What are snapshots?

The Qt Snapshot Releases are regularly-released unstable versions of Qt generated automatically from the current development source tree here at Trolltech, and provided daily via rsync and via FTP.

The purpose of the snapshots is to give rapid turn-around on bug reports so that developers do not have to work around bugs that will be fixed in the next stable release.

The snapshots are currently only available for the Qt Open Source Edition.

Who needs snapshots?

The snapshots are intended for developers working on software which requires some of the latest Qt features which are not added to a stable release yet, and who are willing to take on unstable software.

If you are an end user, i.e. you only want to run third-party Qt-based software, and not develop it yourself, you probably do not need to use snapshots. Only when a beta-testing a version of a piece of software that explicitly states that it needs a certain snapshot version should you attempt to use one. Otherwise, you will have many difficulties because of binary and source incompatibilities.

What can I do with them?

The Qt Snapshot Releases can be used for all the same purposes as the regular stable Qt versions, and according to the same licenses. However for your own benefit, we request and recommend:

• Only use snapshot releases for software development, not for production releases of software to end users.
• Clearly encourage your beta-testers to send all bug reports to you, then you decide if the problem is in Qt or in your software.
• Always use the latest snapshot release, if any. If you report bugs in older snapshots, they may already be fixed in a subsequent release.

The mailing list qt4-preview-feedback has been set up for discussion of Qt snapshot-related issues. To subscribe, send a message containing just the word "subscribe" (without the quotes) to . We encourage you to use this mailing list instead of qt-interest for snapshot-specific issues.

What about compatibility?

Minor version changes

Between Qt versions x.y and x.y+1, old programs should work, including with snapshots.

Major version changes

x.y and x+1.z, old programs will not work (your system should automatically link old programs with the old Qt version) and must be recompiled and/or modified to work with the newer version.

Of course, with snapshots there are no guarantees!

Note also that there is absolutely no guarantee that a feature available in a snapshot will appear into the next stable release - we will not put underdeveloped classes into stable releases. Of course, a new snapshot will always appear soon after a release with all the features of the previous snapshot prior to that release, so your development can continue un-hindered. As time for a stable release approaches, we will announce which features have and have not made the grade.

Where do I get it?

Qt snapshots are available daily via rsync, and via FTP. Developers updating regularly should use rsync as it is very fast.

• ftp://ftp.silug.org/pub/qt/snapshots/, Illinois, USA