KDE Frameworks 5.0 has arrived with over 50 different Frameworks as part of this release. This collection of libraries is now modularized and optimized for easy integration in Qt applications.
As Dr. Dobb's readers will know, KDE Frameworks 5 is a set of libraries and technologies developed in the KDE project over the past 18 years. Most of the frameworks come from the kdelibs module, which has been split and cleaned up; dependencies were straightened and packed into individual libraries. This allows developers and projects outside the KDE ecosystem to make use of these technologies and benefit from work of the KDE Community.
Distributed under the GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL), KDE Frameworks 5.0 updates provide solutions directed at tasks including hardware integration, file format support, additional widgets, plotting functions, spell checking, and so on.
A good proportion of the Frameworks here are cross platform and have minimal (or, at least, no extra dependencies) making them (in theory) easy to build and add to any Qt application.
An important goal of KDE Frameworks 5 is to bring the benefits of KDE technology to Qt5 users outside the KDE Community. Libraries are split into distinct components, making it possible for Qt developers to take components without dragging in other unnecessary libraries.
According to the development team, "The KDE Frameworks represent an effort to rework the KDE Platform 4 libraries into a set of independent, cross platform modules that will be readily available to all Qt developers to simplify, accelerate, and reduce the cost of Qt development."
The Frameworks themselves are cross platform and are described as "well documented and tested," such that usage should be familiar to Qt developers; i.e., they follow the style and standards set by the Qt Project.
Frameworks are developed under the KDE governance model with what is always called a "predictable release schedule" as well as a clear and vendor-neutral contributor process, open governance, and flexible licensing (LGPL).
