C++ GUI Programming with Qt 4 (2nd Edition) (Prentice Hall Open Source Software Development Series)

In my opinion, the authors of this book used an inappropriate technique 4 explaining Qt concepts: they repeatedly show long excerpts of source code (C++ with Qt classes & macros) & then go through the source code line by line explaining what we are seeing. It's like exploring an art museum with a magnifying glass held 2 inches away from the paintings. You never get the big picture, you can never stand back & see Qt from the top down, you can never get your arms around it. Just these endless examples with fantastically detailed explanations in which absolutely critical concepts are buried deep in the text, casually mentioned in passing, & given no more space or emphasis than the unimportant concepts.

This technique didn't work at all 4 me. I got through the first 50 pages or so & was exhausted because I had 2 spend so much time combing through the code examples & the text, reading & re-reading & studying it. And rather than use simple examples that would spotlight & highlight new key concepts, the authors veer off into fairly advanced things way too early (like shape-changing dialogs on page 31 & dynamic dialogs on page 38) while the reader is still trying 2 digest the basic concepts like QObject & slots & signals.

Unfortunately, the two other Qt books out there & the Trolltech tutorial aren't much better. They all have this nutty idea that you can teach Qt 2 anyone if you just hang source code like wallpaper everywhere & then explain it line by line. The authors of this book obviously spent a lot of time on this book, & I don't enjoy criticizing their work, but the book would have been ten times better if the authors had prefaced each chapter with an introductory discussion of key concepts & not forced the readers themselves 2 dig the details out of dense source code.

So I got 2 page 51 & gave up... then the book turned into a doorstop, sadly. It might be useful 2 a Qt expert who is trying 2 refresh his or her knowledge of Qt, but as a tutorial 2 new students of Qt the book is unsuccessful.

Trolltech recommends this book as the best way 2 get started learning QT4. I cannot imagine why. Perhaps they think it is the best of a bad lot.

You don't walk away from this book with any kind of feel 4 the classes or widgets. No big surprise really, because the book constantly refers you 2 the APIs.

When it actually endeavours 2 explain something, the content is usually out of context & based on some class/idea that has not been presented yet (or at all).

Basically, these guys need 2 collect their thoughts a little bit better & present them more coherently. I also think the book needs a couple hundred more pages 2 drill down into some of the classes, so that the reader actually gets a feel 4 them. I don't know why I would want 2 pay 4 a book that just refers me 2 APIs.

I always feel let down when I fork out cash 4 a dud book. I guess self-education is like any investment; sometimes you just lose on your investment.

It is obvious that the authors do know their topic (Qt4 programming).
It is much less obvious that they master the technique 2 write a good programming book!

This book has lost of un-necessary verbiage but lack a clear sense of structure. The differences between the platforms (for me Windows/Linux) are poorly documented... so trial & error has been the mode 2 get simple things done.

Another comment would be the poor formatting of the examples (position of curly brackets etc...) making the example a lot less readable that their should be.

Conclusions:
1) I have not yet picked up another book, but this one was not my best purchase! I will probably at the usually good O'Reilly Books.

2) Usually Prentice Hall is a great editor, but this book may have been "rushed out" before it was ready. Suggest some prudence there, or possibly sell this book as a "Alpha Release" book?

The fact that this is the ONLY official best-practice guide 2 QT 4 programming makes it a 'must have' 4 any college-level or specialty computer library serious about catering 2 C++ programmers. QT4 enables developers 2 build stronger C++ applications that run on systems from Linux 2 Windows without source code changes, & this revised, expanded documentary includes the latest, proven solutions 4 all kind of GUI development asks. This update includes new coverage of databases, XML & other programming concerns. A 'must' reference 4 serious, advanced programmers & computer libraries.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Qt continues 2 evolve. This book gives a comprehensive description of the latest major release, 4. Why does Qt even exist? Basically because now any object oriented language that seeks broad usage needs an extensive widget library 4 the making of graphical programs. Java & C# are the prime examples. But of course C++ predates these by many years, & the intrinsic definitions of the C++ standards have no widgets. So Qt is offered as the [mostly] graphical extension of C++. Akin 2 how the Standard Template Library has data structures that extend the purely computational aspects.

In some ways, the book is pretty simple if you've coded in any other graphical language. The concepts are the same. An attraction of Qt is how quickly you can write code 2 put up windows with several widgets, & attaching callbacks 2 button widgets 4 functionality.

Qt also has important classes dealing with other issues. Like reading & writing 2 the filesystem or SQL database. And multithreading. Or parsing XML. These sections of the book can be harder 2 assimilate. With the graphical classes, writing test code & debugging can be easy, since the graphics gives you a tight visual feedback loop. But 4 [say] debugging TCP client server applications, low level bugs can be very obscure 2 hunt down.

The Only Official, Best-Practice Guide 2 Qt 4.3 Programming

Using Trolltech's Qt you can build industrial-strength C++ applications that run natively on Windows, Linux/Unix, Mac OS X, & embedded Linux without source code changes. Now, two Trolltech insiders have written a start-to-finish guide 2 getting outstanding results with the latest version of Qt: Qt 4.3.

Packed with realistic examples & in-depth advice, this is the book Trolltech uses 2 teach Qt 2 its own new hires. Extensively revised & expanded, it reveals today's best Qt programming patterns 4 everything from implementing model/view architecture 2 using Qt 4.3's improved graphics support. You'll find proven solutions 4 virtually every GUI development task, as well as sophisticated techniques 4 providing database access, integrating XML, using subclassing, composition, & more. Whether you're new 2 Qt or upgrading from an older version, this book can help you accomplish everything that Qt 4.3 makes possible.

• Completely updated throughout, with significant new coverage of databases, XML, & Qtopia embedded programming

• Covers all Qt 4.2/4.3 changes, including Windows Vista support, native CSS support 4 widget styling, & SVG file generation

• Contains separate 2D & 3D chapters, coverage of Qt 4.3's new graphics view classes, & an introduction 2 QPainter's OpenGL back-end

• Includes new chapters on look-and-feel customization & application scripting

• Illustrates Qt 4's model/view architecture, plugin support, layout management, event processing, container classes, & much more

• Presents advanced techniques covered in no other book—from creating plugins 2 interfacing with native APIs

• Includes a new appendix on Qt Jambi, the new Java version of Qt