World Time Desktop Application

A modern, feature-rich desktop application for monitoring time zones around the world with advanced visualization and management capabilities.

✨ Features

🕐 Core Functionality

• Real-time Clock Display: Shows current time for major world cities
• Smart Time Zone Management: IANA time zone database with automatic DST handling
• Advanced Search: Multi-term search with real-time filtering
• Favorites System: Mark frequently used time zones with drag-and-drop reordering

🎨 Visual Enhancements

• Time-of-Day Colors: Dynamic background colors based on local time periods
  • 🌅 Dawn (6:00-8:59): Warm sunrise orange
  • ☀️ Day (9:00-17:59): Light blue sky
  • 🌅 Dusk (18:00-21:59): Sunset orange
  • 🌙 Night (22:00-5:59): Dark navy blue
• Time Zone Overlap Bar: Visual 24-hour timeline showing business hours overlap across zones
• Professional UI: Clean, modern interface with consistent styling

⚙️ Advanced Settings

• Comprehensive Preferences: 40+ configurable settings via tabbed dialog
• Display Customization: Multiple time formats, show/hide seconds, timezone names
• Layout Options: Grid layout with configurable columns
• Persistence: All settings and favorites automatically saved

♿ Accessibility & Usability

• Keyboard Navigation: Full keyboard support with shortcuts
• Screen Reader Compatible: Proper accessibility attributes
• Responsive Design: Adapts to window resizing
• Cross-platform: Native look and feel on all supported platforms

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Qt 6.9+ (Core, Widgets, GUI modules)
• CMake 3.20+
• C++17 compatible compiler
  • GCC 8+, Clang 7+, MSVC 2019+

Building from Source

macOS (Homebrew)

# Install dependencies
brew install qt cmake

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/WorldClock.git
cd WorldClock
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

# Run application
./src/app/WorldTimeApp.app/Contents/MacOS/WorldTimeApp

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian)

# Install dependencies
sudo apt update
sudo apt install qt6-base-dev qt6-tools-dev cmake build-essential

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/world-time-app.git
cd world-time-app
mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
make -j$(nproc)

# Run application
./src/app/WorldTimeApp

Windows (MSVC)

# Install Qt6 and CMake via Qt installer or vcpkg
# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/yourusername/world-time-app.git
cd world-time-app

# Configure and build
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="C:/Qt/6.9.1/msvc2019_64"
cmake --build . --config Release

# Run application
.\src\app\Release\WorldTimeApp.exe

🎮 Usage

Basic Operations

• Search: Use Ctrl+F or click the search bar to filter time zones
• Favorites: Right-click any clock to add/remove from favorites
• Settings: Access via menu or Ctrl+, (Cmd+, on macOS)
• Refresh: Manual refresh with Ctrl+R or the refresh button

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+F	Focus search field
Ctrl+R	Refresh all clocks
Ctrl+,	Open settings
Ctrl+Q	Quit application
Esc	Clear search
Tab	Navigate between clocks
Enter/Space	Select focused clock

Settings Categories

• Display: Time format, seconds display, timezone names
• Time Zones: Manage favorites, search filters
• Advanced: Refresh rates, startup options, grid layout

🏗️ Architecture

Design Patterns

• MVC Architecture: Clean separation between model, view, and controller
• Singleton Pattern: TimeZoneManager and SettingsManager
• Signal-Slot Pattern: Real-time updates throughout the application

Key Components

src/
├── core/                   # Business logic layer
│   ├── TimeZoneManager.*   # Time zone operations and caching
│   ├── SettingsManager.*   # Application preferences management
│   └── SearchEngine.*      # Search and filtering functionality
├── widgets/                # UI components
│   ├── MainWindow.*        # Primary application window
│   ├── ClockDisplay.*      # Individual time zone display widget
│   ├── SettingsDialog.*    # Comprehensive settings interface
│   └── TimeZoneOverlapBar.* # Visual overlap timeline
└── app/
    └── main.cpp           # Application entry point

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit pull requests or create issues for bugs and feature requests.

Development Guidelines

• Follow Qt coding conventions
• Maintain MVC architecture separation
• Add appropriate documentation for new features
• Ensure cross-platform compatibility
• Test on multiple Qt versions when possible

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Qt Framework: Cross-platform application development
• IANA Time Zone Database: Accurate global time zone data
• CMake: Build system configuration
• Modern C++: Language features and best practices

📊 Project Status

• ✅ Phase 1: Core functionality complete
• ✅ Phase 2: Enhanced features complete
• ✅ Phase 3: Visual enhancements complete
• 🚀 Ready for Production: Full-featured, stable application

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Built with ❤️ using Qt6 and Modern C++