Which GUI Library to Use

[Ron Stephens]

This, to me, is the $64M question. In my case, learning GUI
programming is the real issue. I can do everything I want to do on the
command line with Python, which is really cool, but I still have a
long way to go on GUI's.

Please note the release of a new PythonCard beta version just below
this thread on the newsgroup. I think it has great potential; but for
a newbie with no time on my hands, I find installing it on Linux and
learning it to be not easy.

I really think PyQt and BlackAdder can do what I want, but due to
extensive business travel the last few months (and the next few) I
just have not had the time to really sit down and study the Rempt book
as much as I need.

I have learned one thing; there is no royal road to learning GUI
programming.

I am going to have to do the hard work. It's that simple.

Good luck to you.

By the way, yet another option is using Jython and the Java GUI tools.
And there was an article in one of the Linux magazines a year ago that
extolled the virtues of PyGTK and Glade, and it sounded like an easy
to learn option, relatively speaking.

So many choices. 

Personnally, right at this moment, my desire is to somehow create good
GUI versions of some Python scripts of mine, specifically for
deployemnt on the new Linux based Sharp Zaurus.

The plethora of options is overwhelming (which is good, but I find
myself scattering my thoughts ;-)))

My Python scripts run perfectly well from the bash shell command line
on the Zaurus.

The Zaurus is based on the Trolltech QT toolkit. So, optimally, I
should probably learn PyQt and deploy as native QT apps on the Zaurus.
But I don't know how well or how easily the PyQt apps would port to
the Zaurus.

The Zaurus also runs Jeode, a JVM. I have converted some of my scripts
to Jython and then compiled them using jythonc. I am considering how
hard it would be to use the available java compilers for the arm
microprocessor so that they can be automatically installed on the
Zaurus as Jeode apps (using ipkg type installers for the arm systems).
But I would probably stil need to create  gui's using jython and awt.

Someday, someone may even port one or more of the Python gui toolkits
to the Zaurus (many libraries for Python for the Zaurus are available
at Riverbank at
http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/zaurus/index.php but not Tkinter
or wxPython etc.

I suspect that I will need to be satisfied for now with my command
line Python scripts on the Zaurus (which I find pretty cool all by
itself ;-))), but that for real slick GUI versions my best bet is to
really learn BlackAdder and PytQt programming starting with the Rempt
book; but I am always intrigued with "shortcuts" and thus I am still
"eyeing" the jythonc, compiled java option, although what will it gain
me if I find learning AWT to be as hard as learning QT???

Any comments would be welcome as always ;-))))

(But isn't it really gratifying that even a newbie hobbyist ike me can
use Python to get as far as I am already, to run my own Python scripts
on the Zaurus? But if I could create a good gui, others might find my
scripts to be fun and usefull ....??? >>>

Ron Stephens
http://www.awaretek.com
Python scripts and news