Qt development
Qt is one of the best Graphical User Interface (GUI) development framework for connected and embedded devices. Qt excels with its cross-platform compatibility, native performance, and suitability for UI development on embedded systems and Linux, as well as other platforms. It also speeds up non-UI development with its extensive modules. Built in C++, Qt technology allows for customization and benefits from an event-driven programming model.
With an official and non-commercial partnership and over 50 projects under our belt, our engineering team have proven to be experts in applicative developments using the Qt’s framework.
What is Qt framework?
Qt is an application development framework mostly known for enabling the creation state of the art GUI. While true, the Qt framework offers way more than a neat way to implement your application design.
The Qt framework is maintained by The Qt Group and the Qt Project under open-source governance. It is available under both commercial license by The Qt Company and open-source licenses, including the Qt version GPL 2.0, GPL 3.0, and LGPL 3.0.
The Qt framework is highly compatible with operating systems and has been used for years in several industrial and heavily controlled fields such as the automotive (Digital dashboards and media center) as well as the medical field.
The Qt framework is maintained by The Qt Group and the Qt Project under open-source governance. It is available under both commercial license by The Qt Company and open-source licenses, including the Qt version GPL 2.0, GPL 3.0, and LGPL 3.0.
The Qt framework is highly compatible with operating systems and has been used for years in several industrial and heavily controlled fields such as the automotive (Digital dashboards and media center) as well as the medical field.
The main challenges of custom Qt developments
User experience
Getting the right look and feel to your GUI using Qt helps facilitate free-flowing interaction and reliability. Our user-centric approach and team of experienced engineers use all development tools available to craft the perfect GUI for your device.
Consistency
Disregarding cross-platform consistency may result in disjointed user experiences, confusion, and reduced user trust, as users encounter varying interfaces across different platforms.
technical stack
Let’s be honest: C++ is a powerful tool, however it’s way too complex compared to what it should be. Qt’s framework aleviates part of this burden, however it’s a consideration to keep in mind. In Witekio, our applicative team is breathing C++, which allows us to write, coach and even patch Qt’s framework if/when needed.
Key elements to consider for your Qt development
Software development methodology
- What does an ideal Qt team looks like
- Short iterations & user tests
Software integration
- Cross-platform compatibility
- Legacy system integration
- Migration from MCU to MPU or vice versa
SUCCESS STORY
Developing Evoca Coffee Machines user interface with Qt
Evoca Group is a global leader in manufacturing specialized food and beverage vending machines. To maintain its market leadership, Evoca enlisted Witekio to develop a robust, modular software architecture for their next-generation coffee machines, focusing on code reuse to streamline development. This Qt project involved:
- Designing a durable and maintainable software platform intended to last at least 20 years.
- Creating an intuitive interface with a user-friendly 10’’ HD touch screen using Qt, structured as a set of libraries for easy integration into future Evoca products.
- Training Evoca’s internal team in C++ and Qt software development.
What are the core features of Qt development framework?
Cross-Platform Compatibility
Qt facilitates the development of cross platform applications that need to run on major desktop, mobile, and embedded platforms using a single codebase. This ensures consistent performance and user experience across Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. The framework provides native interface for each platform, reducing the need for platform-specific customization. Developers can save significant development time and resources by maintaining one codebase for multiple targets and fewer feedback loops. This capability enhances the scalability and reach of applications developed with Qt. It’s also a way of lessen the impact of the future on your product ; if a shortage on a specific hardware happens, you can have your solution ready for another target sooner and cheaper.
C++ and Other Languages Support
Qt supports C++ compilers like GCC, Clang, and Microsoft Visual C++, providing a robust foundation for high-performance applications. It also offers language bindings for other programming languages such as Python through PyQt, PHP via PHP-Qt and more recently Rust, allowing for greater flexibility in development. This multi-language support enables developers to leverage existing skills and integrate Qt into diverse projects. The seamless integration with these languages expands the potential use cases and application areas for Qt. It ensures that developers can choose the best tool for their specific needs while using Qt’s powerful features.
Rapid Development with Qt Quick
The Qt Quick module provides QML, a declarative scripting language designed for the rapid development of dynamic user interfaces, that supports javascript functions. The QML-file simplifies the creation and integration of UI components, enabling swift iteration and prototyping. Developers can enhance QML-Code with JavaScript-Code to build complex, interactive applications with minimal code. Qt Quick’s powerful visual and animation capabilities make it ideal for developing a modern, responsive and user friendly interface with QML-Code. The Qt Module accelerates the development process, reducing time-to-market for new applications with Qt Quick.
Comprehensive Modules
Qt offers an extensive collection of modules that cover a wide range of functionalities, essential for building complete applications like Qt Widgets, Qt Webchannel, Qt Charts or QT test classes for unit testing QT applications. It includes libraries for Qt-SQL database access, ensuring robust data management capabilities. The framework of Qt supports XML and JSON parsing, facilitating seamless data exchange and integration. Thread management and network support libraries enhance the performance and connectivity of applications. These comprehensive libraries provide the building blocks for developing feature-rich, high-performance software solutions with Qt.
Why use Qt for your embedded projects? Main benefits
Cross-platform framework
Qt software enables the creation of efficient and engaging graphical user interfaces across different devices and platforms using a unified codebase, ensuring a consistent user experience on Windows, Mac, Linux, and mobile devices.
Built-in internationalization
Unlike other frameworks, internationalization and localization work is handled by Qt Linguist. This set of tools allows the developer to tag words in the UI and then rapidly localize within the Qt framework. Non-Latin alphabets and RTL scripts are handled with simple plugins.
Community support
The extensive Qt developer community provides substantial support, aiding in troubleshooting and leveraging graphical libraries, thus speeding up development.
Rich graphical librairies
Developers can utilize an array of pre-built frames, widgets, and other elements, which facilitate faster and more efficient Qt developments.
Qt development tools
Qt creator
Qt Creator is a robust cross-platform-software integrated development environment (IDE) tailored for C++ and QML development. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools to streamline the coding, debugging, and testing processes. With intelligent code completion, syntax highlighting, and integrated version control, it enhances productivity and code quality. Qt Creator supports rapid prototyping and seamless project management. Its intuitive interface and extensive documentation make it an ideal choice for developers of all levels. If our project contains QML it’s our go to IDE, as you’ll have access the QML profiling and debugging tools. If you are using the Qt framework on a software solution without the Qt Quick libraries other modern IDEs might be a better choice.
CMake
QMake was an essential build automation tool that simplifies the generation of Makefiles, aiding in the streamlined compilation of Qt 5 applications. By automatically handling dependencies and platform-specific build rules, qmake reduces the complexity of managing project builds. It supports a wide range of platforms and configurations, making it versatile for different development environments. The Qt Group has now stopped further development on the tools in the profit of the most widely used system CMake. Witekio’s team still has the knowledge on QMake if you need help maintaining or porting your application to CMake.
Additional Tools: Qt Assistant, Qt Linguist, uic, and moc
Qt Assistant is a comprehensive documentation browser that provides easy access to Qt’s extensive documentation, aiding developers in finding the information they need quickly. Qt Linguist is a powerful tool for translating Qt applications, streamlining the localization process for multilingual software. The User Interface Compiler (uic) translates XML-based UI definitions into C++ code, facilitating the integration of designed interfaces into applications. The Meta-Object Compiler (moc) processes Qt’s C++ extensions, enabling features like signals and slots, dynamic properties, and introspection, enhancing the capabilities of an Qt application. These additional tools collectively support efficient development and internationalization.
more about Qt development ramework
What are Qt development framework limitations?
Despite its numerous advantages, Qt can result in a degree of platform and vendor lock-in, which might be less desirable compared to more portable solution like pure C++. However, the benefits often outweigh this concern.
What industries use Qt development framework?
Qt is utilized across more than 70 industries for developing desktop, embedded, and mobile graphical user interfaces.
Qt licensing model
Qt is available under GPL 2.0, GPL 3.0, LGPL 3.0, LGPL 2.1, and the commercial license from the Qt Company, catering to various software development needs.
Witekio can support your Qt development projects
Qt stands out as a premier framework for cross-platform GUI development, offering extensive features, community support, and robust tools. With the right practices and expertise, Qt developers can leverage Qt to create engaging and efficient applications across various platforms. That’s what we’ve been doing for the last 20+ years at Witekio.
Witekio extensive experience in low-level and embedded software development engineering means our teams are experts in Qt GUI development. Our deep practical knowledge of Qt, and the creative design skills of our team, are proven through:
Witekio extensive experience in low-level and embedded software development engineering means our teams are experts in Qt GUI development. Our deep practical knowledge of Qt, and the creative design skills of our team, are proven through:
- 50+ successful projects delivered for a variety of industries using Qt
- 10+ years of official partnership, including joint projects and demonstrations
- A host of collaborative work – educating and engaging the developer community
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