GTKX

Native Values ​

Most generated methods accept JavaScript values directly. This guide covers the native type and value wrappers you may encounter when calling lower-level APIs.

Passing a GType ​

GTKX accepts a registered class wherever a binding takes a GType:

ts
import * as Gio from "@gtkx/gi/gio";
import * as Gtk from "@gtkx/gi/gtk";

const store = Gio.ListStore.new(Gtk.Label);

Generated classes and interfaces, and subclasses registered with registerClass, can be passed this way. A plain JavaScript subclass has no registration of its own. Returned GTypes and signal handler arguments remain bigint values.

Passing a GValue ​

When a binding reads a GObject.Value, GTKX usually accepts the JavaScript payload directly:

ts
import * as Gdk from "@gtkx/gi/gdk";

const provider = Gdk.ContentProvider.newForValue("Copied text");

Use an explicitly initialized GObject.Value when the operation requires a particular native type, including an interface type for clipboard or drag-and-drop matching. A binding that fills a value instead takes a new, uninitialized GObject.Value; its generated signature identifies this case. Signal handlers continue to receive the value object.

For nullable value parameters, null means no value object. To represent a typed null payload, create a value with the required type and set its payload to null.

Generated return values ​

Returned byte sequences use Uint8Array; byte inputs accept Uint8Array or number[]. Returned GObject.Value objects are unpacked to their payloads, typed as unknown.

Promisified operations omit a redundant success boolean when failure already rejects. Inout records and boxed values are updated in place without being repeated in the return value. See Async Operations for promise usage.

Next ​

Async Operations covers promises, cancellation, and errors from native calls.