The Glib.Settings.Gsettings class provides a convenient API for storing and retrieving application settings.
Reads and writes can be considered to be non-blocking. Reading settings with Glib.Settings.Gsettings is typically extremely fast: on approximately the same order of magnitude (but slower than) a GHash_Table lookup. Writing settings is also extremely fast in terms of time to return to your application, but can be extremely expensive for other threads and other processes. Many settings backends (including dconf) have lazy initialisation which means in the common case of the user using their computer without modifying any settings a lot of work can be avoided. For dconf, the D-Bus service doesn't even need to be started in this case. For this reason, you should only ever modify Glib.Settings.Gsettings keys in response to explicit user action. Particular care should be paid to ensure that modifications are not made during startup -- for example, when setting the initial value of preferences widgets. The built-in Glib.Settings.Bind functionality is careful not to write settings in response to notify signals as a result of modifications that it makes to widgets.
When creating a GSettings instance, you have to specify a schema that describes the keys in your settings and their types and default values, as well as some other information.
Normally, a schema has a fixed path that determines where the settings are stored in the conceptual global tree of settings. However, schemas can also be '[relocatable][gsettings-relocatable]', i.e. not equipped with a fixed path. This is useful e.g. when the schema describes an 'account', and you want to be able to store a arbitrary number of accounts.
Paths must start with and end with a forward slash character ('/') and must not contain two sequential slash characters. Paths should be chosen based on a domain name associated with the program or library to which the settings belong. Examples of paths are "/org/gtk/settings/file-chooser/" and "/ca/desrt/dconf-editor/". Paths should not start with "/apps/", "/desktop/" or "/system/" as they often did in GConf.
Unlike other configuration systems (like GConf), GSettings does not restrict keys to basic types like strings and numbers. GSettings stores values as Glib.Variant.Gvariant, and allows any Glib.Variant.Gvariant_Type for keys. Key names are restricted to lowercase characters, numbers and '-'. Furthermore, the names must begin with a lowercase character, must not end with a '-', and must not contain consecutive dashes.
Similar to GConf, the default values in GSettings schemas can be localized, but the localized values are stored in gettext catalogs and looked up with the domain that is specified in the gettext-domain attribute of the <schemalist> or <schema> elements and the category that is specified in the l10n attribute of the <default> element. The string which is translated includes all text in the <default> element, including any surrounding quotation marks.
The l10n attribute must be set to messages or time, and sets the locale category for translation. The messages category should be used by default; use time for translatable date or time formats. A translation comment can be added as an XML comment immediately above the <default> element — it is recommended to add these comments to aid translators understand the meaning and implications of the default value. An optional translation context attribute can be set on the <default> element to disambiguate multiple defaults which use the same string.
For example:
<!-- Translators: A list of words which are not allowed to be typed, in
GVariant serialization syntax.
See: https://developer.gnome.org/glib/stable/gvariant-text.html -->
<default l10n='messages' context='Banned words'>['bad', 'words']</default>
Translations of default values must remain syntactically valid serialized GVariants (e.g. retaining any surrounding quotation marks) or runtime errors will occur.
GSettings uses schemas in a compact binary form that is created by the [glib-compile-schemas][glib-compile-schemas] utility. The input is a schema description in an XML format.
A DTD for the gschema XML format can be found here: gschema.dtd
The [glib-compile-schemas][glib-compile-schemas] tool expects schema files to have the extension .gschema.xml.
At runtime, schemas are identified by their id (as specified in the id attribute of the <schema> element). The convention for schema ids is to use a dotted name, similar in style to a D-Bus bus name, e.g. "org.gnome.SessionManager". In particular, if the settings are for a specific service that owns a D-Bus bus name, the D-Bus bus name and schema id should match. For schemas which deal with settings not associated with one named application, the id should not use StudlyCaps, e.g. "org.gnome.font-rendering".
In addition to Glib.Variant.Gvariant types, keys can have types that have enumerated types. These can be described by a <choice>, <enum> or <flags> element, as seen in the [example][schema-enumerated]. The underlying type of such a key is string, but you can use Glib.Settings.Get_Enum, Glib.Settings.Set_Enum, Glib.Settings.Get_Flags, Glib.Settings.Set_Flags access the numeric values corresponding to the string value of enum and flags keys.
An example for default value:
<schemalist>
<schema id="org.gtk.Test" path="/org/gtk/Test/" gettext-domain="test">
<key name="greeting" type="s">
<default l10n="messages">"Hello, earthlings"</default>
<summary>A greeting</summary>
<description>
Greeting of the invading martians
</description>
</key>
<key name="box" type="(ii)">
<default>(20,30)</default>
</key>
<key name="empty-string" type="s">
<default>""</default>
<summary>Empty strings have to be provided in GVariant form</summary>
</key>
</schema>
</schemalist>
An example for ranges, choices and enumerated types:
<schemalist>
<enum id="org.gtk.Test.myenum">
<value nick="first" value="1"/>
<value nick="second" value="2"/>
</enum>
<flags id="org.gtk.Test.myflags">
<value nick="flag1" value="1"/>
<value nick="flag2" value="2"/>
<value nick="flag3" value="4"/>
</flags>
<schema id="org.gtk.Test">
<key name="key-with-range" type="i">
<range min="1" max="100"/>
<default>10</default>
</key>
<key name="key-with-choices" type="s">
<choices>
<choice value='Elisabeth'/>
<choice value='Annabeth'/>
<choice value='Joe'/>
</choices>
<aliases>
<alias value='Anna' target='Annabeth'/>
<alias value='Beth' target='Elisabeth'/>
</aliases>
<default>'Joe'</default>
</key>
<key name='enumerated-key' enum='org.gtk.Test.myenum'>
<default>'first'</default>
</key>
<key name='flags-key' flags='org.gtk.Test.myflags'>
<default>["flag1","flag2"]</default>
</key>
</schema>
</schemalist>
## Vendor overrides
Default values are defined in the schemas that get installed by an application. Sometimes, it is necessary for a vendor or distributor to adjust these defaults. Since patching the XML source for the schema is inconvenient and error-prone, [glib-compile-schemas][glib-compile-schemas] reads so-called vendor override' files. These are keyfiles in the same directory as the XML schema sources which can override default values. The schema id serves as the group name in the key file, and the values are expected in serialized GVariant form, as in the following example:
[org.gtk.Example]
key1='string'
key2=1.5
glib-compile-schemas expects schema files to have the extension .gschema.override.
## Binding
A very convenient feature of GSettings lets you bind Glib.Object.GObject properties directly to settings, using Glib.Settings.Bind. Once a GObject property has been bound to a setting, changes on either side are automatically propagated to the other side. GSettings handles details like mapping between GObject and GVariant types, and preventing infinite cycles.
This makes it very easy to hook up a preferences dialog to the underlying settings. To make this even more convenient, GSettings looks for a boolean property with the name "sensitivity" and automatically binds it to the writability of the bound setting. If this 'magic' gets in the way, it can be suppressed with the Glib.Settings.No_Sensitivity flag.
## Relocatable schemas # {gsettings-relocatable}
A relocatable schema is one with no path attribute specified on its <schema> element. By using Glib.Settings.G_New_With_Path, a Glib.Settings.Gsettings object can be instantiated for a relocatable schema, assigning a path to the instance. Paths passed to Glib.Settings.G_New_With_Path will typically be constructed dynamically from a constant prefix plus some form of instance identifier; but they must still be valid GSettings paths. Paths could also be constant and used with a globally installed schema originating from a dependency library.
For example, a relocatable schema could be used to store geometry information for different windows in an application. If the schema ID was org.foo.MyApp.Window, it could be instantiated for paths /org/foo/MyApp/main/, /org/foo/MyApp/document-1/, /org/foo/MyApp/document-2/, etc. If any of the paths are well-known they can be specified as <child> elements in the parent schema, e.g.:
<schema id="org.foo.MyApp" path="/org/foo/MyApp/">
<child name="main" schema="org.foo.MyApp.Window"/>
</schema>
## Build system integration # {gsettings-build-system}
GSettings comes with autotools integration to simplify compiling and installing schemas. To add GSettings support to an application, add the following to your configure.ac:
GLIB_GSETTINGS
In the appropriate Makefile.am, use the following snippet to compile and install the named schema:
gsettings_SCHEMAS = org.foo.MyApp.gschema.xml
EXTRA_DIST = $(gsettings_SCHEMAS)
Gsettings_Rules@
No changes are needed to the build system to mark a schema XML file for translation. Assuming it sets the gettext-domain attribute, a schema may be marked for translation by adding it to POTFILES.in, assuming gettext 0.19 is in use (the preferred method for translation):
data/org.foo.MyApp.gschema.xml
Alternatively, if intltool 0.50.1 is in use:
[type: gettext/gsettings]data/org.foo.MyApp.gschema.xml
GSettings will use gettext to look up translations for the <summary> and <description> elements, and also any <default> elements which have a l10n attribute set. Translations must not be included in the .gschema.xml file by the build system, for example by using intltool XML rules with a .gschema.xml.in template.
If an enumerated type defined in a C header file is to be used in a GSettings schema, it can either be defined manually using an <enum> element in the schema XML, or it can be extracted automatically from the C header. This approach is preferred, as it ensures the two representations are always synchronised. To do so, add the following to the relevant Makefile.am:
gsettings_ENUM_NAMESPACE = org.foo.MyApp
gsettings_ENUM_FILES = my-app-enums.h my-app-misc.h
gsettings_ENUM_NAMESPACE specifies the schema namespace for the enum files, which are specified in gsettings_ENUM_FILES. This will generate a org.foo.MyApp.enums.xml file containing the extracted enums, which will be automatically included in the schema compilation, install and uninstall rules. It should not be committed to version control or included in EXTRA_DIST.
<group>GIO</group> <gtkada_demo>create_settings.adb</gtkada_demo>
procedure Apply (Self : not null access Gsettings_Record)
Applies any changes that have been made to the settings. This function does nothing unless Settings is in 'delay-apply' mode; see Glib.Settings.The_Delay. In the normal case settings are always applied immediately.
Backend_Property : constant Glib.Properties.Property_Object :=
Glib.Properties.Build ("backend");
procedure Bind
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Object : not null access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
Property : UTF8_String;
Flags : GSettings_Bind_Flags)
Create a binding between the Key in the Settings object and the property Property of Object. The binding uses the default GIO mapping functions to map between the settings and property values. These functions handle booleans, numeric types and string types in a straightforward way. Use g_settings_bind_with_mapping if you need a custom mapping, or map between types that are not supported by the default mapping functions. Unless the Flags include Glib.Settings.No_Sensitivity, this function also establishes a binding between the writability of Key and the "sensitive" property of Object (if Object has a boolean property by that name). See Glib.Settings.Bind_Writable for more details about writable bindings. Note that the lifecycle of the binding is tied to Object, and that you can have only one binding per object property. If you bind the same property twice on the same object, the second binding overrides the first one. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to bind
a Glib.Object.GObject
the name of the property to bind
flags for the binding
procedure Bind_Writable
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Object : not null access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
Property : UTF8_String;
Inverted : Boolean)
Create a binding between the writability of Key in the Settings object and the property Property of Object. The property must be boolean; "sensitive" or "visible" properties of widgets are the most likely candidates. Writable bindings are always uni-directional; changes of the writability of the setting will be propagated to the object property, not the other way. When the Inverted argument is True, the binding inverts the value as it passes from the setting to the object, i.e. Property will be set to True if the key is not writable. Note that the lifecycle of the binding is tied to Object, and that you can have only one binding per object property. If you bind the same property twice on the same object, the second binding overrides the first one. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to bind
a Glib.Object.GObject
the name of a boolean property to bind
whether to 'invert' the value
type Cb_GObject_UTF8_String_Void is not null access procedure
(Self : access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
Key : UTF8_String);
type Cb_Gsettings_UTF8_String_Void is not null access procedure
(Self : access Gsettings_Record'Class;
Key : UTF8_String);
function Create_Action
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Glib.Action.Gaction
Creates a Glib.Action.Gaction corresponding to a given Glib.Settings.Gsettings key. The action has the same name as the key. The value of the key becomes the state of the action and the action is enabled when the key is writable. Changing the state of the action results in the key being written to. Changes to the value or writability of the key cause appropriate change notifications to be emitted for the action. For boolean-valued keys, action activations take no parameter and result in the toggling of the value. For all other types, activations take the new value for the key (which must have the correct type). Since: gtk+ 2.32
the name of a key in Settings
a new Glib.Action.Gaction
Default : constant GSettings_Bind_Flags := 0;
Delay_Apply_Property : constant Glib.Properties.Property_Boolean;
Whether the Glib.Settings.Gsettings object is in 'delay-apply' mode. See Glib.Settings.The_Delay for details.
procedure G_New (Self : out Gsettings; Schema_Id : UTF8_String)
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id. It is an error for the schema to not exist: schemas are an essential part of a program, as they provide type information. If schemas need to be dynamically loaded (for example, from an optional runtime dependency), Glib.Settings_Schema_Source.Lookup can be used to test for their existence before loading them. Signals on the newly created Glib.Settings.Gsettings object will be dispatched via the thread-default Gmain.Context.Gmain_Context in effect at the time of the call to Glib.Settings.G_New. The new Glib.Settings.Gsettings will hold a reference on the context. See g_main_context_push_thread_default. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the id of the schema
procedure G_New_Full
(Self : out Gsettings;
Schema : Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema;
Backend : access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class;
Path : UTF8_String := "")
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with a given schema, backend and path. It should be extremely rare that you ever want to use this function. It is made available for advanced use-cases (such as plugin systems that want to provide access to schemas loaded from custom locations, etc). At the most basic level, a Glib.Settings.Gsettings object is a pure composition of 4 things: a Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema, a Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend, a path within that backend, and a Gmain.Context.Gmain_Context to which signals are dispatched. This constructor therefore gives you full control over constructing Glib.Settings.Gsettings instances. The first 3 parameters are given directly as Schema, Backend and Path, and the main context is taken from the thread-default (as per Glib.Settings.G_New). If Backend is null then the default backend is used. If Path is null then the path from the schema is used. It is an error if Path is null and the schema has no path of its own or if Path is non-null and not equal to the path that the schema does have. Since: gtk+ 2.32
a Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema
a Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend
the path to use
procedure G_New_With_Backend
(Self : out Gsettings;
Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Backend : not null access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class)
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id and a given Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend. Creating a Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with a different backend allows accessing settings from a database other than the usual one. For example, it may make sense to pass a backend corresponding to the "defaults" settings database on the system to get a settings object that modifies the system default settings instead of the settings for this user. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the id of the schema
the Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend to use
procedure G_New_With_Backend_And_Path
(Self : out Gsettings;
Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Backend : not null access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class;
Path : UTF8_String)
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id and a given Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend and path. This is a mix of Glib.Settings.G_New_With_Backend and Glib.Settings.G_New_With_Path. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the id of the schema
the Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend to use
the path to use
procedure G_New_With_Path
(Self : out Gsettings;
Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Path : UTF8_String)
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the relocatable schema specified by Schema_Id and a given path. You only need to do this if you want to directly create a settings object with a schema that doesn't have a specified path of its own. That's quite rare. It is a programmer error to call this function for a schema that has an explicitly specified path. It is a programmer error if Path is not a valid path. A valid path begins and ends with '/' and does not contain two consecutive '/' characters. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the id of the schema
the path to use
Get : constant GSettings_Bind_Flags := 1;
function Get_Boolean
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Boolean
Gets the value that is stored at Key in Settings. A convenience variant of g_settings_get for booleans. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a boolean type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to get the value for
a boolean
function Get_Child
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Name : UTF8_String) return Gsettings
Creates a child settings object which has a base path of base-path/Name, where base-path is the base path of Settings. The schema for the child settings object must have been declared in the schema of Settings using a <child> element. The created child settings object will inherit the Glib.Settings.Gsettings:delay-apply mode from Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the name of the child schema
a 'child' settings object. Has transfer-ownership='full'.
function Get_Default_Value
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Glib.Variant.Gvariant
Gets the "default value" of a key. This is the value that would be read if Glib.Settings.Reset were to be called on the key. Note that this may be a different value than returned by Glib.Settings_Schema_Key.Get_Default_Value if the system administrator has provided a default value. Comparing the return values of Glib.Settings.Get_Default_Value and Glib.Settings.Get_Value is not sufficient for determining if a value has been set because the user may have explicitly set the value to something that happens to be equal to the default. The difference here is that if the default changes in the future, the user's key will still be set. This function may be useful for adding an indication to a UI of what the default value was before the user set it. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't contained in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.40
the key to get the default value for
the default value. Has transfer-ownership='full'.
function Get_Double
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Gdouble
Gets the value that is stored at Key in Settings. A convenience variant of g_settings_get for doubles. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a 'double' type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to get the value for
a double
function Get_Enum
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Glib.Gint
Gets the value that is stored in Settings for Key and converts it to the enum value that it represents. In order to use this function the type of the value must be a string and it must be marked in the schema file as an enumerated type. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't contained in the schema for Settings or is not marked as an enumerated type. If the value stored in the configuration database is not a valid value for the enumerated type then this function will return the default value. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to get the value for
the enum value
function Get_Flags
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Guint
Gets the value that is stored in Settings for Key and converts it to the flags value that it represents. In order to use this function the type of the value must be an array of strings and it must be marked in the schema file as a flags type. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't contained in the schema for Settings or is not marked as a flags type. If the value stored in the configuration database is not a valid value for the flags type then this function will return the default value. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to get the value for
the flags value
function Get_Has_Unapplied
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record) return Boolean
Returns whether the Glib.Settings.Gsettings object has any unapplied changes. This can only be the case if it is in 'delayed-apply' mode. Since: gtk+ 2.26
True if Settings has unapplied changes
function Get_Int
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Glib.Gint
Gets the value that is stored at Key in Settings. A convenience variant of g_settings_get for 32-bit integers. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a int32 type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to get the value for
an integer
function Get_Int64
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Gint64
Gets the value that is stored at Key in Settings. A convenience variant of g_settings_get for 64-bit integers. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a int64 type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.50
the key to get the value for
a 64-bit integer
Get_No_Changes : constant GSettings_Bind_Flags := 8;
function Get_Range
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Glib.Variant.Gvariant
Queries the range of a key. Since: gtk+ 2.28 Deprecated since 2.40, 1
the key to query the range of
function Get_String
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return UTF8_String
Gets the value that is stored at Key in Settings. A convenience variant of g_settings_get for strings. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a string type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to get the value for
a newly-allocated string
function Get_Strv
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return GNAT.Strings.String_List
A convenience variant of g_settings_get for string arrays. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having an array of strings type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to get the value for
a newly-allocated, null-terminated array of strings, the value that is stored at Key in Settings.
function Get_Type return Glib.GType
function Get_Uint
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Guint
Gets the value that is stored at Key in Settings. A convenience variant of g_settings_get for 32-bit unsigned integers. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a uint32 type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.30
the key to get the value for
an unsigned integer
function Get_Uint64
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Guint64
Gets the value that is stored at Key in Settings. A convenience variant of g_settings_get for 64-bit unsigned integers. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a uint64 type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.50
the key to get the value for
a 64-bit unsigned integer
function Get_User_Value
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Glib.Variant.Gvariant
Checks the "user value" of a key, if there is one. The user value of a key is the last value that was set by the user. After calling Glib.Settings.Reset this function should always return null (assuming something is not wrong with the system configuration). It is possible that Glib.Settings.Get_Value will return a different value than this function. This can happen in the case that the user set a value for a key that was subsequently locked down by the system administrator -- this function will return the user's old value. This function may be useful for adding a "reset" option to a UI or for providing indication that a particular value has been changed. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't contained in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.40
the key to get the user value for
the user's value, if set. Has transfer-ownership='full'.
function Get_Value
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String) return Glib.Variant.Gvariant
Gets the value that is stored in Settings for Key. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't contained in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the key to get the value for
a new Glib.Variant.Gvariant. Has transfer-ownership='full'.
type Gsettings is access all Gsettings_Record'Class;
type GSettings_Bind_Flags is mod 2 ** Integer'Size;
Flags used when creating a binding.
These flags determine in which direction the binding works. The default is to synchronize in both directions.
package GSettings_Bind_Flags_Properties is
new Generic_Internal_Flags_Property (GSettings_Bind_Flags);
function Gsettings_New (Schema_Id : UTF8_String) return Gsettings
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id. It is an error for the schema to not exist: schemas are an essential part of a program, as they provide type information. If schemas need to be dynamically loaded (for example, from an optional runtime dependency), Glib.Settings_Schema_Source.Lookup can be used to test for their existence before loading them. Signals on the newly created Glib.Settings.Gsettings object will be dispatched via the thread-default Gmain.Context.Gmain_Context in effect at the time of the call to Glib.Settings.G_New. The new Glib.Settings.Gsettings will hold a reference on the context. See g_main_context_push_thread_default. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the id of the schema
function Gsettings_New_Full
(Schema : Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema;
Backend : access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class;
Path : UTF8_String := "") return Gsettings
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with a given schema, backend and path. It should be extremely rare that you ever want to use this function. It is made available for advanced use-cases (such as plugin systems that want to provide access to schemas loaded from custom locations, etc). At the most basic level, a Glib.Settings.Gsettings object is a pure composition of 4 things: a Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema, a Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend, a path within that backend, and a Gmain.Context.Gmain_Context to which signals are dispatched. This constructor therefore gives you full control over constructing Glib.Settings.Gsettings instances. The first 3 parameters are given directly as Schema, Backend and Path, and the main context is taken from the thread-default (as per Glib.Settings.G_New). If Backend is null then the default backend is used. If Path is null then the path from the schema is used. It is an error if Path is null and the schema has no path of its own or if Path is non-null and not equal to the path that the schema does have. Since: gtk+ 2.32
a Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema
a Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend
the path to use
function Gsettings_New_With_Backend
(Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Backend : not null access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class)
return Gsettings
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id and a given Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend. Creating a Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with a different backend allows accessing settings from a database other than the usual one. For example, it may make sense to pass a backend corresponding to the "defaults" settings database on the system to get a settings object that modifies the system default settings instead of the settings for this user. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the id of the schema
the Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend to use
function Gsettings_New_With_Backend_And_Path
(Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Backend : not null access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class;
Path : UTF8_String) return Gsettings
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id and a given Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend and path. This is a mix of Glib.Settings.G_New_With_Backend and Glib.Settings.G_New_With_Path. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the id of the schema
the Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend to use
the path to use
function Gsettings_New_With_Path
(Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Path : UTF8_String) return Gsettings
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the relocatable schema specified by Schema_Id and a given path. You only need to do this if you want to directly create a settings object with a schema that doesn't have a specified path of its own. That's quite rare. It is a programmer error to call this function for a schema that has an explicitly specified path. It is a programmer error if Path is not a valid path. A valid path begins and ends with '/' and does not contain two consecutive '/' characters. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the id of the schema
the path to use
type Gsettings_Record is new GObject_Record with null record;
Has_Unapplied_Property : constant Glib.Properties.Property_Boolean;
If this property is True, the Glib.Settings.Gsettings object has outstanding changes that will be applied when Glib.Settings.Apply is called.
procedure Initialize
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record'Class;
Schema_Id : UTF8_String)
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id. It is an error for the schema to not exist: schemas are an essential part of a program, as they provide type information. If schemas need to be dynamically loaded (for example, from an optional runtime dependency), Glib.Settings_Schema_Source.Lookup can be used to test for their existence before loading them. Signals on the newly created Glib.Settings.Gsettings object will be dispatched via the thread-default Gmain.Context.Gmain_Context in effect at the time of the call to Glib.Settings.G_New. The new Glib.Settings.Gsettings will hold a reference on the context. See g_main_context_push_thread_default. Since: gtk+ 2.26 Initialize does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
the id of the schema
procedure Initialize_Full
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record'Class;
Schema : Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema;
Backend : access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class;
Path : UTF8_String := "")
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with a given schema, backend and path. It should be extremely rare that you ever want to use this function. It is made available for advanced use-cases (such as plugin systems that want to provide access to schemas loaded from custom locations, etc). At the most basic level, a Glib.Settings.Gsettings object is a pure composition of 4 things: a Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema, a Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend, a path within that backend, and a Gmain.Context.Gmain_Context to which signals are dispatched. This constructor therefore gives you full control over constructing Glib.Settings.Gsettings instances. The first 3 parameters are given directly as Schema, Backend and Path, and the main context is taken from the thread-default (as per Glib.Settings.G_New). If Backend is null then the default backend is used. If Path is null then the path from the schema is used. It is an error if Path is null and the schema has no path of its own or if Path is non-null and not equal to the path that the schema does have. Since: gtk+ 2.32 Initialize_Full does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
a Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema
a Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend
the path to use
procedure Initialize_With_Backend
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record'Class;
Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Backend : not null access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class)
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id and a given Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend. Creating a Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with a different backend allows accessing settings from a database other than the usual one. For example, it may make sense to pass a backend corresponding to the "defaults" settings database on the system to get a settings object that modifies the system default settings instead of the settings for this user. Since: gtk+ 2.26 Initialize_With_Backend does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
the id of the schema
the Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend to use
procedure Initialize_With_Backend_And_Path
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record'Class;
Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Backend : not null access Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend_Record'Class;
Path : UTF8_String)
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the schema specified by Schema_Id and a given Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend and path. This is a mix of Glib.Settings.G_New_With_Backend and Glib.Settings.G_New_With_Path. Since: gtk+ 2.26 Initialize_With_Backend_And_Path does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
the id of the schema
the Glib.Settings_Backend.Gsettings_Backend to use
the path to use
procedure Initialize_With_Path
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record'Class;
Schema_Id : UTF8_String;
Path : UTF8_String)
Creates a new Glib.Settings.Gsettings object with the relocatable schema specified by Schema_Id and a given path. You only need to do this if you want to directly create a settings object with a schema that doesn't have a specified path of its own. That's quite rare. It is a programmer error to call this function for a schema that has an explicitly specified path. It is a programmer error if Path is not a valid path. A valid path begins and ends with '/' and does not contain two consecutive '/' characters. Since: gtk+ 2.26 Initialize_With_Path does nothing if the object was already created with another call to Initialize* or G_New.
the id of the schema
the path to use
Invert_Boolean : constant GSettings_Bind_Flags := 16;
function Is_Writable
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Name : UTF8_String) return Boolean
Finds out if a key can be written or not Since: gtk+ 2.26
the name of a key
True if the key Name is writable
function List_Children
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record)
return GNAT.Strings.String_List
Gets the list of children on Settings. The list is exactly the list of strings for which it is not an error to call Glib.Settings.Get_Child. There is little reason to call this function from "normal" code, since you should already know what children are in your schema. This function may still be useful there for introspection reasons, however. You should free the return value with g_strfreev when you are done with it.
a list of the children on Settings, in no defined order
function List_Keys
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record)
return GNAT.Strings.String_List
Introspects the list of keys on Settings. You should probably not be calling this function from "normal" code (since you should already know what keys are in your schema). This function is intended for introspection reasons. You should free the return value with g_strfreev when you are done with it. Deprecated since 2.46, 1
a list of the keys on Settings, in no defined order
function List_Relocatable_Schemas return GNAT.Strings.String_List
Deprecated. Since: gtk+ 2.28 Deprecated since 2.40, 1
a list of relocatable Glib.Settings.Gsettings schemas that are available, in no defined order. The list must not be modified or freed.
function List_Schemas return GNAT.Strings.String_List
Deprecated. Since: gtk+ 2.26 Deprecated since 2.40, 1
a list of Glib.Settings.Gsettings schemas that are available, in no defined order. The list must not be modified or freed.
No_Sensitivity : constant GSettings_Bind_Flags := 4;
procedure On_Changed
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Call : Cb_GObject_UTF8_String_Void;
Slot : not null access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
After : Boolean := False)
The "changed" signal is emitted when a key has potentially changed. You should call one of the g_settings_get calls to check the new value.
This signal supports detailed connections. You can connect to the detailed signal "changed::x" in order to only receive callbacks when key "x" changes.
Note that Settings only emits this signal if you have read Key at least once while a signal handler was already connected for Key.
procedure On_Changed
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Call : Cb_Gsettings_UTF8_String_Void;
After : Boolean := False)
The "changed" signal is emitted when a key has potentially changed. You should call one of the g_settings_get calls to check the new value.
This signal supports detailed connections. You can connect to the detailed signal "changed::x" in order to only receive callbacks when key "x" changes.
Note that Settings only emits this signal if you have read Key at least once while a signal handler was already connected for Key.
procedure On_Writable_Changed
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Call : Cb_GObject_UTF8_String_Void;
Slot : not null access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
After : Boolean := False)
The "writable-changed" signal is emitted when the writability of a key has potentially changed. You should call Glib.Settings.Is_Writable in order to determine the new status.
This signal supports detailed connections. You can connect to the detailed signal "writable-changed::x" in order to only receive callbacks when the writability of "x" changes.
procedure On_Writable_Changed
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Call : Cb_Gsettings_UTF8_String_Void;
After : Boolean := False)
The "writable-changed" signal is emitted when the writability of a key has potentially changed. You should call Glib.Settings.Is_Writable in order to determine the new status.
This signal supports detailed connections. You can connect to the detailed signal "writable-changed::x" in order to only receive callbacks when the writability of "x" changes.
Path_Property : constant Glib.Properties.Property_String;
The path within the backend where the settings are stored.
type Property_GSettings_Bind_Flags is new GSettings_Bind_Flags_Properties.Property;
function Range_Check
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Glib.Variant.Gvariant) return Boolean
Checks if the given Value is of the correct type and within the permitted range for Key. Since: gtk+ 2.28 Deprecated since 2.40, 1
the key to check
the value to check
True if Value is valid for Key
procedure Reset
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String)
Resets Key to its default value. This call resets the key, as much as possible, to its default value. That might be the value specified in the schema or the one set by the administrator.
the name of a key
procedure Revert (Self : not null access Gsettings_Record)
Reverts all non-applied changes to the settings. This function does nothing unless Settings is in 'delay-apply' mode; see Glib.Settings.The_Delay. In the normal case settings are always applied immediately. Change notifications will be emitted for affected keys.
Schema_Id_Property : constant Glib.Properties.Property_String;
The name of the schema that describes the types of keys for this Glib.Settings.Gsettings object.
Schema_Property : constant Glib.Properties.Property_String;
The name of the schema that describes the types of keys for this Glib.Settings.Gsettings object.
The type of this property is not Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema. Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema has only existed since version 2.32 and unfortunately this name was used in previous versions to refer to the schema ID rather than the schema itself. Take care to use the 'settings-schema' property if you wish to pass in a Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema.
Set : constant GSettings_Bind_Flags := 2;
function Set_Boolean
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Boolean) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. A convenience variant of g_settings_set for booleans. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a boolean type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the name of the key to set
the value to set it to
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
function Set_Double
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Gdouble) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. A convenience variant of g_settings_set for doubles. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a 'double' type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the name of the key to set
the value to set it to
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
function Set_Enum
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Glib.Gint) return Boolean
Looks up the enumerated type nick for Value and writes it to Key, within Settings. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't contained in the schema for Settings or is not marked as an enumerated type, or for Value not to be a valid value for the named type. After performing the write, accessing Key directly with Glib.Settings.Get_String will return the 'nick' associated with Value.
a key, within Settings
an enumerated value
True, if the set succeeds
function Set_Flags
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Guint) return Boolean
Looks up the flags type nicks for the bits specified by Value, puts them in an array of strings and writes the array to Key, within Settings. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't contained in the schema for Settings or is not marked as a flags type, or for Value to contain any bits that are not value for the named type. After performing the write, accessing Key directly with Glib.Settings.Get_Strv will return an array of 'nicks'; one for each bit in Value.
a key, within Settings
a flags value
True, if the set succeeds
function Set_Int
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Glib.Gint) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. A convenience variant of g_settings_set for 32-bit integers. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a int32 type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the name of the key to set
the value to set it to
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
function Set_Int64
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Gint64) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. A convenience variant of g_settings_set for 64-bit integers. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a int64 type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.50
the name of the key to set
the value to set it to
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
function Set_String
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : UTF8_String) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. A convenience variant of g_settings_set for strings. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a string type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the name of the key to set
the value to set it to
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
function Set_Strv
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : GNAT.Strings.String_List) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. A convenience variant of g_settings_set for string arrays. If Value is null, then Key is set to be the empty array. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having an array of strings type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the name of the key to set
the value to set it to, or null
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
function Set_Uint
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Guint) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. A convenience variant of g_settings_set for 32-bit unsigned integers. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a uint32 type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.30
the name of the key to set
the value to set it to
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
function Set_Uint64
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Guint64) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. A convenience variant of g_settings_set for 64-bit unsigned integers. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't specified as having a uint64 type in the schema for Settings. Since: gtk+ 2.50
the name of the key to set
the value to set it to
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
function Set_Value
(Self : not null access Gsettings_Record;
Key : UTF8_String;
Value : Glib.Variant.Gvariant) return Boolean
Sets Key in Settings to Value. It is a programmer error to give a Key that isn't contained in the schema for Settings or for Value to have the incorrect type, per the schema. If Value is floating then this function consumes the reference. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the name of the key to set
a Glib.Variant.Gvariant of the correct type
True if setting the key succeeded, False if the key was not writable
Settings_Schema_Property : constant Glib.Properties.Property_Boxed;
Type: Settings_Schema The Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema describing the types of keys for this Glib.Settings.Gsettings object.
Ideally, this property would be called 'schema'. Glib.Settings_Schema.Gsettings_Schema has only existed since version 2.32, however, and before then the 'schema' property was used to refer to the ID of the schema rather than the schema itself. Take care.
Signal_Change_Event : constant Glib.Signal_Name := "change-event";
The "change-event" signal is emitted once per change event that affects this settings object. You should connect to this signal only if you are interested in viewing groups of changes before they are split out into multiple emissions of the "changed" signal. For most use cases it is more appropriate to use the "changed" signal.
In the event that the change event applies to one or more specified keys, Keys will be an array of Glib.GQuark of length N_Keys. In the event that the change event applies to the Glib.Settings.Gsettings object as a whole (ie: potentially every key has been changed) then Keys will be null and N_Keys will be 0.
The default handler for this signal invokes the "changed" signal for each affected key. If any other connected handler returns True then this default functionality will be suppressed.
Signal_Changed : constant Glib.Signal_Name := "changed";
The "changed" signal is emitted when a key has potentially changed. You should call one of the g_settings_get calls to check the new value.
This signal supports detailed connections. You can connect to the detailed signal "changed::x" in order to only receive callbacks when key "x" changes.
Note that Settings only emits this signal if you have read Key at least once while a signal handler was already connected for Key.
Signal_Writable_Change_Event : constant Glib.Signal_Name := "writable-change-event";
The "writable-change-event" signal is emitted once per writability change event that affects this settings object. You should connect to this signal if you are interested in viewing groups of changes before they are split out into multiple emissions of the "writable-changed" signal. For most use cases it is more appropriate to use the "writable-changed" signal.
In the event that the writability change applies only to a single key, Key will be set to the Glib.GQuark for that key. In the event that the writability change affects the entire settings object, Key will be 0.
The default handler for this signal invokes the "writable-changed" and "changed" signals for each affected key. This is done because changes in writability might also imply changes in value (if for example, a new mandatory setting is introduced). If any other connected handler returns True then this default functionality will be suppressed. function Handler (Self : access Gsettings_Record'Class; Key : Guint) return Boolean
Callback parameters: -- @param Key the quark of the key, or 0
Signal_Writable_Changed : constant Glib.Signal_Name := "writable-changed";
The "writable-changed" signal is emitted when the writability of a key has potentially changed. You should call Glib.Settings.Is_Writable in order to determine the new status.
This signal supports detailed connections. You can connect to the detailed signal "writable-changed::x" in order to only receive callbacks when the writability of "x" changes.
procedure Sync
Ensures that all pending operations are complete for the default backend. Writes made to a Glib.Settings.Gsettings are handled asynchronously. For this reason, it is very unlikely that the changes have it to disk by the time g_settings_set returns. This call will block until all of the writes have made it to the backend. Since the mainloop is not running, no change notifications will be dispatched during this call (but some may be queued by the time the call is done).
procedure The_Delay (Self : not null access Gsettings_Record)
Changes the Glib.Settings.Gsettings object into 'delay-apply' mode. In this mode, changes to Settings are not immediately propagated to the backend, but kept locally until Glib.Settings.Apply is called. Since: gtk+ 2.26
procedure Unbind
(Object : not null access Glib.Object.GObject_Record'Class;
Property : UTF8_String)
Removes an existing binding for Property on Object. Note that bindings are automatically removed when the object is finalized, so it is rarely necessary to call this function. Since: gtk+ 2.26
the object
the property whose binding is removed