![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/1d5c7aae6357ab911c481c9b49237191.jpg\")
<\/center> <\/p>\nThe libadwaita library is used in conjunction with GTK4 and includes components from the Adwaita theme used in GNOME, which have been extracted from GTK into a separate library. The libadwaita code is based on the libhandy library and is positioned as a successor to this library, which was originally created for building adaptive interfaces on mobile platforms using GNOME technologies, and was refined in the GNOME Phosh environment for the Librem 5 smartphone. <\/p>\n
The library includes standard widgets that cover various interface elements such as lists, panels, editing blocks, buttons, tabs, search forms, dialog windows, etc. The proposed widgets allow for the creation of versatile interfaces that function seamlessly on both large PC and laptop screens and small touchscreens of smartphones. The user interface of applications dynamically adapts based on the screen size and available input devices. The library also includes a set of Adwaita styles that align appearances with GNOME guidelines, eliminating the need for manual adaptation. <\/p>\n
Extracting the visual elements of GNOME into a separate library allows for the necessary changes for GNOME to be developed separately from GTK, enabling GTK developers to focus on the core aspects while allowing GNOME developers to quickly and flexibly promote the changes they need in styling without affecting GTK itself. However, this approach also creates challenges for developers of third-party user environments based on GTK, who must either use libadwaita and adapt to GNOME's features and replicate its styling, or develop their own style library for GTK, accepting that GNOME applications will look inconsistent in environments based on third-party style libraries. <\/p>\n
The main complaint from third-party environment developers concerns issues with overriding the colors of interface elements, but the libadwaita developers are working on providing an API for flexible color management, which will be included in one of the upcoming releases. Unresolved issues also include the proper functioning of gesture control widgets only on touch screens \u2014 proper operation of such widgets for touchpads will be ensured later, as it requires changes to GTK. <\/p>\n
Key changes in libadwaita compared to libhandy: <\/p>\n
- \n
- A completely redesigned style set. The Adwaita theme used in GNOME has been separated from GTK and modernized, while the old theme has been preserved in GTK under the name 'Default'. One of the most notable differences between libadwaita and the 'Default' theme is the change in the appearance of window headers.
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/6960229b38e19ea226d08487c3c9408d.jpg\")
<\/center>\n- The mechanisms for binding colors to elements and changing colors during application runtime have been modified (the issues are related to the fact that libadwaita has switched to SCSS, which requires recompilation to change colors). To change the colors of elements, which is required in GNOME Web for marking the transition to incognito mode, a method proposed in elementary OS has been applied, based on defining a fixed list of named colors via '@define-color'. At the same time, the colors of many interface elements are now computed relative to the base text color and change automatically, which restricts applications from fully controlling the color scheme (developers are working on removing this limitation).
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/50a103ab6890ae4ce6cdd250b82e0338.jpg\")
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/0645ee9a0017e92a8983dc5cf0a1aead.jpg\")
<\/center>\n- The quality of display when using dark themes has been improved through more contrasting highlighting of elements. The accent color has been made brighter, and an additional highlighting color has been added that can vary for dark and light themes.
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/8009aeeff3000ec8530f5187686edf18.jpg\")
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/c1c041923b1a57f6f7cdc5f3ad4ccbf5.jpg\")
<\/center>\n- A large number of new style classes have been added for use in applications. For example, '.pill' for large rounded buttons, the ability to use '.flat' in GtkHeaderBar, '.accent' for setting the accent color in labels, '.numeric' for tabular typography, and '.card' for using background and shadows like in lists.
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/54802fb4306097976024f1e2e9f3513b.jpg\")
<\/center>\n- Large monolithic SCSS files have been split into a collection of smaller style files.\n
- An API has been added for configuring dark themes and high contrast modes.
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bca15cadda8bf5670456eec5440cb2e8.jpg\")
<\/center>\n- The documentation has been overhauled, now generated using the gi-docgen toolkit.
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bd458f9627f4018f441f81e942ad7017.jpg\")
<\/center>\n- An API for animation has been added, which can be used to create transition effects when swapping from one state to another, as well as to create spring animations.
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/ea7e5a0d7ecee8d53248a53d893a5d9e.jpg\")
<\/center>\n- For tabs based on AdwViewSwitcher, the ability to display labels with the number of unread notifications has been added.
![\"The](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/52d441efd9b5b2d049468ef33a06086f.jpg\")
<\/center>\n- The AdwApplication class (a subclass of GtkApplication) has been added for the automatic initialization of Libadwaita and the loading of styles.\n
- A collection of widgets has been added to simplify standard operations: AdwWindowTitle for setting window titles, AdwBin for simplifying the creation of child subclasses, AdwSplitButton for combined buttons, and AdwButtonContent for buttons with icons and labels.\n
- The API has been cleaned up. <\/ul>\n
- The mechanisms for binding colors to elements and changing colors during application runtime have been modified (the issues are related to the fact that libadwaita has switched to SCSS, which requires recompilation to change colors). To change the colors of elements, which is required in GNOME Web for marking the transition to incognito mode, a method proposed in elementary OS has been applied, based on defining a fixed list of named colors via '@define-color'. At the same time, the colors of many interface elements are now computed relative to the base text color and change automatically, which restricts applications from fully controlling the color scheme (developers are working on removing this limitation).