Tkinter: The good, the bad, and the ugly!

[rantingrick]

 On Dec 30, 8:41 pm, Robert <sigz... at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 2010-12-30 19:46:24 -0500, rantingrick said:
> Just to clarify...I like Python. I am learning it at the moment.

Glad to have you aboard Robert!

> > 3. What is your opinion of Tkinter as to it's usefulness within the
> > stdlib?
>
> No, I really don't see the need for it to be in the stdlib but that
> isn't my call.

But it is your call Robert. Anyone who writes Python code --whether
they be a beginner with no prior programming experience or a fire
breathing Python Guru-- has a right to inject their opinion into th
community. We really need input from first time users as they carry
the very perspective that we have completely lost!

> > 5. Should Python even have a GUI in the stdlib?
>
> I would say "no" but that is my opinion only and it doesn't matter.
> Python's domain isn't GUI programming so having it readily available on
> the sidelines would be fine for me.

I agree that Python's domain is not "specifically" GUI programming
however to understand why Tkinter and IDLE exists you need to
understand what Guido's dream was in the beginning. GvR wanted to
bring Programming to everyone (just one of his many heroic goals!). He
believed (i think) that GUI programming is very important , and that
was 20 years ago!!. So he included Tkinter mainly so new Python
programmers could hack away at GUI's with little or no effort. He also
created a wonderful IDE for beginners called IDLE. His idea was
perfect, however his faith in TclTk was flawed and so we find
ourselves in the current situation we have today. With the decay of
Tkinter the dream has faded. However we can revive this dream and
truly bring Python into the 21st century!


> > 6. If Python should have a GUI, then what traits would serve our
> > community best?
>
> This is a good one.
>
> It should be:
>
> - cross platform
> - Pythonic
> - as "native" as possible
>
> Cross platform and native are hard. Just look at all the work with
> PyQt/PySide and wxPython. It took them years to get where they are.

Hmm, wxPython is starting to look like the answer to all our problems.
WxPython already has an IDE so there is no need to rewrite IDLE
completely. What do we have to loose by integrating wx into the
stdlib, really?