Cross-platform app development or Why should I choose Qt?

Qt framework is a cross-platform framework, written in C++, designed for developing applications for desktop and mobile devices, as well as embedded systems. Qt combines a cross-platform software development application, a graphical user interface (GUI) framework, and a toolkit for developing apps using C++ standards.

This object-oriented cross-platform framework comes with Qt Creator, an IDE that runs on Linux, Android, Windows, macOS, and other systems. It provides developers with all the functionality required to build cross-platform software.

Considering the fact that Qt uses C++, it is entirely object-oriented and supports extensible and true component programming. GUIs can be written directly in C++ using its Widgets module, as it comes with Qt Designer — an interactive graphical tool integrated into Qt Creator.

Qt QML is a specific declarative language — Qt Meta Language, or Qt Modeling Language. It is used to create cross-platform libraries and applications. Qt QML provides both QML and C++ APIs, which enables app developers to integrate QML code with JavaScript and C++.

There’s no ultimate list of all-purpose pros and cons of a technology: what may be a drawback for one project, is a crucial benefit for another. That’s why we have a totality of languages and frameworks to choose from, which is a blessing and a curse.

There’s no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ framework, as each of them was made for a specific purpose. The technology can be ‘suitable’ or ‘not suitable’. Choosing a framework that is not quite suitable for the project requirements can result in additional costs for re-developing, implementation issues, time losses, etc. The technology choice is kind of crucial here, that’s why we’d like to elaborate on it.

Each programming language has its own structure, methods, and tools, and the software also has its structure, or application logic. Ideally, the basic framework structure should overlap the basic project structure or logic as much as possible. Then we can say that the choice is good. If there are a lot of missing components and inconsistencies, the engineers will need to take additional steps to put everything together.

In other words, you can choose almost any technology for any project, but if the technology wasn’t meant to be used for projects like yours, you will need more third-party components to complete it. Choosing the suitable technology saves a lot of time and effort, as it has more necessary features out-of-the-box so the engineers can just start building the software right away.

The reasons to choose Qt as a leading technology should be based on the project goals. The goals are extremely individual so it’s impossible to cover every reason to eventually choose Qt. Instead, we’d like to cover reasons to consider Qt for your project. Let’s go.

To make an informed decision, you should understand the tasks that the application should perform and then decide if the Qt framework is the best choice or if it’s better to go for an alternative. Let’s start with some general reasons why use Qt.

Using Qt for application development, engineers can build software for various platforms: desktop (Linux, macOS, Windows), mobile (iOS, Android), tvOS, watchOS, Universal Windows Platform, and embedded platforms. There’s no need to rewrite a dedicated code on native technology, which results in faster development and reaching more users with a single app.

Qt is used for the development of desktop apps, mobile apps, apps for embedded systems, IoT solutions, and more. With Qt software development services, you can choose the direction that corresponds to the project needs most and scale anytime. For instance, you can start with a desktop app and then add mobile or IoT without changing the team.

Qt has a wide range of development tools, including an interface editor and tools for databases, graphical elements, and more. It means the developers will have more tools out-of-the-box to complete more tasks and add more features with no additional effort.

Qt allows you to cover many aspects of software, such as

If your project involves some or all of the aspects listed above, Qt is definitely worth considering.

If you’re targeting several countries of different languages, don’t underestimate the importance of multilingual interfaces. This requirement is a telltale sign to consider Qt: the framework allows for creating UIs in different languages.

Qt has a huge community so the developers can easily access the documentation and get help solving difficulties. Apart from that, there’s commercial support from The Qt Company which can provide help for hard cases and offer access to exclusive functions by request.

Let’s now talk about the advantages of Qt over native programming and other cross-platform options.

Qt app development allows porting an application to multiple target platforms through simple recompilation. It increases development productivity and decreases time to market, making applications future-proof. Qt development saves time, through one source code deployed across all screens and platforms.

Thanks to ready-to-go tools, development can be faster and easier. Qt offers a wide range of instruments and classes to work with graphics, multimedia, databases, networks, UI elements, etc. making the framework suitable for pretty much any project. Choosing Qt means less of a headache pondering suitable technologies for the project.

Since Qt is based on C++, it includes some C++ benefits that make it possible to reuse the code. Using C++ software developers have greater control and can create apps of any scale: from small mobile apps to complex high-performance systems.

The code is compiled to native binaries that run at full speed. It means that there’s no need to use a virtual machine to run the application, like with Java development. The app runs natively, allowing for better performance.

Qt cross-platform software development makes it easy to create intuitive experiences for all users, no matter what system is used. It’s a significant time and resource saver.

Qt is used in many industrial applications and solutions, confirming it to be reliable and stable. Furthermore, The Qt Company offers commercial support for highly specialized or hard development tasks. This means the engineers won’t be left to chance once they encounter unusual problems.

Qt offers tools to create various user interfaces, including responsive design, animation, stylization, etc. It may be not 100 percent native-looking, but you’ll be surprised with how flexible a cross-platform framework can be.

Let’s now talk about difficulties that clients and engineers can encounter while working with Qt.

The user experience of the developed apps is not so smooth. On desktop platforms, it is easier to develop a native user experience because there are more common patterns and widgets. Mobile UX is different and there’s a lack of platform-specific things. With the default components in Qt mobile development, you do not get an ideal look and feel of iOS and Android.

Qt offers LGPL, but it has limitations and requirements that you should satisfy if you are planning to distribute your applications. In some cases, the only acceptable choice is purchasing a commercial license.

Qt-based applications can have big source file sizes because of the Qt libraries. The source file size can affect the entire application size and load speed.

To complete some tasks it may be necessary to address additional resources, language bindings, or commercial support that can elevate the price of the project.

Qt is updated regularly. Since you have to consider platform and library compatibility, it can be a tricky task to choose the most optimal Qt version to start developing your application.

Some Qt functions may seem superfluous for projects where simplicity and ease of use are a priority. Arguably a disadvantage, yet it’s good to know to make an informed decision.

Qt is relatively slow in adopting the novelties in the software development area. If you’re a fan of new trends and technologies, it can be quite a challenge to implement these into your project.