Trolltech unveiled a new scripting language for Qt-based applications. According to Trolltech, Qt Script for Applications (QSA) leverages the powerful Qt API, taking static Qt/C++ applications and making them dynamic. Trolltech said QSA can be used to prototype changes in already-compiled applications, write test scripts, customize applications to specific requirements, script-enable applications to… allow power-users to add sophisticated macros, and provide script-based fixes for previously released applications. Qt is a multiplatform, object-oriented, extensible, C++ application framework, and is the basis of Linux's most popular windowing system, the open source K Desktop Environment (KDE).

“QSA was designed to tightly integrate with Qt, ensuring that developers don't have to worry about binding layers or subset functionality,” said Eirik Eng, Trolltech president. “All developers need to do is add a few lines of code to their Qt applications, and then the apps are enabled for scripting and extending.”

Trolltech said its QSA toolkit includes following components:

• QSA SDK, which allows Qt developers to make their applications scriptable.
• Qt Script, an easy-to-learn, multiplatform interpreted scripting language. Qt Script is based on the ECMAScript standard, as are Microsoft's JScript and Netscape's JavaScript.
• QSA Workbench, a light-weight, simple to use scripting environment. QSA Workbench provides the scripter with code formatting, syntax highlighting, code completion and stack-trace output.
• Input Dialog Framework, a high-level GUI API that allows scripters to write dialogs.

Trolltech charges royalties for commercial use of Qt and QSA, but the products are available free-of-charge for open source, noncommercial distribution on Unix/Linux and Mac OS X platforms.

 
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