Hello. I'm new to this community. And I also have a question.

[onionmixer]

Nice to meet you. I'm a newbie to this community and just joined today. I wasn't sure where to post my inquiry, so I'm leaving it here first.

First, I'd like to clarify that I am from South Korea and am not currently working as a developer. I'm not a professional developer. However, I have been using Linux desktop for about 30 years. Although it's a thing of the past, I used Delphi a long time ago, and Kylix and Delphi 7 mark the end of my career as a developer.

I use the GNOME desktop and personally use a program called tomboy-ng. It was always a bit of a shame for me that the LCL backend didn't support GTK4.

In the midst of this, I recently started using Claude Code. By assigning tasks to the AI, I worked on the LCL backend to make it compatible with GTK4 (version 4.6.9) on Ubuntu 22.04. As a result, I am now able to successfully build tomboy-ng using LCL-GTK4. Currently, a program of tomboy-ng's scale runs normally, and features like TTrayIcon have been ported.

Right now, I am comparing the LCL implementations of GTK2/QT5 with GTK4, identifying areas where the implementation is lacking, and reviewing/making efforts to improve the completeness of LCL-GTK4—though, of course, the AI is doing the actual heavy lifting.

Please refer to the attached file for a screenshot of it in action.

I have a few questions:

1.  I am currently working on LCL-GTK4 using AI. Would code contributions generated by AI still be meaningful and valuable to this community?

2. While I am working with GTK4 version 4.6.9, the current version of GTK4 is much higher. Because of this, quite a few things I'm using are already deprecated in newer GTK4 versions. Honestly, I'm not sure how to handle this. I would love to hear your thoughts.

3. Since I am not an active developer, once LCL-GTK4 reaches a certain level of completion, I would like the community to take over and maintain it (provided that these AI-generated codes are deemed useful by the community). If the community does want my work, I'm not sure how I should proceed. Of course, I don't want potentially messy AI-generated code to pollute the Lazarus community repository. Please let me know what the best approach would be. I am not familiar with developer communities like this, nor am I well-versed in the rules and culture of the Lazarus community, so I believe it is best to listen to your opinions first.

As someone who used to love Pascal, I sincerely hope this information isn't useless to you all. At the same time, I fully understand that AI-generated code might not be universally welcomed in a developer community. If the community doesn't need it, I am perfectly happy just maintaining and using it in my personal repository. I originally started this project for my own needs, but I am writing this post in hopes of preventing redundant, duplicated efforts. I would be glad to hear any feedback you may have.


ps. sorry.... of course AI translation. because english is not my mother toung.

[schuler]

Interesting. Is your project listed on GitHub?

I would like the community to take over and maintain

This is sad news. But you could submit as a pull request ...

[cdbc]

Cool & interesting - Good on you mate 
If your code is in good shape...
@zeljko will naturally be the best judge of that 
Regards Benny

[Gigatron]

@onionmixer 
Welcome to the magic world of Lazarus Forum ;

[LemonParty]

You are not the first one who came here with AI code.
There are Tomxe who converts various things to Pascal with AI and also the guy who built a HTML render engine (don't remember his nickname).
Welcome to the forum.

[dbannon]

....
In the midst of this, I recently started using Claude Code. By assigning tasks to the AI, I worked on the LCL backend to make it compatible with GTK4 (version 4.6.9) on Ubuntu 22.04. As a result, I am now able to successfully build tomboy-ng using LCL-GTK4. Currently, a program of tomboy-ng's scale runs normally, and features like TTrayIcon have been ported.

Wow, thats almost unbelievable !  As the developer of tomboy-ng, if you had asked me, I would have said, sadly, sorry, not possible !

Are you really saying you have -ng running exclusively as gtk4 ?  Not a hybrid sort of thing ? Amazing in either case ....

1.  I am currently working on LCL-GTK4 using AI. Would code contributions generated by AI still be meaningful and valuable to this community?

While I cannot answer that, I think its possibly 'yes', old timers like me might deplore the totally ignoring of our license conditions, its what is happening sure will not stop.

2. While I am working with GTK4 version 4.6.9, the current version of GTK4 is much higher. Because of this, quite a few things I'm using are already deprecated in newer GTK4 versions. Honestly, I'm not sure how to handle this. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thoughts only I am afraid. Thats how GTK? works, endless "deprecated code", usually stays usable for some time but worrying.

3. Since I am not an active developer,

Sorry, you are, in fact, a developer.

I would like the community to take over and maintain it

So, what you need to do is try and structure your gtk4 code in the same model as, eg, gtk3 in Lazarus.  Its sure not my decision about what goes into Lazarus (thats a relief for many people) but the Lazarus Developers do welcome contributions and if its sound code, compatible with how Lazarus things, I am sure it will be considered.

I'd do this earlier rather than later, leave stubs that can later have appropriate code added. That way, people can see how you are going, make suggestions and improvements, its the open source way.

So, you need to use git, clone the official lazarus, start pasting your new code in under lcl/interfaces/gtk4 and generate a pull request.

I am pretty sure one of the Lazarus Devs will help you an awful lot more than I can. And while you use tomboy-ng as a test case, don't be afraid to fix anything you see that needs it !

Davo

ps. sorry.... of course AI translation. because english is not my mother tonge.

Wow again, that translator is good !

[onionmixer]

Interesting. Is your project listed on GitHub?

I would like the community to take over and maintain

This is sad news. But you could submit as a pull request ...

Not yet. Right now, I am using Codex to compare all the classes of the full LCL GTK2 and QT5 implementations with my GTK4 implementation to thoroughly review any incomplete parts.

I plan to refine the current GTK4 code until it reaches a level I feel comfortable sharing, and then publish it on my GitHub first. From there, I will consider how to contribute the code to Lazarus.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I am doing all of this out of a genuine desire to help the Lazarus community. The last thing I want is to cause any friction or unpleasantness with my work. That is why I am being a bit cautious.

[onionmixer]

Cool & interesting - Good on you mate 
If your code is in good shape...
@zeljko will naturally be the best judge of that 
Regards Benny

Yes, you are right. However, I am quite cautious about how to approach and make a proposal to @zeljko. Since I am not familiar with interacting with open-source communities, I tend to handle things more carefully. Thank you for your positive words.

[onionmixer]

@onionmixer 
Welcome to the magic world of Lazarus Forum ;

hank you. I hope it will be useful to others, but I still lack confidence. I also always keep in mind that results achieved through AI are not a reflection of my own skills.

[onionmixer]

You are not the first one who came here with AI code.
There are Tomxe who converts various things to Pascal with AI and also the guy who built a HTML render engine (don't remember his nickname).
Welcome to the forum.

Thank you for the warm welcome. I always keep in mind that AI-generated code may lack quality compared to code written by gurus. Contributing small parts would feel less burdensome, but I understand that the LCL backend is a critical and sensitive area for Lazarus.

However, as a "regular user," I know that the gurus' time is finite and they cannot do everything. That is why, driven by my desire to use a GTK4-based environment, I pushed forward with this work, knowing it might not be fully welcomed. I don't expect my results to be accepted as they are; if they can just serve as a basic guide toward a better outcome, my time and AI tokens will have been well worth it.

[onionmixer]

....
In the midst of this, I recently started using Claude Code. By assigning tasks to the AI, I worked on the LCL backend to make it compatible with GTK4 (version 4.6.9) on Ubuntu 22.04. As a result, I am now able to successfully build tomboy-ng using LCL-GTK4. Currently, a program of tomboy-ng's scale runs normally, and features like TTrayIcon have been ported.

Wow, thats almost unbelievable !  As the developer of tomboy-ng, if you had asked me, I would have said, sadly, sorry, not possible !

Are you really saying you have -ng running exclusively as gtk4 ?  Not a hybrid sort of thing ? Amazing in either case ....

1.  I am currently working on LCL-GTK4 using AI. Would code contributions generated by AI still be meaningful and valuable to this community?

While I cannot answer that, I think its possibly 'yes', old timers like me might deplore the totally ignoring of our license conditions, its what is happening sure will not stop.

2. While I am working with GTK4 version 4.6.9, the current version of GTK4 is much higher. Because of this, quite a few things I'm using are already deprecated in newer GTK4 versions. Honestly, I'm not sure how to handle this. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Thoughts only I am afraid. Thats how GTK? works, endless "deprecated code", usually stays usable for some time but worrying.

3. Since I am not an active developer,

Sorry, you are, in fact, a developer.

I would like the community to take over and maintain it

So, what you need to do is try and structure your gtk4 code in the same model as, eg, gtk3 in Lazarus.  Its sure not my decision about what goes into Lazarus (thats a relief for many people) but the Lazarus Developers do welcome contributions and if its sound code, compatible with how Lazarus things, I am sure it will be considered.

I'd do this earlier rather than later, leave stubs that can later have appropriate code added. That way, people can see how you are going, make suggestions and improvements, its the open source way.

So, you need to use git, clone the official lazarus, start pasting your new code in under lcl/interfaces/gtk4 and generate a pull request.

I am pretty sure one of the Lazarus Devs will help you an awful lot more than I can. And while you use tomboy-ng as a test case, don't be afraid to fix anything you see that needs it !

Davo

ps. sorry.... of course AI translation. because english is not my mother tonge.

Wow again, that translator is good !

Nice to meet you! I can't believe you are reading this post yourself!!!

Before writing this, I first posted the news on the tomboy-ng GitHub issues page because tomboy-ng is such an important program to me.

https://github.com/tomboy-notes/tomboy-ng/issues/349

You might remember—though I'm not entirely sure if it was you I spoke with—we talked about tomboy-ng a few years ago. I had asked about using Korean in tomboy-ng, and you replied, "That's an issue with KControl. I've requested a fix a few times, but it hasn't changed." While working on this tomboy-ng build, I also patched that long-standing Korean language issue in KControl and confirmed it works flawlessly on both the GTK4 and QT5 builds. Previously, there was also a position calculation issue when writing content in Korean within KControl, but I had the AI fix the general logic for that as well. I haven't pushed that code to KControl yet, but I'm planning to ask them first, while also keeping in mind to push it to my own separate fork of KControl on GitHub.

GTK 4.6.9 is the default library provided in Ubuntu 22.04. You can assume that from around version 4.11 onward, quite a few remnants of GTK3 have been deprecated. I'm not using the latest Ubuntu LTS version due to personal reasons (such as jack2, pipewire, and midi programs), but most people will likely use the newest LTS, so that will be another point to consider.

ps. This translation is being done using Gemini.

[cdbc]

Hi onionmixer
Why don't you take a 'LookSee' at THIS thread...
...And since you're being cautious, you can just click on his handle/name zeljko and go to his profile, where there's a link to send him a PM, easy peasy 
Regards Benny

[onionmixer]

Hi onionmixer
Why don't you take a 'LookSee' at THIS thread...
...And since you're being cautious, you can just click on his handle/name zeljko and go to his profile, where there's a link to send him a PM, easy peasy 
Regards Benny

Thank you. I will check out the thread you mentioned! I had only been tracking his progress on the Lazarus wiki.

And... is it really okay to send him a PM? Some people might not appreciate getting private messages.

[dsiders]

Hi onionmixer
Why don't you take a 'LookSee' at THIS thread...
...And since you're being cautious, you can just click on his handle/name zeljko and go to his profile, where there's a link to send him a PM, easy peasy 
Regards Benny

Thank you. I will check out the thread you mentioned! I had only been tracking his progress on the Lazarus wiki.

And... is it really okay to send him a PM? Some people might not appreciate getting private messages.

With only 7 posts, you may not be able to send PMs yet.

[onionmixer]

Hi onionmixer
Why don't you take a 'LookSee' at THIS thread...
...And since you're being cautious, you can just click on his handle/name zeljko and go to his profile, where there's a link to send him a PM, easy peasy 
Regards Benny

With only 7 posts, you may not be able to send PMs yet.

Ah, I didn't think of that kind of rule. Thank you for letting me know.

Now that I've found where zeljko posts about GTK3 in the forum, I think I'll create a new thread in that same forum section once my GTK4 code is a bit more organized.

I noticed that there's been a sensitive discussion going on regarding FPC and AI. I truly appreciate all of you being so kind to me during what could be a delicate time.

And... is it really okay to send him a PM? Some people might not appreciate getting private messages.