Virtual File System in Gnome
There are three libraries in Gnome providing virtual file system, albeit one of them (gnome-vfs) is deprecated is since Gnome 2.21 gio/gvfs replaced it.
- GIO : part of GLib, is the core library used for file and folder operations in GNOME applications
- GVFS: Using GIO with GVFS allows your application to work with files on remote machines as easily as local files.
- GnomeVFS: In previous versions of GNOME, the GnomeVFS library was used for access to files and folders.
source: http://library.gnome.org/devel/platform-overview/stable/gio.html.en
The Difference between GVFS and GnomeVFS:
in summary GVFS uses fuse library to mount files and folders, but GnomeVFS has its own library and only applications that are gnome-vfs aware are able to see files and folders mounted by gnome-vfs. with gvfs every application in any environment can access them.
for more info refer to:
http://fosswire.com/post/2007/11/goodbye-gnomevfs-hello-giogvfs/
Gnome Graphical Interface
http://library.gnome.org/devel/platform-overview/stable/graphics.html.en
The GNOME Platform features sophisticated graphics and user interface technology, from standard user interface controls to an API for drawing high-quality graphics to the screen. Using the graphics technologies in GNOME allows you to create applications that are consistent, intuitive, and aesthetically pleasing.

Summary:
- GDK: low level graphic library,
- Gtk+: built on top of GDK, and provide various widgets and an MVC model for working with complex widgets,
- Pagno: text rendering,
- Cario: vector drawning library. Gtk+ widgets are built using Cairo.
What is GVFS, GIO, GLIB, GConf, Gstream, etc? Now I’m reading Gnome Documentation Library and I thought this is the start page.
so this is :An Official Guide to Gnome Libraries and Tools.