To celebrate the opening of SIDO 2024 in Lyon, France, a show about the convergence of IoT, AI, XR, and robotics, ST and Qt are thrilled to shine a light on X-LINUX-QT, a software package dedicated to helping developers adopt the graphical framework on our STM32MP25. It is a highly symbolic release because X-LINUX-QT will help engineers transition toward Qt 6. Indeed, while it supports Qt 5 initially, the software package will help developers migrate to Qt 6 later. Additionally, Qt is at the ST booth at SIDO, meaning that attendees can see UIs running on our MPUs and MCUs, ask questions, and attend a workshop that will address X-LINUX-QT, among other things.
Moreover, beyond this announcement, the Qt Group is also committing to offer board support packages (QBSP) for the STM32MP15 Discovery and Evaluation boards that support Qt 6 at a later date, and a QBSP for the STM32MP13 is on the way. Hence, while the X-LINUX package will help bring the framework to the STM32Cube ecosystem, making it accessible from other utilities like STM32CubeMX, the demos and upcoming packages not only show the strong collaboration between ST and the Qt group but also how it benefits embedded systems engineers that can bring UIs to more systems and release to market faster.
X-LINUX-QT and longevity
“If it’s not broken, don’t fix it”
Some readers will remember that we introduced Qt’s QSBP for the STM32MP15 on the ST Blog a few years ago, and it’s common to see Qt’s demo at an ST booth. The reason is simple: the framework’s portability makes it easier to design once and port a UI to multiple devices. This is also why we wanted to launch X-LINUX-QT with Qt 5 first. Because of the popularity of Qt’s solution, there are a lot of existing projects that require Qt 5 and will never make the jump to Qt 6. By supporting the previous version of the framework, we ensure that developers can rapidly port existing projects onto our new device to reduce their time market.
“Slow and steady wins the race”
The launch of X-LINUX-QT is a testament to our collaboration with Qt Group and our commitment to long-term support for developers. Teams embarking on a project today will find it reassuring, especially for products with exceptionally long life cycles. Interestingly, a growing number of projects keep the same software stack longer but port it to increasingly more powerful hardware. This collaborative approach allows us to meet this new trend that aims to launch new products more rapidly and deliver more value to our customers. Thanks to the ST Partner Program, we can work with Qt to support these teams that rely on the UI framework on our MPUs and MCUs, thus instilling a sense of stability in developers.
X-LINUX-QT and performance and accessibility
“Two heads are better than one”
X-LINUX-QT will also bring Qt 6 to our MPUs. Consequently, STM32MP25 developers will be able to create UIs on 1080p displays, use richer 3D graphics, complex animations, and more features, like hardware video encoding and decoding. The new version of Qt also brings performance gains and quality-of-life improvements in certain cases. To ensure STM32 developers get the most out of their devices, we also work closely with Qt to ensure their platform can squeeze every ounce of performance out of our devices. Additionally, we work with Qt on webinars and other opportunities to ensure developers can become rapidly familiar with the various tools they’ll use to create their interface.
“It’s what you know and who you know”
It’s easy to overlook such collaboration, especially since microcontrollers and Arm microprocessors are ubiquitous. However, not all implementations are identical, and deep optimizations can make a tremendous difference. For instance, ST and Qt work together so that OpenSTLinux provides the best libraries and middleware needed for the UI framework. We also provide Qt with numerous testing platforms so they can guarantee that their software is fully compatible with all our devices.
Finally, Qt and ST have a similar commitment to the open-source community. Both companies mainline code to Linux to make our technologies more accessible. Qt even has a guide to help new developers choose the right license while ST continues to upstream drivers to the main Linux codebase to ensure more teams fully support our MPUs. We both believe the open-source communities can bring invaluable feedback and support on security and interoperability. Put simply, it’s a way to bring more communities into our partnership to enable more actors to innovate.
