First Post To A GNOME Developer Noobie

["Redefined Horizons" <redefined horizons gmail com>]

I have just subscribed to the list, and I wanted to make an
introduction. If this isn't the correct maling list at GNOME, I
apologize, and would welcome direction to the correct list.

I have been using GNOME and Linux for the past year. I volunteer as a
Java developer for an open source project. I'd like to start learning
about GNOME and GNOME development so I can give a little back to my
favorite Linux desktop. I'm especially interested in helping with
Nautilus.

Before I try to contribute any code to GNOME I thought it would be
wise to work through a simple GNOME application. I hope to write a
calculator program for the GNOME desktop that works with angles and
coordinates. This type of program will be handy for surveyors and
mapping professionals. After I get the kinks in this trial run worked
out, I'll try helping with Nautilus or other parts of the GNOME
Desktop.

I've been programming for several years. I have very limited
experience with C programming, but I've got a couple of good books on
the language and a willingness to learn. I've also got several books
that have been published on GTK and GNOME. However, I'm sure I'll have
lots of questions.

My first question is this:

If I am writing code for the "back-end" of my GNOME Application,
should I use GLIB types and try to extend GObject whenever possible,
or is this only required for the GUI code?

For example, I'll be creating an "object" to represent angles. Should
I do this with a regular C struct, or should I subclass GObject?

My second question is this:

Where can I find user interface design guidelines for GNOME?

Thanks,

Scott Huey