Is Qt the Next UI Framework for Chromium? Inside Google’s New Code Review
Google has opened a Gerrit code review to evaluate Qt as a UI platform for Chromium, revealing early‑stage commits, a brief overview of Qt’s capabilities, and a comparison of the UI frameworks currently used across Chrome’s various operating systems.
Starting this week, the Chromium project began a public code review of a Google‑open‑source browser that adds Qt platform support.
It appears Google is at least evaluating the prospects of using the Qt toolkit for Chromium/Chrome’s UI. An insider disclosed a newly started Gerrit review that could enable Qt support for Chromium.
Recent Commits Indicate Qt Exploration
Two recent commits in the Chromium source repository show the development team is experimenting with building the Chrome/Chromium UI using Qt. The commits are:
[DO NOT LAND] QT platform
Add QT to sysroots
The first commit aims to add Qt platform support to Chromium.
Both commits are marked "Work in Progress," suggesting the team is still assessing Qt’s suitability for Chromium.
This indicates that using Qt in Chromium is still in an early, proof‑of‑concept stage rather than a concrete implementation plan.
What Is Qt?
Qt is a cross‑platform C++ application development framework widely used for GUI programs. Over the years it has grown to include databases, OpenGL, multimedia, networking, scripting, XML, WebKit, inter‑process communication, multithreading, and more, enabling large‑scale, complex cross‑platform applications.
Current UI Frameworks in Chrome/Chromium
Different platforms use different UI frameworks: Linux employs GTK+, Windows, Chrome OS, and other desktop builds use Google’s custom C++ UI framework Aura, while macOS, iOS, and Android rely on their native UI toolkits.
Observing Google’s interest in Qt for Chromium provides an intriguing glimpse into possible future UI directions for the browser.
Signed-in readers can open the original source through BestHub's protected redirect.
This article has been distilled and summarized from source material, then republished for learning and reference. If you believe it infringes your rights, please contactand we will review it promptly.
21CTO
21CTO (21CTO.com) offers developers community, training, and services, making it your go‑to learning and service platform.
How this landed with the community
Was this worth your time?
0 Comments
Thoughtful readers leave field notes, pushback, and hard-won operational detail here.