UI toolkits for Python

[Ville Voipio]

In article <mailman.2028.1129234395.509.python-list at python.org>, 
Kenneth McDonald wrote:

> 4) Ease of installation/use on OS X?

There are two questions which may restrict your choice
rather a lot:

#1 Should the UI look the same on each platform or should it
   look the same as all other apps on the platform?

#2 Are you trying to make a simple installation package which
   includes everything needed?

With OS X compatibility you tend to come across with the
fact that many "OS X compatible" things are actually X11
things. X11 certainly looks different from Aqua (the native
interface). Also, X11 is not always installed, and some
unixish things require using Fink to install them. Not
something Joe A. User usually has on his Mac.

GTK is an example of this. There is an Aqua version of
GTK, but it seems to be rather outdated. The newer versions
run on X11 but installing them may be just laborious or
then plain pain depending on your luck. And you still need
the X11 installed.

So, if you are looking for something that looks like Mac
and works like Mac, do not touch anything with X11. OTOH,
if you just need to get something working on your own
OS X computer, then X11 is fine.

---

I have tried using wxPython for Mac/Windows cross-platform
GUIs. This far it seems to work fine, but I have not tried
anything very fancy. Mac applications have the OS X looks,
and Windows applications look Windowsish. Without having
a single line of platform-dependent code.

Making simple installation files (exe for Windows and dmg
for OS X) seems to work, as well. So, the installation should
be easy for the user.

- Ville

-- 
Ville Voipio, Dr.Tech., M.Sc. (EE)