glib

general-purpose C utility library for GTK and GNOME

TLDR

Compile with GLib

$ gcc [program.c] $(pkg-config --cflags --libs glib-2.0) -o [program]

Get GLib version

$ pkg-config --modversion glib-2.0

Generate enum types

$ glib-mkenums --template [enum.h.template] [header.h] > [enum-types.h]

Compile GLib resources

$ glib-compile-resources [resources.gresource.xml] --target=[resources.c]

GLib is a general-purpose utility library used by GTK and GNOME. It provides data structures, portability wrappers, event loops, threads, and many utilities for C programming.GLib is not a command but a library. Related tools include glib-compile-resources, glib-mkenums, and glib-genmarshal.

KEY FEATURES

- GList/GSList: Linked lists- GHashTable: Hash tables- GString: Dynamic strings- GMainLoop: Event loop- GThread: Threading- GObject: Object system- GSettings: Configuration storage

RELATED TOOLS

$ glib-compile-resources  Compile resources
glib-compile-schemas    Compile GSettings schemas
glib-mkenums           Generate enum types
glib-genmarshal        Generate marshallers
gdbus                  D-Bus tool
gsettings              GSettings CLI

CAVEATS

C library, not a command. Requires understanding of C and GLib conventions. Memory management follows GLib patterns. Documentation at docs.gtk.org.

HISTORY

GLib was originally part of GTK+, extracted as a separate library in 1998 to enable non-GUI programs to use its utilities. It's maintained by the GNOME project and used throughout the Linux desktop ecosystem.