Sams Teach Yourself GTK+ Programming in 21 Days [Paperback]

Donna Martin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0672318296 | ISBN-13: 978-0672318290 | Publication Date: February 28, 2000 | Edition: 1

Teach Yourself GTK+ Programming in 21 Days guides you step-by-step through the process of creating a graphical user interface with the GTK+ widget toolkit. Topics include an overview of GTK+, seven steps to a basic GTK+ program, components of a user interface, adding graphics, color, fonts and pixmaps, events, programming with styles, menus, interprocess communication, drag-and-drop, selections,GUI builders, and information for Motif and Xt Programmers.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Teach Yourself GTK+ Programming in 21 Days guides you step-by-step through the process of creating a graphical user interface with the GTK+ widget toolkit. Topics include an overview of GTK+, seven steps to a basic GTK+ program, components of a user interface, adding graphics, color, fonts and pixmaps, events, programming with styles, menus, interprocess communication, drag-and-drop, selections,GUI builders, and information for Motif and Xt Programmers.

About the Author

Donna Martin is Vice President of O¿Martin Enterprises in Los Lunas, New Mexico, which offers website, hardware and software design. Donna teaches GTK+ programming classes, and has specialized in GUI development for 10 years. She is a software consultant for various companies in the New Mexico area, and has been training professional programmers in the art of GUI development for 12 years.

Product Details

• Paperback: 936 pages
• Publisher: Sams; 1 edition (February 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0672318296
• ISBN-13: 978-0672318290
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.4 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,163,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Was good in 2000, but now incredibly out of date- don't buy!, June 5, 2006

By 

Luis Villa - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself GTK+ Programming in 21 Days (Paperback)

Don't buy this book! It was decent in 2000, but after six years, it is almost criminal that the book is still sold. Since this book was published, GTK+ has gone through 5 complete new revisions (from 1.4 to 2.8, with 2.10 due out in the next few weeks) and nearly every API has changed. Buy the Official GNOME 2 Developer's Guide instead- it isn't spectacularly up to date either (it is based on gtk 2.4), but it is at least in the right ballpark.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a good investment, March 11, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself GTK+ Programming in 21 Days (Paperback)

Having read the first few chapters of the book, I can already tell the purchase has been a good investment. The material is well structured and enjoyable to read (like all good books should be!). Another good thing about the book is the careful use of source code listings. Some other books just stuff page after page with source code listings which does nothing more than increase the page count. The source code listing in this book is brief and to the point.

The book has good coverage on GDK and GLib. It is divided into two main sections, a user guide (~700 pages) and reference (~100). The small appendix on Motif is useful for us old Xt/Motif timers. I was able to quickly grasp the key differences between both programming models.

The one thing that should have been left out is the "C Programming Review" appendix (~40 pages). If you don't know C yet then you shouldn't be reading this book anyway.

The poster is a nice touch. There is no CD-ROM but you can download most of the code from the web. I say most because week 3 of the source code is not yet available but will soon. I am willing to overlook this for now since the book has just been published.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The only guide needed to start GTK+ programming, August 5, 2004

By 

Renato Perini (Italy) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Sams Teach Yourself GTK+ Programming in 21 Days (Paperback)

I generally hate "Teach yourself in 21 days" series by Sams, but this book is something different.
Donna Martin explains concepts gradually and with great style.
No long examples with hard to read source code. All the code is simple, fits the point and is very productive. This book covers all arguments you need to begin GTK+ programming, from simple label management to advanced selections and drag'n drop techniques.
The weeks are well organized, you'll never feel lost. The sensation is you're well guided trough GTK+ features and concepts. The poster included with this book is very useful, especially during the first week, when you are trying to figure out how the GTK+ class hierarchy works.
Even if this book covers GTK+ 1.2, don't worry. All the material presented here works with the 2.x series. What you have to learn are concepts, and the author is a master in doing this.
Once you are familiar with concepts presented here, buy and study
"Developing Linux Applications with GTK+/GDK" by Eric Harlow.
You'll have all the skills required to master more advanced documentation about GTK+. Finally, read the "GTK+ 2.0 tutorial" available for free from the GTK+ website to "update" your knowledge to the latest advances in GTK+ programming. It will be a snap.
Great book. Highly recommended. Hope Donna will write a new edition entirely updated for GTK+ 2.x series.