[Python-gtkextra-devel] Re: PyGtkExtra & Gtk2

[Peter K. <pet...@ij...>]

Peter Kese wrote:

> When browsing through the Online CVS archieve of your pygtk-extra, I
> have seen some references (namely in ChangeLog) to PyGtk 1.99.6.
> Does this mean that pygtk-extra also in some form works with
> python2.2 / Gtk 2.0 / PyGtk 1.99.6 ?

The Python bindings for GtkExtra use the new defs file format proposed
for Gtk 2.0. Thus there are some references to PyGtk 1.99.6 in the
ChangeLog. The gtkextra.defs file is converted into the old format
before the C code for the bindings is generated though.

> Anyway the real question is what is the status of
> gtkextra/pygtk-extra and gtk 2.0?  Can it be used with gtk 2.0?

No, the bindings cannot be used with Gtk 2.0 since the GtkExtra
library hasn't been ported to Gtk 2.0 yet.

> How difficult / How much work?

Since the Python bindings already use the new defs file format it
should be easy to port the bindings to Gtk 2.0.

But there are some problems with the GtkExtra library:

- Currently the bindings support several signals that use
GTK_TYPE_POINTER.  The version for Gtk 2.0 won't support these
signals.  When I looked at the signal code in PyGtk 1.99.x some months
ago it seemed to be impossible to support signals that use
GTK_TYPE_POINTER.

Gtk widgets shouldn't use GTK_TYPE_POINTER anyway.  If the GtkExtra
library isn't changed Python users won't be able to use the following
signals in the future:

GtkSheet - traverse
GtkPlot - moved, resized, tick_label

- Currently the GtkExtra library doesn't register the enumerations and
flags that are defined in the library's header files as Gtk types.
AFAIK enumerations, flags as well as other types must be registered
properly when Gtk 2.0 and PyGtk 1.99.x are used.

- If types like GtkIconListItem were subclasses of GObject it would be
easier to write bindings for GtkExtra.

BTW, I'm not very interested in Python and Gtk anymore.  Python 1.5 is
really great but I don't like most of the recent additions to the
Python language.  I'm also planning to switch to GNUstep and thus
won't use Gtk anymore.

I will maintain the Python bindings if nobody else takes them.  But
I'm not going to help porting GtkExtra to Gtk 2.0.  If the issues
mentioned above aren't resolved than the Python bindings won't support
these features in the future.

But you can help to port GtkExtra to Gtk 2.0 and make sure that the
GtkExtra widgets work like the standard Gtk 2.0 widgets and that it
will be easy to write bindings for GtkExtra.

-- 
Bye,
Andreas