ubuntu phone questions, about libraries, ubuntu-sdk, and QML

Question

I'm trying to make an app for Ubuntu phone but I've lots of questions.

1. If my app depends from a library as qxmpp, what is better? Add a local copy of the library with my app, or use the system library add dependencies to the final package, etc.?

2. Do I have to develop my app with the QML layer? or can I use pure C++?

3. For the instance I don't like at all ubuntu-sdk (I don't like IDEs too much) is it possible to develop in my own to therefore upload the app to Ubuntu store?

Thanks, and sorry if some of my questions has no sense, It's first time I try to develop to phones platforms and I feel a little bit lost.

Answer 1

1. I don't see qxmpp in the what is called 'framework' (it's a ubuntu-sdk-libs package). There are no xmpp packages installed on the phone. So, it's probably a bundled copy.

   The read-only part of the software on the phone is called 'OS image'. It's updated over the air as a whole. It consists of .deb packages as a desktop Ubuntu. So, direct approach is to chroot into an image and look with dpkg -l what packages are installed. Or do dpkg -l on the phone or the emulator. Doc says that earlier (13.10) the libs available were listed in the dependencies of the virtual package ubuntu-sdk-libs: http://packages.ubuntu.com/vivid/ubuntu-sdk-libs . But now it may be more useful to search in the list of all packages.

2. You don't have to use the QML layer. You can even use Qt Widgets. But believe me, QML is great. It doesn't want to harm C++ in any way.

3. Yes, you can develop without SDK. Ubuntu-Touch application is just a regular application compiled for ARM (it even runs on desktop if qemu-user-static package is installed). Only the last step wraps it into a Click package.

   It's built with CMake, so that will be compatible with other editors. I've got an example of build files here. Usual compile and a small boilerplate inside CMakeLists.txt to invoke the Click packager.

   You'll probably use SDK to generate the chroots. Then the code will be compiled in these chroots and the emulators can be run in them (outside of SDK).