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The MeeGo 1.1 release provides a new toolset for application developers, supporting cross-platform development. These tools make it easy to enter the MeeGo application ecosystem, and are built, like MeeGo, on proven open-source technologies.
The big news for application developers is that Qt Quick is now part of the MeeGo release. This new technology allows rapid application UI development based on QML and JavaScript. It is also easily extendable with C++ objects, allowing a clear separation between UI logic (QML/JavaScript), and backend logic (Qt/C++). Qt Quick is ideal for MeeGo application development because it is highly flexible, allowing a developer to easily modify a UI so that it delivers an optimal user experience on all MeeGo devices. There are many Qt Quick examples and tutorials available already, see here for the official tutorial.
MeeGo SDK, based on Qt Creator, allows developers to create native applications for a range of devices (N900, Netbook, Aava), using both the Qt/C++ and Qt Quick frameworks. This SDK supports using Qt 4.7 and MeeGo Touch Framework and is packaged with Qt Quick development libraries. It also supports multiple toolchains, allowing compilation for both the x86 and ARM processor architectures. This means the same code base can be used for N900, Aava, and Netbook devices.
MeeGo 1.1 also supports a Web Runtime (WRT) environment, which means developers can use web-based technologies (HTML/CSS/JavaScript) to create applications for MeeGo. It is also possible to embed WRT UIs into C++ applications using Qt wrapper objects like QWebView from the QtWebKit module.
With a new set of tools, the availability of technologies like WRT and Qt Quick, and accompanying developer documentation, MeeGo application development has become easier and more accessible.
The following sections outline the software development kits available for this MeeGo release.
The following sections present options for starting application development. Note that it is also possible to combine the technologies presented in this section in hybrid applications, with parts implemented in C++ and others in JavaScript.
The key choice is between MeeGo SDK and Web SDK. Both provide an IDE that can be used to contribute to MeeGo. MeeGo SDK supports Qt Quick development, making it the tool of choice for most application development.
MeeGo SDK is used to develop native applications with cross-platform compatibility.
The following table describes MeeGo SDK:
| Name | Technologies | Intended users | Where to get started |
|---|---|---|---|
| MeeGo SDK | C/C++, Qt Quick (Windows, Linux) | Developers who want to create native applications and developers who want their application to be compatible with multiple mobile platforms, and developers who want to use Qt Quick. |
MeeGo SDK includes the following tools and components:
Web SDK is used to develop web-based applications. Windows developers of web-based content can use Web SDK. Later, the same will become possible for Linux developers.
The following table describes the Web SDK:
| Name | Technologies | Intended users | Where to get started |
|---|---|---|---|
| Web SDK | JavaScript, HTML, CSS
(Windows) | Developers who want to create web-centric applications and combine web services with device data and are interested in HTML/JavaScript development. | You can find the instructions for getting the Web SDK and an introductory example here |