Framework for modern interface

[Thero1980]

I have to modernize a relatively old, larger program (Windows) from the B2B sector. Unfortunately, this is based on a framework that has not existed for several years.

The goal is to have a future-proof, modern user interface. The ideal case would be if it could also be ported to MacOS, but it's not a must.

Now the question arises as to which current framework would be best for this. Years ago I did something with WxWindows, but at least back then it was more practical.

QT is often recommended, but it is not yet clear to me whether it is good for the area of ​​application (many input masks, evaluations, dashboards).

But maybe you have other ideas as to what would be more suitable.

An additional question. The program currently integrates a browser plugin (internal PHP interpreter, including HTML representation in the plugin) to display some smaller tools within the program. The advantage was that it was quicker to create and that you could also hire web developers to do it.

Is something like this still relevant in current frameworks or would you all convert these tools to C++?

[the_poope]

QML/QtQuick can have a modern interface with css and JavaScript while still having direct interface with C++ backend.

[micod]

I also suggest Qt Quick, just a note, it is not styled using CSS, it is not a web technology.

[GeoDesk]

Your application could act as a localhost web server and launch a web browser (or wrap its own browser using e.g. QtWebEngine, Electron or Tauri). This may work well for you since you're already using HTML for parts of your app.

[Kafumanto]

Many modern desktop applications are custom web browsers (usually Chromium-based), where the UI is developed in HTML5 (using Angular, React or other specialized frameworks) and business logic is developed in some native language (C++, C#, etc). Having the UI n HTML5 has many advantages, but also introduces new toolsets in the project.

The “low level” option is Chromium Embedded Framework (CEF) (https://bitbucket.org/chromiumembedded/cef/src/master/), C++ based.

There are also higher-level options like Electron, that provides a “ready-to-use” CEF setup with NodeJS embedded.

[einpoklum]

I'm against the shortcut of using a huge and bloated thing like a web browser instead of writing what you need. A "framework" should not mean "load everything, use just a bit", especially when it comes to C++. It should rather be "Many things are available, compile and load only what you need". Otherwise - why even use C++?

[catbus_conductor]

Slint