Python GUI programming platforms for Windows

February 26, 2008

Python GUI programming platforms for Windows

February 26th 2008 Posted to programming, python

[Edit]
By popular demand, I've added a section on PyGTK. See bottom of post.

There are several platforms for programming Windows GUI applications in Python. Below I outline a few of them, with a simple "hello world" example for each. Where I've lifted the example from another site, there's a link to the source.

Tkinter

Tkinter is the ubiquitous GUI toolkit for Python. It's cross platform and easy to use, but it looks non-native on just about every platform. There are various add-ons and improvements you can find to improve the look and feel, but the basic problem is that the toolkit implements its own widgets, rather than using the native ones provided on the platform.

Pros

Most portable GUI toolkit for Python
Very easy to use, with pythonic API

Cons

Non-native look and feel out of the box

Hello world example (code source):

import Tkinter as Tk
la = Tk.Label(None, text='Hello World!', font=('Times', '18′))
la.pack()
la.mainloop()

wxPython

wxPython is probably the most popular GUI toolkit for Python. It's a wrapper for the wxWidgets C++ toolkit, and as such it betrays a few unpythonic edges (like lumpy case, getters and setters, and funky C++ errors creeping up occasionally). There are a few pythonification efforts on top of wxPython, such as dabo and (the now apparently moribund) wax.

Pros

Highly cross platform
Relatively mature and robust
Uses native Windows widgets for authentic look and feel

Cons

Must include large wx runtime when packaging with py2exe (adds ~7 MB)
Cross platform nature makes accessing some native platform features (like ActiveX) difficult to impossible

Hello world example (code source):

import wx

class Application(wx.Frame):
def __init__(self, parent):
wx.Frame.__init__(self, parent, -1, 'My GUI', size=(300, 200))
panel = wx.Panel(self)
sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
panel.SetSizer(sizer)
txt = wx.StaticText(panel, -1, 'Hello World!')
sizer.Add(txt, 0, wx.TOP|wx.LEFT, 20)
self.Centre()
self.Show(True)

app = wx.App(0)
Application(None)
app.MainLoop()

.NET with IronPython

IronPython is a .NET implementation of Python. As of 1.0 it has full support for Python 2.4 features, and the 2.0 version will duplicate the Python 2.5 feature set. Although there are many CPython libraries/modules that won't run under IronPython (namely, the ones relying on compiled extensions that have not yet been ported), this lack is partially made up by the huge .NET library.

One cool thing about IronPython is that you can easily create lightweight .exe files that you can ship off to your friends — although you pay for this with a dependency on the .NET runtime, which you can't count on random Windows users to have installed.

Of course, when you go the IronPython route, you take all that comes with it: the good things, like access to .NET libraries and possibly the easiest/cleanest optimization path of any Python implementation (C#); and the bad things, like dependence on the .NET runtime and danger of getting caught on the MS upgrade treadmill.

Another way of getting at the .NET libraries is Python.NET, which adds two files to your Python directory to enable you to call the CLR from CPython.

Pros

Leverage .NET libraries
Easily create .exe files

Cons

Depends on .NET runtime

Hello world example (code source):

import sys
sys.path.append(r'C:\Python24\Lib')

import clr
clr.AddReference("System.Windows.Forms")

from System.Windows.Forms import Application, Form

class HelloWorldForm(Form):

def __init__(self):
self.Text = 'Hello World'
self.Name = 'Hello World'

form = HelloWorldForm()
Application.Run(form)

PyQT

PyQT is probably the third most widely used GUI toolkit, after wxPython and Tkinter. It has a dual commercial/GPL license (Edit: but it does let you use other open-source licenses; see comments below). I have to admit that this made it a non-starter for me: I don't want to pay for my toolkit when there are others just as good or better that are free; ~~and when I do release open-source software, I want to choose my own license~~. For others, the GPL might be a non-issue or a plus, so I've left it off my pro/con list.

Pros

Highly cross platform
Very easy to use
Highly mature
Decent looking widgets

Cons

Somewhat non-native look and feel (though much better than Tkinter)
Must include large runtime when packaging with py2exe

Hello world example (from PyQT docs):

import sys
from PyQt4 import QtGui

app = QtGui.QApplication(sys.argv)

hello = QtGui.QPushButton("Hello world!")
hello.resize(100, 30)

hello.show()

sys.exit(app.exec_())

Pyglet

Pyglet is kind of the new kid on the block in terms of GUI toolkits, but it sure made a splash. It implements its own windowing system, but with no dependencies other than Python (for Python 2.5 users). You will need OpenGL to do decent 3D graphics, but that's hardly a black mark for pyglet — other libraries would love to make it this easy.

Pros

High degree of freedom for GUI creation
Only depends on Python
Large number of widgets

Cons

Purposely doesn't duplicate the native platform look and feel
Although there are a lot of widgets, you'll have to roll your own for many things the platform gives you for free.

Hello world example (slightly modified from code source):
hello world with pyglet screenshot

from pyglet import font
from pyglet import window

win = window.Window(width=300, height=150, caption="Hello World")

ft = font.load('Arial', 36)
text = font.Text(ft, 'Hello, World!')

while not win.has_exit:
win.dispatch_events()
win.clear()
text.draw()
win.flip()

Win32 with ctypes

Of course, all you really need to write GUI applications on Windows with Python is your trusty ctypes module and a well worn copy of Petzold. The benefit of this style is that you're working right down at the system API level, with nothing to get in your way. The disadvantage is that you're working right down at the system API level, with nothing to relieve you from all that boilerplate (unless you write your own abstraction layer on top; see Venster, below…).

Pros

Enables high level of control
Straightforward if familiar with Win32 API
No added complexity or buried functionality due to need to be cross-platform
Lightest of all Windows GUI programming methods using Python

Cons

All the complexity and inconsistency of Win32 API in gory detail
Lack of high-level libraries (have to write more code)

Hello world example (long, ain't it?):
Win32 GUI screen shot

from ctypes import *
import win32con

WNDPROC = WINFUNCTYPE(c_long, c_int, c_uint, c_int, c_int)

NULL = c_int(win32con.NULL)
_user32 = windll.user32

def ErrorIfZero(handle):
if handle == 0:
raise WinError()
else:
return handle

CreateWindowEx = _user32.CreateWindowExW
CreateWindowEx.argtypes = [c_int,
c_wchar_p,
c_wchar_p,
c_int,
c_int,
c_int,
c_int,
c_int,
c_int,
c_int,
c_int,
c_int]
CreateWindowEx.restype = ErrorIfZero

class WNDCLASS(Structure):
_fields_ = [('style', c_uint),
('lpfnWndProc', WNDPROC),
('cbClsExtra', c_int),
('cbWndExtra', c_int),
('hInstance', c_int),
('hIcon', c_int),
('hCursor', c_int),
('hbrBackground', c_int),
('lpszMenuName', c_wchar_p),
('lpszClassName', c_wchar_p)]

def __init__(self,
wndProc,
style=win32con.CS_HREDRAW | win32con.CS_VREDRAW,
clsExtra=0,
wndExtra=0,
menuName=None,
className=u"PythonWin32",
instance=None,
icon=None,
cursor=None,
background=None,
):

if not instance:
instance = windll.kernel32.GetModuleHandleW(c_int(win32con.NULL))
if not icon:
icon = _user32.LoadIconW(c_int(win32con.NULL),
c_int(win32con.IDI_APPLICATION))
if not cursor:
cursor = _user32.LoadCursorW(c_int(win32con.NULL),
c_int(win32con.IDC_ARROW))
if not background:
background = windll.gdi32.GetStockObject(c_int(win32con.WHITE_BRUSH))

self.lpfnWndProc=wndProc
self.style=style
self.cbClsExtra=clsExtra
self.cbWndExtra=wndExtra
self.hInstance=instance
self.hIcon=icon
self.hCursor=cursor
self.hbrBackground=background
self.lpszMenuName=menuName
self.lpszClassName=className

class RECT(Structure):
_fields_ = [('left', c_long),
('top', c_long),
('right', c_long),
('bottom', c_long)]
def __init__(self, left=0, top=0, right=0, bottom=0 ):
self.left = left
self.top = top
self.right = right
self.bottom = bottom

class PAINTSTRUCT(Structure):
_fields_ = [('hdc', c_int),
('fErase', c_int),
('rcPaint', RECT),
('fRestore', c_int),
('fIncUpdate', c_int),
('rgbReserved', c_wchar * 32)]

class POINT(Structure):
_fields_ = [('x', c_long),
('y', c_long)]
def __init__( self, x=0, y=0 ):
self.x = x
self.y = y

class MSG(Structure):
_fields_ = [('hwnd', c_int),
('message', c_uint),
('wParam', c_int),
('lParam', c_int),
('time', c_int),
('pt', POINT)]

def pump_messages():
"""Calls message loop"""
msg = MSG()
pMsg = pointer(msg)

while _user32.GetMessageW(pMsg, NULL, 0, 0):
_user32.TranslateMessage(pMsg)
_user32.DispatchMessageW(pMsg)

return msg.wParam

class Window(object):
"""Wraps an HWND handle"""

def __init__(self, hwnd=NULL):
self.hwnd = hwnd

self._event_handlers = {}

# Register event handlers
for key in dir(self):
method = getattr(self, key)
if hasattr(method, "win32message") and callable(method):
self._event_handlers[method.win32message] = method

def GetClientRect(self):
rect = RECT()
_user32.GetClientRect(self.hwnd, byref(rect))
return rect

def Create(self,
exStyle=0 , # DWORD dwExStyle
className=u"WndClass",
windowName=u"Window",
style=win32con.WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW,
x=win32con.CW_USEDEFAULT,
y=win32con.CW_USEDEFAULT,
width=win32con.CW_USEDEFAULT,
height=win32con.CW_USEDEFAULT,
parent=NULL,
menu=NULL,
instance=NULL,
lparam=NULL,
):

self.hwnd = CreateWindowEx(exStyle,
className,
windowName,
style,
x,
y,
width,
height,
parent,
menu,
instance,
lparam)
return self.hwnd

def Show(self, flag):
return _user32.ShowWindow(self.hwnd, flag)

def Update(self):
if not _user32.UpdateWindow(self.hwnd):
raise WinError()

def WndProc(self, hwnd, message, wParam, lParam):

event_handler = self._event_handlers.get(message, None)
if event_handler:
return event_handler(message, wParam, lParam)
return _user32.DefWindowProcW(c_int(hwnd),
c_int(message),
c_int(wParam),
c_int(lParam))

## Lifted shamelessly from WCK (effbot)'s wckTkinter.bind
def EventHandler(message):
"""Decorator for event handlers"""
def decorator(func):
func.win32message = message
return func
return decorator

class HelloWindow(Window):
"""The application window"""

@EventHandler(win32con.WM_PAINT)
def OnPaint(self, message, wParam, lParam):
"""Draw 'Hello World' in center of window"""
ps = PAINTSTRUCT()
rect = self.GetClientRect()
hdc = _user32.BeginPaint(c_int(self.hwnd), byref(ps))
rect = self.GetClientRect()
flags = win32con.DT_SINGLELINE|win32con.DT_CENTER|win32con.DT_VCENTER
_user32.DrawTextW(c_int(hdc),
u"Hello, world!",
c_int(-1),
byref(rect),
flags)
_user32.EndPaint(c_int(self.hwnd), byref(ps))
return 0

@EventHandler(win32con.WM_DESTROY)
def OnDestroy(self, message, wParam, lParam):
"""Quit app when window is destroyed"""
_user32.PostQuitMessage(0)
return 0

def RunHello():
"""Create window and start message loop"""

# two-stage creation for Win32 windows
hello = HelloWindow()

# register window class…
wndclass = WNDCLASS(WNDPROC(hello.WndProc))
wndclass.lpszClassName = u"HelloWindow"

if not _user32.RegisterClassW(byref(wndclass)):
raise WinError()

# …then create Window
hello.Create( className=wndclass.lpszClassName,
instance=wndclass.hInstance,
windowName=u"Hello World")

# Show Window
hello.Show(win32con.SW_SHOWNORMAL)
hello.Update()

pump_messages()

RunHello()

Venster

Venster was a very promising wrapper over the Win32 API, borrowing heavily from WTL and ATL windowing techniques. Unfortunately, the project hasn't been updated in several years, and doesn't support the latest versions of Python (especially after ctypes.com was dropped).

Pros

Rational abstraction layer on top of Win32
Use to write native, lightweight (relatively speaking) GUI applications
Has most of the cool Win32 tricks like hosting ActiveX and Coolbars

Cons

Out of date; not updated in several years

Hello world example (code source):
Venster GUI screen shot

from venster.windows import *
from venster.wtl import *

from venster import gdi

class MyWindow(Window):
_window_title_ = "Hello World"
_window_background_ = gdi.GetStockObject(WHITE_BRUSH)
_window_class_style_ = CS_HREDRAW | CS_VREDRAW

def OnPaint(self, event):
ps = PAINTSTRUCT()
hdc = self.BeginPaint(ps)
rc = self.GetClientRect()

msg = "Hello World"
gdi.TextOut(hdc, rc.width / 2, rc.height / 2, msg, len(msg))

self.EndPaint(ps)
msg_handler(WM_PAINT)(OnPaint)

def OnDestroy(self, event):
PostQuitMessage(NULL)
msg_handler(WM_DESTROY)(OnDestroy)

myWindow = MyWindow()
application = Application()
application.Run()

PyGTK

PyGTK seems to have a lot going for it as a cross-platform toolkit. It's also licensed under the LGPL, which I like a lot more than the GPL of PyQT. Unfortunately, it doesn't use native Windows widgets; it does a pretty good job of faking it, but it stands out like a Win32, .NET, or wxPython app wouldn't.

Pros

Cross platform
Lots of widgets
Voluminous (if somewhat disorganized) documenation

Cons

Native Win32 widgets not used (looks good, but not quite all the way there)
Must include large runtime when packaging with py2exe

Hello world example (code source):
PyGTK screen shot

import pygtk
pygtk.require('2.0′)
import gtk

class HelloWorld:

def hello(self, widget, data=None):
print "Hello World"

def delete_event(self, widget, event, data=None):
print "delete event occurred"
return False

def destroy(self, widget, data=None):
print "destroy signal occurred"
gtk.main_quit()

def __init__(self):
self.window = gtk.Window(gtk.WINDOW_TOPLEVEL)

self.window.connect("delete_event", self.delete_event)
self.window.connect("destroy", self.destroy)
self.window.set_border_width(10)

self.button = gtk.Button("Hello World")
self.button.connect("clicked", self.hello, None)
self.button.connect_object("clicked", gtk.Widget.destroy, self.window)

self.window.add(self.button)

self.button.show()
self.window.show()

def main(self):
gtk.main()

if __name__ == "__main__":
hello = HelloWorld()
hello.main()

Comments

Zootropo

February 26th, 2008| 5:48 pm

Wow. You even talk about Venster and you don’t talk about pygtk?
manatlan

February 26th, 2008| 5:58 pm

Interesting review …
But me, for my cross platform apps, I use pygtk, and really happy with it …
You forget to mention the new uxpython too http://www.uxpython.com/ !? which is an original initiative !
Ryan Ginstrom

February 26th, 2008| 6:43 pm

@Zootropo
pygtk is certainly more mainstream than venster, but I’m writing specifically about Windows development. I figure that between Tkinter and PyQT, that’s plenty of non-native widget sets…

@manatlan
I’ve kind of been keeping my eye on uxpython, but I’d like to see it get beyond alpha before playing with it. I suppose Venster isn’t in much better shape, but I included it because of the potential I see in it.
David Cimini

February 26th, 2008| 7:42 pm

I was appalled when I saw the length and complexity of the ‘Win32 with ctypes’. Just thinking about trying to use Win32 to make a GUI in any language makes me apprehensive. I thought it slightly jocular that you included it as a viable option, haha. I use wxPython.
NaturalBornLeader

February 26th, 2008| 8:00 pm

Tcl/Tk 8.5 supports the underlying native theme engine. Hopefully the Tcl/Tk bindings get updated.

Screenshots: http://wiki.tcl.tk/13636
8.5 Release: http://tcl.tk/software/tcltk/8.5.tml
Asd

February 26th, 2008| 8:29 pm

Don’t forget Jython and Swing or SWT
Ryan Ginstrom

February 26th, 2008| 8:47 pm

@David Cimini
Well, in fairness the Win32 stuff is a lot simpler than wxPython. With wxPython it’s all under the hood, but there you’ve got C++ abstracting away the platform, then wxPython sitting on top of that. Tuck the Python Win32 code away in some libraries, and you get something elegant like Venster. Plus it’s easier to develop because it’s Python. But I don’t think single-platform development is really sexy enough to get enough people to make something like wxWidgets, more’s the pity.

@Asd
Yeah, yeah
schlenk

February 26th, 2008| 8:57 pm

Nice and fair in general.

For Tkinter: It does use some native widgets (scrollbars for example, file dialogues and some others), but in general widgets are foreign. For Python 2.6 there would be the possibility to use the new ttk package (there is a wrapper at unpythonic for 2.5 too, see http://tkinter.unpythonic.net/wiki/UsingTile). That would bring your looks up to the standard seen at http://tkdocs.com.
Alexei Vinidiktov

February 26th, 2008| 10:19 pm

”
… it betrays a few unpythonic edges (like lumpy case, getters and setters, …) …
”

In the current realease of wxPython 2.8.x there’s no need to use getters and setters. The getters and setters are still there, but one can use properties instead.
tante

February 26th, 2008| 10:48 pm

I have written quite a bunch of windows apps with pygtk, it’s no problem and works very well, you should really add it to your list.
Ryan Ginstrom

February 26th, 2008| 11:52 pm

@tante
OK, you convinced me I added a pygtk example.

But sorry, jython and a Web server are going to have to wait for the “every possible way to develop a GUI on Windows” post
Feihong Hsu

February 27th, 2008| 12:12 am

“Another way of getting at the .NET libraries is Python.NET, which modifies the CPython executable to enables use of the CLR.”

This statement is inaccurate. The only thing you need to do to use Python.NET is copy two files into your Python directory (Python.Runtime.dll and clr.pyd). Programming Winforms through Python.NET is easier than through IronPython, since you get to use all the libraries that you’re used to.
Ryan Ginstrom

February 27th, 2008| 12:37 am

@Feihong Hsu
Thanks, I fixed it.
h3

February 27th, 2008| 3:09 am

Win32 with ctypes made me cry in disbelief.
Asd

February 27th, 2008| 3:30 am

Well, if you don’t want to do the Jython version here it is:

from javax import swing

frame=swing.JFrame(”Hello World”)
frame.size = (300, 300)
frame.contentPane.add(swing.JLabel(”Hello, World!”))
frame.defaultCloseOperation=swing.JFrame.EXIT_ON_CLOSE
frame.visible=1
Matt

February 27th, 2008| 4:59 am

Are some of the recent updates to Tk supposed to bring a more native look to apps? Hopefully this will become part of the standard Python distro soon.
RoySV

February 27th, 2008| 6:07 am

Please notice the tk “tile” extension as applied to Tkinter. This is a major Tk face lift which brings style-based native look to virtually all platforms. I hope it can be included soon in Tkinter as it is now part of the official 8.5.1 Tcl/Tk release.
Jeff

February 27th, 2008| 8:10 am

This was really useful!

@ Asd what does the Jython window/text look like?

~J3ff
Inopia

February 27th, 2008| 8:40 am

I would also like to see Jython/Swing included. Swing may be a bit bloaty to some, but it’s really very powerful. I always say it makes doing simple things complicated, and complicated things simple.

Since jre 1.6, swing renders natively on windows, linux (gtk), and OSX.

I think if .NET is included, so should Java
Ryan Ginstrom

February 27th, 2008| 12:18 pm

@RoySV
I have heard of Python programmers hacking together their installations to use the latest version of Tk, but I’m not sure when it will be in the official release. I’ve seen it, and it will definitely make Tkinter a bigger contender as a GUI platform.

@Asd
Thanks for the code! It’s not so much the code that keeps me from adding it to my list, but getting it installed and set up on my machine so I could get a screen shot.

@Inopia
“I think if .NET is included, so should Java :)”
I can see your point, but this post is specifically about Windows GUI programming, and nowadays that is more and more about .NET…
Asd

February 27th, 2008| 7:58 pm

That Jython code will appear using the cross platform look and feel by default. Here is some that switches on the native look and feel (I’ve also added a button so the L&F is more obvious):

from javax.swing import UIManager, JFrame, JButton, JLabel
from java.awt import FlowLayout

UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName())
frame = JFrame(”Hello World”)
frame.size = (300, 300)
frame.contentPane.layout = FlowLayout()

frame.contentPane.add(JLabel(”Hello, World!”))
frame.contentPane.add(JButton(”Button”))
frame.visible = 1

And here is a screenshot under XP: http://i31.tinypic.com/2rz9i5j.jpg

Installing Jython is very easy if you have Java installed. Also Java GUIs are a lot more common than you might think, especially for in-house apps in big companies. In that role is outnumbers .NET significantly.
Roberto Alsina

February 27th, 2008| 8:24 pm

The Qt license is GPL+exceptions. Those exceptions let you use it with pretty much any common license, including:

Academic Free License
2.0 or 2.1
Apache Software License
1.0 or 1.1
Apache License
2.0
Apple Public Source License
2.0
Artistic license
From Perl 5.8.0
BSD license
“July 22 1999″
Common Public License
1.0
GNU Library or “Lesser”
General Public License (LGPL)
2.0 or 2.1
Jabber Open Source License
1.0
MIT License
(as attached)
Mozilla Public License (MPL)
1.0 or 1.1
Open Software License
2.0
OpenSSL license (with original
SSLeay license) “2003″ (”1998″)
PHP License
3.0
Python license (CNRI Python License)
(as attached)
Python Software Foundation License
2.1.1
Q Public License
v1.0
Sleepycat License
“1999″
W3C License
“2001″
X11 License
X11R6.6
Zlib/libpng License
(as attached)
Zope Public License
2.0

http://trolltech.com/products/qt/gplexception
SteveLee

February 27th, 2008| 11:55 pm

You could give Mozilla’s XULRunner an honorary mention since ActiveState’s work on Open Komodo is making this more attractive (and Mark Hammond did some work on python DOM scripting in Mozilla).

http://www.activestate.com/openkomodo/
Bajusz Tamás

February 28th, 2008| 4:28 am

Seems Venster got som love today from Thomas Heller:
http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_name=47C560A6.5070107%40ctypes.org
Ryan Ginstrom

February 28th, 2008| 8:26 am

@Roberto Alsina
Thanks, I corrected the section on PyQT

@Bajusz Tamás
Yes, I saw that! Very good news.
Gerdus van Zyl

February 29th, 2008| 5:38 am

Saw a mention of my project uxpython in my server logs and followed it here HelloWorld in uxpython:
————————————————-
from uxGUI import *

class myWindow(uxWindow):
    def init(self):
        self.caption = “Tiny”
        def A1(a): a.ob.text = “You clicked me”
        uButton(None,self).addEvent(’click’,A1)

myWindow().app.run()
————————————————-
and my self summary according to criteria in post:

Pros
- Super Python focused, entire toolkit in python no c/c++ disconnect
- Very flexible and extensible
- Uses cairo and pango
- Platform native rendering through cairo eg. GDI on win32

Cons
- Does not use native widgets
- Limited widgets at this time
- Alpha quality at this time
- 4MB of dependencies - cairo,pango and related.
Ryan Ginstrom

March 1st, 2008| 1:38 am

@Gerdus van Zyl
Thanks for the code!
Mike Thompson

March 3rd, 2008| 9:39 pm

Some may find this approach interesting also:

http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=208528
TC

March 7th, 2008| 4:03 am

>>@David Cimini
>>Well, in fairness the Win32 stuff is a lot simpler than >>wxPython. With wxPython it’s all under the hood, but there >>you’ve got C++ abstracting away the platform,

Have you ever tried using wxPython?
You can put up a window in less than 10 lines of python, which is far simpler than going through Win32 with or without ctypes.
There is another level of abstraction for wxPython, called PythonCard, but the gui designer is too tedious and suffers from lack of good documentation. I’ve started with QT/pyQT and have moved to wx without looking back. QT is a pain in the neck to install/compile, wx has a simple installer (at least for windows platforms).

QT does have a GUI designer, which is cumbersome to use and not like any other (non-python) GUI designers I’ve worked with. If wx had a GOOD GUI designer (which would be like Delphi or VB), it would be icing on the cake. But, I still use wx even without the designer, and still have no regrets.
Ryan Ginstrom

March 7th, 2008| 5:02 am

@TC
I’ve used wxPython fairly extensively. I agree that it’s easier to use. But that doesn’t mean it’s intrinsically simpler; just that the complexity has been done already and tucked away in libraries.

I find Venster, which is built on top of ctypes, to be easier to use and more powerful than wxPython for Windows programming. That’s probably because I did a lot of Win32 programming back in the day.

Aside from a much more mature platform, the big win of wxPython over Win32 for Windows-only programming (IMHO) is sizers; but those of course have their own complications.
John Henry

April 1st, 2008| 1:22 am

I disagree with TC that:

————-
There is another level of abstraction for wxPython, called PythonCard, but the gui designer is too tedious and suffers from lack of good documentation.
————-

I can’t imagine how one can classify the Pythoncard designer as “tedious”. I’ve tried a number of others and I would rate it as “at par”. As to documentation, it’s also “at par” with most of the open source projects. What it lacks in documentation is more than compensated by the many well coded sample programs. I’ve always wanted to look for a “go-to” Python GUI package but so far, I have not found any that are more productive than Pythoncard.
TeCNoYoTTa

April 3rd, 2008| 4:47 am

Thanks Veryyyyyyy Much

this is very very usefull
QuiGon

April 13th, 2008| 4:07 pm

Have you managed to compile PyQt with MinGW?

When the QtGui is linking I have a trouble:

mingw32-make[1]: Entering directory `C:/Downloads/_Python/PyQt-win-gpl-4.3.3/QtGui’
g++ -mthreads -Wl,-enable-stdcall-fixup -Wl,-enable-auto-import -Wl,-enable-runtime-pseudo-reloc -shared -Wl,-subsystem,windows -Wl,-s -o QtGui.pyd sipQtGuicmodule.o sipQtGuiQMap.o sipQtGuiQVector.o sipQtGuiQWorkspace.o sipQtGuiQWidgetAction.o sipQtGuiQWhatsThis.o sipQtGuiQRegExpValidator.o sipQtGuiQDoubleValidator.o sipQtGuiQIntValidator.o sipQtGuiQValidator.o sipQtGuiQUnd

and etc…

many many object-files

The input line is too long)
mingw32-make[1]: *** [QtGui.pyd] Error 255
mingw32-make[1]: Leaving directory `C:/Downloads/_Python/PyQt-win-gpl-4.3.3/QtGui’
mingw32-make: *** [install] Error 2

so I can’t built PyQt.
astigmatik

April 28th, 2008| 1:47 pm

RE: JYTHON

1. It’s not really Python. I mean, you don’t import Jython into Python and then start writing GUI. Jython is jython is java. I think the article focuses only those that can be run by the “real” Python.

2. A more jythonic code would be:

UIManager.setLookAndFeel(UIManager.getSystemLookAndFeelClassName())
frame = JFrame(”Hello World”, size=(300, 300))
fc = frame.contentPane
fc.layout = FlowLayout()
fc.add(JLabel(”Hello, World!”))
fc.add(JButton(”Button”))
frame.show()
Gilles

June 1st, 2008| 10:46 pm

Hello

Maybe it’s just me, but I wish there were a really good GUI environment to write apps in Python for Windows without the weight and deployment issues of .Net. Since the vast majority of users run Windows, I don’t think “cross-platformness” is such an important feature, but wealth of the GUI widgets is.

At this point, it looks like wxPython is the least bad solution, but its ecosystem is nowhere as rich as the widgets available for C++, Delphi, or .Net.

HTH,
Stoyan

October 10th, 2008| 1:08 am
Another nifty toolkit is eagle: http://www.gustavobarbieri.com.br/eagle. It feels very pythonic. Here is a taste:
```
from eagle import *

def my_callback( app, widget ):
   print "Hello World"
   quit()

App(
   title="Hello World",
   center=Button(
      id="button",
      label="Hello World",
      callback=my_callback,
      )
   ) 

run()
```
Also, for basic GUIs you may find EasyGUI to be more than sufficient: http://easygui.sourceforge.net/

Cheers,
Stoyan.
Ryan Ginstrom

October 10th, 2008| 1:18 am

@Stoyan

Thanks for the link to eagle. I hadn’t seen this one before.

The GITS Blog

February 26, 2008