Pros of gtk-rs/gtk

• Provides a comprehensive set of widgets and tools for building complex GUI applications.
• Offers a mature and well-documented API with a large community and ecosystem.
• Supports a wide range of platforms, including Linux, Windows, and macOS.

Cons of gtk-rs/gtk

• Larger codebase and dependency footprint compared to Winit.
• May have a steeper learning curve for developers unfamiliar with the GTK ecosystem.
• Can be more challenging to integrate with other Rust libraries or frameworks.

Code Comparison

Winit (rust-windowing/winit):

let event_loop = EventLoop::new();
let window = WindowBuilder::new()
    .with_title("My Window")
    .build(&event_loop)
    .unwrap();

event_loop.run(move |event, _, control_flow| {
    *control_flow = ControlFlow::Wait;

    match event {
        Event::WindowEvent { event, .. } => match event {
            WindowEvent::CloseRequested => *control_flow = ControlFlow::Exit,
            _ => (),
        },
        _ => (),
    }
});

gtk-rs/gtk:

let application = gtk::Application::new(Some("com.example.app"), gio::ApplicationFlags::FLAGS_NONE);
let window = gtk::ApplicationWindow::new(&application);
window.set_title("My Window");

application.connect_activate(|app| {
    let window = gtk::ApplicationWindow::new(app);
    window.set_title("My Window");
    window.show_all();
});

application.run(&[]);

Pros of Glutin

• Glutin provides a higher-level abstraction over the underlying windowing system, making it easier to write cross-platform code.
• Glutin has a more extensive feature set, including support for OpenGL, Vulkan, and other graphics APIs.
• Glutin has a more active development community and a larger ecosystem of related libraries and tools.

Cons of Glutin

• Glutin has a larger codebase and may be more complex to understand and use for simple use cases.
• Glutin may have a higher overhead and performance impact compared to Winit, especially for lightweight applications.
• Glutin's dependency on external libraries and frameworks can make it more difficult to deploy and distribute.

Code Comparison

Winit:

let event_loop = EventLoop::new();
let window = WindowBuilder::new()
    .with_title("My Window")
    .build(&event_loop)
    .unwrap();

event_loop.run(move |event, _, control_flow| {
    *control_flow = ControlFlow::Wait;

    match event {
        Event::WindowEvent { event, .. } => match event {
            WindowEvent::CloseRequested => *control_flow = ControlFlow::Exit,
            _ => (),
        },
        _ => (),
    }
});

Glutin:

let event_loop = EventLoop::new();
let window = WindowBuilder::new()
    .with_title("My Window")
    .build(&event_loop)
    .unwrap();

event_loop.run(move |event, _, control_flow| {
    *control_flow = ControlFlow::Wait;

    match event {
        Event::WindowEvent { event, .. } => match event {
            WindowEvent::CloseRequested => *control_flow = ControlFlow::Exit,
            _ => (),
        },
        _ => (),
    }
});

As you can see, the code for creating a window and handling events is very similar between Winit and Glutin, as they share a common API. The main differences would be in the additional features and capabilities provided by Glutin, which are not shown in this simple example.

Pros of Piston

• Piston provides a more comprehensive set of tools and libraries for game development, including a 2D rendering engine, input handling, and physics simulation.
• Piston has a larger and more active community, with more contributors and a wider range of available plugins and extensions.
• Piston's design is more modular, allowing developers to pick and choose the components they need for their project, rather than being tied to a single, monolithic library.

Cons of Piston

• Piston has a steeper learning curve compared to Winit, as it requires understanding and integrating multiple different components.
• Piston may be overkill for simple window management or rendering tasks, as it provides a lot of additional functionality that may not be needed.

Code Comparison

Winit (window creation):

use winit::event_loop::EventLoop;
use winit::window::WindowBuilder;

let event_loop = EventLoop::new();
let window = WindowBuilder::new()
    .with_title("My Window")
    .build(&event_loop)
    .unwrap();

Piston (window creation):

use piston::window::WindowSettings;

let window_settings = WindowSettings::new("My Window", [800, 600])
    .exit_on_esc(true)
    .build()
    .unwrap();