Getting started

Set up Barton in a CMake project and create your first application window.

Requirements

• A C++23 compiler
• CMake

Installation

The easiest way to get started is by adding CPM.cmake to the project:

include(cmake/CPM.cmake)
CPMAddPackage("gh:violet-crown-games/barton@0.1.0")

add_executable(hello main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(hello PRIVATE barton)

TIP

Use the latest release in place of 0.1.0.

First window

Barton applications use Window components to define their interface. Create a type derived from Window and implement render to describe its contents.

#include <barton/barton.h>

using namespace barton;

class MainWindow : public Window {
public:
    View render() const {
        return Container {
            align_items = Align::Center,
            justify_content = Justify::Center,

            Text { "Hello, Barton" },
        };
    }
};

int main(int argc, char** argv) {
    return App {}
        .open<MainWindow>({ .title = "Hello" })
        .run(argc, argv)
        .unwrap_or_else([](const auto&) { return 1; });
}

Here, MainWindow describes a centered text label inside a container. App opens the window, starts the event loop, and runs until the application exits.

Next steps

Read Concepts to see how props, state and environment fit together.