Welcome to an unofficial guide to help you develop your application for elementary OS. This guide is NOT meant to teach how to program in the Vala programming language nor is it meant to teach you GTK+ GUI programming. All you will learn is how to use your existing knowledge in Vala and GTK+ to design and build your application for elementary OS.
Note that the language and information here are my own opinion, and I do not represent any organization or elementary LLC. in anyway.
- Vala is a computer programming language used mostly to develop GTK+ applications. It is also used to write libraries and APIs.
- GTK+ is a toolkit for developing Graphical User Interface (GUI) applications. With GTK+, you can develop applications that have buttons, text inputs, labels, switches, images, menu, etc.
- You can learn Vala from the Gnome's Vala Tutorial or the The Vala Manual - GitBook and GTK+ from Gnome's Vala GTK+ Tutorials or Horace Abenga's website
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Chapter One: Introduction to Tools and Resources
- Development tools and resources
- Learning resources
- Setting up your development environment
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Chapter Two: Designing Your Application (UI and UX)
- Brainstorming
- Wireframing your (UI, UX)
- Creating mock-ups, drawing icons, and prototyping
- Finalizing your designs
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Chapter Three: Coding Your Application (Tutorials)
- Creating and structuring a project
- Diving into Vala and GTK+
- Using the Granite extension
- Using the cmake build system
- Developing sample applications
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Chapter Four: Getting Your Application Ready for the Real World
- Creating and using a repository (Github, Launchpad)
- Setting up a build and packaging system
- Creating setting-up website for your application
- Future updates and improvements
- Conclusion