Programmers Code Down At Qt Developer Days 2010

Rich Green (left) used his keynote to try and explain what the function of a CTO really is in terms of his day-to-day role. For Green, it’s all about applications and developers, (though not in a crazed Steve Ballmer kind of a way thankfully), and he seems to understand the difference between a component and a boardroom meeting. As an ex-coder himself, he promised us that by the time of next year’s event, he would also be ‘hands-on’ with Qt itself and have spent some time using it so that he can show some evidence of ‘dogfooding’.

It comes down to “upward and forward compatibility” these days now, said Green, where new toolkits and frameworks will result in new applications that stretch devices until the device itself can not physically support the software any longer – and the time for a hardware upgrade becomes inevitable and essential. “Open governance and community engagement is key to open source success,” said Green. Let’s hope he puts his money where his mouth is in the months to come.

Application Development Framework Roadmap

Based on market feedback, the company says it will now focus on improved performance to take advantage of hardware acceleration and provide smooth transition in the UIs that its technology is used to build. Qt also detailed its Scene Graph Project, which is focused on cleaning up the display pipeline (render, composite and delivery) and improving QML on Open GL (ES) 2.0 as well as pushing for performance gains using full scene optimisations. All of which are enhancements scheduled to emerge in the Qt 4.8 timeframe and designed to allow developers to create more ‘effects’.

Qt has also detailed Project Lighthouse, an initiative intended to produce proper support for graphics acceleration on embedded devices – and to future proof Qt against coming platform changes. When window managers change on any platform, Qt will be positioned to accommodate for this, says the company.

Also on the roadmap is faster web integration. Web content is everywhere, says Qt, so an application framework needs to reflect this. There will also be frequent Qt WebKit open source web browser engine updates to align the technology with HTML5 and CS3 compliance, as well as work to improve support for touch, gestures and tactile feedback in hybrid applications developed using Qt in concert with web technologies.

Together with new APIs to provide access to device data, service integration and the integration of data from touch-enabled sensors, Qt also says it will work to provide more support for 3D. Making it easier to build 3D objects in C++ via an easy and portable C++ interface to create 3D graphics. The road ahead for sophisticated device UI creation within this realm of technology will, according to Qt, be driven by direct touch interaction in the form of multi-point touch with multiple fingers and creating user interfaces to support this.

In summary, the road ahead for Qt looks promising and it appears that Nokia’s parentage has been good for the business. This Developer Days conference is doubling its attendee numbers every two years and Nokia, we are told, has been mindful of Qt’s culture and deeply geeky developer heritage – allowing the Oslo team to retain its innovative edge. If Nokia’s CTO turns up for handshakes and keynotes then perhaps the company really does believe that Qt is one of the most important technologies for its future.