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# About Qt

Qt by Trolltech is the standard framework for developing high-performance cross-platform applications. Qt provides single-source portability across Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, all major commercial Unix variants, and embedded Linux. On embedded Linux, the Qt API is available as Qt for Embedded Linux.

Qt provides application developers with all the functionality needed to build complex, high-performance GUI and console applications. Qt is fully object-oriented, easily extensible, and allows true component programming. Read the Whitepaper for a comprehensive technical overview.

Since its commercial introduction in early 1996, Qt has formed the basis of many thousands of successful applications worldwide, including Google Earth, Adobe Photoshop Elements, and Skype. Qt is also the basis of the popular KDE Linux desktop environment, a standard component of all major Linux distributions. See our Customer Success Stories for some examples of commercial Qt development.

Qt is supported on the following platforms:

- Microsoft Windows -- 98, NT 4.0, ME, 2000, and XP
- Unix/X11 -- Linux, Sun Solaris, HP-UX, HP Tru64 UNIX, IBM AIX, SGI IRIX and many others
- Mac OS X -- Mac OS X 10.3+
- Embedded Linux -- Linux platforms with framebuffer support
- Windows CE -- Windows CE 5.0+ and Windows Mobile 5.0+

See Trolltech's web site for the complete list of supported platform and compilers.

Qt is released in different editions:

- The Qt Commercial Editions are used for commercial software development. They permit traditional commercial software distribution and include free upgrades and technical support. For the latest prices, see the online Pricing Information page or contact sales@trolltech.com.

- The Qt Open Source Edition is for the development of Free and Open Source software only. It is provided free of charge under the terms of both the the GNU General Public License.

Trolltech also provides Qt Solutions, a growing range of industry and platform specific components that complement Qt. Some of these are only available to commercial customers, others are available to all Qt users.