June 2026

How long does it take for an Item 

to become visible?

How long does it take for a newly loaded Qt Quick Item to actually appear on screen? KDAB's Javier Cordero tackles this question with a practical measurement technique using QQuickItem::visibleChanged, QQuickItem::ensurePolished, and QQuickWindow::afterFrameEnd to accurately detect - in frames rather than milliseconds - how late a component is rendered relative to when it was made visible.

Showcase: MOTOR Ai 

Engineering the Passenger Experience in Level 4 

Autonomous Vehicles

KDAB helped MOTOR Ai, a Berlin-based autonomous driving pioneer, build a scalable, calming Human-Machine Interface (HMI) for Level 4 driverless vehicles. In a Level 4 vehicle, the car drives itself entirely - meaning all the reassurance traditionally provided by a human driver must instead come from the passenger-facing interface. The challenge was to display route and system information clearly and simply, without overwhelming the user.

KDAB engineered a dual-component solution: a 2D UI built with Slint, ensuring seamless scalability across vastly different screen aspect ratios, and a lightweight custom 3D engine that renders the vehicle's surroundings - buildings, vehicles, and environment - in a stylized, monochromatic aesthetic. The 3D texture is pushed directly into the Slint framework, creating a unified, optimised display. The result is an interface that is, intentionally, calm and almost mundane - giving passengers the comfort of feeling safe, informed, and taken care of.

Read more about this project.

MOTOR Ai Showcase - Engineering the Passenger Experience in Level 4 Autonomous Vehicles

Oxidize 2026

September 14–16, Berlin

Oxidize is the annual conference for applied Rust, co-hosted by KDAB and Ferrous Systems in Berlin. It brings together engineers and technical leaders working with Rust in production, with hands-on workshops and talks on real-world topics such as embedded systems, safety-critical development, and Rust/C++ interoperability. Tickets are still available, but workshop seats are limited - don't wait too long!

New sessions have been added since last month. Check out the schedule.

The Curious Developer

The Curious Developer is an interview series where engineers, consultants, and open-source contributors dig into C++, Qt, Rust, embedded systems, and the craft of software engineering - going well beyond surface-level takes to explore architecture, tooling, and developer culture. Three new episodes have just been added:

Modern C++: Staying Current Without Starting Over - A Conversation with Frances Buontempo

Many developers working in embedded, automotive, and other performance-critical domains feel left behind by modern C++ features. In this episode, Jesper Pedersen talks with Frances Buontempo about how to approach the language practically — which features are worth prioritising, why C++ remains relevant despite alternatives like Rust, and how to regain confidence without starting from zero.

Functional programming isn't just for Haskell or Lisp — many of its ideas have been part of C++ for years. Jesper Pedersen sits down with Ivan Čukić to explore how to apply functional techniques in everyday C++ using lambdas, ranges, std::variant, and more, and how concepts like immutability and sum types can make code safer and easier to reason about — without ever leaving C++.

Functional Programming in C++: Ivan Čukić on Abstractions, Immutability, & Why It’s "Just Good C++"

Contemporary C++: Daniela Engert Modules, Reflection, and What’s Coming in C++26

Behind every C++ standard are people who volunteer their time to discuss, design, and refine the language. In this episode, Jesper Pedersen is joined by Daniela Engert, who shares her path into the C++ Standards Committee, her work on modules, and why she invests personal time and money to help shape the future of the language — and why committee work is decidedly not a free vacation in Hawaii.

KDAB Video Releases

Your Monthly Dose of 'Qt Widgets and more'

The Delegating Delegate

Ever wished you didn't have to assign delegates to every single column manually? This episode introduces the "delegating delegate" — a mechanism that handles delegation across columns automatically. Jesper also dives into the Qt source code to track down a final puzzle piece, uncovering what appears to be an oversight - or possibly even a bug - in Qt itself.

When Qt Creator generates a new UI class, it references the UI via a raw pointer - but should you bother switching to a smart pointer? What seems like a straightforward question leads to a surprisingly deep conversation with Giuseppe D'Angelo (Peppe), touching on why an empty destructor still needs to be defined in the source file and much more.

Qt UI Classes: Smart Pointers vs. Raw Pointers

'Qt with CLion' continued

Five more episodes have been added to the 'Qt with CLion' series with Jesper Pedersen. Drawing on years of experience with Qt Creator and advanced IDE workflows, Jesper shares practical techniques for customizing CLion, improving navigation, streamlining debugging, and boosting everyday development productivity.

Before committing changes to Git, it's good practice to review them carefully - catching stray debug lines or unintended edits before they make it into your repository. In this episode, Jesper Pedersen walks through a clean, efficient workflow for doing exactly that in CLion.

One of the things CLion really excels in, is interactive rebase. This video will show you how it works.

During review (possibly just by yourself), you may come to the conclusion that a commit actually contains two changes, and should be split up. How do you do that?

When you rebase or when you merge, there might be a conflict which requires a human to resolve. CLion helps you with that as shown in this video.

Sometimes a line of code makes no sense on its own, and you want to know how it came around. Who wrote it? When did they write it? And most importantly, what commit was it part of? Git blame inside of CLion helps you answer those questions.

May 2026 Newsletter – Audio Edition

May 2026 Newsletter Podcast

The May 2026 Newsletter edition is now also available in audio form. This format allows you to catch up on the latest technical insights, video releases, training updates, and upcoming events while on the go. The audio edition is published shortly after the newsletter email, providing a convenient way to stay up to date.

Whether you are looking to deepen your knowledge or get started with new skills, KDAB has got a range of courses to choose from. Below, you will find an overview of upcoming training courses to help you plan ahead. More details in the full schedule.

Advanced QML, Berlin, Germany (3 days, English)

KDAB's Advanced QML training course dives deep into QML/C++ integration, scene graph profiling, and performance optimization. Learn to use OpenGL in QML, identify UI bottlenecks, and apply best practices for high-performance apps - even on constrained hardware. August 18-20.

Debugging and Profiling C++ applications on Linux, Berlin, Germany (3 days, English)

This is an introduction course to various tools that help developers and testers find bugs and identify performance issues in C++ applications on Linux. September 22-24.

Advanced Programming with Qt Widgets, Berlin, Germany (3 days, English)

This advanced Qt Widgets training course for experienced developers focuses on Qt internals, large-scale application architecture, system integration, and optional topics like multithreading and IPC. October 13-15.

Upcoming Rust Courses

Online, 2026

Sign up for the upcoming, online Rust training courses having been made available in collaboration with our partner, Ferrous Systems, a company that has been an integral member of the Rust community since before Rust 1.0.

Check out the full schedule. More details about KDAB's Rust training offering.

Introduction To Rust, Online (5 half days, English)

Sep 21-25.

Embedded Rust, Online (3 half days, English)

Oct 07-09.

Introduction + Embedded Rust Combo, Online (8 half days, English)

Sep 21 - Oct 09.

Events

RustConf 2026

RustConf 2026 is the flagship annual Rust conference, taking place September 8–11, 2026, in Montréal and online, bringing together the global Rust community for talks, workshops, and collaborative discussions on the future of the language and its ecosystem.

CppCon 2026

CppCon is the annual week-long gathering for the entire C++ community, featuring five days of concurrent sessions covering the latest in C++ development. Organized by the community for the community, it welcomes developers of all backgrounds 

Oxidize Conference 2026

Oxidize is the annual conference for applied Rust, held in Berlin and co-hosted by KDAB and Ferrous Systems. The event brings together Rust professionals through hands-on workshops and talks on real-world use cases, such as safety-critical systems, Rust/C++ interoperability, and embedded development.

KDE Akademy 2026

KDE Akademy 2026 is the annual KDE community conference, taking place September 19–24, 2026, in Graz, Austria and online, bringing together contributors and open source enthusiasts for talks, workshops, and collaborative coding sessions to shape the future of KDE.

NDC TechTown 2026

NDC TechTown 2026 combines hands-on workshops with a multi-track conference on embedded and systems programming. It’s a prime opportunity to learn practical techniques, explore low-level and C/C++ development, and connect with peers and experts in the field.

EuroRust 2026

EuroRust 2026 is the European Rust community conference taking place October 14–17, 2026, in Barcelona and online, featuring talks, workshops, and community events on modern Rust development and its ecosystem.

Qt World Summit 2026

Qt World Summit is the annual conference for the global Qt community - a gathering of developers, architects, and industry experts from across desktop, embedded, and cross-platform development goes virtual only for the first time. 
KDAB Training Day has been cancelled.

Meeting C++ 2026

Meeting C++ is a hybrid conference bringing the C++ community together in Berlin and online for three days of technical talks and community sessions. Whether joining in person or remotely, it's a great opportunity to stay current with the latest in C++ development.