QML/3D Demo

With the imminent release of QML in Qt 4.7 it seems like the perfect time to let you all in on what we in the weird world of graphics have been working on to support this new paradigm for Qt development.

You may remember that way back in November '09 there was a blog post describing Qt/3D. Qt/3D, as you know, is a set of tools and functions which make coding of 3d graphics quicker and easier within the Qt framework. Many of the core elements (enablers, and so on) of Qt/3D have already found their way into Qt, with more fun and excitement upcoming in the near future as new functionality is introduced and more people start playing with 3d in Qt.

In that same post QML/3D was very briefly mentioned as a 'next logical step' for developing 3d applications in Qt. Since that time we've made good on this idea and have a functioning prototype of QML/3D up and running.

It's important to note that this is far from a fully rounded application development framework. It does, however, prove that 3d content can be quickly and easily added to applications, and that with Qt3d providing the heavy lifting in the background, content rich graphical applications are within the reach of even the novice developer.

So without further ado, here's a quick peek at what it's like to develop in QML/3D:

Where To Next?

QML/3D still has a long way to go. Right now it's a great way of putting 3d 'toys' into an application, and providing limited functionality, but it is by no means an all around solution to 3d applications and interfaces.

In coming months we plan to more closely integrate QML/3D into the standard QML framework and provide the kind of capabilities and conveniences which will make development of productive and useful applications in QML/3D just as quick and easy as they are in QML.

The most important thing, however, is for you - the community - to play with QML/3D (and Qt/3D) and tell us what you'd like to see added to and taken away from it, or what you want to be able to do with it!

So in the meantime, happy coding, and stay tuned for more QML/3D news in coming months.