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Trolltech Releases First Qt 4 Technology Preview

Posted by CowboyNeal on from the time-for-a-test-drive dept.

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."

4 of 95 comments (clear)

  1. C++ by RAMMS+EIN · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Does Qt still use that layer of C++ compiler workaround cruft?

    I never understood why they went and wrote their framework in a language that had such sucky implementations. I think GTK had it right - develop it in a language that works, then provide (de-uglified) bindings for other languages. gtkmm is a very clean API, IMO.

    --
    Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
  2. The nail in the coffin release by Qwavel · · Score: 3, Interesting


    I am a C++ developer, and I recognize that KDE/Qt are better in most ways than Gnome/GTK+, but this release is not acceptable to me.

    Unfortunately, when TrollTech tries to find the right balance between it's own interests and those of its community, I think it tries to error on its side, but ends up hurting both itself and the community.

    Other frameworks are migrating towards the C++ standard, but Qt seems to be migrating away from it, ensuring a lack of interopability of code and skills.

    Other technologies are trying to open up to more languages, but TrollTech has decided that C++ (their own version of C++) is all that anyone needs. Even as a C++ developer, I recognize that this is a bad strategy.

    Other open-source projects are moving towards cross-platform (eg. AbiWord and Gnumeric will both be available for Windows soon), but TrollTech continues to keep 90+% of the market (ie. Windows) away from open-source Qt developers and their software.

    1. Re:The nail in the coffin release by jd10131 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I develop commercial software with Qt

      I do not see how Qt is "moving away from the C++ standard" Trolltech produces a library, standards conformance depends upon your compiler.

      Trolltech does not produce their own version of C++; but their library does provide some macros that may appear to change the language. (ie: the new foreach)

      You are free not to use these things, or you may use as much fancy-pants standard C++ as your compiler will let you get away with. I mix Qt and some pretty steep template metaprogramming code with (uh, relative) ease.

      Furthermore, there is are excellent bindings to python, if you'd like to write something in another language. http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/pyqt/

      Trolltech is a company that derives revenue from Qt. Without that revenue TT, and thus Qt, would not exist. I believe the reason for not releasing a regular GPL version for windows is the entrenched culture of piracy.

      There is a book available with a recent version of Qt included on CD. I am not aware of the license it is under, but I've heard the book is quite good.

  3. Qt Non-commercial version for Windows by SeanAhern · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I've been reading a lot of posts to this article which claim that there is no free version of Qt for Windows. If so, then what's this?

    I don't program on Windows, so I can't tell definitively, but that web page reads right. It sounds like there's a GPL version for Windows that lets you write non-commercial software without paying a dime to Trolltech. It's based on version 2.3, but it is Qt.

    If I'm wrong here, please educate me.