Qt Creator is a

cross-platform Within 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 platform, computing platforms. Some ...

C++, JavaScript, Python and QML integrated development environment (IDE) which simplifies GUI application development. It is part of the SDK for the Qt GUI application development framework and uses the Qt API, which encapsulates host OS GUI function calls. It includes a visual debugger and an integrated WYSIWYG GUI layout and forms designer. The editor has features such as syntax highlighting and autocompletion. Qt Creator uses the C++

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

from the

GNU Compiler Collection The GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) is a collection of compilers from the GNU Project that support various programming languages, Computer architecture, hardware architectures, and operating systems. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) distributes ...

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

. On Windows it can use MinGW or MSVC with the default install and can also use Microsoft Console Debugger when compiled from source code. 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'sfunctionality 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, CMake, 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 QML 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 QML.

Targets

Qt Creator provides support for building and running Qt applications for desktop environments (Windows, Linux, FreeBSD and macOS), mobile devices ( Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Maemo, and MeeGo) 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 *

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 sabotage the established social order and its structures of Power (philosophy), power, authority, tradition, h ...

* Perforce * Bazaar * CVS * Mercurial 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