### Method

# Gtk ConstraintLayout add_constraints_from_descriptionv

#### Declaration [src]

    GList*
    gtk_constraint_layout_add_constraints_from_descriptionv (
      GtkConstraintLayout* layout,
      const char* const* lines,
      gsize n_lines,
      int hspacing,
      int vspacing,
      GHashTable* views,
      GError** error
    )

#### Description [src]

Creates a list of constraints from a VFL description.

The Visual Format Language, VFL, is based on Apple’s AutoLayout VFL.

The `views` dictionary is used to match `GtkConstraintTarget` instances to the symbolic view name inside the VFL.

The VFL grammar is:

           <visualFormatString> = (<orientation>)?
                                  (<superview><connection>)?
                                  <view>(<connection><view>)*
                                  (<connection><superview>)?
                  <orientation> = 'H' | 'V'
                    <superview> = '|'
                   <connection> = '' | '-' <predicateList> '-' | '-'
                <predicateList> = <simplePredicate> | <predicateListWithParens>
              <simplePredicate> = <metricName> | <positiveNumber>
      <predicateListWithParens> = '(' <predicate> (',' <predicate>)* ')'
                    <predicate> = (<relation>)? <objectOfPredicate> (<operatorList>)? ('@' <priority>)?
                     <relation> = '==' | '<=' | '>='
            <objectOfPredicate> = <constant> | <viewName> | ('.' <attributeName>)?
                     <priority> = <positiveNumber> | 'required' | 'strong' | 'medium' | 'weak'
                     <constant> = <number>
                 <operatorList> = (<multiplyOperator>)? (<addOperator>)?
             <multiplyOperator> = [ '*' | '/' ] <positiveNumber>
                  <addOperator> = [ '+' | '-' ] <positiveNumber>
                     <viewName> = [A-Za-z_]([A-Za-z0-9_]*) // A C identifier
                   <metricName> = [A-Za-z_]([A-Za-z0-9_]*) // A C identifier
                <attributeName> = 'top' | 'bottom' | 'left' | 'right' | 'width' | 'height' |
                                  'start' | 'end' | 'centerX' | 'centerY' | 'baseline'
               <positiveNumber> // A positive real number parseable by g_ascii_strtod()
                       <number> // A real number parseable by g_ascii_strtod()

Note: The VFL grammar used by GTK is slightly different than the one defined by Apple, as it can use symbolic values for the constraint’s strength instead of numeric values; additionally, GTK allows adding simple arithmetic operations inside predicates.

Examples of VFL descriptions are:

“` // Default spacing [button]-[textField]

// Width constraint [button(>=50)]

// Connection to super view |-50-[purpleBox]-50-|

// Vertical layout V:[topField]-10-[bottomField]

// Flush views [maroonView][blueView]

// Priority [button(100@strong)]

// Equal widths [button1(==button2)]

// Multiple predicates [flexibleButton(>=70,<=100)]

// A complete line of layout |-[find]-[findNext]-[findField(>=20)]-|

// Operators [button1(button2 / 3 + 50)]

// Named attributes [button1(==button2.height)] “`.

#### Parameters

`lines` | An array of `char*`
| An array of Visual Format Language lines defining a set of constraints.
| The length of the array is specified in the `n_lines` argument.
| The data is owned by the caller of the function.
`n_lines` | `gsize`
| The number of lines.
`hspacing` | `int`
| Default horizontal spacing value, or -1 for the fallback value.
`vspacing` | `int`
| Default vertical spacing value, or -1 for the fallback value.
`views` | `GHashTable*`
| A dictionary of `[ name, target ]` pairs; the `name` keys map to the view names in the VFL lines, while the `target` values map to children of the widget using a `GtkConstraintLayout`, or guides.
| The data is owned by the caller of the function.
`error` | `GError **`
| The return location for a `GError*`, or `NULL`.

#### Return value

Returns: | A list of `GtkConstraint`
| The list of `GtkConstraint` instances that were added to the layout.
| The caller of the function takes ownership of the data container, but not the data inside it.