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QT 4.5 Released, Plus New IDE and Analysis Tool
stoolpigeon writes "QT 4.5 has arrived and is now available for download. This new release is quite significant due to licensing changes that now make it simpler to use QT in a wider range of products without cost as well as a number of new features. The latest version of Webkit is now integrated into the product. Qt 4.5 sees the introduction of QtBenchLib, a new component to make measuring the performance of the toolkit and checking for regressions easier. Mac developers who use Qt will note a major reworking of 4.5 on the Mac, now providing 64-bit support. QT Creator is a new IDE that looks to have combined a number of previously separate tools. And there is much more."
Qt is the most sensible C++ library I've ever used. And its sensibility reaches from string handling to the build process.
It allows you to untangle the mess that raw C++ is, and actually use the power.
This is great. I was a GTK+ advocate back in '05. I recently changed over to QT4 (this past weekend infact) and I kept saying to myself "This really needs a good IDE, something like VS".. and here it is. This saves me having to use Eclipse (which I can't stand). woot!
I dont get it, how do you port native code to the web? does it compile to some kind of html+js? or is it just using web stuff directly in the widgets of a native app?
PyQt and several other Qt-bindings are community maintained, and I think there are more Java users in the world than the Python users. I could be wrong though, or the Java users could all be corporate slaves and not interested in free software development. Still I would put my money on Jambi surviving.
It's a very small niche. I suspect the reason for the 'community-driven' spin-off is that Jambi has received a lukewarm response from commercial developers (who, until now, haven't had the benefit of LGPL).
Java has an extensive range of established frameworks and for UI toolkits Swing and SWT. I, and evidently Nokia, can't see the business case for adopting Jambi. Ignoring the technical details, it's much easier to assemble a team of experienced Swing developers.
I'm a Java developer by trade. If a project I worked on made the decision to use a Qt based frontend, I'd be inclined to back the mature C++ version (rather than an unsupported side-project), while using Java EE on the server as necessary.
Beware the Java-Cocoa experiment on OS X. Sorry to spread FUD but I think the community project will be limited to hobbyists only.
Qt is now Cocoa, that is how they added 64bit support. They already had plans for Cocoa but Apple's move as ''If you want 64bit GUI, you need Cocoa'' made them move faster. That is how Apple pushes developers I guess.
It is huge news for OS X, both Developers and Users. Imagine Cocoa Opera, Google Earth, Skype etc. and even the entire KDE 4.
While there was a lot of FUD against Carbon I don't agree, I guess a Cocoa based Qt will end a lot of bad feedback about Qt based apps on OS X, especially text rendering? I think Opera will be the obvious application we would see changes once they adopt it. Hopefully they will move as early as version 10 (which is in alpha now). I was blaming CmdrTaco upgraded to Web 2.0 ;) but it seems Opera spends a lot of CPU time in text rendering, not Javascript.
If a real developer enlightened us about what would change when Carbon to Cocoa transition happens, it would be better of course.