GTK+ /Gnome Application Development [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Havoc Pennington (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Part of the open-source initiative, the GNU Network Object Model Environment, or Gnome, provides a powerful development framework for building applications in Linux/Unix using C. When combined with GTK+, a user interface library that simplifies graphics programming, you have a nearly unbeatable combination, one that is growing in popularity with developers for building leading-edge interfaces in Linux. GTK+/Gnome Application Development provides a handy reference to these two important packages. Clearly presented, this book is a fine resource for any Linux/Unix C programmer who wants to use these two toolkits.

The book is strongest at presenting the APIs for each aspect of Gnome/GTK+, as well as covering the underlying libraries and tools (such as glib and Xlib). There is also a good guide to getting started with these packages with installation advice. Topic by topic, the author presents the essential APIs for each aspect of Gnome and GTK+. There's good coverage of events (or signals) and graphics programming (including pixmaps), as well as built-in and custom widgets. This is reference-oriented work, designed to get you to essential APIs quickly. Rather than complete programs, this book concentrates on useful code excerpts and API listings. (Several more comprehensive code examples are included in appendices.)

It's sometimes hard to see the forest for the trees when it comes to Unix/Linux documentation. GTK+/Gnome Development provides essential information about these two powerful packages in a compact format. This book fills a valuable niche by putting Gnome and GTK+ into the hands of the working C developer. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Gnome and GTK+ overview, glib basics, source trees and GNU documentation, Gnome application basics, adding toolbars and statusbars, dialog boxes, GTK+ objects and types, graphics and fonts, glib and Xlib basics, GTK widgets and canvas classes, signals, pixmaps, building custom widgets, and GTK+ and Gnome API reference.

Product Description
This title is for the reader who is conversant with the C programming language and UNIX/Linux development. It provides detailed and solution-oriented information designed to meet the needs of programmers and application developers using the GTK+/Gnome libraries. Coverage complements existing GTK+/Gnome documentation, going into more depth on pivotal issues such as uncovering the GTK+ object system, working with the event loop, managing the Gdk substrate, writing custom widgets, and mstering GnomeCanvas.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Sams; illustrated edition edition (August 19, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0735700788
• ISBN-13: 978-0735700789
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #817,428 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A bit of a disappointment., June 9, 2000

By A Customer

I suppose this is another example of why the people who actually write a piece of software shouldn't handle its documentation. This is a somewhat haphazard reference to GTK+; it doesn't have nearly enough information to act as a tutorial, even to an experienced C programmer, and yet it's not complete enough to act as a reference guide either. Like most hacker's documentation, this is far from clear and complete; it seems geared towards people who are willing to fill in the blanks in the text themselves through reading source code or online docs. Of course, if you need to do that, why bother purchasing the book in the first place? Just read the online docs. I wish I could suggest this book, as it is an "open source" manual, but there's better material out there.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Waste of time and money, October 3, 2000

By	AS - See all my reviews

This book is almost unuseable. Most of its pages seem to be fragments from various GTK+/Gnome header files with only rudimentary explanations. It does not answer most GTK+/Gnome beginners questions, even if they are experienced programmers.

For example I wanted to call a file selection dialog. The index has one reference to GtkFileSelection, which consists of a screen shot and another reference to the corresponding #include file for this widget. That's it. The #include file contains several functions, none of them are explained or even mentioned in the book (at least I could not find them in the index).

I'm afraid I have to buy another book to get my job done.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This title is a bit outdated., October 18, 2005

By	S. Pinson (Murfreesboro, TN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Please be advised when you order this that it was published in 1999. It uses GTK 1.x series and really isn't very helpful since 2.x is the current standard.