Learn VALA with Real Code Examples

Install Vala compiler (valac) via package manager

Ensure C compiler (gcc/clang) is installed

Set up environment variables if needed

Verify installation using `valac --version`

Test compilation with a simple hello world program

Install valac via package manager

Ensure GCC or Clang is installed

Install GTK development libraries

Verify with `valac --version`

Compile test program to confirm setup

meson.build - build configuration

src/*.vala - source files

include/*.h - optional headers

bin/ - compiled binaries

tests/ - unit tests

valac myfile.vala - compile Vala to C

valac --pkg gtk+-3.0 myfile.vala - compile with GTK

gcc myfile.c -o myprogram `pkg-config --cflags --libs gtk+-3.0` - compile C output

valac --debug myfile.vala - compile with debugging

valac --save-temps myfile.vala - keep intermediate C files

Unicode support via GLib

gettext for translations

Localization-ready applications

UTF-8 strings by default

Compatible with global locales

Linux desktop support

GNOME accessibility tools compatible

Keyboard and screen-reader friendly GTK widgets

Open-source tooling

Community-driven libraries and bindings

GTK for GUI styling

Signal-driven event handling

Theming via CSS in GTK3/4

Widgets: buttons, labels, trees, tables

Custom widget creation via subclassing

Objects managed via reference counting

Signals track events and state changes

Properties encapsulate data

No global garbage collection

Explicit memory management mostly abstracted

Primitive types: int, float, string

Arrays, lists, and dictionaries

Objects with properties

Signals for reactive data handling

Interop with C structs and libraries