Re: gtk_widget_show() and the 'size-allocate' signal

[v4r4n <console cowboy gmail com>]

"the problem": my GUI library in its current state goes through an overly
complex size negotiation phase where my widgets are drawn multiple times
before they settle on a position and size that was intended by the
application programmer.  This causes lots of flickering every time the user
clicks on anything and sometimes gets in the way of signals sent by the
user.  Trying to start an open file dialog sometimes fails.

At first I tried to implement the library with box widgets, but could never
give the application programmer the full control that is expected by my
application code, so now I use GtkLayouts as my primary container widgets
that tell all other widgets (frames and boxes) using the "size-allocate"
signal how big and where they're supposed to be (this at least works, but is
wasteful and ugly).

I believe I understand what you meant by subclassing earlier, basically use
the GtkContainer or GtkBox widgets to implement my own variation.  On the
technical side, I mostly worry that I'll have compatibility problems if I
use the latest source code as a reference, when a primary machine I need
this to work on is still running on GTK 2.4...

I also fear that due to the very nature of all GtkWidgets and the
"size-allocate" signal, my own widget still won't help, so I'm left thinking
about ways of hiding GTK's native behavior until the widgets are 'truely'
ready for the user to see them.  Then make sure they always hide an reappear
when ready...

Next, I do plan on at least trying to make a widget very similar to
GtkLayout, but with the additional properties that my code requires.


On 3/6/07, David Nečas (Yeti) <yeti physics muni cz> wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 06, 2007 at 11:41:24AM -0800, v4r4n wrote:
> > Since my latest efforts to minimize the number of "size-allocate"s being
>
> > thrown around by holding off on key gtk_widget_show() calls, I'll
> attempt to
> > subclass a widget, but I've never made my own custom widget before.
> >
> > There is a http://www.gtk.org/tutorial/x2312.html tutorial on making
> your
> > own widgets but it seems to make a 'subclass' of a widget in GTK using
> C, I
> > have to copy the source of a widget and make changes from there.
>
> No.  If you have to copy the source, you are either not
> subclassing but creating a [similar] widget from scratch
> instead -- or you are subclassing, but the original widget
> was not written with the possibility of subclassing in mind
> and probably you should rather write the widget from scratch.
>
> If you subclass (define a new class with the original class
> as its parent) a widget, the new one inherits everything
> from the original one by default.
>
> In fact, you may want to create a new widget from scratch.
> It's hard to tell not knowing anything about how and how
> much the behaviour should differ nor from what.
>
> I would point to some tutorial but this is scattered to
> too many places...
>
> > Where am I
> > going to get all the necessary source code for a GtkLayout from GTK 2.4?
>
> Do you mean you were not able to find Gtk+ source code?
>
> > Using this method, what happens when different versions of GTK are
> compiled
> > against or used with my applications?  Will my old custom/'subclass'
> widget
> > eventually stop working or create an incompatibility?
>
> No, if you do it right.  And Gtk+ devs don't screw anything.
> It is not always clear what assumptions one is allowed to
> make when subclassing, therefore the probability of
> something going wrong increases with the complexity of the
> original widget and of the changes.
>
> > I'm also a little foggy on how my custom widget will be able to solve my
> > problem.
>
> Maybe I misunderstood your problem.  Do you want a container
> widget that allocates space for its children differently
> than existing container widgets?  Or do you just want to
> perform some action in response to "size-allocate"?  And why
> the bottom-to-top order is a problem then?
>
> > Is it common for people to make custom signals as well, or is that
> > impossible?
>
> I can't tell what is common.  It is possible both to add
> signals to existing classes and to register new signals when
> you create new classes -- both with g_signal_new().
>
> Yeti
>
>
> --
> Whatever.
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