QT, Anyone?

[bobtcowboy]

I've been wondering lately... anyone ever messed with QT? What exactly is it? It's not a "programming language" right? Is it an API, then? :confused:

Any insight?

Bill

[jemfinch]

QT is a graphical toolkit akin to GTK+ or Tk or Xt or any of the various other toolkits. It's written in (and for) C++, but has bindings for other languages, of which I know one: Python.

Jeremy

[bobtcowboy]

Originally posted by jemfinch:
QT is a graphical toolkit akin to GTK+ or Tk or Xt or any of the various other toolkits.


Forgive my density, but could you elaborate a little more? what exactly does one do with a toolkit? is it just for designing the frontend of a program?


It's written in (and for) C++, but has bindings for other languages, of which I know one: Python.


Does this mean you'd have to know C++ (or one of these other languages) to be able to use it? Or hmm... Does this mean that you write the program in C++ (or whatever?) but while writing it, you would add in the QT methods, functions (?) to have the program take on the graphical part?

Is there any particular development kit you'd reccommend for developing in QT? KDevelop, prolly? Hmm... going to have to do some research..

Thanks for the help! :)

Bill

[Ben Briggs]

A GUI toolkit is a set of objects (not programming objects :)) that are used for GUI Programming. Things suchas the actual GUI frame that you see, buttons, menus, etc. You do have to use the languages that support it (C++ or Python for example) because It's not a language. Think of it more as a module/header file(s)... they aren't programming languages, but they do things that are specific to that module/header file (in all correctness, it's a library, but you access the library through modules/header files).

I'm not familiar with any GUI toolkits, but I know kmj wrote a Tkinter (Tk (a toolkit) for Python) example over at CCAE (http://www.codeexamples.org). I don't really checkout any other languages besides Python, but there might be GUI examples in other languages too.

[ 08 June 2001: Message edited by: Ben Briggs ]

[bobtcowboy]

Originally posted by Ben Briggs:
<STRONG>Things suchas the actual GUI frame that you see, buttons, menus, etc. You do have to use the languages that support it (C++ or Python for example) because It's not a language.</STRONG>

So its sorta like using VB but you can use languages other than Basci to do the actual coding in... cool. dammit, that means I gotta teach myself C++ then.... ;)

Bill

[Ben Briggs]

Originally posted by bobtcowboy:
<STRONG>that means I gotta teach myself C++ then.... ;)</STRONG>

Why learn C++ when you can learn Python? Python is easy, yet powerful. Read through the free tutorial on Python.org (http://www.python.org). It's a good tut, and you don't have to spend $40 on a C++ book.

[Strike]

Originally posted by Ben Briggs:
<STRONG>A GUI toolkit is a set of objects (not programming objects :))</STRONG>
Actually, in QT's case it is a set of programming objects, is it not? :p

[Ben Briggs]

Originally posted by Strike:
<STRONG>Actually, in QT's case it is a set of programming objects, is it not? :p</STRONG>

I would say no, because it's classes and you create the objects :p :p

[ 08 June 2001: Message edited by: Ben Briggs ]

[Stuka]

May the programming gods strike you down for comparing any real programming language to VB! :D j/k. Seriously though, a GUI toolkit is, in more basic programming language, a class library - a set of classes that usually act as wrappers to lower level (system/window manager/etc.) calls and make writing GUI programs easier. They're still (relatively) complex, as the whole event-driven model of user interface is rather complex, but it ain't too bad!