GTK+2 vs GTK+3
GTK+2 and GTK+3 are graphical user interface toolkits. GTK was originally created for the GNU Image Manipulator Program (GIMP) and has since become an integral part of many graphical programs for GNU/Linux. It is used in GNOME, which is the graphical environment for Ubuntu, Mint, and Fedora (the three most popular Linux distributions). It is also used in Xfce, LXDE, and other prominent desktop environments.
[edit] Availability
GTK+3 is the default on the newest version of Fedora and the upcoming version of Ubuntu, but GTK+2 can be used along side them.
While GTK+3 has been released as "stable", only a few applications have been written/rewritten to use it so far. It is not being included with some major distributions yet, but will be in the near future.
[edit] New Features
GTK+3's release notes indicate that its new features include
- "multiple backend support" so that the same application can use Wayland or Xorg without being recompiled
- support for modern input devices, including multiple pointers
