Download Qt 4.5.0

Qt is an open source and cross-platform framework for applications and their interface. This allows applications to be developed that then run without modification on various desktop and embedded systems. The developers of Qt Software, the name Nokia gave to this division after the acquisition of Trolltech, released version 4.5.0 of Qt a few days ago. For more information about this new edition, please refer to this page. The corresponding announcement looks like this:

Nokia announced today the availability of version 4.5 of the Qt cross-platform application and UI framework. It also introduced Qt Creator, a new lightweight cross-platform Integrated Development Environment (IDE), Qt 4.5 and Qt Creator combined comprises the Qt SDK, an easy to install package that will let application developers to create applications quickly and easily.

“Qt 4.5 is setting the benchmark for application development,” said Benoit Schillings, Chief Technologist, Qt Software, Nokia. “With the performance improvements in Qt, the introduction of Qt Creator, and the release of the Qt SDK, developers looking for a native or a hybrid native/web application framework now have the power and flexibility they need.”

The release of Qt 4.5 also marks an important milestone for the open source community. For the first time Qt will include the LGPL licensing option to go along with the Commercial License and GPL licensing options currently available. By adding the LGPL license for Qt, developers can now add their proprietary applications on top of Qt without paying a licensing fee.

In addition to the new product releases and licensing changes, Qt Software is also introducing a new flexible technical support package for LGPL and GPL license users. Developers using these licenses will now be able to purchase technical support from Qt Software.

Qt 4.5:

Qt 4.5 includes several new features, but sees the greatest improvement via a concerted effort to increase performance across the entire framework. Significant performance enhancements were made to the graphics system, data handling, and the web engine. These improvements result in an appreciable performance increase in Qt-based applications.

Qt 4.5 also improves integration with the WebKit web rendering engine which will blend web and native content into a richer user experience. This includes:

• Netscape Plugin API support; allowing Qt applications to load Flash (such as the YouTube player)
• More advanced web UI effects, including animations, transformations and zooming
• New JavaScript engine for better performance

Qt 4.5 has also been ported to Apple’s Cocoa framework. Previously Qt supported only the Carbon framework, but with Qt 4.5, Qt can now support both. This means developers can create applications that support 32 or 64 bit, Intel or PowerPC Mac binaries from a single source.