Scripting the Linux desktop, Part 1: Basics

"Summary: This series of articles explores how to use Python to create scripts for the GNOME desktop, the screenlets framework, and Nautilus to deliver a highly productive environment. Scripts on the desktop enable drag-and-drop functionality and quick access to the information and services you commonly use. In this installment, learn how to build a desktop application using the screenlets widget toolkit.

"Developing applications for the Linux desktop typically requires some type of graphical user interface (GUI) framework to build on. Options include GTK+ for the GNOME desktop and Qt for the K Desktop Environment (KDE). Both platforms offer everything a developer needs to build a GUI application, including libraries and layout tools to create the windows users see. This article shows you how to build desktop productivity applications based on the screenlets widget toolkit (see Resources for a link).

"A number of existing applications would fit in the desktop productivity category, including GNOME Do and Tomboy. These applications typically allow users to interact with them directly from the desktop through either a special key combination or by dragging and dropping from another application such as Mozilla Firefox. Tomboy functions as a desktop note-taking tool that supports dropping text from other windows."

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