Re: gdk_window_set_background?

[Ron Steinke <rsteinke w-link net>]

> From: Vicki Stanfield <vicki dialupnet com>
>
> What is the function gdk_window_set_background used for? I have used
> gtk_windows, but I don't understand how a gdk_window fits into the
> scheme. Can someone explain it to me (as if I were a six year old)?
>

I'll take a stab at this, but someone please correct me if I'm wrong,
as I'm far from an expert.

A GdkWindow is a wrapper for the windows in Xlib, each of which is
a rectangular (or otherwise, for shaped windows) area in which
stuff can be drawn/affected/whatever. Each window is contained
in another window which is refered to as its parent. The ultimate
parent window is refered to as the root window, and is the size
of the screen.

A GtkWindow is a specific kind of widget. Each widget has one
or more windows (or in some cases, none). These windows may
contain each other, but ultimately one of these windows
has as its parent (in the GdkWindow sense) a GdkWindow
in the widget's parent (in the GtkWidget sense).
A GtkWindow is typically the highest up widget in this
parent--child chain, so one of its windows (GdkWindow)
is a child of the root window (the whole screen, outside
of Gtk entirely). If you want to set the background
for everything contained in the GtkWindow widget, this
particular GdkWindow is probably the one whose background
you want to set.

					Ron Steinke