Type systems do more than just catch errors - they guide compiler optimizations too. This post explores type-based alias analysis in C and C++, showing how aliasing affects performance, why undefined behavior matters, and how the restrict keyword helps unlock faster code.

Choosing the right CI/CD tool can make or break your development workflow. In this post, KDAB’s Jan Marker compares Buildbot, Jenkins, and GitHub Actions - exploring their strengths, trade-offs, and ideal use cases. You’ll also learn about helper tools like CMake Presets and pre-commit that can make your CI setup smoother and more efficient.

This workflow uses Git's --rebase-merges and --update-refs features to manage multiple branches without ever switching between them. By committing everything to a single integration branch and using interactive rebase to restructure and update multiple branches at once, you maintain clean history, adapt to any review system, and avoid branch divergence - all using native Git tools.

Building efficient desktop applications requires strategies that address common development bottlenecks. From reducing compilation times with precompiled headers, caching, and distributed builds, to mastering multithreading with sanitizers and safe structures, designing extensible plug-in systems, simplifying configuration via text-based files, and leveraging shared libraries for modularity - these best practices streamline development while boosting performance and maintainability.

Robust embedded software quality relies on integrated testing: unit tests with frameworks like Google Test, HAL to isolate hardware, HIL or virtual hardware testing, data-driven test automation, and streamlined crash reporting to ensure reliability and maintainability.

Effective debugging in embedded Linux requires a full-stack approach and the right tools. This post covers key techniques—from hardware abstraction and static analysis to profiling and logging—to help you build more reliable systems.

Key architectural choices - monolithic vs. microservices - impact scalability and complexity. Planning for multi-user support early prevents costly modifications, while containers enhance consistency and security in deployment. Strong security practices, such as minimizing root access and securing OS vulnerabilities, are essential for resilience. Thoughtful planning ensures a scalable, secure, and maintainable embedded system.

The goal When building C++ code with CMake, it is very common to want to set some pre-processor defines in the CMake code. For instance, we might want to set the project's version number in a single place, in CMake code like this: This sets the CMake variable PROJECT_VERSION to 1.5, which we can then […]

In recent years, a lot has been happening to improve performance, maintainability and tooling of QML. Some of those improvements can only take full effect when your code follows modern best practices. Here are 10 things you can do in order to modernize your QML code and take full advantage of QML's capabilities. 1. Use […]

Desktop software has many differences from mobile and embedded applications but one of the biggest and most obvious is the screen. How can you take advantage of all that real estate for your application? Six considerations for managing the screen in your desktop application Choosing the right GUI framework Use a flexible GUI framework that […]

Creating applications for cross-platform compatibility is a modern best practice. It increases deployment flexibility and allows applications to reach a wider audience. However, doing it properly can involve some trial and error. At KDAB, we’ve built many multiplatform desktop applications. Here, we’ve compiled a few insights from that process to help you build better software. […]

It's been around 10 months since the last release, and we're pleased to introduce GammaRay 3.1. GammaRay is a powerful tool for developers using Qt, providing deep inspection capabilities to help you understand and troubleshoot your applications. With this new release, we've made several important updates and improvements to further streamline your development process. What […]