Thread: GUI Programming

  1. #1
    Registered User trainee's Avatar
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    Cool GUI Programming

    I have never coded any GUI applications before. I was wondering what would be the best API or toolkit to learn that isn't too complicated. Thanks for the help in advance.

    trainee
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  2. #2
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    The best? Hard to say. Qt and GTKmm are both very easy though.
    The main difference is in the licensing, and that GTKmm makes better use of C++ features.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  3. #3
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    For Win32 platform, I recommend MFC.

    Kuphryn

  4. #4
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    I don't.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  5. #5
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    Yeah, avoid MFC. I suggest GTK or even wxWindows, all portable.

  6. #6
    Grammar Police HybridM's Avatar
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    For Win32 platform, I recommend MFC.
    For Win32 platform, I recommend Win32 API.
    Thor's self help tip:
    Maybe a neighbor is tossing leaf clippings on your lawn, looking at your woman, or harboring desires regarding your longboat. You enslave his children, set his house on fire. He shall not bother you again.

    OS: Windows XP
    Compiler: MSVC

  7. #7
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    I am actually coding for Linux, but I wouldn't mind it if it was cross-platform. Thanks again.

    trainee
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  8. #8
    Registered User Paz_Rax's Avatar
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    Yeah, avoid MFC. I suggest GTK or even wxWindows, all portable.
    OK why should you avoid Microsoft Fried Chicken?
    "Life, it's all in how you script it."

  9. #9
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    Because it's not a good class library. It neither achieves platform-independence, nor is it as easy to use as the other class libraries. It is very poorly suited for late code changes (I scraped an MFC project twice because of this, before finally switching to Java and Swing). It requires you to write a lot of code that is cryptic, non-C++-ish and could easily be hidden. It is old, very old, which means it doesn't take advantage of modern C++ features as much as it should. Neither does Qt, but GTKmm does it very well, and at least the Qt containers are compatible with STL algorithms.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  10. #10
    Me -=SoKrA=-'s Avatar
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    ^
    Besides, it don't work on the good ol' penguin.
    And yes, it's a really weird method of doing apps.
    SoKrA-BTS "Judge not the program I made, but the one I've yet to code"
    I say what I say, I mean what I mean.
    IDE: emacs + make + gcc and proud of it.

  11. #11
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    Besides, it don't work on the good ol' penguin.
    It neither achieves platform-independence
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

  12. #12
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    I was thinking of learning wxWindows, but I can't get it to install correctly in Fedora.
    Code:
    [root@hnlhi1-ar6-4-7-224-047 root]# yum install wxGTK
    Gathering header information file(s) from server(s)
    Server: Fedora Core 1 - i386 - Base
    Server: Fedora.us Extras (Stable)
    Server: Fedora.us Extras (Testing)
    Server: Fedora.us Extras (Unstable)
    Server: Livna.org - Fedora Compatible Packages (stable)
    Server: Livna.org - Fedora Compatible Packages (testing)
    Server: Livna.org - Fedora Compatible Packages (unstable)
    Server: macromedia.mplug.org - Flash Plugin
    Server: Fedora Core 1 - i386 - Released Updates
    Finding update packages
    Downloading needed headers
    wxGTK is installed and is the latest version.
    No actions to take
    Everything seems okay, until the following
    Code:
    [root@hnlhi1-ar6-4-7-224-047 root]# yum install wxGTK-devel
    Gathering header information file(s) from server(s)
    Server: Fedora Core 1 - i386 - Base
    Server: Fedora.us Extras (Stable)
    Server: Fedora.us Extras (Testing)
    Server: Fedora.us Extras (Unstable)
    Server: Livna.org - Fedora Compatible Packages (stable)
    Server: Livna.org - Fedora Compatible Packages (testing)
    Server: Livna.org - Fedora Compatible Packages (unstable)
    Server: macromedia.mplug.org - Flash Plugin
    Server: Fedora Core 1 - i386 - Released Updates
    Finding update packages
    Downloading needed headers
    Resolving dependencies
    .....identical dependency loop exceeded
    package wxGTK-devel needs wxGTK = 0:2.4.2-0.fdr.1.1 (not provided)
    That part about "Resolving dependencies" takes close to 30 minutes. Does anyone know how to fix this?

    trainee
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  13. #13
    Registered User Codeplug's Avatar
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    While we're talking about GUI frameworks, here are some cross-platform frameworks that I looked up once upon a time (two have already been mentioned):

    wxWindows
    gtkmm
    FLTK
    GLUI
    FOX

    gg

  14. #14
    Me -=SoKrA=-'s Avatar
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    Originally posted by CornedBee
    quote: Besides, it don't work on the good ol' penguin.

    quote: It neither achieves platform-independence
    Oh, man, I need to take a long break. I'm making mistakes like that a lot lately.
    @linuxdude. Try installing the package it tells you it needs. You need to install wxGTK before installing the devel package. If it's not on your distro's disk, donwload it, untar it and make it.
    Last edited by -=SoKrA=-; 02-26-2004 at 01:38 PM.
    SoKrA-BTS "Judge not the program I made, but the one I've yet to code"
    I say what I say, I mean what I mean.
    IDE: emacs + make + gcc and proud of it.

  15. #15
    Cat without Hat CornedBee's Avatar
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    Seems the one you installed is too old.
    All the buzzt!
    CornedBee

    "There is not now, nor has there ever been, nor will there ever be, any programming language in which it is the least bit difficult to write bad code."
    - Flon's Law

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