Qt Software, formerly Trolltech, has announced the availability of a preview version of its new integrated development environment, Qt Creator.
Previously known as “Project Greenhouse,” Qt Creator is a new, lightweight, cross-platform IDE for use with the Qt application framework, Qt officials said. Preview packages are now available to commercial and open-source users for downloading, testing and feedback.
The release previews a focused set of features tailored specifically to the needs of developers using Qt to create cross-platform applications, including an advanced C++ code editor, integrated Qt Designer graphical layout and forms builder, context-sensitive help system, graphical front end to the GNU Debugger, known as GDB, and integrated cross-platform build tool.
For a more detailed look at Qt 4.5 and its features, click here.
Qt officials said one of the company’s goals with the new IDE was to focus on features that boost developer productivity without getting in the developer’s way, and to provide an open and extendable platform that integrates familiar tools and file formats.
The final release of Qt Creator is planned for early 2009.
In a meeting with eWEEK at the Symbian Smartphone Show, Qt Software CTO Benoit Schillings said Qt Creator is “not a full-fledged IDE like Eclipse or Visual Studio, but a lightweight IDE driven by our needs in that area.” However, the upcoming version of the Qt platform, Qt 4.5, takes advantage of the Qt Creator IDE, he said.