Qt Creator
Qt Creator is a cross-platform integrated development environment (IDE) for developing and debugging C++ applications using the Qt GUI Application Development Framework SDK, and is included with the SDK. The software has a free LGPL license and runs on Windows, OS X, Linux and flavors of BSD. Qt Creator comes with a code editor, a visual debugger, a forms designer, and a GUI layout tool. The editor supports features such as auto-completion and syntax highlighting.
- Supports all major desktop platformsComes built-in with the Qt SDK
- Excellent syntax highlighting and auto-completion features
- Navigatable entirely from a keyboard
- Free LGPL license
- Elegant and responsive UI designed for experienced programmers
- Comes with a built-in GUI tool that requires no coding
- Supports CMake and non-IDE workflows
- Large community of users and high-quality documentation
- It doesn't come with a precompiler
- It doesn't have great refactoring capabilities
- Its support of multiple windows is lacking
Qt has long been a standard for creating cross-platform C++ applications, so it's no surprise that its IDE is first rate. While it may be missing a feature or two, it comes with everything most experienced C++ developers would expect or would likely need. It has a slick UI that professional programmers will love. They can access every feature with a keyboard, without any need of a mouse. The UI also works well on low resolution monitors, and it is responsive in every respect. What's more, Qt's built-in GUI tool can save developers time and hassle by letting them create interfaces without programming. You can also use the editor for more than just coding C++, such as for developing JavaScript applications, and for creating QML markup. It further integrates with a wide selection of version control systems, and has a simulator for the testing of mobile applications. Most people looking to develop Qt applications shouldn't need to look beyond Qt Creator.