Re: can we combile gtk2-perl with gtkmm in an application?

[muppet <scott asofyet org>]

On Mar 25, 2006, at 8:03 PM, Mitchell Laks wrote:

> I have read about the idea of splitting the functionality so that  
> the core
> user interface issues are controlled via a gui that is designed with a
> scripting language like perl, and thus can be easily customized,  
> while the
> parts of the application such as the opengl window that will deal  
> with the
> display images would be done in C++ for speed. People need to load  
> over 1000
> images at a time and I have had difficulties with java applications  
> being too
> slow for that aspect of the program.
>
> How had is it to make an application with the central Object being  
> gtkmm
> object.
>
> Ideal would be high level integration with the gtk-perl interface,  
> but I could
> even survive perhaps with sending signals between somewhat  
> "independent"
> applications...

To get this high level of integration, you will basically wind up  
writing bindings for your application's objects.  So long as your  
application's objects are based on GObject, this will be very, very  
easy, because you can use the extensive infrastructure of Gtk2-Perl.   
Otherwise, you'll have more work to do.

Personally, i have found it easier to write a C library containing  
the core functionality (image loading, processing, analysis, display,  
and storing) in GObject-based C libraries, then bind these libraries  
to perl, and write the application itself in perl.  The application  
logic is very easy to change, and the performance-critical stuff is  
all under the hood.  By using C libraries from perl you avoid many  
issues involved in embedding a perl interpreter in a C program, and  
make it possible to create a whole suite of applications using the  
same underlying libraries.

I have never tried binding gtkmm code to perl.  In theory, it should  
be possible, but i have not done it, and don't know enough of the  
dirty details of gtkmm to know if there would be any problems.


You may want to have a look through the "Binding Developers" section  
of http://gtk2-perl.sourceforge.net/doc/ .  We're also available in  
#gtk-perl on irc.gnome.org if you want to chat.  (Be patient, we're  
all in different timezones.)


--
Jolt is my co-pilot.
  -- Slogan on a giant paper airplane hung in Lobby 7 at MIT.
     http://hacks.mit.edu/