| Qt release supports Windows CE targets |
Feb. 25, 2008
 Trolltech has started shipping a preview version of Qt that supports Windows CE as a build target. The Qt toolkit allows desktop applications built on Qt to be recompiled for Windows CE with minimal changes, according to the company.
Qt is an application development framework intended to let developers compile binaries for various platforms -- Windows, Mac, Linux, and now Windows CE -- from a single C++ code base. Its API (application programming interface) comprises some 400 C++ class libraries, and is consistent across all supported platforms, Trolltech says.
The new Qt preview release for Windows CE supports Windows CE 5.0 and 6.0, and Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0. Previously released versions of Qt run on Windows desktops ("Qt/Windows"), OS X ("Qt/Mac"), Java ("QT/Jambi"), desktop Linux ("Qt/X11"), and embedded Linux ("Qtopia").
Qt's text editor running on Windows Mobile
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Qt's Tetrix application in Windows Mobile's landscape mode
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According to Trolltech CTO Benoit Schillings, applications developed using any of these Qt versions can now be moved to Windows CE or Mobile, where they will look and act like native applications. Some well-known Qt-based applications include Skype, Google Earth, and the Opera web browser. Commercial application vendors, rather than enterprise developers, are the main customer base for Qt, he said.
When statically linked and stripped of unused functions, the typical Qt overhead in terms of footprint is about 10MB, Schillings suggested. Dynamic linking is also supported, on systems with multiple Qt applications. Developers wishing to access Windows Mobile-specific features, such as USB ports or telephony, may do so directly, bypassing Qt.
Trolltech says Qt for Windows CE includes the following features:- Complete port of relevant modules in the Qt API, including QtCore, QtGUI, QtNetwork, QtSQL, QtSVG, QtScript, QtXML, and Active Qt
- Qt development tools, including Qt Designer, Qt Linguist, and Qt Assistant
- qmake, extended to create Visual Studio Project Files (.vcproj), "simplifying deployment to Windows CE embedded devices and emulators"
- Complete Qt for Windows CE source code, released under a dual-license model, one of which is the GNU GPL (General Public License)
- Documentation, demos, and examples
The company released an initial technology preview of Qt for Windows CE in October 2007, when it was based on Qt 4.3. The current "technical preview" is based on Qt 4.4, and adds the following, according to a blog posting by Espen Riskedal, Trolltech's team lead for the company's Qt for Windows CE development project:- All examples and demos now compile and run for Windows CE
- The OpenGL module now supports OpenGL ES on Windows CE
- Added support for QtConcurrent and QtXmlPatterns
- Visual Studio integration now supports Qt for Windows CE
- Bug fixes and other improvements
The screenshot below shows a Qt application that has been designed in Qt Designer, embedded in Visual Studio 2005, and then compiled and run on a Windows Mobile 5.0 emulator. When released in May, Qt for Windows CE will also support Visual Studio 2008, according to Trolltech.
Qt for Windows CE features Visual Studio integration
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In order to save space on devices, Qt for Windows CE implements a Qfeatures system, allowing developers to configure which classes should be built inside the separate Qt modules, Riskedal says. As for networking, Qt for Windows CE implements asynchronous functionality that Windows CE lacks natively, he added.
Qt vs. Qtopia
In today's announcement, Trolltech officials positioned Qt for Windows CE as being merely a vehicle for creating cross-platform applications. In contrast, the version of Qt that targets Linux devices -- known as "Qtopia" -- has become much more, serving as the basis for Linux-based "feature phones" and VoIP phones.
Based on Qt and previously known as Qt/Embedded, Qtopia Core is a comprehensive standalone application framework that includes a windowing environment, user interface components, font system, and support for 3D graphics. Targeting "single-purpose devices powered by embedded Linux," it has been used for Motorola's Linux-based phones and a host of other devices.
A further integrated version of Qtopia, also currently offered exclusively for Linux-based devices, is the Qtopia Phone Edition. This builds on Qtopia Platform, adding communications features and applications specifically required by mobile phones and VoIP phones.
CEO Haavard Nord told WindowsForDevices in October 2007 that the initial thrust of the port of Qt to Windows CE is the enablement of multi-platform applications that run equally well on Windows and Windows CE/Mobile, as opposed to developing a mobile phone software platform. This was reiterated today by CTO Schillings, who said "the goal for us is to help technology get deployed across platforms, not to replicate something that Microsoft is already doing."
Trolltech's strategy contrasts with that of Intrinsyc, which has developed and is currently marketing a mobile phone stack for Windows CE, known as Soleus.
Availability
Pre-release downloads of Qt 4.4 are available on Trolltech's website, here. A link for the latest technical preview of Qt for Windows CE had not been provided at the time of writing, but more information should be available from the company's website, here. Additionally, a five-minute "screencast" demo may yet be available here.
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