GTK+ Forums

Micah Carrick

I finally learned how to build my GTK+ applications in Windows. Although I've got it all working, there are still a few areas I need to learn more about before posting any sort of thorough article or how-to. However, I can share some basic information.

The example project I used consists of two files: main.c and example.glade. They are shown at the bottom of this post or can be downloaded along with the Windows binary (which should work "out of the box" located in example/bin/example.exe): gtk-libglade-win32-example-0.1.zip

Running applications in Windows is easy enough, however, building them from your Linux-style source code and build scripts requires the use of a POSIX environment such as Cygwin or MinGW. I went with the latter so that the deployed application wouldn't require the cygwin DLL.

There are installers for doing much of this, however, I wanted to get a more intimate experience with the process and more up-to-date packages.

The first step to building GTK+ applications in Windows was to install "Automated MinGW Installer" (MinGW-5.1.3.exe) and "MSYS Base System" (MSYS-1.0.10) in that order from http://www.mingw.org/.

Next, I downloaded and installed GTK+ and it's dependency binaries (development and library packages) from http://www.gimp.org/~tml/gimp/win32/downloads.html and libglade binary and development package from http://gladewin32.sourceforge.net/modules/wfdownloads/viewcat.php?cid=10

When all was said and done, I had downloaded and extracted the following to my build environment:

atk-1.20.0.zip
atk-dev-1.20.0.zip
cairo-1.4.10.zip
cairo-dev-1.4.10.zip
gettext-0.14.5.zip
gettext-dev-0.14.5.zip
glib-2.14.2.zip
glib-dev-2.14.2.zip
gtk+-2.12.1.zip
gtk+-dev-2.12.1.zip
jpeg-6b-4-bin.zip
jpeg-6b-4-lib.zip
libglade-2.4.0-bin.zip
libglade-2.4.0-dev.zip
libiconv-1.9.1.bin.woe32.zip
libpng-1.2.8-bin.zip
libpng-1.2.8-lib.zip
libxml2-dev-2.6.27.zip
pango-1.18.3.zip
pango-dev-1.18.3.zip
pkg-config-0.20.zip
tiff-3.8.2-1-bin.zip
tiff-3.8.2-1-lib.zip
zlib123-dll.zip

For some reason, I had to modify zlib's files a bit. I had to copy zlib1.dll to my /bin dir, and I had to rename /lib/zdll.lib to /lib/libz.a

This demo compiles in Windows with:

Code: (Plaintext)
1	cc -Wall -g main.c -o example.exe -mwindows `pkg-config --cflags --libs gtk+-2.0 libglade-2.0`

(Having main.c come before the pkg-config part is important)

And compiles in Linux with:

Code: (Plaintext)
1	cc -Wall -g main.c -o example.exe `pkg-config --cflags --libs gtk+-2.0 libglade-2.0`

main.c

Code: (C)

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#include <gtk/gtk.h>
#include <glade/glade.h>

#define GLADE_FILE "example.glade"

int
main (int argc, char *argv[])
{
GladeXML *gxml;
GtkWidget *window, *platform, *glib_version, *gtk_version;
GtkWidget *user_name, *home_dir;

#ifdef G_OS_WIN32
const gchar *os = "Windows";
#endif
#ifdef G_OS_UNIX
const gchar *os = "Unix";
#endif

gtk_init (&argc, &argv);

gxml = glade_xml_new (GLADE_FILE, NULL, NULL);

window = glade_xml_get_widget (gxml, "window");
platform = glade_xml_get_widget (gxml, "platform");
glib_version = glade_xml_get_widget (gxml, "glib_version");
gtk_version = glade_xml_get_widget (gxml, "gtk_version");
user_name = glade_xml_get_widget (gxml, "user_name");
home_dir = glade_xml_get_widget (gxml, "home_dir");

/* call gtk_main_quit() when the window's "x" is clicked */
glade_xml_signal_connect (gxml, "on_window_destroy",
G_CALLBACK (gtk_main_quit));
glade_xml_signal_connect (gxml, "on_close_button_clicked",
G_CALLBACK (gtk_main_quit));

/* free Glade XML object */
g_object_unref (G_OBJECT (gxml));

gtk_label_set_text (GTK_LABEL (platform), os);
gtk_label_set_text (GTK_LABEL (glib_version), g_strdup_printf ("%d.%d.%d",
glib_major_version,
glib_minor_version,
glib_micro_version));
gtk_label_set_text (GTK_LABEL (gtk_version), g_strdup_printf ("%d.%d.%d",
gtk_major_version,
gtk_minor_version,
gtk_micro_version));
gtk_label_set_text (GTK_LABEL (user_name), g_get_user_name ());
gtk_label_set_text (GTK_LABEL (home_dir), g_get_home_dir ());

gtk_widget_show_all (window);

gtk_main ();

return 0;
}

example.glade

Code: (Plaintext)

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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" standalone="no"?>
<!DOCTYPE glade-interface SYSTEM "glade-2.0.dtd">

<glade-interface>
<widget class="GtkWindow" id="window">
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="border_width">12</property>
<property name="title" translatable="yes">Example</property>
<property name="resizable">False</property>
<signal name="destroy" handler="on_window_destroy"/>
<child>
<widget class="GtkVBox" id="vbox1">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<child>
<widget class="GtkFrame" id="frame1">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="label_xalign">0</property>
<property name="shadow_type">GTK_SHADOW_NONE</property>
<child>
<widget class="GtkAlignment" id="alignment2">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="top_padding">8</property>
<property name="left_padding">12</property>
<child>
<widget class="GtkTable" id="table1">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="n_rows">5</property>
<property name="n_columns">2</property>
<property name="column_spacing">5</property>
<property name="row_spacing">5</property>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="label2">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
<property name="label" translatable="yes">Platform:</property>
</widget>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="label4">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
<property name="label" translatable="yes">GLib Version:</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="top_attach">1</property>
<property name="bottom_attach">2</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="label5">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
<property name="label" translatable="yes">GTK+ Version:</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="top_attach">2</property>
<property name="bottom_attach">3</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="label6">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
<property name="label" translatable="yes">User Name:</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="top_attach">3</property>
<property name="bottom_attach">4</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="label7">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
<property name="label" translatable="yes">Home Dir:</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="top_attach">4</property>
<property name="bottom_attach">5</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="platform">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="left_attach">1</property>
<property name="right_attach">2</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="glib_version">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="left_attach">1</property>
<property name="right_attach">2</property>
<property name="top_attach">1</property>
<property name="bottom_attach">2</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="gtk_version">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="left_attach">1</property>
<property name="right_attach">2</property>
<property name="top_attach">2</property>
<property name="bottom_attach">3</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="user_name">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="left_attach">1</property>
<property name="right_attach">2</property>
<property name="top_attach">3</property>
<property name="bottom_attach">4</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="home_dir">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">0</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="left_attach">1</property>
<property name="right_attach">2</property>
<property name="top_attach">4</property>
<property name="bottom_attach">5</property>
</packing>
</child>
</widget>
</child>
</widget>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkLabel" id="label1">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="label" translatable="yes"><b>Cross Platform GTK+ and Libglade</b></property>
<property name="use_markup">True</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="type">label_item</property>
</packing>
</child>
</widget>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkHSeparator" id="hseparator1">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="expand">False</property>
<property name="position">1</property>
</packing>
</child>
<child>
<widget class="GtkAlignment" id="alignment1">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="xalign">1</property>
<property name="xscale">0</property>
<property name="top_padding">12</property>
<child>
<widget class="GtkButton" id="close_button">
<property name="visible">True</property>
<property name="can_focus">True</property>
<property name="receives_default">True</property>
<property name="events">GDK_POINTER_MOTION_MASK | GDK_POINTER_MOTION_HINT_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_PRESS_MASK | GDK_BUTTON_RELEASE_MASK</property>
<property name="label" translatable="yes">gtk-close</property>
<property name="use_stock">True</property>
<property name="response_id">0</property>
<signal name="clicked" handler="on_close_button_clicked"/>
</widget>
</child>
</widget>
<packing>
<property name="expand">False</property>
<property name="fill">False</property>
<property name="position">2</property>
</packing>
</child>
</widget>
</child>
</widget>
</glade-interface>

[/code]

Last edited by Micah Carrick on Thu Nov 29, 2007 11:14 pm; edited 1 time in total

Ben · Familiar Face Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 14

Micah Carrick · Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:10 pm Post subject:

The way I did it, was extract them all to C:\MinGW (they zip files have the remaining structure, ie: /bin, /lib, etc). However, I was told on the mailing list that people usually install them into a separate path so that MinGW has only minGW stuff, and their GTK+ development environment is elsewhere. I'm not sure how that all works actually.

So, if you want the way that I have experience, just extract them all to C:\MinGW and let me know any other problems you have.

Micah Carrick · Posted: Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:13 pm Post subject:

Just for a bit of clearification, I was going to blog the details of my installation, however, I know it's not quite right yet.

I had some help from Tor on the gtk-app-devel mailing list. Here's a link to the thread in which I posed some quesions should you be curious:
http://www.nabble.com/forum/ViewPost.jtp?post=13939615&framed=y

Ben · Familiar Face Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 14

Thank you for the reply.

I tryed to complete the installation as you reccomended. I am not sure if I did it correctly, but I open the msys shell , I moved into the project folder (where are located example.glade and main.c) and I run the compile command you wrote above for windows.

Code: (Plaintext)

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cc -Wall -g main.c -o example.exe -mwindows `pkg-config --cflags --libs gtk+-2.0 libglade-2.0`

Package gtk+-2.0 was not found in the pkg-config search path.
Perhaps you should add the directory containing `gtk+-2.0.pc'
to the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable
No package 'gtk+-2.0' found
Package libglade-2.0 was not found in the pkg-config search path.
Perhaps you should add the directory containing `libglade-2.0.pc'
to the PKG_CONFIG_PATH environment variable
No package 'libglade-2.0' found

I do not understand how to add the PKG_CONFIG_PATH (?)

Micah Carrick · Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:36 pm Post subject:

Sorry, I forgot to tell you about 1 other step:

In order for pkg-config to work, the path where all the .pc files live must be set. You can do this every time you start a MSYS session by exporting the PKG_CONFIG_PATH, or add this line to c:\devel\msys\1.0\msys.bat:

Code: (Plaintext)
1 2	set PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/mingw/lib/pkgconfig

Micah Carrick · Posted: Thu Nov 29, 2007 4:37 pm Post subject:

When that's working, you should be able to output the compiler and linker flags for GTK with something like:

pkg-config --cflags --libs gtk+-2.0

If that works, then pkg-config is able to find the .pc files (which probably live in /mingw/lib/pkgconfig).

Ben · Familiar Face Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 14

Thank you for your help.
I put the set in the msys.bat and it works , only thing I noticed is that
cc is not recognized as valid command. I have to use gcc , this work
and compiles the file but at the end I have another error..

Code: (Plaintext)
1 2 3 4 5 6	c:\MinGW\bin\..\lib\gcc\mingw32\3.4.5\..\..\..\..\mingw32\bin\ld.exe: cannot find -lz collect2: ld returned 1 exit status

Yesterday I tried to install the same amount of packages and software on antoher laptop i have , there i can compile well the software (using gcc) , I did not experienced the pkgproblem after the installation and I did not put anything in msys.bat . The environmental path was recognized automatically.

Is very nice see your little project running in both Linux and windows :D

I just tryed to take the .exe file i got after compiling and I tryed to open it from another wxp machine which does not has any gtk or glade libraries, when I run the exe file i get an error , on that machine the gui does not appear. Now i am not sure I have to install any kind of runtime environment for the GTK on the machines that are suppose to run the software..

Micah Carrick · Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 4:14 pm Post subject:

Go into the lib dir, and find the zlib library. Rename it to libz.a. So...

Code: (Plaintext)
1 2	cd /mingw/libg cp zdll.lib libz.a

I had to do that too, but I thought it was fixed by the list of packages I supplied. Guess not.

Basically, the pkg-config .pc files are specifying -lz as the linker flag for zlib. This means it's looking for a library called "z" so we use the name lib<name>.a

Micah Carrick · Posted: Fri Nov 30, 2007 4:19 pm Post subject:

ZuLuuuuuu · Familiar Face Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 6

Hi,

I just began GTK programming. I found instructions to compile a GTK application on Linux systems and be able to compile my first Hello World program on a Xubuntu. But I couldn't find any guide to setup a developer environment on a Windows system until your post. I followed what you said in this guide and the replies and am now able to compile my first program also on Windows. Thanks!

By the way, I've sent you an email wihich says that the forum didn't sent me an activation email, well, it sent a little late but sent it :)

ZuLuuuuuu · Familiar Face Joined: 20 Dec 2007 Posts: 6

I have a question, we mentioned about giving dlls along with our application. Is GTK Runtime Environment enough to execute for example the application on this thread? I mean, can we also ask our user to install GTK Runtime Environment instead of distributing the dlls along with our application?

Micah Carrick · Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 9:03 pm Post subject:

In theory... yes, however, you app will have to know where those are being installed to. This is where I left off--figuring out that part. To figure that part out, you can...

1. Look at win32 pidgin sources.
2. Look at win32 gimp sources.
3. Ask on the gtk mailing list where there are more Win32 GTK+ developers than are presently visiting this forum.