Re: Yet another GUI toolkit question...

On 2/11/06, Kevin Walzer <sw@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Chris Mellon wrote:


If you're planning on selling an application, especially to OS X
users, then Tk is absolutely out of the question. It doesn't have even
the slightest resemblence to native behavior, and lacks the polish and
flash that occasionally lets a non-native app get away with it. Given
the limits you've stated, I believe your only options are wxPython and
writting 2 guis using PyWin/PyObjC. The second option requires
knowledge of the native tool sets for the respective platforms, so if
you don't have that I can only suggest wxPython. If you're used to Tk
you will face a learning curve, and you will need to look for or write
replacements for the custom widgets you've been using.


Do these screenshots look "non-native" to you?

Yes, actually. But thats not the point, and a trivial dialog isn't
enough to really judge Tile anyway.


http://www.wordtech-software.com/ireveal-mac.png
http://www.wordtech-software.com/ireveal-windows.png
http://www.wordtech-software.com/ireveal-linux.png

This application was developed in Tcl/Tk.

I think Tkinter is lagging behind Tk itself in terms of its advances
with theming and native look and feel, especially on OS X and Win XP.
Certainly a lot of Python developers don't seem well-informed about the
work that has been done to bring Tk back into the modern age. The
wrappers I mentioned above (some at a site that is offline but should be
back online shortly, I'm told) are bleeding-edge in Tkinter terms but
reflect work that started a couple of years ago in Tk. (The extension is
called "Tile" and will be part of the Tk core when it's released at v. 8.5).

That doesn't mean wxPython is out of the question. What I'm trying to
figure out is whether I will be up and running faster with Tkinter +
Tile (leaving me mainly to improve my proficiency with Python itself and
translate Tk into a Python idiom) or whether I should learn wxPython,
with its vastly different GUI paradigm, as well as Python.


That depends almost totally on you and your skills, doesn't it? I'm an
unabashed fan of wxPython, so naturally I lean that way, but I
wouldn't deny that is has a learning curve. It's famous "C++ like API"
has seen vast improvement in the last few releases, by the way, and is
much more pythonic than a lot of people seem to believe - no more
from wxPython import *, for example. I certainly find it's API more
pythonic than Tkinters.

If Tkinter + Tile + Bwidgets + Tablelist does the job, as I think it may
(and as it does with regular Tcl/Tk), then I will probably stick with
that. And perhaps I can then contribute some documentation somewhere on
how to use the Tile widgets in a Tkinter application, complete with
screen shots and working code for others to use. Such documentation is
sorely lacking right now.

The vast range of available GUI toolkits is one thing that partially
offsets Python's many virtues as a programming language. I realize I was
stepping into a fire swamp by even broaching the question. However, the
application I'm envisioning (accessing web services from a desktop GUI)
will benefit from the abundant Python libraries/wrappers that have
already been written, which are mostly lacking (or which would require
me to roll my own) in Tcl.


I can't possibly see how an available range of GUI toolkits is a
detriment to a *language*. I can see (but don't neccesarily agree)
that is detrimental to a desktop environment or whatever, but not a
language. By that standard C is the worst language to ever exist, C++
only marginally better, and stuff like Visual FoxPro the best of all.



--
Kevin Walzer
iReveal: File Search Tool
http://www.wordtech-software.com

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Yet another GUI toolkit question...
    ... I think Tkinter is lagging behind Tk itself in terms of its advances ... Certainly a lot of Python developers don't seem well-informed about the ... called "Tile" and will be part of the Tk core when it's released at v. 8.5). ... The vast range of available GUI toolkits is one thing that partially ...
    (comp.lang.python)
  • Re: Yet another GUI toolkit question...
    ... I think Tkinter is lagging behind Tk itself in terms of its advances ... Certainly a lot of Python developers don't seem well-informed about the ... called "Tile" and will be part of the Tk core when it's released at v. 8.5). ... The vast range of available GUI toolkits is one thing that partially ...
    (comp.lang.python)
  • Re: ANN: PyGUI 2.1
    ... Also these stated goals are what every GUI package should aspire to. ... Develop a GUI API that is designed specifically for Python, ... But even Tkinter needs more details! ... i can't sacrifice the widget set. ...
    (comp.lang.python)
  • Re: front end GUI
    ... I have done a few GUI apps in python. ... tKinter is quick, easy, ugly and limited. ... Now I'm a big wxPython fan. ...
    (comp.lang.python)
  • Re: GUIs - A Modest Proposal
    ... likewise, like it or not, GUI is here to stay. ... language they may not be experts at (Python is C)! ... The reason we do not embed any 'better' GUI then Tkinter into the ... the stdlib! ...
    (comp.lang.python)