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Jan 21st, 2007
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Tkinter or wxPython?

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I keep reading threads here, some use the Tkinter GUI toolkit and others use the wxPython GUI toolkit. Why would one use one or the other?
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sneekula is offline Offline
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Jan 21st, 2007
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

If you just want to tinker with GUI coding to get a feel for it, Tkinter is simpler to code. For real involved GUI development I would use wxPython. It has a large number of fancy widgets for grids, mulimedia (MP3, midi, avi, mpg, wav, au), image display (jpg, png, animated gif etc.), HTML window, and so on.

Here is a real simple graphics module (a thin wrapper for Tkinter) for beginner's GUI projects ...
http://mcsp.wartburg.edu/zelle/python/graphics.py
which also has a nice documentation ...
http://mcsp.wartburg.edu/zelle/pytho...s/graphics.pdf
Last edited by vegaseat; Jan 24th, 2007 at 5:27 pm. Reason: Zelle info
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vegaseat is offline Offline
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

I have also wanted to know that. But I am a beginner to GUI, and since you say Tkinter is easier, are their any good tutorials with the beginner in mind for Tkinter?
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Matt Tacular is offline Offline
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

I have used this info on Tkinter:
http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/pubs/tkinter/

A liitle dry with few examples however!

This one has a nice Tkinter section and more examples:
http://bembry.org/technology/python/index.php
Last edited by Ene Uran; Jan 22nd, 2007 at 2:18 pm. Reason: more info
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Ene Uran is offline Offline
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

Before I forget, you can also go into the DaniWeb Code Snippets section and search the Python Snippets for Tkinter. There are a fair number of Tkinter code snippets in there at various levels of complexity.

You can also search for wxPython and get a similar response.
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Ene Uran is offline Offline
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Jan 22nd, 2007
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

The "Starting Python" sticky also has a number of examples of GUI programming. For a beginner, this one shows you how to develop a blah looking console "Hello World!" into a mouse clicking colorful program ...
http://www.daniweb.com/techtalkforum...304759-96.html
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

Here is vegaseat's fancy Tkinter GUI "Hello World!" code:
python Syntax (Toggle Plain Text)
  1. # a simple "Hello, world!" Tkinter GUI
  2. # add some color and a larger text font
  3. # add buttons to change text color and fancy them up
  4.  
  5. # import Tkinter as namespace tk
  6. import Tkinter as tk
  7.  
  8. def white_blue():
  9. label1.config(fg='white', bg='blue')
  10.  
  11. def blue_green():
  12. label1.config(fg='blue', bg='green')
  13.  
  14. # create the basic window, let's call it 'root'
  15. root = tk.Tk()
  16. # why not add a title
  17. root.title("Hello World from DaniWeb!")
  18.  
  19. # create a label with colors in it
  20. font1 = ('times', 36, 'bold')
  21. label1 = tk.Label(root, text="Hello, world!", font=font1, fg='red', bg='yellow')
  22. # let's use a grid to put the label into the window
  23. # make it span two grid columns
  24. label1.grid(row=0, column=0, columnspan=2)
  25. # create 2 buttons to click for text color change
  26. # use the two grid positions below the label
  27. # (by default the button will take up the center of each grid space)
  28. # give the buttons some y-axis space and a ridge style
  29. button1 = tk.Button(root, text="white on blue", relief='ridge', command=white_blue)
  30. button1.grid(row=1, column=0, pady=5)
  31. button2 = tk.Button(root, text="blue on green", relief='ridge', command=blue_green)
  32. button2.grid(row=1, column=1, pady=5)
  33.  
  34. # run the GUI event loop
  35. root.mainloop()
Here is the same program written in wxPython, seems to be slightly more complex:
python Syntax (Toggle Plain Text)
  1. # a simple "Hello, world!" wxPython GUI
  2. # add some color and a larger text font
  3. # add buttons to change text color and fancy them up
  4.  
  5. import wx
  6.  
  7. def white_blue(event):
  8. label1.SetBackgroundColour("blue")
  9. label1.SetForegroundColour("white")
  10. label1.SetLabel("Hello World!")
  11.  
  12. def blue_green(event):
  13. label1.SetBackgroundColour("green")
  14. label1.SetForegroundColour("blue")
  15. label1.SetLabel("Hello World!")
  16.  
  17. app = wx.PySimpleApp()
  18.  
  19. # create the basic window, let's call it frame1
  20. # (there is no parent, -1 is the default ID)
  21. # unlike Tkinter this window does not auto-size
  22. # you must change it's size to fit the larger text
  23. frame1 = wx.Frame(None, -1, size=(440, 150))
  24.  
  25. # add a title to the frame
  26. frame1.SetTitle("Hello World from DaniWeb!")
  27.  
  28. # create a label, default is auto-size
  29. label1 = wx.StaticText(frame1, -1, "Hello World!")
  30. # add color to the label
  31. label1.SetBackgroundColour("yellow")
  32. label1.SetForegroundColour("red")
  33. # give the label a larger font
  34. label1.SetFont(wx.Font(36, wx.MODERN, wx.NORMAL, wx.BOLD))
  35.  
  36. # create the 2 buttons
  37. button1 = wx.Button(frame1, -1, "white on blue")
  38. button2 = wx.Button(frame1, -1, "blue on green")
  39. # bind the 2 buttons to a function
  40. button1.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, white_blue)
  41. button2.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, blue_green)
  42.  
  43. # wx.GridBagSizer() is similar to Tkinters grid()
  44. # the label is in top grid spanning across 2 grids
  45. # the 2 buttons are in adjoining grids below
  46. # vgap=0, hgap=0 and span=(1, 1) are defaults
  47. # pos=(row, column) span=(rowspan, columnspan)
  48. sizer1 = wx.GridBagSizer(vgap=5, hgap=5)
  49. sizer1.Add(label1, pos=(0, 0), span=(1, 2))
  50. # center buttons in grid space
  51. sizer1.Add(button1, (1, 0), (1, 1), wx.ALIGN_CENTER)
  52. sizer1.Add(button2, (1, 1), (1, 1), wx.ALIGN_CENTER)
  53. frame1.SetSizer(sizer1)
  54.  
  55. # show the window
  56. frame1.Show(True)
  57.  
  58. # run the GUI event loop
  59. app.MainLoop()
Last edited by vegaseat; Aug 13th, 2009 at 4:33 pm. Reason: newer code tags
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Ene Uran is offline Offline
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Jan 23rd, 2007
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

I looked at Ene's wxPython remake of vegaseat's fancy Tkinter GUI "Hello World!" code, and used the Boa Constructor IDE to do this. It took only a few minutes to create this wxPython code, since Boa has a drag/drop frame builder and writes most of the code:
python Syntax (Toggle Plain Text)
  1. # fancy "Hello World!" wxPython code generated mostly by Boa Constructor
  2. # Boa Constructor (needs wxPython, has drag/drop frame builder, debugger etc.)
  3. # Further development may have stopped. Download free from:
  4. # http://freshmeat.net/redir/boa-constructor/832/url_zip/boa-constructor-0.4.4.zip
  5.  
  6. #Boa:Frame:Frame1
  7.  
  8. import wx
  9.  
  10. def create(parent):
  11. return Frame1(parent)
  12.  
  13. [wxID_FRAME1, wxID_FRAME1BUTTON1, wxID_FRAME1BUTTON2, wxID_FRAME1STATICTEXT1,
  14. ] = [wx.NewId() for _init_ctrls in range(4)]
  15.  
  16. class Frame1(wx.Frame):
  17. def _init_ctrls(self, prnt):
  18. # generated method, don't edit
  19. wx.Frame.__init__(self, id=wxID_FRAME1, name='', parent=prnt,
  20. pos=wx.Point(396, 174), size=wx.Size(391, 178),
  21. style=wx.DEFAULT_FRAME_STYLE, title=u'Hello World from DaniWeb!')
  22. self.SetClientSize(wx.Size(383, 138))
  23.  
  24. self.staticText1 = wx.StaticText(id=wxID_FRAME1STATICTEXT1,
  25. label=u' Hello World! ', name='staticText1', parent=self,
  26. pos=wx.Point(0, 0), size=wx.Size(385, 84), style=0)
  27. self.staticText1.SetBackgroundColour(wx.Colour(255, 255, 0))
  28. self.staticText1.SetForegroundColour(wx.Colour(255, 0, 0))
  29. self.staticText1.SetFont(wx.Font(36, wx.SWISS, wx.NORMAL, wx.NORMAL,
  30. False, u'Comic Sans MS'))
  31.  
  32. self.button1 = wx.Button(id=wxID_FRAME1BUTTON1, label=u'white on blue',
  33. name='button1', parent=self, pos=wx.Point(56, 96),
  34. size=wx.Size(96, 28), style=0)
  35. self.button1.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.OnButton1Button,
  36. id=wxID_FRAME1BUTTON1)
  37.  
  38. self.button2 = wx.Button(id=wxID_FRAME1BUTTON2, label=u'blue on green',
  39. name='button2', parent=self, pos=wx.Point(216, 96),
  40. size=wx.Size(103, 28), style=0)
  41. self.button2.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.OnButton2Button,
  42. id=wxID_FRAME1BUTTON2)
  43.  
  44. def __init__(self, parent):
  45. self._init_ctrls(parent)
  46.  
  47. def OnButton1Button(self, event):
  48. # I had to add these lines, Boa generates the rest
  49. self.staticText1.SetBackgroundColour("blue")
  50. self.staticText1.SetForegroundColour("white")
  51. self.staticText1.SetLabel(" Hello World! ")
  52. #event.Skip()
  53.  
  54. def OnButton2Button(self, event):
  55. # I had to add these lines, Boa generates the rest
  56. self.staticText1.SetBackgroundColour("green")
  57. self.staticText1.SetForegroundColour("blue")
  58. self.staticText1.SetLabel(" Hello World! ")
  59. #event.Skip()
  60.  
  61.  
  62. if __name__ == '__main__':
  63. app = wx.PySimpleApp()
  64. wx.InitAllImageHandlers()
  65. frame = create(None)
  66. frame.Show()
  67.  
  68. app.MainLoop()
Last edited by vegaseat; Aug 13th, 2009 at 4:34 pm. Reason: newer (and working) code tags
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bumsfeld is offline Offline
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Jan 24th, 2007
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

Nice to see that folks still use Boa Constructor. It is a very nice IDE that includes a Delphi like frame builder/designer. According to Werner Bruhin development has not stopped, it simply plays hard to get. The latest version I have seen (middle of 2006) was 0.5.2

Another frame builder/designer for wxPython is wxGlade. This one is not an IDE. It takes a little effort to get used to it. For that effort it can spit out Python, Lisp or C++ code.

Here is the fancy "Hello World!" wxPython version created with wxGlade ...
python Syntax (Toggle Plain Text)
  1. #!/usr/bin/env python
  2. # -*- coding: ISO-8859-1 -*-
  3. # generated by wxGlade 0.4.1 on Tue Jan 23 23:49:34 2007
  4.  
  5. import wx
  6.  
  7. class MyFrame(wx.Frame):
  8. def __init__(self, *args, **kwds):
  9. # begin wxGlade: MyFrame.__init__
  10. kwds["style"] = wx.DEFAULT_FRAME_STYLE
  11. wx.Frame.__init__(self, *args, **kwds)
  12. self.sizer_1_staticbox = wx.StaticBox(self, -1, "1")
  13. self.sizer_2_staticbox = wx.StaticBox(self, -1, "2")
  14. self.label_1 = wx.StaticText(self, -1, " Hello World! ")
  15. self.button_1 = wx.Button(self, -1, "white on blue")
  16. self.button_2 = wx.Button(self, -1, "blue on green")
  17. self.__set_properties()
  18. self.__do_layout()
  19. self.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.white_blue, self.button_1)
  20. self.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.blue_green, self.button_2)
  21. # end wxGlade
  22.  
  23. def __set_properties(self):
  24. # begin wxGlade: MyFrame.__set_properties
  25. self.SetTitle("Hello World from DaniWeb!")
  26. self.label_1.SetMinSize((-1, -1))
  27. self.label_1.SetBackgroundColour(wx.Colour(255, 255, 0))
  28. self.label_1.SetForegroundColour(wx.Colour(255, 0, 0))
  29. self.label_1.SetFont(wx.Font(36, wx.MODERN, wx.NORMAL, wx.BOLD, 0, ""))
  30. self.button_1.SetMinSize((-1, -1))
  31. self.button_2.SetMinSize((-1, -1))
  32. # end wxGlade
  33.  
  34. def __do_layout(self):
  35. # begin wxGlade: MyFrame.__do_layout
  36. sizer_1 = wx.StaticBoxSizer(self.sizer_1_staticbox, wx.VERTICAL)
  37. sizer_2 = wx.StaticBoxSizer(self.sizer_2_staticbox, wx.HORIZONTAL)
  38. sizer_1.Add(self.label_1, 0, wx.ADJUST_MINSIZE, 0)
  39. sizer_2.Add(self.button_1, 0, wx.ADJUST_MINSIZE, 0)
  40. sizer_2.Add(self.button_2, 0, wx.ADJUST_MINSIZE, 0)
  41. sizer_1.Add(sizer_2, 1, wx.EXPAND, 0)
  42. self.SetAutoLayout(True)
  43. self.SetSizer(sizer_1)
  44. sizer_1.Fit(self)
  45. sizer_1.SetSizeHints(self)
  46. self.Layout()
  47. # end wxGlade
  48.  
  49. def white_blue(self, event): # wxGlade: MyFrame.<event_handler>
  50. # next 3 lines added by user
  51. self.label_1.SetBackgroundColour("blue")
  52. self.label_1.SetForegroundColour("white")
  53. self.label_1.SetLabel(" Hello World! ")
  54. #print "Event handler `white_blue' not implemented!"
  55. #event.Skip()
  56.  
  57. def blue_green(self, event): # wxGlade: MyFrame.<event_handler>
  58. # next 3 lines added by user
  59. self.label_1.SetBackgroundColour("green")
  60. self.label_1.SetForegroundColour("blue")
  61. self.label_1.SetLabel(" Hello World! ")
  62. #print "Event handler `blue_green' not implemented!"
  63. #event.Skip()
  64.  
  65. # end of class MyFrame
  66.  
  67. class MyApp(wx.App):
  68. def OnInit(self):
  69. wx.InitAllImageHandlers()
  70. frame_1 = MyFrame(None, -1, "")
  71. self.SetTopWindow(frame_1)
  72. frame_1.Show()
  73. return 1
  74.  
  75. # end of class MyApp
  76.  
  77. if __name__ == "__main__":
  78. app = MyApp(0)
  79. app.MainLoop()
Last edited by vegaseat; Jan 24th, 2007 at 1:18 pm. Reason: code
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Re: Tkinter or wxPython?

Is boa constructor easy to use? I'm guessing not, but worth asking.
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