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Qt 5 Beta has been released

88 points by Tsiolkovsky 14y ago

nicholassmith 14y ago
Qt5 is taking the project in some interesting directions regarding the UI aspects. I think it'll be a good thing overall but it's certainly proving a bit contenious amongst people who're comfortable with QWidget and don't like the idea of JavaScript being a first class citizen. As long as it's as fast I'm happy.
- Shamanmuni 14y ago
  I think there's nothing to fear. The announcement states that in most cases you should be able to port your applications from Qt4 into Qt5 with little or no modifications. On the other hand, I was an skeptic in regards to QML at first, but after using it I fell in love with it. It's logical and very easy to learn, and having similarities with web development means expanding the availabilty of programmers and designers who can work immediately in your project. Great stuff.
  - freepipi 14y ago
    As c++ programmer,you have to use some(in most cases,a lot of) java script to accomplish your job, I guess that's why C++ programmers complain about it. JS should be an option, without it QML can works fine, but in the real situation C++ is optional. It is hard to keep the balance.
kombine 14y ago
I am hoping Qt will regain its status of a cross-platform toolkit of choice. Back in time it provided the solution for fragmented Desktop development. With Digia's involvement now it can solve the same problem but in mobile space. But even if this does not happen, there is still the whole field of desktop development which is not going away any time soon. Web is simply not capable enough to create truly big and complex applications.
- guilloche 14y ago
  Google native client is a promising tech for web to reach desktop performance. I developed a complex vector application (htp://www.torapp.info) and reached better performance than desktop equivalents.
  - kombine 14y ago
    I find it hard to believe, because even that it runs native code, there is a small penalty of a sandbox environment and it certainly cannot be faster than pure native code.
    - jj00nathan 14y ago
      Just because desktop always wins in theory doesn't mean that you can't exceed the performance of existing native clients. I'm sure Illustrator leaves a ton of performance on the table simply by virtue of having a large legacy codebase. For instance, if it becomes practical to assume that all of your clients support GPGPU then Illustrator's existing CPU optimized code instantly goes from being a critical advantage to a heavy burden: they have to maintain that code and write new GPU code that somehow fits with the old code whereas you just have to write the GPGPU code. Witness pixelmator curb-stomping Photoshop in the performance department. Of course, that example is Desktop App vs Desktop App but the principle is the same.
  - icefox 14y ago
    And of course there is a Qt for native client project: http://qt-project.org/wiki/Qt_for_Google_Native_Client http://qt-project.org/wiki/Qt_for_Google_Native_Client
  - icefox 14y ago
    Your url is missing a 't'
- tolos 14y ago
  I was fond of Qt when I used it, but no one I talk to -- a small sample size to be sure -- speaks highly of c++. I have a feeling that Qt will eventually go by the wayside as web browsers replace what it means to be "cross-platform compatible."

88 points by Tsiolkovsky 14y ago

Qt5 is taking the project in some interesting directions regarding the UI aspects. I think it'll be a good thing overall but it's certainly proving a bit contenious amongst people who're comfortable with QWidget and don't like the idea of JavaScript being a first class citizen. As long as it's as fast I'm happy.

Shamanmuni 14y ago
I think there's nothing to fear. The announcement states that in most cases you should be able to port your applications from Qt4 into Qt5 with little or no modifications. On the other hand, I was an skeptic in regards to QML at first, but after using it I fell in love with it. It's logical and very easy to learn, and having similarities with web development means expanding the availabilty of programmers and designers who can work immediately in your project. Great stuff.
- freepipi 14y ago
  As c++ programmer,you have to use some(in most cases,a lot of) java script to accomplish your job, I guess that's why C++ programmers complain about it. JS should be an option, without it QML can works fine, but in the real situation C++ is optional. It is hard to keep the balance.

kombine 14y ago

I am hoping Qt will regain its status of a cross-platform toolkit of choice. Back in time it provided the solution for fragmented Desktop development. With Digia's involvement now it can solve the same problem but in mobile space. But even if this does not happen, there is still the whole field of desktop development which is not going away any time soon. Web is simply not capable enough to create truly big and complex applications.

guilloche 14y ago
Google native client is a promising tech for web to reach desktop performance. I developed a complex vector application (htp://www.torapp.info) and reached better performance than desktop equivalents.
- kombine 14y ago
  I find it hard to believe, because even that it runs native code, there is a small penalty of a sandbox environment and it certainly cannot be faster than pure native code.
  - jj00nathan 14y ago
    Just because desktop always wins in theory doesn't mean that you can't exceed the performance of existing native clients. I'm sure Illustrator leaves a ton of performance on the table simply by virtue of having a large legacy codebase. For instance, if it becomes practical to assume that all of your clients support GPGPU then Illustrator's existing CPU optimized code instantly goes from being a critical advantage to a heavy burden: they have to maintain that code and write new GPU code that somehow fits with the old code whereas you just have to write the GPGPU code. Witness pixelmator curb-stomping Photoshop in the performance department. Of course, that example is Desktop App vs Desktop App but the principle is the same.
- icefox 14y ago
  And of course there is a Qt for native client project: http://qt-project.org/wiki/Qt_for_Google_Native_Client http://qt-project.org/wiki/Qt_for_Google_Native_Client
- icefox 14y ago
  Your url is missing a 't'
tolos 14y ago
I was fond of Qt when I used it, but no one I talk to -- a small sample size to be sure -- speaks highly of c++. I have a feeling that Qt will eventually go by the wayside as web browsers replace what it means to be "cross-platform compatible."