Overview

Every widget constructor returns a *viewNode. Modifiers are methods on that node that mutate it in place and return the same pointer so they can be chained.

gova.Text("Welcome").
    Font(gova.Title).
    Bold().
    Color(gova.Accent).
    Padding(gova.SpaceMD)

Composition rules

Modifier order does not affect the final rendering. The bridge applies them with a fixed semantic:

• Padding is applied outside the visual box.
• Background is painted behind the visual box, inside the padding.
• Stroke (border) traces the visual box and respects CornerRadius.
• Shadow is cast by the visual box.
• OnTap wraps the outermost visual to make the whole box tappable.

You can nest layouts to change composition explicitly when the fixed semantics do not fit a design.

Widgets versus layouts

Not every modifier applies to every node. Color on a Text sets its foreground color; Color on a Button sets its label color; Color on a VStack is currently silently ignored. Placeholder is only meaningful on a TextField. The API does not prevent the misuse but in practice modifier methods check that the relevant data struct is present before doing anything.

Refer to the individual modifier pages for specifics.