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19 | <a href="index.html">
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20 | <font color="#004faf">Home</font></a>
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21 | | <a href="classes.html">
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22 | <font color="#004faf">All Classes</font></a>
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23 | | <a href="mainclasses.html">
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24 | <font color="#004faf">Main Classes</font></a>
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26 | <font color="#004faf">Annotated</font></a>
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28 | <font color="#004faf">Grouped Classes</font></a>
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30 | <font color="#004faf">Functions</font></a>
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31 | </td>
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32 | <td align="right" valign="center"><img src="logo32.png" align="right" width="64" height="32" border="0"></td></tr></table><h1 align=center>The Qt FAQ</h1>
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33 |
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34 |
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35 | <p>
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36 | <p> See also the <a href="commonproblems.html">Technical FAQ</a>.
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37 | <p> <!-- toc -->
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38 | <ul>
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39 | <li><a href="#1"> General Questions
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40 | </a>
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41 | <ul>
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42 | <li><a href="#1-1"> What is Qt?
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43 | </a>
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44 | <li><a href="#1-2"> What is Trolltech?
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45 | </a>
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46 | <li><a href="#1-3"> How can I evaluate Qt?
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47 | </a>
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48 | <li><a href="#1-4"> What does Qt cost?
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49 | </a>
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50 | <li><a href="#1-5"> How can I buy Qt?
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51 | </a>
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52 | <li><a href="#1-6"> What kind of technical support is available for Qt?
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53 | </a>
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54 | <li><a href="#1-7"> Who provides training for Qt?
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55 | </a>
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56 | <li><a href="#1-8"> Who provides consultancy for Qt?
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57 | </a>
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58 | <li><a href="#1-9"> Are there any books about Qt programming?
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59 | </a>
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60 | <li><a href="#1-10"> What is the Open Source Edition?
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61 | </a>
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62 | <li><a href="#1-11"> What is the idea behind having a free version of Qt?
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63 | </a>
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64 | <li><a href="#1-12"> Is there a low-cost version of Qt for writing shareware?
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65 | </a>
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66 | </ul>
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67 | <li><a href="#2"> Questions about Qt's Users
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68 | </a>
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69 | <ul>
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70 | <li><a href="#2-1"> How many developers use Qt?
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71 | </a>
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72 | <li><a href="#2-2"> Which major corporations use Qt?
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73 | </a>
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74 | <li><a href="#2-3"> Are there any well-known applications that use Qt?
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75 | </a>
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76 | </ul>
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77 | <li><a href="#3"> Questions about Developing Applications with Qt
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78 | </a>
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79 | <ul>
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80 | <li><a href="#3-1"> Is there a mailing list for Qt?
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81 | </a>
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82 | <li><a href="#3-2"> Is Qt's documentation available online?
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83 | </a>
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84 | <li><a href="#3-3"> Is there a technical newsletter for Qt?
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85 | </a>
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86 | <li><a href="#3-4"> I think I have found a bug in Qt. Where can I report it?
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87 | </a>
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88 | </ul>
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89 | <li><a href="#4"> Questions about Professional Licensing
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90 | </a>
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91 | <ul>
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92 | <li><a href="#4-1"> We have purchased a license, but the developer is leaving the company
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93 | project. Can we transfer the license to another developer?
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94 | </a>
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95 | <li><a href="#4-2"> Can I purchase floating licenses for Qt?
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96 | </a>
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97 | <li><a href="#4-3"> Can we use the Open Source Edition while developing our non-free
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98 | application and then purchase commercial licenses when we start to
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99 | sell it?
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100 | </a>
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101 | </ul>
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102 | <li><a href="#5"> Questions about Open Source Software Licensing
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103 | </a>
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104 | <ul>
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105 | <li><a href="#5-1"> I just want to run KDE and other Qt-based software on my
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106 | machine. Can I do that with the Open Source Edition?
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107 | </a>
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108 | <li><a href="#5-2"> I want to put Qt, and applications that use it, on a CD-ROM or on
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109 | a web site. Can I do that with the Open Source Edition?
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110 | </a>
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111 | <li><a href="#5-3"> Can I make software with the Qt Open Source Edition and release it under
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112 | the GNU GPL, BSD, or Artistic license?
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113 | </a>
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114 | <li><a href="#5-4"> I don't want to give away my source code. What do I do?
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115 | </a>
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116 | <li><a href="#5-5"> Is software based on the Qt Open Source Edition really free? Does it
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117 | carry any Trolltech-specific license restrictions?
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118 | </a>
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119 | <li><a href="#5-6"> What if Trolltech stops releasing Open Source Editions of Qt?
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120 | </a>
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121 | <li><a href="#5-7"> Using the Open Source Edition, can I make non-free software for internal
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122 | use in my company/organization?
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123 | </a>
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124 | <li><a href="#5-8"> Is Qt Open Source Edition really free software in the GNU meaning of the
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125 | word?
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126 | </a>
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127 | <li><a href="#5-9"> If the Open Source Edition is GNU GPL, aren't there license conflicts
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128 | with incompatible open source licenses? How come people can even
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129 | run commercial software like the Opera web browser with it?
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130 | </a>
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131 | <li><a href="#5-10"> Doesn't such an en extra license in addition to the GNU GPL
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132 | violate the terms of the GPL or at least make the whole package
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133 | GPL-incompatible?
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134 | </a>
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135 | <li><a href="#5-11"> Why is Qt Open Source Edition not distributed under the GNU Lesser
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136 | General Public License (LGPL)?
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137 | </a>
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138 | </ul>
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139 | <li><a href="#6"> Questions about other programming languages
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140 | </a>
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141 | <ul>
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142 | <li><a href="#6-1"> Are there bindings to languages other than C++?
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143 | </a>
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144 | <li><a href="#6-2"> Can I develop commercial applications with PerlQt or PyQt or other
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145 | Qt wrappers?
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146 | </a>
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147 | </ul>
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148 | </ul>
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149 | <!-- endtoc -->
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150 |
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151 | <p> <hr>
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152 | <h2> General Questions
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153 | </h2>
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154 | <a name="1"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
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155 | <h3> What is Qt?
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156 | </h3>
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157 | <a name="1-1"></a><p> Qt is a multiplatform C++ GUI toolkit. It
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158 | provides application developers with all the functionality
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159 | needed to build applications with state-of-the-art graphical
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160 | user interfaces. Qt is fully object-oriented, easily
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161 | extensible, and allows true component programming.
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162 | <p> Qt is supported on the following platforms:
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163 | <p> <ul>
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164 | <li> <b>MS/Windows</b> -- 95, 98, NT 4.0, ME, 2000, and XP
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165 | <li> <b>Unix/X11</b> -- Linux, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, Compaq Tru64 UNIX,
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166 | IBM AIX, SGI IRIX and a wide range of others
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167 | <li> <b>Macintosh</b> -- Mac OS X
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168 | <li> <b>Embedded</b> -- Linux platforms with framebuffer support.
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169 | </ul>
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170 | <p> It has become the emerging standard development
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171 | environment for IT professionals who want to:
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172 | <p> <ul>
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173 | <li> Write (and maintain) a single source-tree.
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174 | <li> Port their applications to multiple platforms with a simple
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175 | recompilation.
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176 | <li> Internationalize their applications.
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177 | <li> Provide their applications with native look and feel.
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178 | <li> Have their applications run at native speed.
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179 | </ul>
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180 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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181 | <h3> What is Trolltech?
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182 | </h3>
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183 | <a name="1-2"></a><p> Trolltech is an international software company with
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184 | headquarters in Oslo, the capital of Norway, and with offices
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185 | in Brisbane, Australia, and Redwood City, California. Our
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186 | flagship product is Qt, the multi-platform C++ GUI toolkit.
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187 | <p> Trolltech ASA was founded in 1994, although, the core team of designers
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188 | started Qt's development in 1992.
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189 | <p> More details can be found at <a href="troll.html">Trolltech</a>.
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190 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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191 | <h3> How can I evaluate Qt?
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192 | </h3>
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193 | <a name="1-3"></a><p> We offer 30 day evaluation versions of Qt on all our supported platforms.
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194 | Further details can be found here: <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/evaluate.html">http://www.trolltech.com/evaluate.html</a>.
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195 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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196 | <h3> What does Qt cost?
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197 | </h3>
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198 | <a name="1-4"></a><p> This depends on your number of developers, on how many
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199 | different platforms you target, and on the edition of Qt you
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200 | choose. Currently we offer two different editions (Enterprise
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201 | Edition and Professional Edition) on four different
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202 | platforms (Microsoft Window, Unix/X11, Macintosh and Linux/embedded).
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203 | <p> We also offer discounts for academic and research institutions.
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204 | <p> Details on pricing can be found here:
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205 | <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/pricing.html">http://www.trolltech.com/pricing.html</a>.
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206 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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207 | <h3> How can I buy Qt?
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208 | </h3>
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209 | <a name="1-5"></a><p> To purchase, please visit the <a
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210 | href="https://webshop.trolltech.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi">Trolltech
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211 | webshop</a>. In the webshop, you can generate a Purchase Order, order
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212 | a Quote, or purchase directly using a credit card.
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213 | <p> For further information and assistance, please contact Trolltech sales:
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214 | <p> Email: <a href="mailto:sales@trolltech.com">sales@trolltech.com</a>
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215 | Phone, US office (for North America): <strong>(+1) 650-813-1676</strong>
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216 | Phone, Norway office (for others): <strong>+47 2160 4800</strong>
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217 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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218 | <h3> What kind of technical support is available for Qt?
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219 | </h3>
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220 | <a name="1-6"></a><p> Trolltech offers email support to commercial licensees. The first year
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221 | of Trolltech's Support and Maintenance Service is included with the
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222 | purchase of Qt Professional and Qt Enterprise Edition licenses.
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223 | Licenses can be kept up-to-date and fully supported by buying
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224 | the Support and Maintenance Service for the licenses held in each
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225 | subsequent year.
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226 | <p> For further information see here:
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227 | <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/support/">http://www.trolltech.com/support/</a>.
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228 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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229 | <h3> Who provides training for Qt?
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230 | </h3>
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231 | <a name="1-7"></a><p> A number of companies provide Qt training, in Asia, Europe and the US.
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232 | Trolltech has agreements with a number of official training
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233 | partners, who offer Trolltech approved courses. In addition
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234 | there are a number of independently developed courses run by third
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235 | parties. You can find more information about the partners and the
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236 | courses here: <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/training/">http://www.trolltech.com/training/</a>.
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237 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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238 | <h3> Who provides consultancy for Qt?
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239 | </h3>
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240 | <a name="1-8"></a><p> A number of companies provide consultancy services for Qt and
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241 | Qtopia. You can find a partial list here:
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242 | <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/company/servicepartners.html">http://www.trolltech.com/company/servicepartners.html</a>.
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243 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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244 | <h3> Are there any books about Qt programming?
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245 | </h3>
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246 | <a name="1-9"></a><p> Yes, there are quite a few books on Qt, most of them
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247 | available from amazon.com. You can find a partial list at
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248 | <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/developer/books.html">http://www.trolltech.com/developer/books.html</a>.
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249 | <p> The official Qt book is
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250 | <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0131240722/trolltech/">C++ GUI Programming with Qt 3</a>.
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251 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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252 | <h3> What is the Open Source Edition?
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253 | </h3>
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254 | <a name="1-10"></a><p> The Qt Open Source Edition is our non-commercial versions of
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255 | Qt. You can use this edition to create and run free
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256 | software, i.e. software that is licensed under the GNU GPL or
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257 | a similarly recognized open source license.
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258 | <p> Qt Open Source edition is available for Unix/X11, Macintosh and
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259 | Linux/embedded.
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260 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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261 | <h3> What is the idea behind having a free version of Qt?
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262 | </h3>
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263 | <a name="1-11"></a><p> With the Open Source Edition, Trolltech has found a way to support
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264 | the free software concept. Part of our commitment is to enable
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265 | those who contribute to the free software pool to do so
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266 | without paying license fees.
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267 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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268 | <h3> Is there a low-cost version of Qt for writing shareware?
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269 | </h3>
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270 | <a name="1-12"></a><p> No, but Qt's commercial licenses permit you to write and sell
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271 | shareware written with Qt.
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272 | <p> <hr>
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273 | <h2> Questions about Qt's Users
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274 | </h2>
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275 | <a name="2"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
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276 | <h3> How many developers use Qt?
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277 | </h3>
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278 | <a name="2-1"></a><p> We don't know! We can count our many thousands of commercial
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279 | licensees, but the number of free software developers
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280 | using Qt can only be guessed based on download figures, book
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281 | sales, the number of open source Qt applications available on
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282 | the web, Universities teaching with Qt, and other factors. A
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283 | conservative estimate would put the figure at around 100,000 to
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284 | 150,000 developers world-wide.
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285 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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286 | <h3> Which major corporations use Qt?
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287 | </h3>
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288 | <a name="2-2"></a><p> See our list of reference customers at
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289 | <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/company/customers.html">http://www.trolltech.com/company/customers.html</a>. Note that many
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290 | commercial customers do not disclose their use of Qt because they see
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291 | Qt as a competitive advantage.
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292 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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293 | <h3> Are there any well-known applications that use Qt?
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294 | </h3>
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295 | <a name="2-3"></a><p> There are many, e.g. Adobe Photoshop Album from Abobe
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296 | Corporation and the KDE desktop. A partial list can be found at
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297 | <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/products/qt/apps-using-qt.html">http://www.trolltech.com/products/qt/apps-using-qt.html</a>
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298 | <p> <hr>
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299 | <h2> Questions about Developing Applications with Qt
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300 | </h2>
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301 | <a name="3"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
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302 | <h3> Is there a mailing list for Qt?
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303 | </h3>
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304 | <a name="3-1"></a><p> Trolltech operates several mailing lists for Qt users including
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305 | <tt>qt-announce</tt>, <tt>qt-interest</tt> and <tt>snapshot-users</tt>.
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306 | <p> See <a href="http://lists.trolltech.com">Mailing lists</a>.
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307 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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308 | <h3> Is Qt's documentation available online?
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309 | </h3>
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310 | <a name="3-2"></a><p> Yes, at <a href="http://doc.trolltech.com">http://doc.trolltech.com</a>.
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311 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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312 | <h3> Is there a technical newsletter for Qt?
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313 | </h3>
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314 | <a name="3-3"></a><p> Yes, <a href="http://doc.trolltech.com/qq/index.html">Qt
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315 | Quarterly</a>. It is a paper-based newsletter exclusively
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316 | available to Qt licensees.
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317 | <p> As a courtesy and convenience to all our users, a selection of
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318 | articles is also published online about one month after publication.
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319 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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320 | <h3> I think I have found a bug in Qt. Where can I report it?
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321 | </h3>
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322 | <a name="3-4"></a><p> Bugs should be reported to <a href="mailto:qt-bugs@trolltech.com">qt-bugs@trolltech.com</a>. But <em>please</em> read (the very short)
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323 | <a href="bughowto.html">How to Report a Bug</a> page <em>first</em>.
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324 | <p> <hr>
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325 | <h2> Questions about Professional Licensing
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326 | </h2>
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327 | <a name="4"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
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328 | <h3> We have purchased a license, but the developer is leaving the company
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329 | project. Can we transfer the license to another developer?
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330 | </h3>
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331 | <a name="4-1"></a><p> Yes. Qt licences are for the individual use of named developers. If
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332 | the developer associated with a licence leaves the organization, or
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333 | moves on to another project that does not require a Qt license,
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334 | another developer can take over the licence. You can change the name
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335 | of the developer using a licence at any time, but after a change you
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336 | must wait at least six (6) months before changing again.
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337 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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338 | <h3> Can I purchase floating licenses for Qt?
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339 | </h3>
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340 | <a name="4-2"></a><p> No, we do not offer floating licenses.
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341 | <p> The reason is this: Floating licenses are based on the concept
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342 | of defining a maximum number of concurrent users. For example,
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343 | for a word processor, this means the maximum number of
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344 | instances of that application that can be running at any
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345 | time. However, for a library product like Qt, there is no main
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346 | application that is always running when the product is being
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347 | used. Hence, it is not possible to count the number of
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348 | concurrent users, and therefore floating licenses do not
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349 | make sense.
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350 | <p>
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351 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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352 | <h3> Can we use the Open Source Edition while developing our non-free
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353 | application and then purchase commercial licenses when we start to
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354 | sell it?
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355 | </h3>
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356 | <a name="4-3"></a><p> No: our commercial license agreements only apply to software
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357 | that was developed with Qt under the agreement. They do not
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358 | apply to code that was developed with the Qt Open Source Edition
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359 | prior to the agreement. Any software developed with Qt
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360 | without a commercial license agreement must be released as
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361 | free/open source software.
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362 | <p> <hr>
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363 | <h2> Questions about Open Source Software Licensing
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364 | </h2>
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365 | <a name="5"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
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366 | <h3> I just want to run KDE and other Qt-based software on my
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367 | machine. Can I do that with the Open Source Edition?
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368 | </h3>
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369 | <a name="5-1"></a><p> Yes. You may use the Qt Open Source Edition for running applications,
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370 | both at home and at work, without restrictions.
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371 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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372 | <h3> I want to put Qt, and applications that use it, on a CD-ROM or on
|
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373 | a web site. Can I do that with the Open Source Edition?
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374 | </h3>
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375 | <a name="5-2"></a><p> Yes. You may copy and redistribute the Qt Open Source Edition, both
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376 | at home and at work, without restrictions.
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377 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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378 | <h3> Can I make software with the Qt Open Source Edition and release it under
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379 | the GNU GPL, BSD, or Artistic license?
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380 | </h3>
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381 | <a name="5-3"></a><p> Yes. The GNU GPL, GPL-compatible licenses, or any other
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382 | approved open source license will do. The FSF.org and
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383 | OpenSource.org web sites list approved software licenses.
|
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384 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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385 | <h3> I don't want to give away my source code. What do I do?
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386 | </h3>
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387 | <a name="5-4"></a><p> You need to buy a commercial Qt license.
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388 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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389 | <h3> Is software based on the Qt Open Source Edition really free? Does it
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390 | carry any Trolltech-specific license restrictions?
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391 | </h3>
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392 | <a name="5-5"></a><p> Yes, it really is free. This is because the Qt Open Source Edition
|
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393 | uses the GNU GPL, which forbids the imposition of any license
|
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394 | restrictions on software based on the Open Source Edition that would
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395 | make it non-free. And no, there are no Trolltech-specific
|
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396 | license restrictions on software produced using the Open Source
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397 | Edition.
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398 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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399 | <h3> What if Trolltech stops releasing Open Source Editions of Qt?
|
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400 | </h3>
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401 | <a name="5-6"></a><p> We have absolutely no intention of doing that. Together with
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402 | the K Desktop Environment project, we have set up the KDE Free
|
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403 | Qt Foundation (see
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404 | <a href="http://www.kde.org/whatiskde/kdefreeqtfoundation.php">http://www.kde.org/whatiskde/kdefreeqtfoundation.php</a>) to
|
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405 | legally guarantee the availability of Qt for free software
|
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406 | development now and forever - even if circumstances beyound
|
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407 | our control prevent us from producing new free editions.
|
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408 | <p> <hr width="30%">
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409 | <h3> Using the Open Source Edition, can I make non-free software for internal
|
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410 | use in my company/organization?
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411 | </h3>
|
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412 | <a name="5-7"></a><p> No. Software developed with the Open Source Edition is always free
|
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413 | software, i.e. it can only be distributed under a free
|
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414 | software license. In particular, all the source code for all
|
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415 | the modules your software is based on, regardless of whether
|
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416 | they have been written by you or by others, must be free
|
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417 | software. This is part of our commitment to the free software
|
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418 | community, and enables those who contribute to the free
|
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419 | software pool to do so without paying license fees.
|
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420 | <p> Although it is possible to write free software for internal
|
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421 | use, it is difficult to ensure that such software is used and
|
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422 | distributed legally. For example, if your free software
|
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423 | requires any modules that impose conditions on you that
|
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424 | contradict the conditions of the GNU GPL, including, but not
|
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425 | limited to, software patents, commercial license agreements,
|
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426 | copyrighted interface definitions or any sort of
|
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427 | non-disclosure agreement, then you cannot distribute it at
|
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428 | all; hence it cannot be given to consultants, employees for
|
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429 | their personal computers, subsidiaries, other divisions, or
|
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430 | even to new owners.
|
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431 | <p> Consequently we recommend using commercial licenses for all
|
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432 | internal software development.
|
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433 | <p> <hr width="30%">
|
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434 | <h3> Is Qt Open Source Edition really free software in the GNU meaning of the
|
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435 | word?
|
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436 | </h3>
|
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437 | <a name="5-8"></a><p> Yes - it is free software both as in "no cost" and as in
|
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438 | "free speech". Even more, it is actually available under the
|
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439 | terms of the GNU GPL. This means you can link GPL'ed software
|
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440 | to it, and you can take code from Qt and put it into other
|
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441 | GPL'ed software.
|
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442 | <p> <hr width="30%">
|
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443 | <h3> If the Open Source Edition is GNU GPL, aren't there license conflicts
|
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444 | with incompatible open source licenses? How come people can even
|
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445 | run commercial software like the Opera web browser with it?
|
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446 | </h3>
|
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447 | <a name="5-9"></a><p> If the Open Source Edition was licensed purely under the GNU GPL,
|
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448 | there would be problems. However, as long as Qt-based
|
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449 | software is either open source or was developed under a
|
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450 | commercial license agreement with Trolltech, we grant
|
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451 | permission to compile, link and run those programs with the
|
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452 | Open Source Edition. This is written down in our second free software
|
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453 | license, the QPL.
|
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454 | <p> <hr width="30%">
|
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455 | <h3> Doesn't such an en extra license in addition to the GNU GPL
|
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456 | violate the terms of the GPL or at least make the whole package
|
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457 | GPL-incompatible?
|
---|
458 | </h3>
|
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459 | <a name="5-10"></a><p> No, because those extra license terms give you rights in
|
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460 | addition to those of the GNU GPL, including the right to
|
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461 | remove those extra terms.
|
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462 | <p> <hr width="30%">
|
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463 | <h3> Why is Qt Open Source Edition not distributed under the GNU Lesser
|
---|
464 | General Public License (LGPL)?
|
---|
465 | </h3>
|
---|
466 | <a name="5-11"></a><p> The LGPL is designed to "permit developers of non-free
|
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467 | programs to use free libraries" (quote from the LGPL). In
|
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468 | other words, if Qt Open Source Edition were LGPL'd, companies would
|
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469 | not have to purchase our commercial editions in order to make
|
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470 | commercial/proprietary software, they could just use the Open Source
|
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471 | Edition, free of charge. That would mean Trolltech would not
|
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472 | get the revenue necessary for improving and extending Qt.
|
---|
473 | <p> Note also that the Free Software Foundation discourages the
|
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474 | use of the LGPL.
|
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475 | <p> <hr>
|
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476 | <h2> Questions about other programming languages
|
---|
477 | </h2>
|
---|
478 | <a name="6"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
|
---|
479 | <h3> Are there bindings to languages other than C++?
|
---|
480 | </h3>
|
---|
481 | <a name="6-1"></a><p> Yes there are, e.g. bindings to Perl (PerlQt) and Python
|
---|
482 | (PyQt). These bindings were written by the open source
|
---|
483 | community and are not supported by Trolltech.
|
---|
484 | <p> <hr width="30%">
|
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485 | <h3> Can I develop commercial applications with PerlQt or PyQt or other
|
---|
486 | Qt wrappers?
|
---|
487 | </h3>
|
---|
488 | <a name="6-2"></a><p> Yes, if you have purchased a commercial license. The licensing
|
---|
489 | conditions are the same whether you use the Qt API directly in
|
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490 | C++, or you use it through some API wrapper in another
|
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491 | programming language. All developers that write code
|
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492 | containing calls to the Qt API (directly or through a wrapper)
|
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493 | need Qt licenses.
|
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494 | <p>
|
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495 | <!-- eof -->
|
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496 | <p><address><hr><div align=center>
|
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497 | <table width=100% cellspacing=0 border=0><tr>
|
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498 | <td>Copyright © 2007
|
---|
499 | <a href="troll.html">Trolltech</a><td align=center><a href="trademarks.html">Trademarks</a>
|
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500 | <td align=right><div align=right>Qt 3.3.8</div>
|
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501 | </table></div></address></body>
|
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502 | </html>
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