WWDC: Trolltech to open 'new universe' of apps to OS X

by Dennis Sellers, MacCentral

Trolltech, a company that provides software components that let customers develop ecommercial-grade software, is demonstrating a preview release of Qt/Mac at this week's Worldwide Developer Conference in San Jose.

Qt/Mac is the Mac OS X port of Qt, Trolltech's cross-platform C++ GUI (graphical user interface) application development framework. Qt is a software toolkit that simplifies the task of writing and maintaining GUI applications, according to Eirik Eng, Trolltech president. Qt is written in C++ and is fully object-oriented. It lets developers create single-source applications that run natively on multiple platforms and can be ported with a simple recompile, Eng added.

"With the creation of Qt/Mac, the risk/reward equation changes for the software development community," he said. "Mac developers have a wonderful tool that enhances their productivity and opens up multiple new platforms for their code. Windows, UNIX, and embedded developers will find that the primary obstacle to writing for the Mac has been removed because any Qt-based application they write for their platform can now also run on Mac."

"Thousands" of existing Qt applications can now be ported to the Mac platform in a couple of hours, he said. Trolltech plans to release Qt/Mac this summer. Those interested in downloading a demo application or in getting more information on pricing, availability, and how to sign up for the open beta release of Qt/Mac can visit the Trolltech Web site.