Nathanael Kuipers
Aug 9, 2017 · 2 min read

Interesting read. As a somewhat-experienced Qt-for-mobile developer (I’ve even targeted BlackBerry back in the day) I can certainly identify with a number of the points you raised, both for and against cross-platform development [using Qt]. To those I would like to add that the Qt release cycle continues to shrink, but stability can be a problem. So the tools change quickly, but you might have the rug pulled out from under you in some arcane manner. I think that developers should consider sticking with a Qt release that “works for me” until the project is published, before considering a significant update…unless, of course, there is a compelling reason to update now, e.g., a new and more-or-less necessary feature.

Also, I think it is worth mentioning that “not native” can be both blessing and curse, depending on the situation. The vast majority of the time, native is what you’d prefer! But another way of saying “not native” is “consistent”, and some users, e.g., caregivers of clients with disabilities who may be handed a different device for any given client or facility, may not appreciate having to navigate the look-and-feel of a utility app in a platform-specific manner. Or consider a device that is meant to operate as a kiosk, locked in a frame etc. Does it really matter whether the application looks native? Probably not.

Finally, since this article was written, I think it’s fair to say that Xamarin has come a good way and is an attractive alternative to Qt; it even provides a storyboard-like designer for iOS targets.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience!

    Nathanael Kuipers

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