How do you create a window in Linux with C++?

c++ linux window
SteveDeFacto picture SteveDeFacto · Jun 25, 2012 · Viewed 35.4k times · Source

I was expecting a Linux API similar to the Windows API. All I see on Google is references to Qt and GTK. I really don't need anything more than a simple window to draw on with OpenGL, so these libraries appear bloated for my use. What do Qt and GTK use to create windows under Linux? Is there nothing more low-level?

Answer

Martin Beckett picture Martin Beckett · Jun 25, 2012

The X window system generally does the drawing - you then use a toolkit such as Qt or GTK on top of raw Xlib to provide event loops, drag and drop, starting apps on mouseclicks and all the other 'desktop' stuff

It's fairly easy to work directly with Xlib and opengl or if you just want to learn opengl the glut provides the framework you need to display a window, handle mouse/keyboard events and so on.

Related questions

Sleep for milliseconds

I know the POSIX sleep(x) function makes the program sleep for x seconds. Is there a function to make the program sleep for x milliseconds in C++?

Read More
usr/bin/ld: cannot find -l<nameOfTheLibrary>

I'm trying to compile my program and it returns this error : usr/bin/ld: cannot find -l<nameOfTheLibrary> in my makefile I use the command g++ and link to my library which is a symbolic link to my …

Read More
C++ IDE for Linux?

I want to expand my programming horizons to Linux. A good, dependable basic toolset is important, and what is more basic than an IDE? I could find these SO topics: Lightweight IDE for linux and What tools do you use …

Read More