Gnome/Gtk+ Programming Bible (Bible (Wiley)) (Paperback)

by Arthur Griffith (Author) "This chapter introduces you to the basic concepts behind writing a GNOME application program..." (more)
Key Phrases: gtk main quit, lazy gray dog, gboolean homogeneous, Multiple Document Interface, Gnome Can, Comparative Anatomy (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
With Linux's popularity as a workstation operating system skyrocketing and GNOME the most popular desktop environment for Linux, it makes sense for programmers to develop proficiency in GNOME programming. Old Unix salt Arthur Griffith relates his considerable knowledge of GNOME and its underlying graphics libraries in GNOME/GTK+ Programming Bible. He knows X programming very well, and does a fine job of introducing programmers (he assumes only familiarity with C) to GNOME, GTK+, GDK, and the rest of this Linux graphics hierarchy. Readers learn how to create buttons, menus, and other graphical user interface (GUI) elements, as well as polygons, pixels, and other custom graphics forms.

Griffith's style goes heavy on code, which may or may not be to your liking. He typically introduces a concept (such as reacting to mouse events or moving polygons around a canvas), writes a bit about the language elements that support it, and then unleashes a listing of code to implement the task and variations of it. After each code listing, he explains what's going on in the program. The most appealing part of Griffith's book is his depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for sharing it. He's like a kid in a candy store, but he gets to talk about the candy too. Read this volume for a well-grounded and wide-ranging explanation of what you can do with graphics under GNOME. --David Wall

Topics covered: Programming graphics and GUIs in the GNOME windowing environment. Areas of emphasis include windows, dialogs, interface widgets, and other library-based GUI elements, as well as more flexible (and complex) graphics-creation techniques. Specific attention goes to color, mouse and keyboard event detection, fonts, drag and drop, and building your own widgets. A GTK reference appears in an appendix.

Product Description
With the rise of such Windowslike desktop environments as GNOME, Linux is poised to go mainstream. Programming expert Arthur Griffith shows beginning to advanced C and C++ programmers how to use the Gimp ToolKit, GNOME widgets, and other open source tools to create user-friendly graphical interfaces for GNOME desktop applications and much more.

The CD-ROM includes all the examples used in the bible, GNOME core files and libraries, a compiler, autoconf, and automake.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 850 pages
• Publisher: Hungry Minds (March 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764546406
• ISBN-13: 978-0764546402
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.4 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,192,062 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great job of bringing GNOME & GTK to us, June 5, 2000

By	Gene Holmerud "geneous" (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

Aurthur Griffith shows a reader the code and the results of execution. Then he procedes to explain all the nuances of what each statement does and why it is required. The debth of coverage is staggering, but that should not discourage a novice since the material is presented one step at a time. It also includes help setting up a programming environment so that the satisfaction of seeing one's own creations work is readily available.

Where this book shines is the index. It is detailed and very complete. I continue to use it to find the information I need.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hands on Gnome Programming, May 5, 2000

By	Eduardo Aguiar de Oliveira (Rio de Janeiro) - See all my reviews

It is a instantly hands on guide on how to program for Gnome/GTK. Each topic is very well explained, with a lot of practical and independent examples, covering almost every GUI building block.

For those who lacks more real-world code examples.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good bood that give examples of advanced GTK+/GNOME featur, October 2, 2000

By	Bert Bowers (USA) - See all my reviews

GNOME/GTK+ Programming Bible is a good book but has many short commings. The good part is that it discusses some of the more advanced features of GTK+ and GNOME; specifically Paned windows, MDI windows, and Scrolled windows. The examples are generally very simplistic and way too many of the function call parameters are never explained. In the listing of GTK+ and GNOME features, the main calls are completely omitted; listing calls that support the main Widget building call. Only the function prototype is given, with no explanation as to the meaning of the call parameters. This said, I still find it a very useful book for the examples it provides that do not appear in the other books. The appendices appear to give a fairly complete listing of: Inheritance, Arg Settings anf Getting, Enumeration Types, Signals, Functions by Return Type.