[DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt
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TL;DR: Please review https://1drv.ms/w/s!AnaQjhA33g0K0lkIZPVjfsWrcPSI and let me know if you think this will be useful for newcomers.
There are a number of very common issues encountered in this forum:
- Some users don't realize there are multiple kits per Qt version. They select "Qt 5.9.4" and then wonder why Qt is huge (35 GB)
- Some users don't realize Qt Creator != Qt. They install Qt Creator without Qt and end up unable to build anything
- Some users don't realize they need to install a compiler separately. They also end up unable to build anything
- Some users don't realize they need OpenGL development libraries
- e.g. "Cannot find -lgl"
I've tried to write a "getting started" guide that addresses these issues. When the same questions inevitably appear again, I hope we can just provide a link and speed things up for everyone.
A draft of the guide is at https://1drv.ms/w/s!AnaQjhA33g0K0lkIZPVjfsWrcPSI. What do you think? What modifications should be made?
I'm also planning to replace the content at https://doc-snapshots.qt.io/qt5-5.12/gettingstarted.html (from the beginning up till and including "Create Your First Applications"). Do you think this is appropriate?
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TL;DR: Please review https://1drv.ms/w/s!AnaQjhA33g0K0lkIZPVjfsWrcPSI and let me know if you think this will be useful for newcomers.
There are a number of very common issues encountered in this forum:
- Some users don't realize there are multiple kits per Qt version. They select "Qt 5.9.4" and then wonder why Qt is huge (35 GB)
- Some users don't realize Qt Creator != Qt. They install Qt Creator without Qt and end up unable to build anything
- Some users don't realize they need to install a compiler separately. They also end up unable to build anything
- Some users don't realize they need OpenGL development libraries
- e.g. "Cannot find -lgl"
I've tried to write a "getting started" guide that addresses these issues. When the same questions inevitably appear again, I hope we can just provide a link and speed things up for everyone.
A draft of the guide is at https://1drv.ms/w/s!AnaQjhA33g0K0lkIZPVjfsWrcPSI. What do you think? What modifications should be made?
I'm also planning to replace the content at https://doc-snapshots.qt.io/qt5-5.12/gettingstarted.html (from the beginning up till and including "Create Your First Applications"). Do you think this is appropriate?
@JKSH said in [DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt:
Excellent, I am sure new users will find it very useful. I hope other good folks will pick it up and contribute translations for other languages.
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Very nice!
One question: Why is it recommended for opensource users to log in during install?
I have never done this - did I miss something?
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Thanks, guys!
There's one thing I wasn't quite sure about: @SGaist, Does macOS need to install OpenGL development libraries, like Linux?
@SGaist said in [DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt:
I've opened a bug for the installer to provide a bit more of information there already. IIRC, I also had in mind something like a warning when installing a VS version of Qt.
Wow, 2015.
I suggested something similar in April 2018 but the Qt IFW team doesn't sound too keen to add more text screens to the installers: https://lists.qt-project.org/pipermail/development/2018-April/032468.html
@aha_1980 said in [DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt:
One question: Why is it recommended for opensource users to log in during install?
I have never done this - did I miss something?
Nope, not missing anything :)
I was trying to say that getting a Qt Account is recommended because it provides access to the forum, bug tracker, Gerrit, and wiki. I didn't mean to imply that logging into the installer is recommended.
I've re-worded the section; is it clearer now?
P.S. The existing document says that all users need a Qt Account to use the installer, which I think is misleading: https://doc-snapshots.qt.io/qt5-5.12/gettingstarted.html
Qt Doc Search for browsers: forum.qt.io/topic/35616/web-browser-extension-for-improved-doc-searches
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Thanks, guys!
There's one thing I wasn't quite sure about: @SGaist, Does macOS need to install OpenGL development libraries, like Linux?
@SGaist said in [DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt:
I've opened a bug for the installer to provide a bit more of information there already. IIRC, I also had in mind something like a warning when installing a VS version of Qt.
Wow, 2015.
I suggested something similar in April 2018 but the Qt IFW team doesn't sound too keen to add more text screens to the installers: https://lists.qt-project.org/pipermail/development/2018-April/032468.html
@aha_1980 said in [DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt:
One question: Why is it recommended for opensource users to log in during install?
I have never done this - did I miss something?
Nope, not missing anything :)
I was trying to say that getting a Qt Account is recommended because it provides access to the forum, bug tracker, Gerrit, and wiki. I didn't mean to imply that logging into the installer is recommended.
I've re-worded the section; is it clearer now?
P.S. The existing document says that all users need a Qt Account to use the installer, which I think is misleading: https://doc-snapshots.qt.io/qt5-5.12/gettingstarted.html
@JKSH said in [DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt:
There's one thing I wasn't quite sure about: @SGaist, Does macOS need to install OpenGL development libraries, like Linux?
Nope, no special need, macOS already has everything provided by the system and Xcode. On that front, IIRC, they have started deprecating the OpenGL API in favour of Metal since Mojave (10.14).
@JKSH said in [DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt:
@SGaist said in [DRAFT] A more thorough guide to help newcomers set up Qt:
I've opened a bug for the installer to provide a bit more of information there already. IIRC, I also had in mind something like a warning when installing a VS version of Qt.
Wow, 2015.
I suggested something similar in April 2018 but the Qt IFW team doesn't sound too keen to add more text screens to the installers: https://lists.qt-project.org/pipermail/development/2018-April/032468.htmlIndeed, what I think would be fine is just a big fat warning on the "description panel" when a Qt version is selected that says that Visual Studio must be downloaded separately.
