Alternative operating systems like Linux and Mac OS are getting more and more popular these days. That’s why cross platform technologies and programming are also increasingly popular and important. One of such technologies is a C++ GUI programming library and framework called Qt. Today I’ve just finished reading a book about it, The Book of Qt 4 – The Art of Building Qt Applications. This is my short review of it.

The author of the book is Daniel Molkentin, who is one of the main developers at the KDE project. KDE is an entire desktop environment based on Qt. On more than 400 pages Daniel did a great job of presenting basic concepts and components behind Qt 4. Compared to another Qt book I’ve got, C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4, the introduction to Qt in this book is more smooth and friendlier to readers who are just starting to learn Qt. Examples are simpler and there is a separate example for every topic. So you don’t need to complete something from the beginning of the book to try another thing from the end. It is also nice that there are step by step instructions on how to use Qt’s graphical tool to design the main application window and dialogs. With 48 and 44 pages two of the longest chapters describe model/view programming using Interview framework and Qt’s powerful painting system called Arthur. Like the rest of the chapters these two are also presented in a way that doesn’t overload the reader with too much information. For complete list of topics covered check out the table of contents.

At the end I can say that this is a great book for anyone getting started with Qt 4 programming. By learning Qt 4 you will be able to reach more users, program faster and enjoy more while doing it. Not to mention you will be ready to start developing for KDE 4, which will be released in a few months and is destined to be one of the most exciting desktop environments ever.

Tags: trolltech, qt, programming, development, c++, gui, toolkits, frameworks, cross platform, multi platform, software, linux, mac, windows, kde

New year of 2007 is almost here and you can be sure that there will be plenty of astronomical phenomenon to wonder at in the coming year. Whether you use a telescope, binoculars or even the naked eye, many celestial objects are worth to gaze at. To help you explore the night sky there is an excellent book, that is prepared just for the year 2007. It title is What’s Up 2007 - 365 Days of Skywatching and was written by Tammy Plotner. The best part about this book is that it is available for free download. A perfect gift for any amateur astronomer, beginner or experienced one. If you like the book, you can also buy it in printed form and by doing so also support the author. He deserves it. Thanks to Wil Wheaton for the post with a pointer to this book.

Tags: astronomy, space, science, books, education

After a couple of weeks of travelling across the Atlantic ocean the book C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4 was finally delivered into my hands this morning. Quite a nice timing actually. Today the first development snapshot of KDE4 was released. KDE 4 will be based on Qt 4.2, so this book will also be of great benefit for learning programming for KDE 4. Another nice thing is that authors of the book have added a short chapter about embedded programming with Qtopia (a special version of Qt for embedded devices). This is nice because more and more mobile phones and devices are nowadays running on Linux. A couple of days ago Trolltech introduced the world’s first fully open and programmable mobile development device Qtopia Greenphone. It attracted a lot of interest from developers all over the world. So I guess it will only be beneficial in the future to also have some knowledge about programming in Qtopia. Now I only have to read and learn. When I finish (won’t be that soon) I will write a review of the book.

Tags: book, books, c++, programming, development, gui, trolltech, qt, kde, qtopia, greenphone

There is a new free book available for all of you who have decided to make the first step of breaking free from the world of Windows and to try Linux. The author, Scott Morris, starts describing the book like this:

After several months of writing and revising, I have made available the Easiest Linux Guide You’ll Ever Read. It is a 160-page book geared towards people who are competent with using Windows, who have never attempted to use Linux but are interested in giving it a try.

The book will help prevent you from getting lost in the new world of Linux, help with understanding the concept of freedom behind Linux and show you some of the many advantages it has to offer. No more excuses, download the book and try Linux.

Tags: linux, book, books, open source, free software, operating system, operating systems

Hentzenwerke is a family-run publishing company which provides great books about Linux operating system, OpenOffice.org office suite and Visual FoxPro. Currently Whil Hentzen is writing a book about a live Linux distribution, called Knoppix. The book, Knoppix Explained, is going to be published sometime in October 2006. I’m very honoured to be selected as one of the reviewers of the manuscript. It is the first time I’m doing a job like this. Maybe it is a bit similar to beta testing software, and I have a lot of experience with this. With the help of my sister I’ll try to provide as much feedback as possible and help make the book a pleasant read. The first two chapters have just arrived, so I’d better get reading.

Tags: book, books, linux, knoppix, distribution, distributions, open source, free software