The GIMP image editor app has reached a major milestone in its life cycle. GIMP 2.99.2, which is what will eventually become GIMP 3.0, is the first app version that is built using GTK3. The use of GTK3 has finally allowed to bring Wayland support to the app.
The release comes with the following highlights.
- GTK3 based user interface, with native support for Wayland and HiDPI displays.
- Major refactoring and cleanup
- New plug-in API
- Plugins now possible with Python 3, JavaScript, Lua, and Vala
- More (color) space invasion
- Render caching available for better performance
GTK3 allowed the app to support proper HiDPI scaling. However, it has affected custom themes, which won't work, as GIMP now uses a new CSS-based theme format. On the other hand, the app is now able to automatically pick the proper light or dark symbolic icons for the tools palette, depending on the system theme.
GTK3 has brought a modern look to the app with some new widgets and client-side decorations.
The official announcement also mentions a number of other new features and improvements, such as a render cache that keeps the result of scaling, color management, display filters and shell mask (for tools like Fuzzy Select). This results in a much snappier user experience in comparison to the GTK2 version of GIMP.
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