Install gtk+ with Homebrew, dnf

Project links

• Homepage

Commands and aliases

• gtk-builder-convert
• gtk-demo
• gtk-query-immodules-2.0
• gtk2-update-icon-cache

Project history

GTK sources carry the older 'The GIMP Toolkit' identity in project files, and the GTK web site places project copyright from 1997 onward. The project became a GNOME-hosted, LGPL-licensed toolkit with GLib as its foundation and a programming model centered on widgets, signals, GObject, and language bindings.

GTK+ 2.0.0 tarballs appeared in the GNOME source archive on 2002-03-08. The 2.x line standardized the gtk+-2.0 development package identity and became the common target for a large generation of GNOME and cross-platform Unix GUI software.

GTK+ 2.24.0 was tagged in 2011, and the 2.24 series became the terminal GTK+ 2 branch exposed by many package managers. The GNOME source archive shows GTK+ 2.24.33 tarballs dated 2020-12-21, illustrating the long maintenance tail of the GTK+ 2 API track.

Adoption history

GTK adoption is intertwined with GNOME, but the official GTK site emphasizes broader use: applications built with GTK include GIMP, Fonts, Calculator, Web, Inkscape, Evolution, Image Viewer, Polari, Podcasts, Maps, Transmission, Secrets, and HandBrake. GTK+ 2 was especially visible in traditional desktop apps that predate the GTK 3 and GTK 4 application models.

Language bindings are a major adoption path. The GTK site notes bindings and wrappers for languages such as Python, JavaScript, Perl, Rust, and Vala, and the GTK+ 2 era helped make GTK a common package dependency outside pure C projects.

How it is used

Developers build GTK+ 2 applications against headers such as gtk/gtk.h and pkg-config metadata such as gtk+-2.0. The toolkit supplies windows, buttons, text views, tree views, menus, dialogs, input handling, theming, accessibility integration, and GDK backends for display systems.

The Homebrew gtk+ package exposes GTK+ 2 utilities such as gtk-demo, gtk-builder-convert, gtk-query-immodules-2.0, and gtk2-update-icon-cache. That makes the formula useful both for building older applications and for keeping their auxiliary tooling available.

Why package nerds care

GTK+ 2 is package-manager archaeology in productive form. Its ABI is old enough that modern desktops may not use it for new work, but many source builds, ports, plugins, and legacy applications still ask for gtk+-2.0 explicitly.

Packagers care about GTK+ 2 because it pulls a historical GNOME stack with GLib, Pango, GDK-Pixbuf, ATK, Cairo, icon caches, input modules, and theme engines. A missing gtk+ formula can be the difference between a legacy GUI package building cleanly and a dependency hunt through old desktop infrastructure.

Timeline

• 1997: GTK project copyright period begins on the official GTK site.
• 2002: GTK+ 2.0.0 tarballs appeared in the GNOME source archive.
• 2011: GTK+ 2.24.0 was tagged.
• 2020: GTK+ 2.24.33 tarballs appeared in the GNOME source archive.

Related projects

• GLib provides fundamental data types and system integration; GObject supplies the object system; GDK handles windowing; Pango handles text; Cairo handles drawing; GdkPixbuf handles images; ATK supplies accessibility interfaces.
• GTK+ 3 and GTK 4 are later GTK API generations. GTK-Doc documented large parts of the GTK/GNOME C API ecosystem, including GTK symbols, GObject signals, and properties.

Sources

• https://docs.gtk.org/gtk2/
• https://download.gnome.org/sources/gtk+/2.0/
• https://download.gnome.org/sources/gtk+/2.24/
• https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk
• https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/blob/ae0d0fcb6156edd8f64a4628606589b0e593db3a/gtk/deprecated/gtkdialog.c
• https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/gtk/-/raw/main/README.md
• https://www.gtk.org/