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Key Features in Qt 3.0

Database Programming

Qt 3.0 includes a platform- and database-independent API for accessing SQL databases. The API has both ODBC support and database-specific drivers for Oracle, PostgreSQL and MySQL databases, and custom drivers may be added. Database-aware controls that provide automatic synchronization between GUI and database are included in Qt 3.0. The Qt Designer has full support for these new controls, resulting in a RAD solution for database applications.

Qt Designer

Qt Designer has now evolved from a dialog editor to a true GUI builder. It supports interactive construction of the application main windows with menus and tool bars. It also has true support for custom-made widgets, including preview. Qt Designer provides a built-in C++ editor, which allows the user to edit source code, directly in the RAD environment.

Qt Linguist

Qt Linguist, a localization tool, allows users to seamlessly convert Qt-based programs from one language to another, simply and intelligently. Qt Linguist helps with the translation of all visible text in a program, to and from any language supported by Unicode and the target platforms. A key feature in Qt Linguist is a specialized editing tool, with many features to help the translators be more productive and get better results. Qt Linguist fully supports Unicode 3.

Qt Assistant

Qt 3.0 features a separate application called Qt Assistant, which can be used to browse the Qt Class Documentation, as well as the Qt Designer and the Qt Linguist manuals. Qt Assistant offers index search, contents overview, bookmarks, history and search in pages.

International Text Display

Qt 3.0 has a radically improved support for display of non-western alphabets. Characters of different international alphabets may now be freely mixed in the same text, even without Unicode fonts installed. Also included is full support for right-to-left and bi-directional languages, like Hebrew and Arabic.

Regular Expressions

Qt-3.0 features a new and powerful regular expression engine greatly simplifying complex text manipulation operations. The syntax is compatible to and as powerful as Perl regular expressions while at the same time including full support for Unicode.

HTTP network protocol support

The Qt Internet programming module now provides an API that lets applications exchange data over the HTTP protocol. (FTP support is already available).

Multiple monitor support

Qt 3.0 allows applications to utilize multiple screens. On Unix, this supports both Xinerama and the traditional multi-screen technology, while on Windows, the "virtual desktop" technology of Windows 98 and 2000 is supported. Qt 3.0 provides a platform-independent API for these technologies.

New Component model

Qt 3.0 provides a platform-independent API for runtime loading of shared libraries and accessing of their functionality using a COM-like interface concept.

Support for the latest evolutions in GUIs.

Qt 3.0 supports the docking/floating window concept of modern, complex GUIs. It also adds a GUI control for interactive editing of rich-text.

Accessibility Support

Qt controls provide information for accessibility architectures, so that visual- or mobile-impaired people can use applications written in Qt with the standard tools provided (e.g. the Windows Magnifier and Narrator).

64bit Safety

The emerging, next generation of 64bit hardware is supported by Qt 3.0.

Themeing

The Qt style engine has been extended and supports a wider range of standard widgets, including progressbars, spinboxes, and table headers.


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Qt version 3.0.0-beta1-beta1