and is thus incompatible with libraries published under the GNU General Public License.
Qt Non-commercial for Windows is not compatible with selling copies of the program, even at cost: "A non-commercial setting means that you must not use the package in the course of your employment or whilst engaged in activities that will be compensated. A non-commercial application is an application that cannot be sold, leased, rented or otherwise distributed for recompense."
There is a non-commercial 3.1.2 version, but it's only available with the new Qt book (forget the title). It's much better than the 2.3 NC version. Besides being newer, it also supports many more compilers (and even comes with an older BCC).
Unfortunately, as you can see by those verions, it limits you to certain versions. How long after 4.0 is released until a NC version is available somewhere? For some people this is an insurmountable problem. For others, like me, it's merely an annoyance because Unix/Linux is my primary target platform.
Don't blame me, I didn't vote for either of them!
While not completely free, a book written by two trolls is available here and sold through Amazon.com for $31.49. That book includes a non-commercial version of Qt 3.2 for Windows.
While not completely free, a book written by two trolls is available here and sold through Amazon.com for $31.49. That book includes a non-commercial version of Qt 3.2 for Windows.
Bite the bullet and buy the book. Or consider it $32 for the license and get a free book...
Trolltech had container classes before C++ was standard. Recently, Trolltech have built in a substantial amount of STL compatibility to their classes. They're not moving away from the standard at all. BTW, the python bindings for Qt are very nice.