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

Understanding compilers

In this section, you will learn what a compiler is and how to use it for cross-platform development. A compiler is a piece of software that transforms your program into machine code or low-level instructions that can be read and executed by a computer. These low-level machine instructions vary from platform to platform. You can compile Qt applications with different compilers such as the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), or you can use a vendor-supplied one. In Qt Creator, you can find a compiler supported for a kit under the Kits tab, along with other essential tools for building an application on a particular platform such as Windows, Linux, or macOS. Not all supported compilers are provided with the Qt installer, but you can find the most widely used compilers automatically listed in the recommended kit. Qt may drop support for certain kit configurations or replace them with the latest version.

Currently, Qt supports the following compilers:

  • GCC
  • ...