Book Image

Cross-Platform Development with Qt 6 and Modern C++

By : Nibedit Dey
Book Image

Cross-Platform Development with Qt 6 and Modern C++

By: Nibedit Dey

Overview of this book

Qt is a cross-platform application development framework widely used for developing applications that can run on a wide range of hardware platforms with little to no change in the underlying codebase. If you have basic knowledge of C++ and want to build desktop or mobile applications with a modern graphical user interface (GUI), Qt is the right choice for you. Cross-Platform Development with Qt 6 and Modern C++ helps you understand why Qt is one of the favorite GUI frameworks adopted by industries worldwide, covering the essentials of programming GUI apps across a multitude of platforms using the standard C++17 and Qt 6 features. Starting with the fundamentals of the Qt framework, including the features offered by Qt Creator, this practical guide will show you how to create classic user interfaces using Qt Widgets and touch-friendly user interfaces using Qt Quick. As you advance, you'll explore the Qt Creator IDE for developing applications for multiple desktops as well as for embedded and mobile platforms. You will also learn advanced concepts about signals and slots. Finally, the book takes you through debugging and testing your app with Qt Creator IDE. By the end of this book, you'll be able to build cross-platform applications with a modern GUI along with the speed and power of native apps.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)
1
Section 1: The Basics
6
Section 2: Cross-Platform Development
8
Section 3: Advanced Programming, Debugging, and Deployment

Designing a UI with Qt Quick Designer

In this section, you will learn how to use Qt Quick Designer to design your UI. Similar to the .ui file in Qt Widgets, you can also create a UI file in QML. The file has a .ui.qml file extension. There are two types of QML file: one with a .qml extension and another with a .ui.qml extension. The QML engine treats it as a standard .qml file, but it prohibits the logical implementation inside it. It creates a reusable UI definition for multiple .qml files. Through the separation of UI definition and logical implementation, it enhances the maintainability of QML code.

Let's get familiar with Qt Quick Designer's interface before we start learning how to design our own UI. The following screenshot shows different sections of Qt Quick Designer. We will gradually learn about these sections while designing our UI:

Figure 4.11 – Sections of Qt Quick Designer's UI

Qt Quick Designer's UI consists of the...