Your best library for create GUI ( gtk, qt, win32 api, etc )? [closed]

Answer 1

both are for c, but there is a good wrapper for gtk (gtkmm).

gtk has its own look, so theres no skinning of ui elements on the user side(with windows styles). but i like to programm with it more.

win32, mfc, .net are mostly limited to ms visual studio, while gtk is very hard to use with vs.

you should have a look on win32, .net, gtkmm and qt. just try to write and compile a simple hello world program with them

upsides of win32:

• native windows code
• fast

downsides:

• no classes, only c with handles (very crappy)
• in my opinion very bad documented

upsides of gtk(mm):

• easy to learn/programm
• good documented

downsides:

• somehow difficult to install the development files
• no native windows look

Answer 2

You really have a lot of GUI toolkits/frameworks to choose from: Qt, wxWidgets, GTK+/gtkmm, WinAPI, MFC, .NET WinForms/WPF... and those are only the popular ones.

Since you limit yourself to C++, I'd strike out .NET because C++ on .NET is intended to serve as a connection between the unmanaged and managed world. That doesn't mean you can't use it for other types of development, but given the awkward syntax and countless pitfalls I'd not go with it. Moreover, the WinForms code generator of VS puts the forms' code into the header file.. brrrr

As others have stated, WinAPI is written in C, very fast and powerful, but very low level and not easy to program/learn. MFC would be an option since it's written in C++, easier to use than WinAPI and also very powerful. However, it's pretty much obsolete (due to the presence of .NET, mostly).

I wouldn't recommend GTK+/gtkmm (a C++ wrapper for GTK+) for Windows since you don't get the native windows look, it's rather annoying to set up on your developer machine and it also drags around tons of dependencies that you have to install on the user machine. That's actually a pity because especially gtkmm has a very beautiful class hierarchy and design. Probably one of the best designed GUI libraries :)

That said, what would I recommend? Either Qt or wxWidgets. Both are written in (fairly modern) C++, actively developed, have a good library design, run multi-platform and offer lots of functionality. In any case, play around with a few of the libraries listed in the answers here and see which one lets you do the things you want to do most easily :)

Answer 3

If you are making the gui only for windows, I would strongly recommend WIN 32 Api. I have Made many applications in GTK+ , pyGtk , FLTK and have learned Qt, MFC and SmartWin++. Believe me , But I like Win32 Api the best. It may have a steep learning curve, but for creating native windows applications , it is the fastest and the BEST. And the more complex youre program gets, the easier Win32 Api is compared to other toolkits. And there are things you can do in Win32 Api, which you can not do in any other toolkit.

TESTED:

starting time (simple gui with menu and buttons): GTK+ = 7 secs; Qt = 4 secs; WxWidgets = 3.32 seconds; FLTK = 1 second; Win32 Api = 0.34 seconds;

space taken: Gtk+ = 132 kb; Qt = 4.5 mb; WxWidgets = 4.5 mb; FLTK = 54 kb; Win32 Api = 6.5 kb;

Answer 4

I have used GTK+ in the past for a multi-platform application. I found it relatively simple to learn and use. To my mind the main advantage of GTK+ is that you will be able to port your application to other windowing systems. And the main disadvantage is that it will not look exactly like other windows applications. If you are doing cross platform work or are already very familiar with GTK+ (and don't have time to spend learning a new toolkit), I would recommend it.

Answer 5

win32 api is too complicated, MFC is too annoying. I have used MFC, win32api, and Qt in windows. In my opnion, Qt is the best one. I havent tried GTK, so sorry knowing nothing about it.

Edit 2019: It looks all these options are outdated, how about the cross-platform solutions, react-native windows, electron

Answer 6

You may want to try Winforms or WPF. If you're limited to using C/C++, you can embed .NET code using the /clr option for the compiler to embed .NET code for Winforms or WPF. Sources:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/k8d11d4s(VS.71).aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms754130.aspx
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.form.aspx
Personal experience