Chapter 5. Advanced Gtk#

In Chapter 4 the labs were restricted to using the Gtk namespace from the Gtk# user interface toolkit. However, any modern desktop system includes more than windows and widgets. It includes consistent look-and-feel, internationalization, window management, configuration management, and accessibility. This chapter introduces the major topics needed to make your user interfaces full-fledged desktop applications.

Most of the APIs used in this chapter were developed for the GNOME desktop environment, available for Linux and other Unix-like systems. Most of them are available under Windows and OS X. Where this is not the case, it will be noted. If you run Linux but don’t run GNOME, don’t worry. Applications written with Gtk# and the Gnome namespace will run fine under alternative desktops like KDE.

If you successfully completed the labs in Chapter 4, you have all the assemblies installed that you need for this chapter. Despite its name, the gtk-sharp package not only includes the Gtk assembly, but also Gnome and many others used in this book.

Write a Gnome Application

The GTK+ interface toolkit, accessed through the Gtk namespace of Gtk# in Chapter 4, is powerful and expressive. What it does not provide on its own, however, is a framework for graphical applications that preserves consistency of behavior and appearance. The GNOME development platform works in combination with GTK+ to provide higher-level widgets and application services useful to GUI-based programs. ...

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