                       Frequently Asked Questions


1:  Will Qt continue to be free?

    A: We will continue to release free versions for the X Window System,
       and they will be free for non-commercial purposes.

2:  What kind of licenses exist for Qt?

    A: The Qt toolkit is available under several licenses; the free license
       for X, a license for shareware developers for X and a fully-fledged
       professional license.

3:  What are the differences between the professional and free versions of Qt?

    A: You can write commercial software using the professional license.
       The library itself is the same. You also get 1 year of free support
       when you buy a professional license.

4:  Can I write software for internal use in my company/organization using
    the free license?

    A: No, if you want to use the free license within an organization, your
       software must be intended for the free software community.  Your
       software must be usable outside your organization, you must notify
       Troll Tech before starting to use it, you have to allow free
       distribution and you have to make your source code available.

5:  Can I write software under the GNU General Public License, GNU
    General Library Public License or BSD licenses using the Qt free license?

    A: Yes.

6:  Really? Your additional requirements seem to conflict with the GPL.

    A: Really yes. We require cooperation from you, in return you can use
       Qt. We could have demanded money (actually, we do for the professional
       license) and still not have been in conflict with the GPL.

7:  I want to use Qt to develop free software on Windows.

    A: Qt is not free for Windows.  We do however sell professional licenses.

8:  When will 1.0 be released?

    A: Now!

9:  I don't want to give away my source. What do I do?

    A: Then you need a shareware or professional license.

10: Can I charge for my application?

    A: If you have a professional license; of course. If you have a free
       license your software must be freely distributable and you must
       make the source available.

       The free license is intended for _free_ software.  We realize that
       CD-ROMs cost money to produce, for example, so you can charge a
       copying fee.

11: Where can I find Qt?

    A: The latest version of Qt can be downloaded from http://www.troll.no/
       or from ftp.troll.no, or (less often updated) from sunsite.unc.edu
       in /pub/Linux/X11/devel/ (or /pub/Linux/Incoming).

       We encourage all developers of software that use Qt to upload
       their work to ftp.troll.no.

12: Who is Troll Tech and what are your future plans?

    A: Troll Tech consists of four talented, hard-working programmers who
       work day and night to improve Qt, and enjoy it. We started the
       company in 1994, but parts of Qt were written for earlier
       projects. The first line of code was written in 1992.

       Our income comes from selling Qt licenses and from a development
       contract with a beta customer; we develop code based on Qt for the
       Norwegian division of NCR (previously AT&T).

13: Can I use Qt's classes without writing a graphical user interface?

    A: Quite a few of the classes can be used independently of the user
       interface. See utility classes, There are also a few classes that
       will work without the GUI only by chance.

14: I want to port Qt to a new platform.  What do I do?

    A: If the new platform is POSIX-like and runs the X Window System, it's
       simple.  Read the file PORTING for details. If you succeed you can
       send us the patches.  When we've added your patches to our source
       tree, Qt will officially support the new platform.

15: Will Qt be available for [OS/2, Mac, Amiga]?

    A: At present, Qt only works well on X11 and Win32 (Windows 95 and
       Windows NT).  Porting to other platforms is a lower priority.
       Currently, we concentrate on the Windows and X versions.

16: Can I make a Qt shared library and distribute it with my Linux
    distribution?

    A: Yes, if you do not make changes to Qt and include all the files
       present in our distribution of Qt.  (That is, you must include the
       source code.)

17: Can I distribute dynamically linked applications that use Qt?
    Can I distribute statically linked applications that use Qt?

    A: Yes and yes, as long as you do not modify Qt.

18: I need to modify Qt

    A: Are you sure?  Inheritance is very often a  better alternative.  If
       you do change Qt, you may not distribute the modified toolkit or
       programs using it.

       We encourage you to send patches to qt-bugs@troll.no.  We will try
       to evaluate the patches and reply as soon as they come in.  If we
       like what we see, we'll incorporate it in the next Qt release.

19: How can I distribute my cool widget library?

    A: In several ways.  Pick and choose.

       If the library is small, a widget or two, perhaps the best way is
       to submit it as a contribution to Qt.

       If it's larger, you can distribute it, and you can include Qt along
       with it.  But you _cannot_ include Qt _as_part_of_ your library
       (e.g. by making a shared library which includes Qt and your
       library).

       People must still be aware that they are using Qt, and they must
       have a license for Qt.

       This applies to wrapper libraries as well, of course.  If you write
       Ada or Perl bindings, fine.  But anyone who uses your bindings must
       also have a license for Qt.

20: I found this obscure bug and I need it fixed, fast!

    A: We sell support and maintenance contracts.  We try to support the
       free users, and we take all bug reports seriously, no matter who
       they come from.

       But, of course, if there's too much to do we have to put more
       emphasis on paying customers.

21: Is there a mailing list or something for Qt?

    A: Yes, qt-interest@nvg.unit.no.  To join, send mail containing the
       single word "subscribe" to qt-interest-request@nvg.unit.no.

22: Do you have any plans for a graphical designer/dialog builder?

    A: We are working on it now. There will be further announcements on
       qt-interest.
