BuilderProtocol
public protocol BuilderProtocol : ObjectProtocol
A GtkBuilder is an auxiliary object that reads textual descriptions
of a user interface and instantiates the described objects. To create
a GtkBuilder from a user interface description, call
gtk_builder_new_from_file()
, gtk_builder_new_from_resource()
or
gtk_builder_new_from_string()
.
In the (unusual) case that you want to add user interface
descriptions from multiple sources to the same GtkBuilder you can
call gtk_builder_new()
to get an empty builder and populate it by
(multiple) calls to gtk_builder_add_from_file()
,
gtk_builder_add_from_resource()
or gtk_builder_add_from_string()
.
A GtkBuilder holds a reference to all objects that it has constructed
and drops these references when it is finalized. This finalization can
cause the destruction of non-widget objects or widgets which are not
contained in a toplevel window. For toplevel windows constructed by a
builder, it is the responsibility of the user to call gtk_widget_destroy()
to get rid of them and all the widgets they contain.
The functions gtk_builder_get_object()
and gtk_builder_get_objects()
can be used to access the widgets in the interface by the names assigned
to them inside the UI description. Toplevel windows returned by these
functions will stay around until the user explicitly destroys them
with gtk_widget_destroy()
. Other widgets will either be part of a
larger hierarchy constructed by the builder (in which case you should
not have to worry about their lifecycle), or without a parent, in which
case they have to be added to some container to make use of them.
Non-widget objects need to be reffed with g_object_ref()
to keep them
beyond the lifespan of the builder.
The function gtk_builder_connect_signals()
and variants thereof can be
used to connect handlers to the named signals in the description.
GtkBuilder UI Definitions #
GtkBuilder parses textual descriptions of user interfaces which are
specified in an XML format which can be roughly described by the
RELAX NG schema below. We refer to these descriptions as “GtkBuilder
UI definitions” or just “UI definitions” if the context is clear.
Do not confuse GtkBuilder UI Definitions with
GtkUIManager UI Definitions, which are more limited in scope.
It is common to use .ui
as the filename extension for files containing
GtkBuilder UI definitions.
The toplevel element is <interface>. It optionally takes a “domain”
attribute, which will make the builder look for translated strings
using dgettext()
in the domain specified. This can also be done by
calling gtk_builder_set_translation_domain()
on the builder.
Objects are described by <object> elements, which can contain
<property> elements to set properties, <signal> elements which
connect signals to handlers, and <child> elements, which describe
child objects (most often widgets inside a container, but also e.g.
actions in an action group, or columns in a tree model). A <child>
element contains an <object> element which describes the child object.
The target toolkit version(s)
are described by <requires> elements,
the “lib” attribute specifies the widget library in question (currently
the only supported value is “gtk+”) and the “version” attribute specifies
the target version in the form “<major>.<minor>”. The builder will error
out if the version requirements are not met.
Typically, the specific kind of object represented by an <object>
element is specified by the “class” attribute. If the type has not
been loaded yet, GTK+ tries to find the get_type()
function from the
class name by applying heuristics. This works in most cases, but if
necessary, it is possible to specify the name of the get_type()
function
explictly with the “type-func” attribute. As a special case, GtkBuilder
allows to use an object that has been constructed by a GtkUIManager
in
another part of the UI definition by specifying the id of the GtkUIManager
in the “constructor” attribute and the name of the object in the “id”
attribute.
Objects may be given a name with the “id” attribute, which allows the
application to retrieve them from the builder with gtk_builder_get_object()
.
An id is also necessary to use the object as property value in other
parts of the UI definition. GTK+ reserves ids starting and ending
with ___ (3 underscores) for its own purposes.
Setting properties of objects is pretty straightforward with the
<property> element: the “name” attribute specifies the name of the
property, and the content of the element specifies the value.
If the “translatable” attribute is set to a true value, GTK+ uses
gettext()
(or dgettext()
if the builder has a translation domain set)
to find a translation for the value. This happens before the value
is parsed, so it can be used for properties of any type, but it is
probably most useful for string properties. It is also possible to
specify a context to disambiguate short strings, and comments which
may help the translators.
GtkBuilder can parse textual representations for the most common
property types: characters, strings, integers, floating-point numbers,
booleans (strings like “TRUE”, “t”, “yes”, “y”, “1” are interpreted
as true
, strings like “FALSE”, “f”, “no”, “n”, “0” are interpreted
as false
), enumerations (can be specified by their name, nick or
integer value), flags (can be specified by their name, nick, integer
value, optionally combined with “|”, e.g. “GTK_VISIBLE|GTK_REALIZED”)
and colors (in a format understood by gdk_rgba_parse()
).
GVariants can be specified in the format understood by g_variant_parse()
,
and pixbufs can be specified as a filename of an image file to load.
Objects can be referred to by their name and by default refer to
objects declared in the local xml fragment and objects exposed via
gtk_builder_expose_object()
. In general, GtkBuilder allows forward
references to objects — declared in the local xml; an object doesn’t
have to be constructed before it can be referred to. The exception
to this rule is that an object has to be constructed before it can
be used as the value of a construct-only property.
It is also possible to bind a property value to another object’s
property value using the attributes
“bind-source” to specify the source object of the binding,
“bind-property” to specify the source property and optionally
“bind-flags” to specify the binding flags.
Internally builder implements this using GBinding objects.
For more information see g_object_bind_property()
Signal handlers are set up with the <signal> element. The “name”
attribute specifies the name of the signal, and the “handler” attribute
specifies the function to connect to the signal. By default, GTK+ tries
to find the handler using g_module_symbol()
, but this can be changed by
passing a custom GtkBuilderConnectFunc
to
gtk_builder_connect_signals_full()
. The remaining attributes, “after”,
“swapped” and “object”, have the same meaning as the corresponding
parameters of the g_signal_connect_object()
or
g_signal_connect_data()
functions. A “last_modification_time”
attribute is also allowed, but it does not have a meaning to the
builder.
Sometimes it is necessary to refer to widgets which have implicitly
been constructed by GTK+ as part of a composite widget, to set
properties on them or to add further children (e.g. the vbox
of
a GtkDialog
). This can be achieved by setting the “internal-child”
property of the <child> element to a true value. Note that GtkBuilder
still requires an <object> element for the internal child, even if it
has already been constructed.
A number of widgets have different places where a child can be added (e.g. tabs vs. page content in notebooks). This can be reflected in a UI definition by specifying the “type” attribute on a <child> The possible values for the “type” attribute are described in the sections describing the widget-specific portions of UI definitions.
A GtkBuilder UI Definition
<interface>
<object class="GtkDialog" id="dialog1">
<child internal-child="vbox">
<object class="GtkBox" id="vbox1">
<property name="border-width">10</property>
<child internal-child="action_area">
<object class="GtkButtonBox" id="hbuttonbox1">
<property name="border-width">20</property>
<child>
<object class="GtkButton" id="ok_button">
<property name="label">gtk-ok</property>
<property name="use-stock">TRUE</property>
<signal name="clicked" handler="ok_button_clicked"/>
</object>
</child>
</object>
</child>
</object>
</child>
</object>
</interface>
Beyond this general structure, several object classes define their own XML DTD fragments for filling in the ANY placeholders in the DTD above. Note that a custom element in a <child> element gets parsed by the custom tag handler of the parent object, while a custom element in an <object> element gets parsed by the custom tag handler of the object.
These XML fragments are explained in the documentation of the respective objects.
Additionally, since 3.10 a special <template> tag has been added to the format allowing one to define a widget class’s components. See the GtkWidget documentation for details.
The BuilderProtocol
protocol exposes the methods and properties of an underlying GtkBuilder
instance.
The default implementation of these can be found in the protocol extension below.
For a concrete class that implements these methods and properties, see Builder
.
Alternatively, use BuilderRef
as a lighweight, unowned
reference if you already have an instance you just want to use.
-
Untyped pointer to the underlying
GtkBuilder
instance.Declaration
Swift
var ptr: UnsafeMutableRawPointer! { get }
-
builder_ptr
Default implementationTyped pointer to the underlying
GtkBuilder
instance.Default Implementation
Return the stored, untyped pointer as a typed pointer to the
GtkBuilder
instance.Declaration
Swift
var builder_ptr: UnsafeMutablePointer<GtkBuilder>! { get }
-
Required Initialiser for types conforming to
BuilderProtocol
Declaration
Swift
init(raw: UnsafeMutableRawPointer)
-
bind(property:
Extension methodto: _: flags: transformFrom: transformTo: ) Bind a
BuilderPropertyName
source property to a given target object.Declaration
Swift
@discardableResult @inlinable func bind<Q, T>(property source_property: BuilderPropertyName, to target: T, _ target_property: Q, flags f: BindingFlags = .default, transformFrom transform_from: @escaping GLibObject.ValueTransformer = { $0.transform(destValue: $1) }, transformTo transform_to: @escaping GLibObject.ValueTransformer = { $0.transform(destValue: $1) }) -> BindingRef! where Q : PropertyNameProtocol, T : ObjectProtocol
Parameters
source_property
the source property to bind
target
the target object to bind to
target_property
the target property to bind to
flags
the flags to pass to the
Binding
transform_from
ValueTransformer
to use for forward transformationtransform_to
ValueTransformer
to use for backwards transformationReturn Value
binding reference or
nil
in case of an error -
get(property:
Extension method) Get the value of a Builder property
Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func get(property: BuilderPropertyName) -> GLibObject.Value
Parameters
property
the property to get the value for
Return Value
the value of the named property
-
set(property:
Extension methodvalue: ) Set the value of a Builder property. Note that this will only have an effect on properties that are writable and not construct-only!
Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func set(property: BuilderPropertyName, value v: GLibObject.Value)
Parameters
property
the property to get the value for
Return Value
the value of the named property
-
add(callbackName:
Extension methodcallbackSymbol: ) Adds the
callback_symbol
to the scope ofbuilder
under the givencallback_name
.Using this function overrides the behavior of
gtk_builder_connect_signals()
for any callback symbols that are added. Using this method allows for better encapsulation as it does not require that callback symbols be declared in the global namespace.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func add(callbackName: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, callbackSymbol: GCallback?)
-
addFromFile(filename:
Extension method) Parses a file containing a GtkBuilder UI definition and merges it with the current contents of
builder
.Most users will probably want to use
gtk_builder_new_from_file()
.If an error occurs, 0 will be returned and
error
will be assigned aGError
from theGTK_BUILDER_ERROR
,G_MARKUP_ERROR
orG_FILE_ERROR
domain.It’s not really reasonable to attempt to handle failures of this call. You should not use this function with untrusted files (ie: files that are not part of your application). Broken
GtkBuilder
files can easily crash your program, and it’s possible that memory was leaked leading up to the reported failure. The only reasonable thing to do when an error is detected is to callg_error()
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func addFromFile(filename: UnsafePointer<gchar>!) throws -> Int
-
addFrom(resourcePath:
Extension method) Parses a resource file containing a GtkBuilder UI definition and merges it with the current contents of
builder
.Most users will probably want to use
gtk_builder_new_from_resource()
.If an error occurs, 0 will be returned and
error
will be assigned aGError
from theGTK_BUILDER_ERROR
,G_MARKUP_ERROR
orG_RESOURCE_ERROR
domain.It’s not really reasonable to attempt to handle failures of this call. The only reasonable thing to do when an error is detected is to call
g_error()
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func addFrom(resourcePath: UnsafePointer<gchar>!) throws -> Int
-
addFrom(stringBuffer:
Extension methodlength: ) Parses a string containing a GtkBuilder UI definition and merges it with the current contents of
builder
.Most users will probably want to use
gtk_builder_new_from_string()
.Upon errors 0 will be returned and
error
will be assigned aGError
from theGTK_BUILDER_ERROR
,G_MARKUP_ERROR
orG_VARIANT_PARSE_ERROR
domain.It’s not really reasonable to attempt to handle failures of this call. The only reasonable thing to do when an error is detected is to call
g_error()
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func addFrom(stringBuffer buffer: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, length: Int) throws -> Int
-
addObjectsFromFile(filename:
Extension methodobjectIDs: ) Parses a file containing a GtkBuilder UI definition building only the requested objects and merges them with the current contents of
builder
.Upon errors 0 will be returned and
error
will be assigned aGError
from theGTK_BUILDER_ERROR
,G_MARKUP_ERROR
orG_FILE_ERROR
domain.If you are adding an object that depends on an object that is not its child (for instance a
GtkTreeView
that depends on itsGtkTreeModel
), you have to explicitly list all of them inobject_ids
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func addObjectsFromFile(filename: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, objectIDs: UnsafeMutablePointer<UnsafeMutablePointer<gchar>?>!) throws -> Int
-
addObjectsFrom(resourcePath:
Extension methodobjectIDs: ) Parses a resource file containing a GtkBuilder UI definition building only the requested objects and merges them with the current contents of
builder
.Upon errors 0 will be returned and
error
will be assigned aGError
from theGTK_BUILDER_ERROR
,G_MARKUP_ERROR
orG_RESOURCE_ERROR
domain.If you are adding an object that depends on an object that is not its child (for instance a
GtkTreeView
that depends on itsGtkTreeModel
), you have to explicitly list all of them inobject_ids
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func addObjectsFrom(resourcePath: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, objectIDs: UnsafeMutablePointer<UnsafeMutablePointer<gchar>?>!) throws -> Int
-
addObjectsFrom(stringBuffer:
Extension methodlength: objectIDs: ) Parses a string containing a GtkBuilder UI definition building only the requested objects and merges them with the current contents of
builder
.Upon errors 0 will be returned and
error
will be assigned aGError
from theGTK_BUILDER_ERROR
orG_MARKUP_ERROR
domain.If you are adding an object that depends on an object that is not its child (for instance a
GtkTreeView
that depends on itsGtkTreeModel
), you have to explicitly list all of them inobject_ids
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func addObjectsFrom(stringBuffer buffer: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, length: Int, objectIDs: UnsafeMutablePointer<UnsafeMutablePointer<gchar>?>!) throws -> Int
-
connectSignals(userData:
Extension method) This method is a simpler variation of
gtk_builder_connect_signals_full()
. It uses symbols explicitly added tobuilder
with prior calls togtk_builder_add_callback_symbol()
. In the case that symbols are not explicitly added; it usesGModule
’s introspective features (by opening the modulenil
) to look at the application’s symbol table. From here it tries to match the signal handler names given in the interface description with symbols in the application and connects the signals. Note that this function can only be called once, subsequent calls will do nothing.Note that unless
gtk_builder_add_callback_symbol()
is called for all signal callbacks which are referenced by the loaded XML, this function will require thatGModule
be supported on the platform.If you rely on
GModule
support to lookup callbacks in the symbol table, the following details should be noted:When compiling applications for Windows, you must declare signal callbacks with
G_MODULE_EXPORT
, or they will not be put in the symbol table. On Linux and Unices, this is not necessary; applications should instead be compiled with the -Wl,–export-dynamic CFLAGS, and linked against gmodule-export-2.0.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func connectSignals(userData: gpointer! = nil)
-
connectSignalsFull(func:
Extension methoduserData: ) This function can be thought of the interpreted language binding version of
gtk_builder_connect_signals()
, except that it does not require GModule to function correctly.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func connectSignalsFull(func: GtkBuilderConnectFunc?, userData: gpointer! = nil)
-
exposeObject(name:
Extension methodobject: ) Add
object
to thebuilder
object pool so it can be referenced just like any other object built by builder.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func exposeObject<ObjectT>(name: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, object: ObjectT) where ObjectT : ObjectProtocol
-
extendWithTemplate(widget:
Extension methodtemplateType: buffer: length: ) Main private entry point for building composite container components from template XML.
This is exported purely to let gtk-builder-tool validate templates, applications have no need to call this function.
Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func extendWithTemplate<WidgetT>(widget: WidgetT, templateType: GType, buffer: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, length: Int) throws -> Int where WidgetT : WidgetProtocol
-
getApplication()
Extension methodGets the
GtkApplication
associated with the builder.The
GtkApplication
is used for creating action proxies as requested from XML that the builder is loading.By default, the builder uses the default application: the one from
g_application_get_default()
. If you want to use another application for constructing proxies, usegtk_builder_set_application()
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func getApplication() -> ApplicationRef!
-
getObject(name:
Extension method) Gets the object named
name
. Note that this function does not increment the reference count of the returned object.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func getObject(name: UnsafePointer<gchar>!) -> GLibObject.ObjectRef!
-
getObjects()
Extension methodGets all objects that have been constructed by
builder
. Note that this function does not increment the reference counts of the returned objects.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func getObjects() -> GLib.SListRef!
-
getTranslationDomain()
Extension methodGets the translation domain of
builder
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func getTranslationDomain() -> String!
-
getTypeFromName(typeName:
Extension method) Looks up a type by name, using the virtual function that
GtkBuilder
has for that purpose. This is mainly used when implementing theGtkBuildable
interface on a type.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func getTypeFromName(typeName: UnsafePointer<CChar>!) -> GType
-
lookup(callbackName:
Extension method) Fetches a symbol previously added to
builder
withgtk_builder_add_callback_symbols()
This function is intended for possible use in language bindings or for any case that one might be cusomizing signal connections using
gtk_builder_connect_signals_full()
Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func lookup(callbackName: UnsafePointer<gchar>!) -> GCallback!
-
set(application:
Extension method) Sets the application associated with
builder
.You only need this function if there is more than one
GApplication
in your process.application
cannot benil
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func set<ApplicationT>(application: ApplicationT) where ApplicationT : ApplicationProtocol
-
setTranslation(domain:
Extension method) Sets the translation domain of
builder
. SeeGtkBuilder:translation-domain
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func setTranslation(domain: UnsafePointer<gchar>? = nil)
-
valueFromString(pspec:
Extension methodstring: value: ) This function demarshals a value from a string. This function calls
g_value_init()
on thevalue
argument, so it need not be initialised beforehand.This function can handle char, uchar, boolean, int, uint, long, ulong, enum, flags, float, double, string,
GdkColor
,GdkRGBA
andGtkAdjustment
type values. Support forGtkWidget
type values is still to come.Upon errors
false
will be returned anderror
will be assigned aGError
from theGTK_BUILDER_ERROR
domain.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func valueFromString<ParamSpecT, ValueT>(pspec: ParamSpecT, string: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, value: ValueT) throws -> Bool where ParamSpecT : ParamSpecProtocol, ValueT : ValueProtocol
-
valueFromString(type:
Extension methodstring: value: ) Like
gtk_builder_value_from_string()
, this function demarshals a value from a string, but takes aGType
instead ofGParamSpec
. This function callsg_value_init()
on thevalue
argument, so it need not be initialised beforehand.Upon errors
false
will be returned anderror
will be assigned aGError
from theGTK_BUILDER_ERROR
domain.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable func valueFromString<ValueT>(type: GType, string: UnsafePointer<gchar>!, value: ValueT) throws -> Bool where ValueT : ValueProtocol
-
application
Extension methodGets the
GtkApplication
associated with the builder.The
GtkApplication
is used for creating action proxies as requested from XML that the builder is loading.By default, the builder uses the default application: the one from
g_application_get_default()
. If you want to use another application for constructing proxies, usegtk_builder_set_application()
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable var application: ApplicationRef! { get nonmutating set }
-
objects
Extension methodGets all objects that have been constructed by
builder
. Note that this function does not increment the reference counts of the returned objects.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable var objects: GLib.SListRef! { get }
-
translationDomain
Extension methodGets the translation domain of
builder
.Declaration
Swift
@inlinable var translationDomain: String! { get nonmutating set }
-
parentInstance
Extension methodUndocumented
Declaration
Swift
@inlinable var parentInstance: GObject { get }