Differences Between QTextEdit and QPlainTextEdit in Qt

QTextEdit and QPlainTextEdit are two common widgets in the Qt framework used for text editing and display. While both are used for text manipulation, there are some significant differences between them:

1. Rich Text Support:
   • QTextEdit has the capability to support formatted text and can display and edit rich text formats like HTML and RTF. This makes it suitable for applications that need to display and edit formatted text, such as rich text editors.
   • QPlainTextEdit supports plain text only and cannot display or edit formatted text.
2. Plain Text Editing:
   • QPlainTextEdit is designed as a plain text editor, used for editing and displaying plain text without formatting or styles. This makes it perform better in applications that need to edit a large amount of text, such as code editors or log viewers.
   • QTextEdit, while it can display plain text, includes features for handling formatted text, which may introduce unnecessary complexity for plain text editing.
3. Performance:
   • Due to its focus on plain text, QPlainTextEdit is typically more efficient when dealing with a large amount of text. It offers better rendering and scrolling performance, making it suitable for applications that handle large text documents.
   • QTextEdit, due to its support for formatted text, may experience performance degradation when dealing with complex documents and formatting requirements.
4. Automatic Content Sizing:
   • QPlainTextEdit features a convenient functionality for automatically adjusting the size of the content so that all content is visible. This is especially useful when displaying logs or large text files.
   • QTextEdit typically requires manual adjustment of the scroll area to view the entire document.

In summary, QTextEdit and QPlainTextEdit are two different widgets for text manipulation. Your choice between them will depend on your application’s requirements and performance needs. If you need to work with formatted text, such as in a rich text editor, QTextEdit may be more suitable. If you need a high-performance plain text editor, QPlainTextEdit is likely a better choice.