We just released CXX-Qt version 0.6! CXX-Qt is a set of Rust crates for creating bidirectional Rust ⇄ C++ bindings with Qt. It can be used to integrate Rust into C++ applications using CMake or build Rust applications with Cargo. CXX-Qt provides tools for implementing QObject subclasses in Rust that can be used from C++, QML, and JavaScript. For 0.6, we’re excited to announce that we’re on the road to stabilization! ? We’ve done a (hopefully final) iteration of our API and are now happier than ever to release it. The new API is now truly in the spirit of CXX. All implementation has moved out o ..read more

Introduction When someone with an OpenGL background begins using Vulkan, one of the very common outcomes – beyond the initial one of “OMG how much code does it take to draw a triangle?” – is that the resulting image is upside down. Searching the web for this will give many hits on discussions about coordinate systems being flipped with suggested solutions being to do things like: Invert all of your gl_Position.y coordinates in all of your vertex shaders. Provide a negative height viewport to flip the viewport transformation applied by Vulkan. Perform some magic incantation on your transformat ..read more

In a previous blog we demonstrated the most straightforward method to optimize Visual Studio Code for a Qt / C++ environment: simply let the tools do all the work! The example GitHub project we discussed automatically installs both the Microsoft C/C++ and clangd extensions into VS Code. You might wonder why you need both C++ extensions. The short answer is that having both will maximize your productivity in every situation… but read on for more detail. The power of extensions The thing that makes VS Code an amazing productivity tool is that you can add all kinds of extensions to it – tools to ..read more

Our colleague Alessandro Ambrosano created a series of blogs (parts 1, 2, and 3) that explain how to get Visual Studio Code configured for Qt development. In that series, Alessandro covers all the details you need to get your VS Code environment configured exactly the way you want it. But there’s a lot there to read. What if you’re short on time… or attention span? Then you want this blog. We’ve created the fastest way to get going for Qt developers who want to use the world’s best C++ UX framework with the powerful VS Code IDE. By putting most of the necessary ingredients into CMake, it reall ..read more

KDAB is proud to be a Silver Sponsor at this year’s Meeting C++, a highly recommended 3-day hybrid event for the European C++ community, offering 44 Talks in 4 tracks, November 12th – 14th. While this is also an in-person event, there is a substantial concurrent online program, so that high-class international speakers can easily contribute, and C++ enthusiasts unable to get to Berlin can still attend parts of it in real-time. Online talks are pre-recorded so that speakers can interact with attendees during the event. Check out the Schedule and find out more about the innovative way the organi ..read more

Introducing our latest addition to KDAB’s regular Scheduled Training courses. ‘Embedded Rust Training’, an online training course in collaboration with our partner Ferrous Systems. Over a period of 6 half-days, learn Rust for embedded systems with our partner Ferrous Systems’ professional training program. What to Expect: Rust Fundamentals: Master the basics, from syntax to ownership, error handling, and more. Embedded Fundamentals: Explore Rust’s unique applications in embedded systems. Hands-on Learning: Apply knowledge through practical exercises. Key Topics: Rust Basics: Cover everythin ..read more

Today’s blog post is about a small utility class in Qt with a… questionable name: QPointer. If you’re new to Qt, maybe don’t check out QPointer’s documentation just yet, and try to guess what the class does based on its name alone. I’ve seen countless users being very confused by it. Some end up using it extensively, thinking that it’s the Qt way to store pointers, or a better kind of pointer, or maybe yet another Not Invented Here Qt class solving a non-problem, or something along those lines. So what is QPointer? QPointer is a weak pointer for QObjects. What’s a weak pointer, you ask? A weak ..read more

I’m happy to announce the immediate availability of Heaptrack v1.5.0. Heaptrack is a heap memory profiler targeting mainly Linux, as well as FreeBSD. To learn more, please visit the project website. Version 1.5.0 incorporates about 70 changes since the v1.4.0 release from June last year. The highlights include: – Elfutils is now used for symbolizing backtraces, which makes the code much more future proof: We can now handle DWARF5, split debug info, compressed debug info and gain transparent support for debuginfod as well as some performance benefits too – Various QOL improvements to the charts ..read more

You may already be hosting your code on GitHub, but do you know that GitHub provides a built-in Continuous Integration solution called GitHub Actions that is very easy to set up and free for public repositories? In this article I’m providing a crash course on what GitHub Actions are and how to use it for your C++ and Qt project. Tl;DR GitHub has a built-in CI/automation system called “GitHub Actions” that: You configure through YAML files in .github/workflows Can run on GitHub-provided cloud runners or on-prem For MacOS, Windows and Linux Can run in containers too Is free on cloud runners ..read more

In just a couple of months, there’s going to be not one, not two, not three, but four fantastic developer events in Berlin! We are not going to miss any of them, and so shouldn’t you. November 12-14: Meeting C++ If you are a C++ developer, do not miss the 2023 edition of Meeting C++. This year the conference will be again in a hybrid format, partially online and partially live in Berlin. The list of talks is, as usual, of the utmost quality. The closing keynote will be held by Dr. Ivan Čukić, Senior Software Engineer here at KDAB. You can find more information, including how to register, here ..read more