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Kivy vs Qt: What are the differences?
Introduction
When choosing between Kivy and Qt for developing cross-platform applications, it's crucial to understand the key differences to make an informed decision.
- Programming Language: Kivy is primarily developed using Python, making it suitable for developers who prefer scripting languages, while Qt supports C++ as its main language, which is ideal for performance-critical applications requiring low-level control.
- User Interface Design: Kivy focuses on gesture-based interactions and touch applications, making it a preferred choice for mobile app development, whereas Qt provides a wide variety of customizable widgets and styles, making it flexible for desktop applications.
- Platform Support: Kivy offers extensive platform support for Android, iOS, Windows, Mac, and Linux, enabling developers to target multiple platforms with a single codebase, while Qt provides robust support for different platforms but requires some platform-specific tweaks for optimal performance.
- Community and Ecosystem: Qt has a larger community and ecosystem compared to Kivy, which translates to more resources, libraries, and support available for developers, making it easier to troubleshoot issues and find solutions when using Qt.
- Documentation and Learning Curve: Kivy has extensive documentation and tutorials for beginners, making it easier to get started with app development, whereas Qt has a steeper learning curve due to its complex API and architecture, requiring more time and effort to grasp for novice developers.
- Licensing: Qt offers both commercial and open-source licenses, providing flexibility for commercial projects, while Kivy is completely open-source with no additional licenses required, making it a cost-effective option for indie developers and small businesses.
In Summary, understanding the key differences between Kivy and Qt in terms of programming language, user interface design, platform support, community, documentation, learning curve, and licensing is essential for choosing the right framework for your cross-platform development needs.
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Learn MorePros of Kivy
Pros of Qt
Pros of Kivy
- Readable8
- Pythonic6
- Simple5
- Convert to APK file1
Pros of Qt
- High Performance17
- Declarative, easy and flexible UI13
- Cross platform12
- Performance12
- Fast prototyping9
- Easiest integration with C++8
- Up to date framework8
- Python7
- Multiple license including Open Source and Commercial6
- Safe 2D Renderer6
- Great Community Support5
- HW Accelerated UI4
- Game Engine like UI system4
- No history of broken compatibility with a major version3
- JIT and QML Compiler3
- True cross-platform framework with native code compile3
- Reliable for industrial use3
- Pure C++3
- Been using it since the 90s - runs anywhere does it all3
- Open source2
- Easy Integrating to DX and OpenGL and Vulkan2
- From high to low level coding2
- Learning Curve1
- Great mobile support with Felgo add-on1
- Native looking GUI1
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Cons of Kivy
Cons of Qt
Cons of Kivy
- Same function but different name for different widgets2
Cons of Qt
- Paid5
- C++ is not so productive4
- Lack of community support2
- Lack of libraries1
- Not detailed documentation1
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What is Kivy?
It is an open source Python library for rapid development of applications that make use of innovative user interfaces, such as multi-touch apps. It runs on Linux, Windows, OS X, Android, iOS, and Raspberry Pi. You can run the same code on all supported platforms.
What is Qt?
Qt, a leading cross-platform application and UI framework. With Qt, you can develop applications once and deploy to leading desktop, embedded & mobile targets.
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What companies use Kivy?
What companies use Qt?
What companies use Kivy?
What companies use Qt?
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What tools integrate with Kivy?
What tools integrate with Qt?
What are some alternatives to Kivy and Qt?
PyQt
It is a set of Python v2 and v3 bindings for Qt application framework and runs on all platforms supported by Qt including Windows, OS X, Linux, iOS and Android. PyQt5 supports Qt v5. PyQt4 supports Qt v4 and will build against Qt v5. The bindings are implemented as a set of Python modules and contain over 1,000 classes.
Xamarin
Xamarin’s Mono-based products enable .NET developers to use their existing code, libraries and tools (including Visual Studio*), as well as skills in .NET and the C# programming language, to create mobile applications for the industry’s most widely-used mobile devices, including Android-based smartphones and tablets, iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Electron
With Electron, creating a desktop application for your company or idea is easy. Initially developed for GitHub's Atom editor, Electron has since been used to create applications by companies like Microsoft, Facebook, Slack, and Docker. The Electron framework lets you write cross-platform desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML and CSS. It is based on io.js and Chromium and is used in the Atom editor.
Android Studio
Android Studio is a new Android development environment based on IntelliJ IDEA. It provides new features and improvements over Eclipse ADT and will be the official Android IDE once it's ready.
pygame
It is a cross-platform set of Python modules designed for writing video games. It includes computer graphics and sound libraries designed to be used with the Python programming language.