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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>
33
34
35<p>
36<p> See also the <a href="commonproblems.html">Technical FAQ</a>.
37<p> <!-- toc -->
38<ul>
39<li><a href="#1"> General Questions
40</a>
41<ul>
42<li><a href="#1-1"> What is Qt?
43</a>
44<li><a href="#1-2"> What is Trolltech?
45</a>
46<li><a href="#1-3"> How can I evaluate Qt?
47</a>
48<li><a href="#1-4"> What does Qt cost?
49</a>
50<li><a href="#1-5"> How can I buy Qt?
51</a>
52<li><a href="#1-6"> What kind of technical support is available for Qt?
53</a>
54<li><a href="#1-7"> Who provides training for Qt?
55</a>
56<li><a href="#1-8"> Who provides consultancy for Qt?
57</a>
58<li><a href="#1-9"> Are there any books about Qt programming?
59</a>
60<li><a href="#1-10"> What is the Open Source Edition?
61</a>
62<li><a href="#1-11"> What is the idea behind having a free version of Qt?
63</a>
64<li><a href="#1-12"> Is there a low-cost version of Qt for writing shareware?
65</a>
66</ul>
67<li><a href="#2"> Questions about Qt's Users
68</a>
69<ul>
70<li><a href="#2-1"> How many developers use Qt?
71</a>
72<li><a href="#2-2"> Which major corporations use Qt?
73</a>
74<li><a href="#2-3"> Are there any well-known applications that use Qt?
75</a>
76</ul>
77<li><a href="#3"> Questions about Developing Applications with Qt
78</a>
79<ul>
80<li><a href="#3-1"> Is there a mailing list for Qt?
81</a>
82<li><a href="#3-2"> Is Qt's documentation available online?
83</a>
84<li><a href="#3-3"> Is there a technical newsletter for Qt?
85</a>
86<li><a href="#3-4"> I think I have found a bug in Qt. Where can I report it?
87</a>
88</ul>
89<li><a href="#4"> Questions about Professional Licensing
90</a>
91<ul>
92<li><a href="#4-1"> We have purchased a license, but the developer is leaving the company
93project. Can we transfer the license to another developer?
94</a>
95<li><a href="#4-2"> Can I purchase floating licenses for Qt?
96</a>
97<li><a href="#4-3"> Can we use the Open Source Edition while developing our non-free
98application and then purchase commercial licenses when we start to
99sell it?
100</a>
101</ul>
102<li><a href="#5"> Questions about Open Source Software Licensing
103</a>
104<ul>
105<li><a href="#5-1"> I just want to run KDE and other Qt-based software on my
106machine. Can I do that with the Open Source Edition?
107</a>
108<li><a href="#5-2"> I want to put Qt, and applications that use it, on a CD-ROM or on
109a web site. Can I do that with the Open Source Edition?
110</a>
111<li><a href="#5-3"> Can I make software with the Qt Open Source Edition and release it under
112the GNU GPL, BSD, or Artistic license?
113</a>
114<li><a href="#5-4"> I don't want to give away my source code. What do I do?
115</a>
116<li><a href="#5-5"> Is software based on the Qt Open Source Edition really free? Does it
117carry any Trolltech-specific license restrictions?
118</a>
119<li><a href="#5-6"> What if Trolltech stops releasing Open Source Editions of Qt?
120</a>
121<li><a href="#5-7"> Using the Open Source Edition, can I make non-free software for internal
122use in my company/organization?
123</a>
124<li><a href="#5-8"> Is Qt Open Source Edition really free software in the GNU meaning of the
125word?
126</a>
127<li><a href="#5-9"> If the Open Source Edition is GNU GPL, aren't there license conflicts
128with incompatible open source licenses? How come people can even
129run commercial software like the Opera web browser with it?
130</a>
131<li><a href="#5-10"> Doesn't such an en extra license in addition to the GNU GPL
132violate the terms of the GPL or at least make the whole package
133GPL-incompatible?
134</a>
135<li><a href="#5-11"> Why is Qt Open Source Edition not distributed under the GNU Lesser
136General Public License (LGPL)?
137</a>
138</ul>
139<li><a href="#6"> Questions about other programming languages
140</a>
141<ul>
142<li><a href="#6-1"> Are there bindings to languages other than C++?
143</a>
144<li><a href="#6-2"> Can I develop commercial applications with PerlQt or PyQt or other
145Qt wrappers?
146</a>
147</ul>
148</ul>
149<!-- endtoc -->
150
151<p> <hr>
152<h2> General Questions
153</h2>
154<a name="1"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
155<h3> What is Qt?
156</h3>
157<a name="1-1"></a><p> Qt is a multiplatform C++ GUI toolkit. It
158provides application developers with all the functionality
159needed to build applications with state-of-the-art graphical
160user interfaces. Qt is fully object-oriented, easily
161extensible, and allows true component programming.
162<p> Qt is supported on the following platforms:
163<p> <ul>
164<li> <b>MS/Windows</b> -- 95, 98, NT 4.0, ME, 2000, and XP
165<li> <b>Unix/X11</b> -- Linux, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, Compaq Tru64 UNIX,
166IBM AIX, SGI IRIX and a wide range of others
167<li> <b>Macintosh</b> -- Mac OS X
168<li> <b>Embedded</b> -- Linux platforms with framebuffer support.
169</ul>
170<p> It has become the emerging standard development
171environment for IT professionals who want to:
172<p> <ul>
173<li> Write (and maintain) a single source-tree.
174<li> Port their applications to multiple platforms with a simple
175recompilation.
176<li> Internationalize their applications.
177<li> Provide their applications with native look and feel.
178<li> Have their applications run at native speed.
179</ul>
180<p> <hr width="30%">
181<h3> What is Trolltech?
182</h3>
183<a name="1-2"></a><p> Trolltech is an international software company with
184headquarters in Oslo, the capital of Norway, and with offices
185in Brisbane, Australia, and Redwood City, California. Our
186flagship product is Qt, the multi-platform C++ GUI toolkit.
187<p> Trolltech ASA was founded in 1994, although, the core team of designers
188started Qt's development in 1992.
189<p> More details can be found at <a href="troll.html">Trolltech</a>.
190<p> <hr width="30%">
191<h3> How can I evaluate Qt?
192</h3>
193<a name="1-3"></a><p> We offer 30 day evaluation versions of Qt on all our supported platforms.
194Further details can be found here: <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/evaluate.html">http://www.trolltech.com/evaluate.html</a>.
195<p> <hr width="30%">
196<h3> What does Qt cost?
197</h3>
198<a name="1-4"></a><p> This depends on your number of developers, on how many
199different platforms you target, and on the edition of Qt you
200choose. Currently we offer two different editions (Enterprise
201Edition and Professional Edition) on four different
202platforms (Microsoft Window, Unix/X11, Macintosh and Linux/embedded).
203<p> We also offer discounts for academic and research institutions.
204<p> Details on pricing can be found here:
205<a href="http://www.trolltech.com/pricing.html">http://www.trolltech.com/pricing.html</a>.
206<p> <hr width="30%">
207<h3> How can I buy Qt?
208</h3>
209<a name="1-5"></a><p> To purchase, please visit the <a
210href="https://webshop.trolltech.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi">Trolltech
211webshop</a>. In the webshop, you can generate a Purchase Order, order
212a Quote, or purchase directly using a credit card.
213<p> For further information and assistance, please contact Trolltech sales:
214<p> Email: <a href="mailto:sales@trolltech.com">sales@trolltech.com</a>
215Phone, US office (for North America): <strong>(+1)&nbsp;650-813-1676</strong>
216Phone, Norway office (for others): <strong>+47&nbsp;2160&nbsp;4800</strong>
217<p> <hr width="30%">
218<h3> What kind of technical support is available for Qt?
219</h3>
220<a name="1-6"></a><p> Trolltech offers email support to commercial licensees. The first year
221of Trolltech's Support and Maintenance Service is included with the
222purchase of Qt Professional and Qt Enterprise Edition licenses.
223Licenses can be kept up-to-date and fully supported by buying
224the Support and Maintenance Service for the licenses held in each
225subsequent year.
226<p> For further information see here:
227<a href="http://www.trolltech.com/support/">http://www.trolltech.com/support/</a>.
228<p> <hr width="30%">
229<h3> Who provides training for Qt?
230</h3>
231<a name="1-7"></a><p> A number of companies provide Qt training, in Asia, Europe and the US.
232Trolltech has agreements with a number of official training
233partners, who offer Trolltech approved courses. In addition
234there are a number of independently developed courses run by third
235parties. You can find more information about the partners and the
236courses here: <a href="http://www.trolltech.com/training/">http://www.trolltech.com/training/</a>.
237<p> <hr width="30%">
238<h3> Who provides consultancy for Qt?
239</h3>
240<a name="1-8"></a><p> A number of companies provide consultancy services for Qt and
241Qtopia. You can find a partial list here:
242<a href="http://www.trolltech.com/company/servicepartners.html">http://www.trolltech.com/company/servicepartners.html</a>.
243<p> <hr width="30%">
244<h3> Are there any books about Qt programming?
245</h3>
246<a name="1-9"></a><p> Yes, there are quite a few books on Qt, most of them
247available from amazon.com. You can find a partial list at
248<a href="http://www.trolltech.com/developer/books.html">http://www.trolltech.com/developer/books.html</a>.
249<p> The official Qt book is
250<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0131240722/trolltech/">C++ GUI Programming with Qt 3</a>.
251<p> <hr width="30%">
252<h3> What is the Open Source Edition?
253</h3>
254<a name="1-10"></a><p> The Qt Open Source Edition is our non-commercial versions of
255Qt. You can use this edition to create and run free
256software, i.e. software that is licensed under the GNU GPL or
257a similarly recognized open source license.
258<p> Qt Open Source edition is available for Unix/X11, Macintosh and
259Linux/embedded.
260<p> <hr width="30%">
261<h3> What is the idea behind having a free version of Qt?
262</h3>
263<a name="1-11"></a><p> With the Open Source Edition, Trolltech has found a way to support
264the free software concept. Part of our commitment is to enable
265those who contribute to the free software pool to do so
266without paying license fees.
267<p> <hr width="30%">
268<h3> Is there a low-cost version of Qt for writing shareware?
269</h3>
270<a name="1-12"></a><p> No, but Qt's commercial licenses permit you to write and sell
271shareware written with Qt.
272<p> <hr>
273<h2> Questions about Qt's Users
274</h2>
275<a name="2"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
276<h3> How many developers use Qt?
277</h3>
278<a name="2-1"></a><p> We don't know! We can count our many thousands of commercial
279licensees, but the number of free software developers
280using Qt can only be guessed based on download figures, book
281sales, the number of open source Qt applications available on
282the web, Universities teaching with Qt, and other factors. A
283conservative estimate would put the figure at around 100,000 to
284150,000 developers world-wide.
285<p> <hr width="30%">
286<h3> Which major corporations use Qt?
287</h3>
288<a name="2-2"></a><p> See our list of reference customers at
289<a href="http://www.trolltech.com/company/customers.html">http://www.trolltech.com/company/customers.html</a>. Note that many
290commercial customers do not disclose their use of Qt because they see
291Qt as a competitive advantage.
292<p> <hr width="30%">
293<h3> Are there any well-known applications that use Qt?
294</h3>
295<a name="2-3"></a><p> There are many, e.g. Adobe Photoshop Album from Abobe
296Corporation and the KDE desktop. A partial list can be found at
297<a href="http://www.trolltech.com/products/qt/apps-using-qt.html">http://www.trolltech.com/products/qt/apps-using-qt.html</a>
298<p> <hr>
299<h2> Questions about Developing Applications with Qt
300</h2>
301<a name="3"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
302<h3> Is there a mailing list for Qt?
303</h3>
304<a name="3-1"></a><p> Trolltech operates several mailing lists for Qt users including
305<tt>qt-announce</tt>, <tt>qt-interest</tt> and <tt>snapshot-users</tt>.
306<p> See <a href="http://lists.trolltech.com">Mailing lists</a>.
307<p> <hr width="30%">
308<h3> Is Qt's documentation available online?
309</h3>
310<a name="3-2"></a><p> Yes, at <a href="http://doc.trolltech.com">http://doc.trolltech.com</a>.
311<p> <hr width="30%">
312<h3> Is there a technical newsletter for Qt?
313</h3>
314<a name="3-3"></a><p> Yes, <a href="http://doc.trolltech.com/qq/index.html">Qt
315Quarterly</a>. It is a paper-based newsletter exclusively
316available to Qt licensees.
317<p> As a courtesy and convenience to all our users, a selection of
318articles is also published online about one month after publication.
319<p> <hr width="30%">
320<h3> I think I have found a bug in Qt. Where can I report it?
321</h3>
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)
323<a href="bughowto.html">How to Report a Bug</a> page <em>first</em>.
324<p> <hr>
325<h2> Questions about Professional Licensing
326</h2>
327<a name="4"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
328<h3> We have purchased a license, but the developer is leaving the company
329project. Can we transfer the license to another developer?
330</h3>
331<a name="4-1"></a><p> Yes. Qt licences are for the individual use of named developers. If
332the developer associated with a licence leaves the organization, or
333moves on to another project that does not require a Qt license,
334another developer can take over the licence. You can change the name
335of the developer using a licence at any time, but after a change you
336must wait at least six (6) months before changing again.
337<p> <hr width="30%">
338<h3> Can I purchase floating licenses for Qt?
339</h3>
340<a name="4-2"></a><p> No, we do not offer floating licenses.
341<p> The reason is this: Floating licenses are based on the concept
342of defining a maximum number of concurrent users. For example,
343for a word processor, this means the maximum number of
344instances of that application that can be running at any
345time. However, for a library product like Qt, there is no main
346application that is always running when the product is being
347used. Hence, it is not possible to count the number of
348concurrent users, and therefore floating licenses do not
349make sense.
350<p>
351<p> <hr width="30%">
352<h3> Can we use the Open Source Edition while developing our non-free
353application and then purchase commercial licenses when we start to
354sell it?
355</h3>
356<a name="4-3"></a><p> No: our commercial license agreements only apply to software
357that was developed with Qt under the agreement. They do not
358apply to code that was developed with the Qt Open Source Edition
359prior to the agreement. Any software developed with Qt
360without a commercial license agreement must be released as
361free/open source software.
362<p> <hr>
363<h2> Questions about Open Source Software Licensing
364</h2>
365<a name="5"></a><p> <hr width="30%">
366<h3> I just want to run KDE and other Qt-based software on my
367machine. Can I do that with the Open Source Edition?
368</h3>
369<a name="5-1"></a><p> Yes. You may use the Qt Open Source Edition for running applications,
370both at home and at work, without restrictions.
371<p> <hr width="30%">
372<h3> I want to put Qt, and applications that use it, on a CD-ROM or on
373a web site. Can I do that with the Open Source Edition?
374</h3>
375<a name="5-2"></a><p> Yes. You may copy and redistribute the Qt Open Source Edition, both
376at home and at work, without restrictions.
377<p> <hr width="30%">
378<h3> Can I make software with the Qt Open Source Edition and release it under
379the GNU GPL, BSD, or Artistic license?
380</h3>
381<a name="5-3"></a><p> Yes. The GNU GPL, GPL-compatible licenses, or any other
382approved open source license will do. The FSF.org and
383OpenSource.org web sites list approved software licenses.
384<p> <hr width="30%">
385<h3> I don't want to give away my source code. What do I do?
386</h3>
387<a name="5-4"></a><p> You need to buy a commercial Qt license.
388<p> <hr width="30%">
389<h3> Is software based on the Qt Open Source Edition really free? Does it
390carry any Trolltech-specific license restrictions?
391</h3>
392<a name="5-5"></a><p> Yes, it really is free. This is because the Qt Open Source Edition
393uses the GNU GPL, which forbids the imposition of any license
394restrictions on software based on the Open Source Edition that would
395make it non-free. And no, there are no Trolltech-specific
396license restrictions on software produced using the Open Source
397Edition.
398<p> <hr width="30%">
399<h3> What if Trolltech stops releasing Open Source Editions of Qt?
400</h3>
401<a name="5-6"></a><p> We have absolutely no intention of doing that. Together with
402the K Desktop Environment project, we have set up the KDE Free
403Qt Foundation (see
404<a href="http://www.kde.org/whatiskde/kdefreeqtfoundation.php">http://www.kde.org/whatiskde/kdefreeqtfoundation.php</a>) to
405legally guarantee the availability of Qt for free software
406development now and forever - even if circumstances beyound
407our control prevent us from producing new free editions.
408<p> <hr width="30%">
409<h3> Using the Open Source Edition, can I make non-free software for internal
410use in my company/organization?
411</h3>
412<a name="5-7"></a><p> No. Software developed with the Open Source Edition is always free
413software, i.e. it can only be distributed under a free
414software license. In particular, all the source code for all
415the modules your software is based on, regardless of whether
416they have been written by you or by others, must be free
417software. This is part of our commitment to the free software
418community, and enables those who contribute to the free
419software pool to do so without paying license fees.
420<p> Although it is possible to write free software for internal
421use, it is difficult to ensure that such software is used and
422distributed legally. For example, if your free software
423requires any modules that impose conditions on you that
424contradict the conditions of the GNU GPL, including, but not
425limited to, software patents, commercial license agreements,
426copyrighted interface definitions or any sort of
427non-disclosure agreement, then you cannot distribute it at
428all; hence it cannot be given to consultants, employees for
429their personal computers, subsidiaries, other divisions, or
430even to new owners.
431<p> Consequently we recommend using commercial licenses for all
432internal software development.
433<p> <hr width="30%">
434<h3> Is Qt Open Source Edition really free software in the GNU meaning of the
435word?
436</h3>
437<a name="5-8"></a><p> Yes - it is free software both as in "no cost" and as in
438"free speech". Even more, it is actually available under the
439terms of the GNU GPL. This means you can link GPL'ed software
440to it, and you can take code from Qt and put it into other
441GPL'ed software.
442<p> <hr width="30%">
443<h3> If the Open Source Edition is GNU GPL, aren't there license conflicts
444with incompatible open source licenses? How come people can even
445run commercial software like the Opera web browser with it?
446</h3>
447<a name="5-9"></a><p> If the Open Source Edition was licensed purely under the GNU GPL,
448there would be problems. However, as long as Qt-based
449software is either open source or was developed under a
450commercial license agreement with Trolltech, we grant
451permission to compile, link and run those programs with the
452Open Source Edition. This is written down in our second free software
453license, the QPL.
454<p> <hr width="30%">
455<h3> Doesn't such an en extra license in addition to the GNU GPL
456violate the terms of the GPL or at least make the whole package
457GPL-incompatible?
458</h3>
459<a name="5-10"></a><p> No, because those extra license terms give you rights in
460addition to those of the GNU GPL, including the right to
461remove those extra terms.
462<p> <hr width="30%">
463<h3> Why is Qt Open Source Edition not distributed under the GNU Lesser
464General Public License (LGPL)?
465</h3>
466<a name="5-11"></a><p> The LGPL is designed to "permit developers of non-free
467programs to use free libraries" (quote from the LGPL). In
468other words, if Qt Open Source Edition were LGPL'd, companies would
469not have to purchase our commercial editions in order to make
470commercial/proprietary software, they could just use the Open Source
471Edition, free of charge. That would mean Trolltech would not
472get the revenue necessary for improving and extending Qt.
473<p> Note also that the Free Software Foundation discourages the
474use of the LGPL.
475<p> <hr>
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
483community and are not supported by Trolltech.
484<p> <hr width="30%">
485<h3> Can I develop commercial applications with PerlQt or PyQt or other
486Qt wrappers?
487</h3>
488<a name="6-2"></a><p> Yes, if you have purchased a commercial license. The licensing
489conditions are the same whether you use the Qt API directly in
490C++, or you use it through some API wrapper in another
491programming language. All developers that write code
492containing calls to the Qt API (directly or through a wrapper)
493need Qt licenses.
494<p>
495<!-- eof -->
496<p><address><hr><div align=center>
497<table width=100% cellspacing=0 border=0><tr>
498<td>Copyright &copy; 2007
499<a href="troll.html">Trolltech</a><td align=center><a href="trademarks.html">Trademarks</a>
500<td align=right><div align=right>Qt 3.3.8</div>
501</table></div></address></body>
502</html>
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