Build tags

gobbi uses Go build tags to allow targetting of specific library versions. This means that when using Go tools (such as go build and go run) to build a gobbi application, use of the -tags flag will usually be necessary.

See How to use conditional compilation with the go build tool for more background about build tags.

no tags

If a gobbi application is built with no tags specified, the only apis available will be those present in all version of the various gnome libraries.

tags targetting versions

To use an api that is only available from a specific version onwards, use a tag constructed from the library name and the version.

For example gtk_builder_new_from_file is only available from gtk 3.10 onwards. So to use it, a tag specifying 3.10 (or a later version) is required.

A tag such as gtk_3.10 is formed of three parts.

• the library name, gtk
• an underscore, _
• the minimum library version, 3.10

go build -tags gtk_3.10 my_app.go

typical tags

If targetting Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial Xerus) or later, the following tags would be a good starting point.

go build -tags " \
    glib_2.48 \
    gdk_3.4 \
    gdkpixbuf_2.32 \
    gio_2.32 \
    gtk_3.18" \
  my_app.go

editors & IDEs

Editors and IDE can provide better completion and error feedback if they are aware of the build tags that an application is to be built with.

vs code

The relevant setting is Go: Build Tags.

goland

In the Settings... dialog, the relevant setting can be found under

• Go
  • Vendoring & Build Tags
    • Custom tags