Thread: learning gtk?

  1. #1
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    learning gtk?

    Hey, I have some experience with C... And now I'm thinking that it's time to get off my lazy ass and do somthing useful with it. I was going to learn win32 API... But then I thought I had better not, since I'm trying to switch completly to Linux(although Ultima Online and Maya are holding me back, I can't afford to switch to linux version of maya)

    So is gtk 'the' API to learn?

    How easy is it?? The tutorials on gtk.org looked complete enough...

    Any other options that would be better?

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Check out the tutorial at gtk.org and I believe developer.gnome.org has the whole gtk api documented and there's also some open source books there on gtk and gnome programming. You can also go to the #gtk+ channel on irc.gnome.org and ask questions to the people who created and maintain the api.
    Wandering aimlessly through C.....

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  3. #3
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    thanks

    Now I'm thinking I'll learn some Unix system programming, then GTK... I'd really like to get into GUI stuff soon. Maybe after that I can get into networking, and hopfully SDL.

    I'll print all of those links off tomarow at school a laser printer, lol And I think I'm going to buy that book, after Christmas, when I have some money. Would this book also 'work' with C++??

  4. #4
    Registered User unixOZ's Avatar
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    GTK is really simple, fun and useful. There's also plenty of documentation and you can get help on the #gtk+ irc.gnome.org

  5. #5
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    Okay, I'll stick with C then...

    I'm definitly goign to buy that book, but it'll be a couple weeks before I get it. Until then, I'm printing the entire GTK tutorial while at school, lol... I got chapters 1-7 printed today and the damn laser printer ran out of ink

  6. #6
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    Don't forget about QT: http://www.trolltech.com

    I personally like QT much more than GTK+ , it has a nicer interface and great documentation, plus QT code is supposed to cross-compile on MacOSX, *nix, and Windows without changing any code (until you start using os-specific functions).

    The only thing is you'd need to understand C++ OOP.

  7. #7
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    wow

    QT does look nice... I'd really like being able to create cross platform code.

    How difficult is it to learn compared to gtk?? How difficult is it to use compared to gtk??

    What book would you recomend for learning qt?? I could get the O'Reilly book and "Sam's Teach Yourself..." for $50 at amazon.com

  8. #8
    Registered User unixOZ's Avatar
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    GTK+ is C and QT is C++
    What ever you do, dont get the Pennington's "GTK+/Gnome Application Development"
    I was lent this book and I really thinks is over rated, not good ever for experienced programmers. I like the official guide at http://www.gtk.org

  9. #9
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    Originally posted by Corey
    wow

    QT does look nice... I'd really like being able to create cross platform code.

    How difficult is it to learn compared to gtk?? How difficult is it to use compared to gtk??

    What book would you recomend for learning qt?? I could get the O'Reilly book and "Sam's Teach Yourself..." for $50 at amazon.com
    I'd start with the docs at trolltech's site to begin with. And don't forget to learn object-oriented programming first, otherwise you won't understand the inheritance hierarchy (although I started it without know what inheritance is.. it's sort of intuitive)

  10. #10
    crond
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    I agree that QT is a much nicer framework, but it's not completely free. You have to pay for a Windows license. If you're only coding on *nix, you have nothing to worry about, but be prepared to cut a check if you want the Windows libraries...

    gtk+ is completely free. It also has a windows port.

  11. #11
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    Originally posted by crond
    I agree that QT is a much nicer framework, but it's not completely free. You have to pay for a Windows license. If you're only coding on *nix, you have nothing to worry about, but be prepared to cut a check if you want the Windows libraries...

    gtk+ is completely free. It also has a windows port.
    Actually, QT for windows is free but ONLY the older 2.x version, not the newer 3.0.x versions. 2.x has MOST of the functionality that someone who is just starting off would want.

  12. #12
    Corey@school
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    I can't find any tutorials on their website, could you point me to some good ones please?

    thanks,

    Corey

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    Wandering aimlessly through C.....

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