5

in Windows, a programmer can use Windows API to write a Windows application. Windows API can be used with C (not necessarily C++). In Windows API you have a message loop and you have to program responses to different messages (eg a right click on client area).

Is there any ubuntu API?

I don't mean Qt or GTK. I'm looking for a raw (C/C++) API so that everything must be (re)designed.

4
  • I'm not completely sure about what kind of API you're talking about. All libraries on the system have their own - there's no such thing as a single API for the whole OS! Are you referring to libc, standard libraries or "standard" libraries like Xorg? The Windows world and its Win32 API is not a pattern to apply to all other OSs. Linux is not designed like that.
    – gertvdijk
    Feb 1, 2013 at 21:22
  • 1
    @UriHerrera That's about Python desktop applications. How does that apply to this C/C++ question?
    – gertvdijk
    Feb 1, 2013 at 21:23
  • @gertvdijk I was thinking more along the lines of he wanting to create software thus asking for an Ubuntu API. Feb 1, 2013 at 21:24

1 Answer 1

6

I came to Linux from a Win32 API background. Because Windows wraps up the equivalent of the Linux window manager and desktop environment into a single container, there just isn't a one-to-one match. Gtk and Qt really are more or less the equivalent to the Win API.

Keeping in mind that the Win API itself in most cases is a wrapper on lower levels, if you really want to get down into the low-levels of the windowing system, you can look at X11 programming. For example, X Window System and Brief Intro to X11 Programming. But Gtk and Qt are designed to be wrappers around these functions.

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .