Description
In 2010 I built Jollpi, a lightweight text editor in Python 2 with GTK2 and GtkSourceView2. When I returned in 2025, my goal was to port it to GTK4. That assumption lasted only a few hours.
GTK4 is not a newer API layer — it's a different paradigm. Concepts like UIManager-based menus no longer exist. Adapting the old code would only preserve outdated assumptions. The project was rewritten from scratch.
The session covers practical differences encountered, including: transitioning to Gtk.Application, using Gio.FileMonitor for external file changes, search with GtkSourceView.SearchContext, inline interfaces with Gtk.Revealer, and GTK's CSS system.
Beyond API changes, the talk focuses on a real concurrency problem: keeping the editor responsive while multiple large files load and search runs in other tabs — solved by setting GLib.PRIORITY_LOW for background loading while managing search state through a single shared widget.
Aimed at Python-GTK developers maintaining older GTK2 or GTK3 projects.
Author(s) Bio
Python GTK developer. Creator of Jollpi (2010, rewritten 2025) and Munquet — both available on Flathub.
| Presentation Type | Remote |
|---|---|
| Pronouns | He/Him |
| Photo usage consent | Yes |