Application lifecycle

main thread

The main function, and therefore the main loop, should run on the main thread.

func init() {
    // Ensure that the ui's main thread is
    // locked to the main thread.
    runtime.LockOSThread()
}

initialisation

Call gtk.Init (or gtk.InitCheck) before calling any other gtk functions. Typically the program’s command-line arguments will be passed to gtk.Init.

gtk.Init(os.Args)

window creation

Most applications will create a window when initialising.

window := gtk.WindowNew(gtk.GTK_WINDOW_TOPLEVEL)

termination

If an application has only one window, then it might terminate when the window is closed.

// Connect to the window's "destroy" signal.
window.Widget().ConnectDestroy(func(_ *gtk.Widget) {
    gtk.MainQuit()
})

main loop

To run the main loop, call gtk.Main. The function will not return from the main loop until gtk.MainQuit is called.

gtk.Main()

minimal application

Putting all of the above together yields a minimal application. A window is created, and the application will exit when the window is closed.

package main

import (
	"github.com/pekim/gobbi/lib/gtk"
	"os"
	"runtime"
)

func init() {
	runtime.LockOSThread()
}

func main() {
	gtk.Init(os.Args)

	window := gtk.WindowNew(gtk.GTK_WINDOW_TOPLEVEL)
	window.Widget().ConnectDestroy(gtk.MainQuit)
	window.Widget().ShowAll()

	gtk.Main()
}

gtk.Application

A preferred approach to gtk application and window management is to use gtk.Application. The gtk_application example illustrates this.