KDE Frameworks 6.19 released
KDE has announced the release of KDE Frameworks 6.19. a major update that fixes many bugs and adds a lot of new features for developers.
The most recent version is part of a series of planned monthly releases that will make new features and improvements available quickly and reliably.
One of the most significant improvements in this release is the Breeze Icons system. It has been changed in a number of ways to make it easier to use. The team has made it easier to make and install icons, gotten rid of files that weren't needed, and added support for microphone and audio icons in languages that read from right to left (RTL).
The KDE InstallDirs module has also been updated with better documentation and code that is easier to read. The ECMQmlModule now marks plugins that weren't created as non-optional, and Ecm_generate_headers has a new SHARED_PREFIX argument that makes it work better.
There have also been some bug fixes in the KArchive library that have to do with handling 7z files. These fixes include getting rid of infinite loops and memory leaks. The team has improved the code to make it run faster and added tests to make sure the library works in all situations.
Another important change is that the KConfig module has been improved so that it can better handle localized config values on Windows and macOS. The KIO library now has a new API for turning frames off and on in the URL navigator. The Kirigami framework has also been changed in ways that affect how themes and texture filtering work.
Also, several modules have been updated to make them more stable and faster. For example, the KMimeAssociations module now logs messages more consistently, and the KTextEditor library has been improved to use less memory and work faster.
There are also many bug fixes in different modules, like KIO, KWallet, KWidgetsAddons, and others. The team has fixed problems with test flakiness, typos, and wrong documentation to make the framework more stable and easy to use.
In general, KDE Frameworks 6.19.0 is a big improvement in terms of features, speed, and stability. It provides developers a strong set of tools to make modern desktop apps that use the newest technologies and trends.
Along with the release, there are several other updates to different parts of the framework, such as:
- KCalendarCore: Porting to libical v4 has improved functionality and performance.
- KCodecs: Added an OSS-Fuzz CI job to ensure better code quality and security.
- KColorScheme: Simplified scheme activation and deprecated saveSchemeToConfigFile().
- KConfigWidgets: Fixed a Qt6.10 issue in KHamburgerMenu, while KTextToHtml now handles URLs with double-quotes correctly.
- KDE Daemon: Updated documentation for the config file to fix bug #509938.
- KFileMetaData: Improved test stability and fixed issues related to extracted plain text.
- KGuiAddons: Made KColorUtils available to QML.
- KHolidays: Updated holiday files for Italy (South Tyrol).
- KIconThemes: Prefers SVG files over PNG files in icon loading.
- KImageformats: Fixed several issues related to RAW, DDS, and IFF image formats.
- KIO: Added new API for setting frame off and on in the URL navigator.
- Kirigami: Improved theme usage and texture filtering.
- KJobWidgets: Kept KWidgetJobTracker wide even when keepOpen is hidden.
- KNewStuff: Switched to ecm_generate_headers SHARED_PREFIX argument.
- KNotifications: Fixed Android notifications with reply intents for API 34+.
- KPackage: Added a missing parameter to kpackage_generate_appstream_metadata.
- KQuickCharts: Improved LegendLayout performance and fixed bug #505010.
- KRunner: Modernized code using clang-tidy and removed unused lambda capture.
- KService: Disabled some tests that fail on Windows ATM.
- KMimeAssociations: Slightly improved log messages and avoided Q_UNUSED for printed variables.
- KStatusNotifieritem: Removed the "do you really want to quit" prompt.
- KSVG: Used alphaMask only when the svg has a mask, and restricted shared rendering to the main thread.
- KTextEditor: Optimized memory management and efficiency.
- KUserFeedback: Stated location for data storage and skipped OpenGL test on Windows.
- KWallet: Skipped fdo_secrets_test on Windows and required passing tests on all platforms.
- KWidgetsAddons: Fixed bug #510055, which prevented closing the dialog after pressing Enter in search line.
- KWindowSystem: Made tests more stable and deprecated KWaylandExtras::requestXdgActivationToken().
- KXMLGUI: Pushed country-stripped language code to the back of the list.
KDE Frameworks 6.19.0 is an exciting release for developers working on desktop applications because it adds many new features, fixes bugs, and speeds things up. For more information and downloads, refer to the KDE Framework 6.19 info page.
