gtk2/docs/reference/gtk/migrating-3to4.xml

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<chapter id="gtk-migrating-3-to-4">
  <title>Migrating from GTK+ 3.x to GTK+ 4</title>

  <para>
    GTK+ 4 is a major new version of GTK+ that breaks both API and ABI
    compared to GTK+ 3.x. Thankfully, most of the changes are not hard
    to adapt to and there are a number of steps that you can take to
    prepare your GTK+ 3.x application for the switch to GTK+ 4. After
    that, there's a small number of adjustments that you may have to do
    when you actually switch your application to build against GTK+ 4.
  </para>

  <section>
    <title>Preparation in GTK+ 3.x</title>

    <para>
      The steps outlined in the following sections assume that your
      application is working with GTK+ 3.22, which is the final stable
      release of GTK+ 3.x. It includes all the necessary APIs and tools
      to help you port your application to GTK+ 4. If you are still using
      an older version of GTK+ 3.x, you should first get your application
      to build and work with 3.22.
    </para>

    <section>
      <title>Do not use deprecated symbols</title>
      <para>
        Over the years, a number of functions, and in some cases, entire
        widgets have been deprecated. These deprecations are clearly spelled
        out in the API reference, with hints about the recommended replacements.
        The API reference for GTK+ 3 also includes an
        <ulink url="https://developer.gnome.org/gtk3/3.22/api-index-deprecated.html">index</ulink> of all deprecated symbols.
      </para>
      <para>
        To verify that your program does not use any deprecated symbols,
        you can use defines to remove deprecated symbols from the header files,
        as follows:
        <programlisting>
        make CFLAGS+="-DGDK_DISABLE_DEPRECATED -DGTK_DISABLE_DEPRECATED"
        </programlisting>
      </para>
      <para>
        Note that some parts of our API, such as enumeration values, are
        not well covered by the deprecation warnings. In most cases, using
        them will require you to also use deprecated functions, which will
        trigger warnings.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Review your window creation flags</title>
      <para>
        GTK+ 4 removes the GDK_WA_CURSOR flag. Instead, just use
        gdk_window_set_cursor() to set a cursor on the window after
        creating it.
      </para>
      <para>
        GTK+ 4 also removes the GDK_WA_VISUAL flag, and always uses
        an RGBA visual for windows. To prepare your code for this,
        use gdk_window_set_visual (gdk_screen_get_rgba_visual ()) after
        creating your window.
      </para>
      <para>
        GTK+ 4 also removes the GDK_WA_WMCLASS flag. If you need this
        X11-specific functionality, use XSetClassHint() directly.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Stop using non-RGBA visuals</title>
      <para>
        GTK+ 4 always uses RGBA visuals for its windows; you should make
        sure that your code works with that.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Stop using GtkBox::padding</title>
      <para>
        GTK+ 4 removes the #GtkBox::padding child property, so you should
        use other ways to influence the layout of your boxes.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Stop using the state argument of GtkStyleContext getters</title>
      <para>
        The getters in the GtkStyleContext API, such as
        gtk_style_context_get_property(), gtk_style_context_get(),
        or gtk_style_context_get_color() only accept the context's current
        state for their state argument. Update all callers to pass the current
        state.
      </para>
    </section>

  </section>

  <section>
    <title>Changes that need to be done at the time of the switch</title>

    <para>
      This section outlines porting tasks that you need to tackle when
      you get to the point that you actually build your application against
      GTK+ 4. Making it possible to prepare for these in GTK+ 3 would
      have been either impossible or impractical.
    </para>

    <section>
      <title>Adapt to GtkStyleContext API changes</title>
      <para>
        The getters in the GtkStyleContext API, such as
        gtk_style_context_get_property(), gtk_style_context_get(),
        or gtk_style_context_get_color() have lost their state argument,
        and always use the context's current state. Update all callers
        to omit the state argument.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Stop using GtkContainer::border-width</title>
      <para>
        GTK+ 4 has removed the #GtkContainer::border-width property.
        Use other means to influence the spacing of your containers.
        FIXME: what are those ?
      </para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Adapt to GtkWidget's size request changes</title>
      <para>
        GTK+ 3 used five different virtual functions in GtkWidget to
        implement size requisition, namely the gtk_widget_get_preferred_width()
        family of functions. To simplify widget implementations, GTK+4 uses
        only one virtual function, GtkWidgetClass::measure() that widgets
        have to implement.
      </para>
    </section>

    <section>
      <title>Don't use -gtk-gradient in your CSS</title>
      <para>
        GTK+ now supports standard CSS syntax for both linear and radial
        gradients, just use those.
      </para>
    </section>

  </section>

</chapter>