Qt framework is now one of the key elements in successful creation of multiplatform applications with wide capabilities implemented for great number of modern software projects. Despite that, being one of the most broadly practiced and acknowledged approaches in the field, it is crucial to focus on its advantages and drawbacks to make accurate decisions on the further development of the concept.
Background and Development
Qt was originally developed in the early 1990s and has since many times been developed from being a SGML-based widget toolkit to being a huge framework. The Qt Company has steered its development thought and characteristics. Knowledge of such becomes important in assessing the current, bearings in mind that history sets base for the present and is a stepping stone to the future.
Cross-Platform Development Challenges
A key and probably the main advantage of Qt is the opportunity to create an application for different platforms and use the same code base. Nevertheless, it is for a reason and has its own issues which are described below.
Due to the effort of chasing PIMs the framework sometimes behaves in a lack of consistency in regard to certain features across the platforms; the developers are forced to write platform specific code even when the API is sold as write once run anywhere.
Performance Considerations
In evaluating the performance of Qt, certain issues stand out as worthy of attention. Overall, the layers of abstraction of the framework are very good for the convenience of developers, but they can be used to create additional overhead.
As observed, the average memory usage for most of the applications is higher compared to native applications especially complex applications with many widgets. This can be especially observed on a limited range of devices or when designing mobile applications.
S-learning and Documentation
Qt poses a problem by having a high barrier for entry especially to those who have no background with C++. There is a lot of documenting involved but they can be confusing and the explanations may be overly wordy at times with little real-life example.
Unlike other frameworks, this framework has yet another way of working with signals and slots which while beneficial, forces the developers to comprehend ideas which other frameworks do not present.
Mobile Development Limitations
Nevertheless, Qt has tried to align itself to mobile development, it has some challenges in this area. It is a fact that applications created with the Qt for mobile platforms lead to the creation of much larger packages and are not always equivalent to native apps in terms of performance.
Future Outlook
At the moment it is rather hard to predict qt’s future, however, it seems that it will be regularly updated and developed. The application of the given framework is exposed to growing competition from web technologies and other kinds of cross-platform solutions.
The flexibility to approach the commonly mentioned evolutions of development paradigms and concerns about current shortcomings in the SDLC will be important for sustaining its presence on the software development scene.
