User guide

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3.3.4. Qt

The qt package provides the Qt (pronounced "cute") cross-platform application development

framework used in the development of GUI programs. Aside from being a popular "widget toolkit", Qt

is also used for developing non-GUI programs such as console tools and servers. Qt was used in the

development of notable projects such as Google Earth, KDE, Opera, OPIE, VoxOx, Skype, VLC media

player and VirtualBox. It is produced by Nokia's Qt Development Frameworks division, which came

into being after Nokia's acquisition of the Norwegian company Trolltech, the original producer of Qt, on

June 17, 2008.

Qt uses standard C++ but makes extensive use of a special pre-processor called the Meta Object

Compiler (MOC) to enrich the language. Qt can also be used in other programming languages via

language bindings. It runs on all major platforms and has extensive internationalization support. Non-

GUI Qt features include SQL database access, XML parsing, thread management, network support,

and a unified cross-platform API for file handling.

Distributed under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public License (among others), Qt is free

and open source software. The Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 version of Qt supports a wide range of

compilers, including the GCC C++ compiler and the Visual Studio suite.

3.3.4.1. Qt Updates

Some of the improvements the Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 version of Qt include:

• Advanced user experience

• Advanced Graphics Effects:options for opacity, drop-shadows, blur, colorization, and other

similar effects

• Animation and State Machine:create simple or complex animations without the hassle of

managing complex code

• Gesture and multi-touch support

• Support for new platforms

• Windows 7, Mac OSX 10.6, and other desktop platforms are now supported

• Added support for mobile development; Qt is optimized for the upcoming Maemo 6 platform,

and will soon be ported to Maemo 5. In addition, Qt now supports the Symbian platform, with

integration for the S60 framework.

• Added support for Real-Time Operating Systems such as QNX and VxWorks

• Improved performance, featuring added support for hardware-accelerated rendering (along with

other rendering updates)

• Updated cross-platform IDE

For more details on updates to Qt included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, refer to the following links:

• http://doc.qt.nokia.com/4.6/qt4-6-intro.html

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