This book contains the most thorough coverage of the many functionalities in Qt. The second edition is also the most current of all the books (a fleeting feature, but noteworthy depending on what you want to learn). Its well written and after over 1 year of working with the book I have yet to find any erroneous information of code.

We own all of the Qt books, but we use this one for teaching Qt in our Internship program. The Basic Qt Section starts simple and builds up from individual widgets and signals/slots to dialogs to windows to the full fancy application functionality (menus, toolbars, docking objects, tabs, MDI windows) that Qt makes pretty effortless in a number of ways.
The book covers the very powerful Model-View structure very well. We have also benefitted from the XML, layout and networking chapters. The book has also been of help in dealing with look and feel issues (stylesheets and subclassing QStyle). It also covers a number of fascinating topics that I've read about but just never used professionally, such as plug-ins.

Some criticized its style of covering the development and structure of a small (spreadsheet-type) application. This is actually the most beneficial way to learn how to use the library since you wind up with the ability to see how the pieces interact with each other. Its easy to show how a QAction works; showing how to make it flow through an MDI to the right window, however, is much easier in a whole application context. This book is not a book on computer science (algorithms, etc); its certainly a book on the specifics of how to work with the Qt library and its also a book on application development generally. The downloadable code from InformIT is a nice bonus.

The Qt library, like any actively developed library, is constantly evolving so it should be no surprise that there are some features added since publication. I think its more a positive about Qt than a negative about the book. Each chapter is well organized, with each chapter covering one of the many aspects of Qt programming. Its impossible to cover every class and method because the Qt library is huge. This book clocks in at over 700 pages and, in my opinion, more than hits the highlights. I have no problem hitting the web or documentation for more in depth info. But with this book, I feel like I've got enough background to tackle the issues.

Lastly, in response to those who criticize Qt: I have tried a number of the other major libraries and I have found nothing better for GUI than Qt. But Qt covers so much more. It provides data types and containers (eg QString, QList, QHash), model-view-controller GUI, networking, regular expressions, signals-slots. I've moved my apps from using a mix of MFC, boost, and other libraries to just using Qt. Qt is highly consistent and all data can be moved from one class to the next with minimal effort. It truly is the best available and this is easily our book of choice for training with the Qt library.

I bought the book from Barnes & Noble for about $65. I like the fact it's a hardback, and I was extremely anxious to dig in and start developing Qt4 GUI applications.

The first couple chapters are great. Very easy to follow, just type in the examples as the book tells you to, and then it explains it (though not as much as I'd like).

As some other reviewers have said, you don't really get a clear picture of what Qt4 is all about. It doesn't really explain WHY the code works as it does. You don't learn how all of the objects mesh together.

After you get through the first couple easy chapters, it feels like you're thrown into the deep end! Not in complexity of the concepts or code so much maybe, but in the even moreso LACK of explanation.

I just ordered "Foundations of Qt Development" on Amazon, I'm really hoping this book is better.

I'd have never started programming Qt4 "for real" without this book.

I started using Qt documentation directly, but it's so wide, and this book was (and it is) a perfect starting, and at the same time complete, point.

Moreover, it's a good reference for topics that you don't need everyday (like SQL, threads, delegates and so on).

Coming from a C# background with minimal C++ experience, I found this book to be a great introduction to concepts specific to the Qt framework. I did feel that some sections could use more explanation (e.g. Databases) however if it included every detail of the framework the book would be massive.

My copy has many creases and coffee stains now. I found it to be a much better reference than the built-in/online documentation. I plan to keep it readily available as a reference for some time.

I've read many Qt books, but I hate to say it, but it is a little above average of all the other Qt books. Yes, this is updated, but we now have Qt 4.5 just released and I'm sure people are working to update their books with the new features. This book did a pretty good job of stepping you through the example codes and got just a little at times into the tips and tricks. Most of the Qt tried and true features were presented and explained. Sometimes these explanations were just a sentence, and I wanted more of an explanation, other times I was giddy with how a feature worked. I like how some topics were explained and example code was used so maybe I could use it in future projects. I'm looking more for a book that will show me the tips and tricks that you can only find in the forum boards.

I would recommend this book to go onto your bookshelf, but not a must have.

If I were the author, I have a sure fire way to sell Qt books. First off, make it more like a library, with multiple volumes. Make the first volume basically a reference book almost like the documentation. List ALL the objects, properties, and maybe a few explanations on how to be used and real-world caveats. It would be a reference to see just what those properties were and what is the syntax. Sometimes, I just do not want to search the online documentation, I like having it right in front of me to make notes in my book Next, the Second volume will be a Developers Handbook. One of my most favorite books and still on my shelf is MS Access and the VB6 Developers Handbook. They were PERFECT on showing me how each control and method worked. The Qt 4.x Developers Handbook will be an indispensable reference book on how each control works, how each Class works, and detailed examples with line-by-line explanation just like this book, C++ GUI Programming with Qt4. I might want some tips and tricks in the Developers Handbook, but basically make it still for beginners. If you didn't want to go into details, then refer the reader to the Reference Handbook of volume 1. The third volume will be the Qt Developers Cookbook or call it the Qt Developers Black Book. In the third volume I want tips and tricks. In this current book I loved the example on how to add widgets within the toolbar. I loved it. I want the brain and lessons learned from hard-core Qt developers on how they made that piece of code jump through fire. I want to know how to setup a TCP App Server as the mid-tier to make database calls instead of the Client, I want to know how to make a QWidget inside a MDI widget undock from within and become it's OWN window with it's own docks via a command. I want the tips and tricks from the forums poured out for me to take apart and NOT re-invent the wheel.

If you make this 3 part volume set you can claim any price you want and I WILL BUY IT! Contact me if you have any questions.