[cmake-developers] DeployQt5/generalizing DeployQt4 for Qt5

[Stephen Kelly]

Marcus D. Hanwell wrote:

> On Sun, Feb 16, 2014 at 4:30 PM, Stephen Kelly
> <steveire at gmail.com> wrote:
>> Marcus D. Hanwell wrote:
>>
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> Is anyone working on, or have, a DeployQt5 or a generalized DeployQt4?
>>> We use it in our packaging process, and it is one of the last things I
>>> need to switch to Qt 5. If not, I was going to take a look at this,
>>> and see what I can put together.
>>
>> I've never used DeployQt4 or BundleUtilities, and I don't know much about
>> Mac (which BundleUtilities seems to strongly relate to somehow), so I
>> don't know what is needed from a DeployQt5, which is why I haven't
>> written such a thing yet. It seems like something that should be
>> versioned with and shipped with Qt 5.
> 
> It was contributed by Mike McQuaid (from KDAB too I think).

I think he first contributed it before joining KDAB, but now he's at Github: 

 https://github.com/blog/1711-mike-mcquaid-is-a-githubber

:)

> How are
> you currently packaging Qt application binaries on Windows, Linux and
> Mac?

Generally it's not me personally doing that stuff, but colleagues. Those 
colleagues don't have 'make it pure' as a goal, are not interested in cmake 
generally, but just need to get that part done, and need to do something 
else instead.

>> * It seems to have macros related to plugins. When using a statically
>> built Qt, plugins are also relevant in the buildsystem because I need to
>> compile them into my application. Should there be one generic interface
>> in CMake for both this kind of thing and what DeployQt4 is doing?
> 
> Perhaps, but I am most concerned at this point with the simplest way
> of porting the remaining part of the build system.

Yes, I understand that. 

 http://cmake.3232098.n2.nabble.com/DeployQt5-cmake-td7585218.html

shows that it can be done in a straightforward way.

> I would prefer
> something like DeployQt4 for simplicity, and not requiring me to bump
> my Qt dependency to 5.3 for packaging, so in the short term at least I
> would like to offer similar functionality for Qt 5 in a CMake helper.

It seems that you can do something simple for your current need and get 
something modern into Qt 5.3, if it makes sense to do something different 
from 'something simple'.

> The new Qt 5 CMake support seems really strong, but I was left
> wondering what I should do for packaging. 

Yes. The intersection of experience, knowledge, time etc hasn't appeared to 
add something that makes sense yet. 

I know that Digia are working on some deployment stuff with unification of 
concepts particularly with regard to embedded systems deployment in mind. I 
don't want to create too many diverging concepts there, and would prefer to 
see what comes out of that, or at least understand the thing fully, before 
committing to something in the cmake files shipped with Qt 5.

Thanks,

Steve.