Qt Creator is a

cross-platform In computing, cross-platform software (also called multi-platform software, platform-agnostic software, or platform-independent software) is computer software that is designed to work in several computing platforms. Some cross-platform software ...

C++ C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language that is one of the core technologies of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. As of 2022, 98% of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior, of ...

and

QML QML (Qt Modeling Language) is a user interface markup language. It is a declarative language (similar to CSS and JSON) for designing user interface–centric applications. Inline JavaScript code handles imperative aspects. It is associated wi ...

integrated development environment An integrated development environment (IDE) is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development. An IDE normally consists of at least a source code editor, build automation tools ...

(IDE) which simplifies GUI application development. It is part of the SDK for the Qt

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

application development framework and uses the Qt API, which encapsulates host OS GUI function calls. It includes a visual

debugger A debugger or debugging tool is a computer program used to test and debug other programs (the "target" program). The main use of a debugger is to run the target program under controlled conditions that permit the programmer to track its executi ...

and an integrated

WYSIWYG In computing, WYSIWYG ( ), an acronym for What You See Is What You Get, is a system in which editing software allows content to be edited in a form that resembles its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product, such as a printed d ...

GUI layout and forms designer. The

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

has features such as

syntax highlighting Syntax highlighting is a feature of text editors that are used for programming, scripting, or markup languages, such as HTML. The feature displays text, especially source code, in different colours and fonts according to the category of terms ...

and

autocompletion Autocomplete, or word completion, is a feature in which an application predicts the rest of a word a user is typing. In Android and iOS smartphones, this is called predictive text. In graphical user interfaces, users can typically press the t ...

. Qt Creator uses the C++

compiler In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs tha ...

from the

GNU Compiler Collection The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is an optimizing compiler produced by the GNU Project supporting various programming languages, hardware architectures and operating systems. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) distributes GCC as free softwar ...

Linux Linux ( or ) is a family of open-source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically packaged as a Linux distribution, whi ...

. On Windows it can use

MinGW MinGW ("Minimalist GNU for Windows"), formerly mingw32, is a free and open source software development environment to create Microsoft Windows applications. MinGW includes a port of the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), GNU Binutils for Windows ...

MSVC Microsoft Visual C++ (MSVC) is a compiler for the C, C++ and C++/CX programming languages by Microsoft. MSVC is proprietary software; it was originally a standalone product but later became a part of Visual Studio and made available in both ...

with the default install and can also use Microsoft Console Debugger when compiled from

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the ...

. Clang is also supported.

History

Development of what would eventually become Qt Creator had begun by 2007 or earlier under transitional names Workbench and later Project Greenhouse. It debuted during the later part of the Qt 4 era, starting with the release of Qt Creator, version 1.0 in March 2009 and subsequently bundled with Qt 4.5 in SDK 2009.3. This was at a time when the standalone Qt Designer application was still the widget layout tool of choice for developers. There is no indication that Creator had layout capability at this stage. The record is somewhat muddied on this point (perhaps due to changes in ownership or the emphasis on Qt Quick), but the integration of Qt Designer under Qt Creator is first mentioned at least as early as Qt 4.7 (ca. late 2011). In the Qt 5 era, it is simply stated that "

t Designer's T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...

functionality is now included as part of 'sic''Qt Creator IDE."

Projects

Qt Creator includes a project manager that can use a variety of project formats such as

.pro The domain name pro is a generic top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from ''professional'', indicating its intended use by certified professionals. History In October 2000 Jason Drummond came up with ...

CMake In software development, CMake is cross-platform free and open-source software for build automation, testing, packaging and installation of software by using a compiler-independent method. CMake is not a build system itself; it generates a ...

, Autotools and others. A project file can contain information such as what files are included into the project, custom build steps and settings for running the applications.

Editors

Qt Creator includes a code editor and integrates Qt Designer for designing and building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) from Qt widgets. The code editor in Qt Creator supports syntax highlighting for various languages. In addition to that, the code editor can parse code in C++ and

languages and as a result code completion, context-sensitive help, semantic navigation are provided. Qt Designer is a tool for designing and building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) from Qt widgets. It is possible to compose and customize the widgets or dialogs and test them using different styles and resolutions directly in the editor. Widgets and forms created with Qt Designer are integrated with programmed code, using the Qt signals and slots mechanism. Qt Quick Designer is a tool for developing animations by using a declarative programming language

Targets

Qt Creator provides support for building and running Qt applications for desktop environments (Windows, Linux, FreeBSD and Mac OS), mobile devices ( Android,

BlackBerry The blackberry is an edible fruit produced by many species in the genus ''Rubus'' in the family Rosaceae, hybrids among these species within the subgenus ''Rubus'', and hybrids between the subgenera ''Rubus'' and ''Idaeobatus''. The taxonomy ...

, iOS,

Maemo Maemo is a software platform originally developed by Nokia, now developed by the community, for smartphones and Internet tablets. The platform comprises both the Maemo operating system and SDK. Maemo played a key role in Nokia's strategy to c ...

, and

MeeGo MeeGo is a discontinued Linux distribution hosted by the Linux Foundation, using source code from the operating systems Moblin (produced by Intel) and Maemo (produced by Nokia). Primarily targeted at mobile devices and information appliances ...

) and embedded Linux devices. Build settings allow the user to switch between build targets, different Qt versions and build configurations. For mobile device targets, Qt Creator can generate an installation package, install it to a mobile device that is attached to the development computer and run it there.

Tools

Qt Creator is integrated with a set of tools, such as version control systems and Qt Simulator. The following version control systems are supported: *

Git Git () is a distributed version control system: tracking changes in any set of files, usually used for coordinating work among programmers collaboratively developing source code during software development. Its goals include speed, data in ...

Subversion Subversion () refers to a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, hierarchy, and social norms ...

Perforce Perforce, legally Perforce Software, Inc., is an American developer of software used for developing and running applications, including version control software, web-based repository management, developer collaboration, application lifecycle man ...

Bazaar A bazaar () or souk (; also transliterated as souq) is a marketplace consisting of multiple small stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, North Africa and India. However, temporary open markets elsewhere, such as in t ...

* CVS *

Mercurial Mercurial is a distributed revision control tool for software developers. It is supported on Microsoft Windows and Unix-like systems, such as FreeBSD, macOS, and Linux. Mercurial's major design goals include high performance and scalability, d ...

Qt Simulator is a tool for testing Qt applications that are intended for mobile devices in an environment similar to that of the device.

Debuggers

Qt Creator uses external native debuggers to debug the C++ language. Qt Creator displays the raw information provided by the native debuggers in a simplified manner. Debuggers supported are: * GNU Symbolic Debugger ( GDB) * Microsoft Console Debugger (CDB) * Internal JavaScript debugger * LLVM debugger ( LLDB)

References

External links

Qt for Developers
{{GUI builders Cross-platform free software Cross-platform software Free integrated development environments Free software programmed in C++ Integrated development environments Linux integrated development environments Qt (software) Software that uses Qt