Looking Ahead at GNOME 2

Able writes "This is a good article that will teach you how to use the new and improved libraries available with GNOME 2 so that you can write your own Nautilus view, and panel applets. It also provides you with the understanding to compile a few sample GTK+ 2 programs that will give you a good understanding of GTK+ 2's many improvements over GTK+ 1."

Comments

My advice

[kitts]

This might sound like trolling, but I'd wait a bit until the GTK libraries are settled before beginning to seriously develop for Gnome. One of the big problems with GTK from version 1 to 2 was how certain widgets went through two or three different revisions, namely that very attractive treeview widget. With bonobo architecture on the way, stuff might change even more.

Using "ClearType" with XFree86, GNOME, KDE

[AirLace]

While they are working on basic AntiAliasing, you should try out ClearType [microsoft.com]. It improves font quality up to 800% on LCD screens. The antialiasing level is also adjustable... One caveat: you need WinXP [microsoft.com] to run it...

Rubbish. XFree86 has supported what Microsoft calls "ClearType" for over a year.

The method, called sub-pixel rendering, is designed to work with LCD panels. This is why Microsoft are pushing for its use on laptops and palmtop devices. On standard CRTs, it holds no advantage over standard greyscale anti-aliasing.

A single pixel of an LCD screen is actually composed of three "sub-pixels": one red, one green, and one blue (R-G-B). Taken together this sub-pixel triplet makes up what we've traditionally thought of as a single pixel. This means that an LCD screen boasting a horizontal resolution of 800 whole pixels is actually composed of 800 red, 800 green, and 800 blue sub-pixels interleaved together (R-G-B-R-G-B-R-G-B ...) to form a linear array of 2400 single-color sub-pixels. That's where I guess you got your 800% from.

"ClearType" can be enabled in XFree86 versions 4.01 and greater by modifying /etc/X11/XftConfig. Just append the following line:


match edit rgba = rgb;


An in-depth look into sub-pixel rendering support in XFree86 is available here.

Re:Using "ClearType" with XFree86, GNOME, KDE

[slamb]

This is the difference between Linux and Windows. Microsoft makes their cleartype technology enablable with a big large red button shouting "PUSH ME DARN YOU PUSH ME!". Linux puts it in a text file.

The parent post was a bit deceiving

The code to do this on Linux very new. It's part of the Xrender extension to XFree86 which was introduced in 4.1. It requires toolkit support. Qt has it. Gtk does not have it (though 2.0 will).

Editing that text file won't do much for you if you aren't using Qt. And if you are using Qt, you probably have it enabled by default...there's a checkbox to use it, though the XftConfig settings also affect it. In the future, KDE will probably have a fancy graphical configurator that will do everything the text file has. These things take time. I'm sure in Microsoftland a lot of Control Panel options started out life as something you could only change with regedit. You're just seeing the process with Linux instead of getting the final product.

Re:Much better, but still behind KDE

[hexix]

No, the transparent menu effect that Mosfet made for his liquid theme (and will now get added to kde 3.0 builtin themes I think) takes a snapshot of the area behind the menu and uses that image to make a pseudo-translucent effect.

Not a very good way of doing it in my opinion, and this becomes clear when you move through the different menus in a menubar, you can see the ghosts of the menu you had previously opened beneath your current menu.

If there is a better way of doing it, I'm not sure what it is, although I think you can do true translucent effects with Keith Packard's XRender extension.

But it doesn't seem that anyone is using that to do translucency so either its really hard to use or theres problems. I'd love to know which it is if anyone has some more information.

PS - No offense to Mosfet or anyone else using this code to do translucent menus, it's a very good idea and I do use it when I'm in KDE. I just think it'd be cool to have it without the little quirks like seeing things behind the menu that shouldn't be there.

Re:Real Features

[phaze3000]

Generic HID drivers have been in the 2.4.x tree for quite a while.

I am currently typing this with a USB keyboard, and will click the 'submit' button with a USB mouse, both of which are plugged into a USB hub on my monitor. If you plug more than one mouse into the computer each gets its own /dev/input/mouseX device.

As for installing font packs, yes it can be that easy. On my system I'd just have to type 'apt-get install kde-i18n-ja', but if you really must have a point and click interface to it, you can install RedCarpet which will make things similarly easy.

Re:Worried Gnome User.....

[Skeezix]

I am a Gnome user, and athough I am NOT a sky is falling person, KDE seems to be making much more usefull strides

Which strides is KDE making that are more useful than the ones GNOME is making? I'm curious.

I am also concerned about the Ximian fork, (even though I use it) How long till XImian hack up all the libs to work for their effort and how compatible will it be ?

Ximian does not produce a "fork" of GNOME. Ximian packages a "distribution" of GNOME and makes it easy to download. They tweak some minor things such as artwork, splash screens, etc, but it's not a fork of GNOME. I don't think you understand Ximian's relationship to GNOME. I suggest you spend some time on irc.gnome.org in #gnome and spend some time getting to know folks better.

Does it seem to anyone else latley Gnome is becoming a throw in everything and if the kitchen sink dosent work its OK, or is it just me.

That is not at all how it works. We're very particular about what we put in the release. I suggest you spend some time reading the archives of mailing lists such as desktop-devel. Much work has gone into making GNOME 2 more usable, accessible, functional, and a better development platform while keeping it solid.

Admittedly Gnome 2 has some nice stuff but how much will be functional by first release

We won't release if it's not functional :)

-jamin