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Python GUI Programming Cookbook, Second Edition
Python GUI Programming Cookbook, Second Edition

Python GUI Programming Cookbook, Second Edition: Use recipes to develop responsive and powerful GUIs using Tkinter , Second Edition

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Python GUI Programming Cookbook, Second Edition

Layout Management

In this chapter, we will lay out our GUI using Python 3.6 and above. We will cover the following recipes:

  • Arranging several labels within a label frame widget
  • Using padding to add space around widgets
  • How widgets dynamically expand the GUI
  • Aligning the GUI widgets by embedding frames within frames
  • Creating menu bars
  • Creating tabbed widgets
  • Using the grid layout manager

Introduction

In this chapter, we will explore how to arrange widgets within widgets to create our Python GUI. Learning the fundamentals of GUI layout design will enable us to create great-looking GUIs. There are certain techniques that will help us in achieving this layout design.

The grid layout manager is one of the most important layout tools built into tkinter that we will be using.

We can very easily create menu bars, tabbed controls (aka Notebooks), and many more widgets using tkinter.

Here is an overview of the Python modules used in this chapter:

Arranging several labels within a label frame widget

The LabelFrame widget allows us to design our GUI in an organized fashion. We are still using the grid layout manager as our main layout design tool, but by using LabelFrame widgets, we get much more control over our GUI design.

Getting ready

We will start adding more and more widgets to our GUI, and we will make the GUI fully functional in the coming recipes. Here, we will start using the LabelFrame widget. We will reuse the GUI from the recipe, Adding Several Widgets in a Loop in  Chapter 1, Creating the GUI Form and Adding Widgets.

How to do it...

...

Using padding to add space around widgets

Our GUI is being created nicely. Next, we will improve the visual aspects of our widgets by adding a little space around them, so they can breathe.

Getting ready

While tkinter might have had a reputation for creating ugly GUIs, this has dramatically changed since version 8.5. You just have to know how to use the tools and techniques that are available. That's what we will do next.

tkinter version 8.6 ships with Python 3.6.

How to do it...

The procedural way of adding spacing around widgets is shown first, and then we will use a loop to achieve the same thing in a much...

How widgets dynamically expand the GUI

You may have noticed in the previous screenshots and by running the code that the widgets have the capability of extending themselves to the space they need in order to visually display their text.

  • Java introduced the concept of dynamic GUI layout management. In comparison, visual development IDEs, such as VS.NET, lay out the GUI in a visual manner, and basically hardcode the x and y coordinates of the UI elements.
  • Using tkinter, this dynamic capability creates both an advantage and a little bit of a challenge because sometimes our GUI dynamically expands when we would rather it not be so dynamic! Well, we are dynamic Python programmers, so we can figure out how to make the best use of this fantastic behavior!

Getting ready

...

Introduction


In this chapter, we will explore how to arrange widgets within widgets to create our Python GUI. Learning the fundamentals of GUI layout design will enable us to create great-looking GUIs. There are certain techniques that will help us in achieving this layout design.

The grid layout manager is one of the most important layout tools built into tkinter that we will be using.

We can very easily create menu bars, tabbed controls (aka Notebooks), and many more widgets using tkinter.

Here is an overview of the Python modules used in this chapter:

Arranging several labels within a label frame widget


The LabelFrame widget allows us to design our GUI in an organized fashion. We are still using the grid layout manager as our main layout design tool, but by using LabelFrame widgets, we get much more control over our GUI design.

Getting ready

We will start adding more and more widgets to our GUI, and we will make the GUI fully functional in the coming recipes. Here, we will start using the LabelFrame widget. We will reuse the GUI from the recipe, Adding Several Widgets in a Loop in  Chapter 1, Creating the GUI Form and Adding Widgets.

How to do it…

Add the following code just above the main event loop towards the bottom of the Python module:

GUI_LabelFrame_column_one.py

Running the code will result in the GUI looking as follows:

Note

Uncomment line 111 and notice the different alignment of LabelFrame.

We can easily align the labels vertically by changing our code, as shown in the next screenshot:

Note

Note that the only change we had to make was...

Using padding to add space around widgets


Our GUI is being created nicely. Next, we will improve the visual aspects of our widgets by adding a little space around them, so they can breathe.

Getting ready

While tkinter might have had a reputation for creating ugly GUIs, this has dramatically changed since version 8.5. You just have to know how to use the tools and techniques that are available. That's what we will do next.

Note

tkinter version 8.6 ships with Python 3.6.

How to do it…

The procedural way of adding spacing around widgets is shown first, and then we will use a loop to achieve the same thing in a much better way.

Our LabelFrame looks a bit tight as it blends into the main window towards the bottom. Let's fix this now.

Modify line 110 of the code snippet from GUI_LabelFrame_column_one.py in the previous recipe by adding padx and pady. You can also find the code in: 

GUI_add_padding.py

Now, our LabelFrame gets some breathing space:

How it works…

In tkinter, adding space horizontally and vertically...

How widgets dynamically expand the GUI


You may have noticed in the previous screenshots and by running the code that the widgets have the capability of extending themselves to the space they need in order to visually display their text.

Note

  • Java introduced the concept of dynamic GUI layout management. In comparison, visual development IDEs, such as VS.NET, lay out the GUI in a visual manner, and basically hardcode the x and y coordinates of the UI elements.
  • Using tkinter, this dynamic capability creates both an advantage and a little bit of a challenge because sometimes our GUI dynamically expands when we would rather it not be so dynamic! Well, we are dynamic Python programmers, so we can figure out how to make the best use of this fantastic behavior!

Getting ready

In the beginning of the previous recipe, Using padding to add space around widgets, we added a LabelFrame widget. This moved some of our controls to the center of column 0. We might not want this modification in our GUI layout. Next...

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Key benefits

  • Use object-oriented programming to develop amazing GUIs in Python
  • Create a working GUI project as a central resource for developing your Python GUIs
  • Easy-to-follow recipes to help you develop code using the latest released version of Python

Description

Python is a multi-domain, interpreted programming language. It is a widely used general-purpose, high-level programming language. It is often used as a scripting language because of its forgiving syntax and compatibility with a wide variety of different eco-systems. Python GUI Programming Cookbook follows a task-based approach to help you create beautiful and very effective GUIs with the least amount of code necessary. This book will guide you through the very basics of creating a fully functional GUI in Python with only a few lines of code. Each and every recipe adds more widgets to the GUIs we are creating. While the cookbook recipes all stand on their own, there is a common theme running through all of them. As our GUIs keep expanding, using more and more widgets, we start to talk to networks, databases, and graphical libraries that greatly enhance our GUI’s functionality. This book is what you need to expand your knowledge on the subject of GUIs, and make sure you’re not missing out in the long run.

Who is this book for?

This book is for intermediate Python programmers who wish to enhance their Python skills by writing powerful GUIs in Python. As Python is such a great and easy to learn language, this book is also ideal for any developer with experience of other languages and enthusiasm to expand their horizon.

What you will learn

  • Create the GUI Form and add widgets
  • Arrange the widgets using layout managers
  • Use object-oriented programming to create GUIs
  • Create Matplotlib charts
  • Use threads and talking to networks
  • Talk to a MySQL database via the GUI
  • Perform unit-testing and internationalizing the GUI
  • Extend the GUI with third-party graphical libraries
  • Get to know the best practices to create GUIs

Product Details

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Publication date : May 29, 2017
Length: 444 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
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Product Details

Publication date : May 29, 2017
Length: 444 pages
Edition : 2nd
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781787129023
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Table of Contents

11 Chapters
Creating the GUI Form and Adding Widgets Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Layout Management Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Look and Feel Customization Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Data and Classes Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Matplotlib Charts Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Threads and Networking Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Storing Data in our MySQL Database via our GUI Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Internationalization and Testing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Extending Our GUI with the wxPython Library Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Creating Amazing 3D GUIs with PyOpenGL and PyGLet Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Best Practices Chevron down icon Chevron up icon

Customer reviews

Rating distribution
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Half star icon Empty star icon 3.4
(5 Ratings)
5 star 20%
4 star 20%
3 star 40%
2 star 20%
1 star 0%
Zthou Jan 23, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon 5
Essendo ipovedente gravissimo adoro le pubblicazioni in formato Kindle che oltre a tutti gli altri vantaggi mi consentono di leggere su grande schermo ed a colori invertiti qualsiasi testo.Non essendo uno scripter phyton questa collezzione mi consente di sviluppare soluzioni pronte per i miei piccoli progetti per cui l'uso del computer e l'automazione sono indispensabili
Amazon Verified review Amazon
B. Williams Apr 15, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon 4
This is strictly a tkinter tutorial, not a reference book. It begins with the most basic information and then moves on from there. If you have been trying to learn tkinter and you are pulling your hair out trying to pick up bits and pieces from the Internet, get this book, start with chapter 1, and work through it. I wish I had done that a couple of weeks ago!The most aggravating thing about the book is that it only shows bits and pieces of the code, but you can download all the code and follow along in your favorite editor. (The correct address for download is given on page 12; earlier instructions on page 4 are wrong.)
Amazon Verified review Amazon
K Feb 09, 2018
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
Not what I had hoped for, but can't say that it was a complete waste of time - I'll admit that I picked up a few things from the book/author but not enough to justify a $25+ price tag.The book is essentially a series of1) A Topic Title2) 2, maybe 3 sentences explaining the topic3) A "Getting ready" section w/ a few sentences providing an overview of what will be done.(Here, you could try to come up w/ a solution on your own before seeing the author's solution)4) A "How to do it" section consisting of 1 or so pages of code (there isn't a single program in this book, just snippets that will run)5) A "How it works" section w/ 2, maybe 3 small paragraphs (sentences in some cases) somewhat briefly brushing over the codeREPEAT W/ ANOTHER TOPICI've done some GUI programming in college classes so I had an idea as to how objects are added and how classes are constructed, and so on. I was expecting to see introduction-type material in the beginning, but hoping for advanced topics/examples or in-depth explanations towards the end. That didn't happen.This is more of a "Get Started Quickly w/ tkinter" type book than anything else: Read this, understand what is possible and understand just enough of how tkinter works so you can work with the official documentation.This book could have been 1/3 shorter. I read the first few chapters w/ care and skimmed through the rest b/c I got bored w/ the repetitiveness. DRY was certainly not taken into account as there is a lot of needless repetition (filler). It could have done w/out the Testing information and all of chapter 11. These are very important topics and they deserve a thorough explanation, which this book did not offer. The way it was included in the book was pointless and a disservice to readers.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
A. Carter Dec 28, 2017
Full star icon Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 3
Not really a cookbook. It's more of a tutorial. All the code is written in short snippets, so if you want to build anything you have to keep going back to previous chapters. I was hoping for a reference book for Tkinter widgets, that is not this book. Author does not go into very many widgets and the ones he does talk about are incomplete. At one point he states that the canvas widget is really cool and you should go on line and research what it does! That is what I thought the book was for. If I go online why do I need this book. Author does seem knowledgeable and I did learn some things from this book. I don't think I will ever go back to this book as a reference.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
stan kulikowski Jul 28, 2019
Full star icon Full star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon Empty star icon 2
this text shows us how to construct an empty GUI that does nothing except demonstrate how the devices operate. i would call this a sampler (which shows that a device a works) but not a cookbook (which ought to supply short recipes of devices actually doing something useful). at the end of these exercises we have a complex piece of code in which most of the graphic user devices are shown as examples, but it is difficult to extract that section of code to employ in some other program which needs this function for some other purpose.
Amazon Verified review Amazon
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