Tk vs wxPython ?

[Cliff Wells]

On Fri, 2003-06-06 at 09:56, sismex01 at hebmex.com wrote:
> > 
> > Gerrit Holl <gerrit at nl.linux.org> wrote:
> > 
> > Maybe we - being the people wanting to move to WxPython - should write a
> PEP...
> >
> 
> Hmmm... and maybe wxPython has not become the defacto gui for
> python for a reason.
> 
> Many will attest to having similar experiences with it as I,
> that it's a horrible mess to get working.  I've tried several
> times in the past to get it working on linux, to no avail.

Perhaps that has more to do with your Linux distro than anything.  I've
never encountered a problem (except for the occasional cvs won't compile
situation).  I have heard of people having problems but mostly they were
people that probably should never have had rights to install software
anyway <wink>.

But that's really an argument to have it in the standard distro: it
simplifies installation.  Tkinter is easy because it's done for you. 
This argument reminds me of people who claim Windows is easier to
install than Linux because, well, it came preinstalled on their Dell.

> OTOH, Tkinter is maintained by the core python developers,
> and they understand it's inner working.  Also, Tk is a very
> flexible toolkit, and there exist many widgets you can download
> for it.  Adding support for those external widgets to Tkinter
> is downright trivial, since Tkinter uses tcl internally, and
> you can send tcl commands "down the pipe" for these other
> widgets.

It is still a dated and rather weak toolkit compared to any of the other
candidates.  The ability to "send tcl commands" is *not* a selling point
<wink>.

Further, a big problem I had with Tkinter was installing these
additional widgets you mention.  I had far more problems with that sort
of thing than I have ever had installing wxPython (which probably
includes the widgets you had to download for Tk).

> wxPython is a complex beast, as is wxWindows.  I'm not saying
> it doesn't have it's place, but I don't think it's place is
> being the primary gui for Python, at least, not yet.

There are two main problems with wxPython at this point:
1. Somewhat steep initial learning curve (at least when compared to
Tk).  This is probably exacerbated by lack of tutorial material and the
reference manual being written for C++.
2. More difficult to port (and some ports aren't finished)

Despite this, I'd still support it as the de facto standard.  Maybe not
today, but I'd guess that within a year most of the important ports will
be done. 

I'd sum up the Tk/wxPython comparison this way:
wxPython: high cost of entry, long-term payoff
Tkinter: low cost of entry, long-term suffering

> Fox toolkit anyone?

Does anyone actually use that?

> these are just my 2 cents, so don't go start any holywars
> on my account.

Far too late for that, infidel.


"Why the hell hasn't wxPython become the standard GUI for Python yet?"
                                                                -- Eric
S. Raymond



-- 
Cliff Wells, Software Engineer
Logiplex Corporation (www.logiplex.net)
(503) 978-6726  (800) 735-0555