[SOLVED] Understanding widget libraries with X window

[mahela007]

Hi.. Could someone explain how widget libraries in X work? Here's what I think happens. If I'm wrong please correct me.

The X windows is a system which enables graphical interfaces. It can take inputs and display outputs of programs.
X has an API which allows programmers to make GUI's for their programs. However, the default X window widget API is very difficult and inconvenient to use, so other programmers have come up with widget libraries. A widget library is an API which presents the X window functions in a more usable form to developers.

Is that correct?

[GNU-Fan]

Yes.

There is also a standard library "xt widgets" for X. It does provide some convenience functions to create widgets, but has no facilities to display widgets. (It's more about describing the logics of widgets/menus.)
I wouldn't say it's difficult to use. It's just that it does have no functions to draw the actual widgets. Therefore programmers use other libraries so that they don't have to care about how to draw buttons etc.

A widget library is an API which presents the X window functions in a more usable form to developers.

Right. But more important: It gives them a means to display widgets which have a a standardized look. So if I use the GTK+ library, the program automatically respect the colour sheme the user has selected in GNOME etc.
If I use QT instead, it looks like any other KDE programm.

[mahela007]

So would be correct to say that all widget toolkits use the basic functions that X provides?

[GNU-Fan]

Yes, by all means.

[mahela007]

Thanks for your help.