Photon to Qt
Migration
It’s Time to Migrate from Photon to Qt
In its heyday in the mid-to-late '90s, the QNX Photon microGUI windowing system was a technological feat — a high-performance graphical environment that offered technologies for creating high-end graphics applications, such as offscreen video, direct graphics mode, video overlay support and 3D. Businesses liked Photon because it allowed them to design responsive user experiences; developers liked Photon because it allowed them to easily scale from small embedded systems to expansive, workstation-class development environments simply by adding or removing modules.
But that was then. These days, Photon has reached the end of its life.
Photon has been unsupported since 2014. If you remain with this deprecated technology, you will not be able to update libraries for the latest bug fixes or security patches; you'll be tethered to old versions of QNX that no longer perform well or accommodate feature improvements; and you’ll assume added risk by working on an unsupported platform. That’s why migrating now makes sense.
For more info on the Photon to Qt migration process, check out our on-demand webinar.
Why Migrate to Qt?
Qt is a cross-platform application development framework for desktop, embedded and mobile with a huge user community. It's continually updated with feature enhancements and bug fixes, ensuring your application continues to deliver a pleasant user experience and high level of security. And though there are significant differences in architecture, which can make porting a challenge, Qt and Photon are similar on a fundamental level. For instance, both are event-driven and most Photon applications enjoy one-to-one mapping to Qt widgets. Qt offers additional benefits, including:
- Portability to Linux, Android, Windows, QNX and other OS
- Support for multimedia standards
- Integration with QNX’s screen-layer manager
- Scriptable UX
ICS is the Right Choice to Complete Your Migration
Enjoy a Smooth Transition
ICS is the largest supplier of Qt expertise and training in North America. We understand the similarities and differences between Photon and Qt, and are uniquely qualified to help you transition to Qt. Our dedicated team of Qt engineers has quickly completed scores of migrations using our own road-tested and reliable porting tool.
Enhance Legacy Products
We can help you enhance your legacy products with quality code and a modern UX, providing peace of mind while your own software engineers focus on your company's newer initiatives. If you’ve already started a migration on your own but have run into difficulties, our knowledgeable team can kickstart a stalled port and quickly get you moving forward.