Qt - cross-platform software development framework
A few words about Qt
Originally developed for desktop usage by Trolltech with Linux and Windows as the target platforms, Qt has evolved over the years into one of the best c++ framework available. I have worked with the library starting with version 4 and can really come to appreciate-it.
The Qt library also benefits from a very well written and managed documentation. Very little things are not clear but this are exceptional cases. The provided examples are also a good starting point.
Even more!
Together with qt a very useful IDE - Qt Creator - is provided. It integrates perfectly with the functionality provided by the library and is really perfect for C/C++ development.
One extra feature that I find very useful is the QBS (Qt Build System). I find that this is a perfect build system for any kind of project. It is ultra flexible and can cover a broad range of use cases (not only C/C++ but can integrate all kind of processing tools). Once you get a few hints it is very easy to extend with custom modules (qml + Javascript).
Since all my day to day work take place on windows I find the MSVC compiler the best choise for my development. Recently I managed to make a perfect combination - in my opinion - with the previous tools. Microsoft provides the VisualCppBuildTools (only the command line tools from VS 2015) and the WindowsSDK packages. Once these are installed and integrated with QBS and Qt Creator everything is perfectly setup for Qt and C++ programming.
Qt Library structure and highlights
The library is spitted up in various modules. Each module covers various aspects as: base components, widgets for creating GUI, serial communication, CAN abstraction layer, script engine, OpenGL, etc.