The Mono Handbook > Gtk# FAQ

Gtk# Frequently Asked Questions

  1. General
    1. What is Gtk#?
    2. Why isn't it called Gnome# or Gnome.Net?
  2. Compiling Gtk#
    1. What are the Dependencies to build Gtk# on X11 platforms?
    2. What about building on Win32 platforms?
  3. Developing with Gtk#
    1. Why can't mono find gtk-sharp.dll?
    2. Why can't my compiler find Gtk# classes?

1.1  What is Gtk#?

Gtk# brings the power and ease of .Net development paradigms to the free software GUI application development community.  Gtk# provides a C source parser and C# code generator which can be used to produce .Net assemblies that bind to GObject based libraries.  Among the libraries currently wrapped are gtk, gdk, atk, pango, gda, gnomedb, gconf, libgnomecanvas, libgnomeui, and libglade.

1.2  Why isn't it called Gnome# or Gnome.Net?

When the project was started, the idea was to wrap the Gtk+ libraries with a set of C# classes.  It quickly became apparent that the source parser and C# code generator could be used to wrap any GObject based API.  Contributors started wrapping their favorite GNOME libraries.  Mailing lists and a sourceforge project were already open under the gtk-sharp nomenclature and no compelling technical reasons for renaming presented themselves.  The decision was made to continue under the Gtk# name, even though the binding encompasses more than just Gtk, and more than just C#.

2.1  What are the Dependencies to build Gtk# on X11 platforms?

You'll need a .Net framework installed. Gtk# has been successfully used with both the mono and Portable.Net frameworks. The bare minimum requirement is a complete installation of the Gtk+-2.0 libraries.  Keep in mind that if your Gtk+ installation is provided by binary packages, you will also need to install the *-devel packages.  If you have additional GNOME-2.0 libraries installed, the configure script will detect their presence and the associated wrappers will be built.  A summary of the libraries which will be built is printed at the end of the configure step.

2.2  What about building on Win32 platforms?

To build Gtk# on win32, you will need a working cygwin installation.  Keep in mind that the default cygwin installation may not have all the tools you need.  Cygwin provides the gnu make tool which builds the Gtk# library.  You will also need the mingw-gcc compiler installed in order to build the Gtk# glue library.  There are binary packages of the Gtk+-2.0 libs and dependencies available from the Gtk+ for Win32 project page.  You will also need these libraries installed, along with their devel packages in order to build the glue library.  Once you have this environment set up, expand the gtk-sharp source into a directory and in a cygwin shell window, cd to the gtk-sharp directory and execute the command "make -f makefile.win32".

3.1  Why can't mono find gtk-sharp.dll?

You most likely have installed Gtk# into a prefix other than where mono is installed.  In order for the runtime to locate the Gtk# assemblies, you will need to add their location to the MONO_PATH environment variable. For the default installation prefix, this will mean executing the following command:
export MONO_PATH=/usr/local/lib:$MONO_PATH

3.2  Why can't my compiler find the Gtk# classes?

You need to provide an assembly reference in your compilation command. This will look like "mcs /ref:gtk-sharp foo.cs" if you are referencing classes in the Gtk or GtkSharp namespaces.

The Mono Handbook - © Copyright 2002 by Johannes Roith