Getting Started with Qt
Qt is a cross-platform application and UI framework (qt.io).
Toradex is a partner of The Qt Company, the entity responsible for Qt development, productization and licensing under commercial and open-source licenses. This partnership is celebrated in the Partner Demo Image - Qt for Device Creation now available for download in the Toradex Easy Installer image format.
To get started sign-up for a free evaluation version of the Qt IDE.
Some of our Demos use Qt for its graphics capability. We recommend using the Qt framework for application development on our modules, on both Linux and WinCE.
Toradex optimized the WinCE display driver to improve Qt's performance on our modules. If you would like to improve graphic performances, take a look at Graphic Performance (Colibri).
Why Qt
- Easier GUI programming with Qt Designer (compared to MFC)
- Nice container classes
- Nice graphics scene framework
- Excellent documentation with useful examples
- Translation support
- Good technical support
- OpenGL ES2 support. Useful for embedded devices
- Cross-platform support (Same application runs on Windows, Mac, Linux, WinCE, iOS, Android)
- Faster time to market
- Large Open Source community around Qt
- QtQuick (QML) enables rapid development of attractive UIs
What about licensing
Qt is a large framework available under a variety of licensing terms. This also depends on the version of Qt being used. Our partner the Qt Company can help you find the right license. Click here for details.
Embedded Linux
There are currently three possible ways to run the Qt framework on Toradex SoMs while using Embedded Linux:
- The Boot to Qt software stack
- Toradex Torizon
- Toradex Reference Images for Yocto Project
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages. See a comparison between Torizon and the Reference Images on our Embedded Linux page. Learn more about the differences between the three offerings above on the webinar Kickstart your Qt Project on NXP i.MX 8 Series of Applications Processors with Toradex.
Qt for Device Creation
The Qt Company provides pre-built images of the Boot to Qt, a.k.a Boot2Qt software stack for several Toradex modules within Qt for Device Creation (formerly Enterprise Embedded). Such pre-built evaluation images are now available directly from the Toradex Easy Installer, try it out on Partner Demo Image - Qt for Device Creation and for more information refer to the Qt for Device Creation page.
The Qt for Device Creation toolset offers many benefits over the Qt under LGPL:
- Professional integrated tooling with Qt Creator Enterprise IDE
- Immediate prototyping with pre-built software stack, Boot to Qt
- Value-Added components: Qt Quick Enterprise Controls, Qt Virtual Keyboard, Qt Charts
- Qt Quick 2D Renderer for low-end modules such as Colibri VF50/VF61
- Faster Time-to-Market
- Licensing terms are more compatible with commercial project requirements
- Beautiful, High-Performing, Modern User-Interfaces
- Ultimate Performance for Embedded Devices
- Support is included with a valid maintenance agreement
Without the commercial version of Qt, the embedded Linux image and toolchain for deploying to a target device must be built manually.
Torizon
Torizon, the easy-to-use industrial platform, makes it possible to easily run Qt on Toradex SoMs while benefiting from the Torizon ecosystem. More information on how to develop Qt apps on Torizon is provided in the Torizon Documentation.
Reference Images for Yocto Project
Our Reference Multimedia Image for the Yocto Project has the Qt framework integrated. It does not provide an out-of-the-box experience as good as Boot2Qt or Torizon, but may be a good fit for your use case.
Next Steps
You can find more information in the following articles for specific host operating systems:
The simplest way to get started with Qt is to use Partner Demo Image - Qt for Device Creation.
| Windows CE | Linux |
|---|---|
Development Environment Hello world in Qt Qt demo application Additional Resources | Torizon
Development Environment Qt demo application Additional Resources |
At Qt Documentation page, you can find articles showing how to create your first application, guides for the QML language, which is used with Qt Quick, and much more.
Download for Windows CE
Download the Qt installer for Windows compact 6.0 or 7.0 directly from Toradex.
Qt 4.8.4 OpenGL SDK - module with OpenGL support e.g T20/T30.
Qt 4.8.4 SDK - for hardware with No OpenGL support e.g.Vybrid.
Support
Toradex has partners who are able to support you with your Qt questions. Please contact them directly: Qt Partners