Bare Metal Qt 5.2 on BeagleBone Black Ubuntu - Part 3

Overview

With Qt 5.2 working on the BeagleBone Black, created in Part 1 and Part 2, now it is time to compile a "Hello World" application. Assumptions:

• You are using an Ubuntu x64 host for creating Qt applications
• You have a Linaro toolchain located under /usr/local/linaro
• You have a BeagleBone connect to your host PC via a LAN

Downloads

No need to compile our own Qt Creator, just download it:

• Qt Creator 3.0.0 Installer: Direct Link, Others

Video Tutorials

Derek Molloy has three excellent videos about Qt on the BeagleBone. I suggest you start with these, as it will make following these instructions easier.

• Part 1: BeagleBone LCDs and Qt
• Part 2: Using Qt Creator
• Part 3: A fully featured application

Setup Toolchain Environment

Open Qt Creator

Go to Tools -> Options

Add a new Device

Click on "Devices" from the list on the left

Click the "Add..." button on the upper right

Select Generic Linux Device

Click "Start Wizard" button

Enter "BBB - Ubuntu" for the name

Enter IP, and user information.

Click "Next" button

Click "Finish" button

Verify that the test connection was successful

Add a new Compiler

Click on the "Build & Run" item from the list on the left

Click on the "Compilers" tab

Click the "Add" drop down list button and select GCC

Change the name to "Linaro GCC"

Click the "Browse..." button next to the "Compiler path" field

Enter "/usr/local/linaro/bin/" into the filename field and click "Open"

Select "arm-linux-gnueabihf-g++" and click "Open" again

Click the "Apply" button

Add a new Debugger

Click on the "Debuggers" tab

Click the "Add" button

Enter "Linaro GDB" for the name

Click the "Browse..." button next to the Path field

Select "arm-linux-gnueabihf-gdb" and click "Open"

Click the "Apply" button

Add a new Qt Version

Click on the "Qt Versions" tab

Click the "Add..." button

Navigate to "/usr/local/qt-5.2/bin/qmake"

Click the "Open" button

Click the "Apply" button

Add a new Kit

Click on the "Kits" tab

Click the "Add" button

Change name to "BBB Kit"

Ensure that the device type is "Generic Linux Device"

Ensure that the device is "BBB - Ubuntu"

Select the "Linaro GCC" compiler from the Compiler drop down list button

Select the "Linaro GDB" debugger from the Debugger drop down list button

Select the "Qt 5.2.0 (qt-5.2)" version from the "Qt Version" drop down list button

Click the "Ok" button

Create a New Console Project

Under the Welcome page, Click the "New Project" button

Select "Applications" from the list on the left

Select "Qt Console Application"

Click the "Next" button

Enter "HelloWorld" in the name field

Change the target directory, if you like

Click on the "Next" button

Review the details and then click on the "Next" button

Click on the "Finish" button

Modify Auto-Generated Project

Edit main.cpp to look like this:

#include <QCoreApplication>
#include <iostream>
using namespace std;

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{

   QCoreApplication a(argc, argv);

   cout << "Hello World!" << endl;

   return a.exec();

}

This will build locally, but we want it to auto deploy to the BeagleBone. That's coming up next...

Create Deploy Configuration

Add the following three lines to HelloWorld.pro after the "TARGET=HelloWorld" line

   target.files = HelloWorld
   target.path = /home/ubuntu
INSTALLS += target

That's it, now Qt Creator will automatically deploy the files before a debug or run.

Install GDB Server

This is required in order to debug from Qt Creator running on our host PC. This only needs to be done once. Issue this command on the Beaglebone:

> sudo apt-get install gdbserver

Now you can press the Debug icon (looks like a play arrow) in Qt Creator and it will automatically scp the binary to the BeagleBone and start a remote GDB server session.

Create a GUI Project

Under the Welcome page, Click the "New Project" button

Select "Applications" from the list on the left

Select "Qt Gui Application"

Note: This option may not show up. If Qt Creator does not see the Qt 5.2 build as supporting GUI applications,  you can choose "Qt Widgets Application", but this may give different results. The other option is to install a distro version of Qt and make Qt Creator aware of it. This will make the Gui option visible in the project creation section. Nevermind, this is a difference between Qt Creator 2.8 and 3.0. The source generated, for either option, is identical.

Click the "Next" button

Enter "HelloWorldGUI" in the name field

Change the target directory, if you like

Click on the "Next" button

Review the details and then click on the "Next" button

Click on the "Finish" button

Modify Auto-Generated Project

Perform the same .pro file changes, as the console project, to deploy the project to the Beaglebone.