What is Qt cross-platform Software Development?

Briefly about Qt

Qt is a cross-platform mobile, desktop, and embedded application development framework written in C++. Qt supports Linux, OS X, Windows, Android, iOS, BlackBerry,  and many other platforms.

The Qt framework was created in 1990 by Norwegian programmers Eirik Chambe-Eng and Haavard Nord.

At the moment, Qt is being developed by The Qt Project alliance, which adheres to a meritocratic management model and attracts all interested companies and individuals to the framework development process.

Wikipedia says that in 2017 the Qt community had about 1 million developers.

All of them can contribute to the Qt project by reporting bugs, writing framework documentation such as tutorials and manuals, or participating in forum discussions.

Qt instruments

The Qt’s own set of tools allows developers to create software applications with ease and convenience.

Qt Creator IDE runs on numerous operating systems and has an advanced code editor that allows developers to create software in C++, QML, JavaScript, Python, and other languages.

This editor offers code completion, syntax highlighting, refactoring, and easy access to built-in documentation.

By using the fast Qt compiler and compiling your code to native machine code, you reduce startup time and increase UI performance while protecting your source code.

CMake or qmake cross-compiling and creating files for creating and maintaining projects makes Qt Creator a handy tool for project management.

It’s not a problem if you don’t have access to the target device. One can test and debug applications with a Qt device emulator just as well as on target equipment.

The advantages of Qt Creator IDE also include a helpful class overview, the possibility to choose FakeVim (if you are used to Vim), a nice interface for GNU Debugger, a custom appearance, and many, many other features.

The built-in GUI tool called Qt Designer generates code for widget-based GUI software interactively.

The Qt Quick library can simplify GUI development using the QML language.

Qt Design Studio, Qt Creator’s lite version, has 2D/3D tools for creating UIs and enables developers and designers to work in the same framework, ensuring coherence and efficiency.

Where is Qt development used?

Qt software development is successfully applied for multi-platform projects. These can be mobile and desktop apps for Android, iOS, Windows, and Linux.

Qt is great for IoT and embedded systems development. C++ software created with Qt is very reliable and durable, which is especially important for smart devices.

We should also highlight Qt development for automotive HMI solutions.

Automotive giants such as Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, Citroen, DS, Opel, and Peugeot use cross-platform Qt applications with outstanding GUIs for their consoles.

The Qt framework and its QML language allow engineers to create great HMI applications with rich graphical support.

QML supports GUIs’ smooth transformation to HMI. Elements written in QML can be integrated with JavaScript or C++ logic.

QML reduces software development and testing time, giving an advantage in terms of time to market.

At the same time, you need to think about the processor performance since Qt HMI software requires a powerful enough microprocessor for fast graphic processing.

The Qt framework is actively used to create various mobile applications for smartphones and tablets based on iOS and Android.

Using Qt, developers create custom applications that can be ported to any mobile OS with little or no changes.

The wide range of Qt framework tools for cross-platform development of embedded, desktop, and mobile applications makes it in demand among millions of developers.

Integra Sources takes full advantage of Qt as a qt software development company supported by numerous embedded, desktop, and mobile operating systems.