Trolltech just released Qt Jambi, a java library for the desktop version of QT. Development with QT & QTopia (QtEmbedded) had been a really exciting experience for me in the past (well that was 2002; with my QtJim QTopia jabber client). It was a cool paradigm shift away from Swing’s mess of that time.
Sometime in 2005 i ported Qtjim to SWT in just a day! I found SWT to be also extremely nice as an API. And yes, i am still waiting for those SWT bindings for Qt/Qtopia (SWT uses Gtk bindings). Some people also proposed that IBM buys Trolltech, so it seems Jambi was a way for Trolltech to fight back!
Now, i think it’s really nice to use the power of Qt directly from Java. I recall how painful, the porting of an AWT application to Zaurus was : I had to fight different QT bindings for CVM/J9 and the worse part is, i could not use the OpenZaurus ROM (had to stick with Sharp’s original or TheKompany’s ROM).
But will Jambi be a success or just add fragmentation?
Well, time will tell
pros :
- exposes excellent QT, to java programmers (java on desktop might get finally real )
- eliminates jvm-vendor QT-bindings lock-in
cons :
- Only for J2SE 5!! (the real usefulness would be for the embedded space, trolltech folks! – hope they make it for embedded too!)
coolness factor : 4.25!
Manolis Perakakis world 