Glade Interface Designer
Encyclopedia
Glade Interface Designer is a graphical user interface builder for GTK+
, with additional components for GNOME
. In its third version, Glade is programming language
–independent, and does not produce code for events, but rather an XML
file that is then used with an appropriate binding (such as GtkAda for use with the Ada
programming language).
Glade is free software
distributed under the GNU General Public License
.
Glade 3 was released on 12 August 2006. According to the Glade Web site, the most noticeable differences for the end-user are:
Most of the difference is in the internals. Glade-3 is a complete rewrite, in order to take advantage of the new features of GTK+ 2 and the GObject
system (Glade-3 was started when Glade-1 hadn't yet been ported to GTK+ 2). Therefore the Glade-3 codebase is smaller and allows new interesting things, including:
format that the Glade Interface Designer uses to save
its forms. These documents can then be used in conjunction with the GtkBuilder object to instantiate the form using GTK+
. GladeXML is the XML
format that was used with conjunction with libglade, which is now deprecated.
GTK+
GTK+ is a cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces. It is licensed under the terms of the GNU LGPL, allowing both free and proprietary software to use it. It is one of the most popular toolkits for the X Window System, along with Qt.The name GTK+ originates from GTK;...
, with additional components for GNOME
GNOME
GNOME is a desktop environment and graphical user interface that runs on top of a computer operating system. It is composed entirely of free and open source software...
. In its third version, Glade is programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
–independent, and does not produce code for events, but rather an XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
file that is then used with an appropriate binding (such as GtkAda for use with the Ada
Ada (programming language)
Ada is a structured, statically typed, imperative, wide-spectrum, and object-oriented high-level computer programming language, extended from Pascal and other languages...
programming language).
Glade is free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
distributed under the GNU General Public License
GNU General Public License
The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project....
.
History and development
The first Glade release, version 0.1, was made on April 18, 1998.Glade 3 was released on 12 August 2006. According to the Glade Web site, the most noticeable differences for the end-user are:
- UndoUndoUndo is a command in many computer programs. It erases the last change done to the document reverting it to an older state. In some more advanced programs such as graphic processing, undo will negate the last command done to the file being edited....
and redo support in all operations. - Support for multiple open projects.
- Removal of code generation.
- Contextual help system with DevhelpDevhelpDevhelp is a GTK+/GNOME browser for API documentation; it works natively with gtk-doc ....
Most of the difference is in the internals. Glade-3 is a complete rewrite, in order to take advantage of the new features of GTK+ 2 and the GObject
GObject
The GLib Object System, or GObject, is a free software library providing a portable object system and transparent cross-language interoperability...
system (Glade-3 was started when Glade-1 hadn't yet been ported to GTK+ 2). Therefore the Glade-3 codebase is smaller and allows new interesting things, including:
- Catalogs of "pluggable" widgets. This means that external libraries can provide their set of widgets at runtime and Glade will detect them. In fact, Glade 3 supports only standard GTK+ widgets; GNOME UI and DB widgets are provided separately.
- The various Glade Tools (palette, editor, etc.) are implemented as widgets. This allows for easier integration in like AnjutaAnjutaAnjuta is an integrated development environment for the C, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python and Vala computer programming languages, written for the GNOME project...
, and makes it easier to change the Glade UI.
GtkBuilder
GtkBuilder is the XMLXML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
format that the Glade Interface Designer uses to save
Persistence (computer science)
Persistence in computer science refers to the characteristic of state that outlives the process that created it. Without this capability, state would only exist in RAM, and would be lost when this RAM loses power, such as a computer shutdown....
its forms. These documents can then be used in conjunction with the GtkBuilder object to instantiate the form using GTK+
GTK+
GTK+ is a cross-platform widget toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces. It is licensed under the terms of the GNU LGPL, allowing both free and proprietary software to use it. It is one of the most popular toolkits for the X Window System, along with Qt.The name GTK+ originates from GTK;...
. GladeXML is the XML
XML
Extensible Markup Language is a set of rules for encoding documents in machine-readable form. It is defined in the XML 1.0 Specification produced by the W3C, and several other related specifications, all gratis open standards....
format that was used with conjunction with libglade, which is now deprecated.
Code sketching
Code sketchers are software applications that help a user create source code from a GladeXML file. Most code sketchers create source code which uses libglade and a GladeXML file to create the GUI. Some sketchers are able to create raw code that does not need the GladeXML file. The table below compares basic information about GladeXML code sketcher packages.| Name | Author | Languages | License |
|---|---|---|---|
| eglade | Daniel Elphick | Eiffel | Eiffel Forum License Eiffel Forum License The Eiffel Forum License is a free software license written by , the Non-Profit International Consortium for Eiffel. Version 2 of the license, the latest , is the first version to be GPL compatible. EFLv2 has been approved by the OSI, and is approved as a free software license by the FSF.- License... |
| Gladex | Christopher Pax and Charles Edward Pax | Perl Perl Perl is a high-level, general-purpose, interpreted, dynamic programming language. Perl was originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987 as a general-purpose Unix scripting language to make report processing easier. Since then, it has undergone many changes and revisions and become widely popular... , Python Python (programming language) Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive... , Ruby Ruby (programming language) Ruby is a dynamic, reflective, general-purpose object-oriented programming language that combines syntax inspired by Perl with Smalltalk-like features. Ruby originated in Japan during the mid-1990s and was first developed and designed by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto... |
GPL v3 GNU General Public License The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project.... |
| glc | Bill Allen | Python Python (programming language) Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive... |
LGPL GNU Lesser General Public License The GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation . It was designed as a compromise between the strong-copyleft GNU General Public License or GPL and permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License... |
| ruby-glade-create-template | Masao Mutoh | Ruby Ruby (programming language) Ruby is a dynamic, reflective, general-purpose object-oriented programming language that combines syntax inspired by Perl with Smalltalk-like features. Ruby originated in Japan during the mid-1990s and was first developed and designed by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto... |
|
| Tepache | Sandino Flores Moreno | Python Python (programming language) Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive... |
LGPL GNU Lesser General Public License The GNU Lesser General Public License or LGPL is a free software license published by the Free Software Foundation . It was designed as a compromise between the strong-copyleft GNU General Public License or GPL and permissive licenses such as the BSD licenses and the MIT License... |
| GladeToBac | Thomas Freiherr | FreeBASIC (includes headers for GTK-3 and GTK-2.22.0 / GTKGlExt-1.2.0) |
GPL v3 GNU General Public License The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project.... |
| Glade2FB | Arnel Borja | FreeBASIC FreeBASIC FreeBASIC is a free/open source , 32-bit BASIC compiler for Microsoft Windows, protected-mode DOS , Linux, FreeBSD and Xbox.... |
GPL v3 GNU General Public License The GNU General Public License is the most widely used free software license, originally written by Richard Stallman for the GNU Project.... |