From lawsie at gmail.com  Mon Nov 14 04:37:17 2016
From: lawsie at gmail.com (Laura Sach)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2016 09:37:17 +0000
Subject: [Pythonedu-wg] Simplified GUI library for kids
Message-ID: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>

Hi all,

As a teacher, I found it really frustrating that there wasn't a Python GUI
library that was accessible to children. I talked about it to some people
at Pycon but it didn't really go anywhere, so I decided to have a go myself!

https://github.com/lawsie/guizero

More on the aims of what I'm trying to do can be found in the readme.

Any comments/advice/help would be most welcome! :)

Laura
(an ex-teacher, for context)
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/pythonedu-wg/attachments/20161114/6a11de6c/attachment.html>

From asb at asbradbury.org  Mon Nov 14 04:44:57 2016
From: asb at asbradbury.org (Alex Bradbury)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2016 09:44:57 +0000
Subject: [Pythonedu-wg] Simplified GUI library for kids
In-Reply-To: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CA+wH297E=szTHwbjsmnCYNVcC+BeZjeJjcVu+ZBu9R8M8DKBdQ@mail.gmail.com>

On 14 November 2016 at 09:37, Laura Sach <lawsie at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> As a teacher, I found it really frustrating that there wasn't a Python GUI
> library that was accessible to children. I talked about it to some people at
> Pycon but it didn't really go anywhere, so I decided to have a go myself!
>
> https://github.com/lawsie/guizero
>
> More on the aims of what I'm trying to do can be found in the readme.

This is looking great, thanks for sharing!

> Any comments/advice/help would be most welcome! :)

Have you looked at Shoes (from the Ruby world) at all? It was created
with a similar aim - to make it as easy as possible to get started
with GUI programming http://shoesrb.com/walkthrough/. It might be
worth looking at for inspiration, but of course it leans heavily on
Ruby magic.

Alex

From ntoll at ntoll.org  Mon Nov 14 04:50:38 2016
From: ntoll at ntoll.org (Nicholas H.Tollervey)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2016 09:50:38 +0000
Subject: [Pythonedu-wg] Simplified GUI library for kids
In-Reply-To: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <3e84d90d-1757-ab87-f969-ede341a06afb@ntoll.org>

On 14/11/16 09:37, Laura Sach wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> As a teacher, I found it really frustrating that there wasn't a Python
> GUI library that was accessible to children. I talked about it to some
> people at Pycon but it didn't really go anywhere, so I decided to have a
> go myself!
> 
> https://github.com/lawsie/guizero
> 
> More on the aims of what I'm trying to do can be found in the readme. 
> 
> Any comments/advice/help would be most welcome! :)
> 
> Laura
> (an ex-teacher, for context)
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Pythonedu-wg mailing list
> Pythonedu-wg at python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pythonedu-wg
> 

There's also Beeware (http://pybee.org/) that abstracts the underlying
GUI toolkit so you can write a GUI based Python project and Beeware will
work out how to make it run on Windows, OSX, Linux, Android, iOS etc etc.

Also, Russell (dev at Beeware) is awesome.

I want to see if I can create a version of Mu to sit on Beeware.

N.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 455 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/pythonedu-wg/attachments/20161114/a1fbb0ec/attachment.sig>

From ntoll at ntoll.org  Mon Nov 14 04:54:36 2016
From: ntoll at ntoll.org (Nicholas H.Tollervey)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2016 09:54:36 +0000
Subject: [Pythonedu-wg] Simplified GUI library for kids
In-Reply-To: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <9abfb533-a427-0d5b-3163-ad3b51926822@ntoll.org>

On 14/11/16 09:37, Laura Sach wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> As a teacher, I found it really frustrating that there wasn't a Python
> GUI library that was accessible to children. I talked about it to some
> people at Pycon but it didn't really go anywhere, so I decided to have a
> go myself!
> 
> https://github.com/lawsie/guizero
> 
> More on the aims of what I'm trying to do can be found in the readme. 
> 
> Any comments/advice/help would be most welcome! :)
> 
> Laura
> (an ex-teacher, for context)
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Pythonedu-wg mailing list
> Pythonedu-wg at python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pythonedu-wg
> 

Also, if you're looking for collaborators and you're based near London
there's a Python project night called "Build Something" that attracts a
number of developers who want to help people with their "side projects".
Next one is this Wednesday.

https://www.meetup.com/London-Python-Project-Nights/

:-)

N.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 455 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/pythonedu-wg/attachments/20161114/b244a1c8/attachment.sig>

From lawsie at gmail.com  Mon Nov 14 05:47:08 2016
From: lawsie at gmail.com (Laura Sach)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2016 10:47:08 +0000
Subject: [Pythonedu-wg] Simplified GUI library for kids
In-Reply-To: <CA+wH297E=szTHwbjsmnCYNVcC+BeZjeJjcVu+ZBu9R8M8DKBdQ@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
 <CA+wH297E=szTHwbjsmnCYNVcC+BeZjeJjcVu+ZBu9R8M8DKBdQ@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <CAFoiVO0bznqp2VPSELX5yAPrFXhd4WVTnif1Ga6Y5PMWGyE8Rg@mail.gmail.com>

Thanks Alex, I hadn't seen that (probably because I don't know Ruby) but it
looks like a good idea. Guizero is even more cut down in its functionality,
there are literally no bells and whistles.

I should probably add - the package is not finished! Some functionality is
missing (checkboxes! radio buttons!), there are no docs, and there is no
nice installation process. I think all of these things are absolutely
crucial to people actually being able to use this with kids, so perhaps
best not to inflict this on real children in the wild just yet.

On that note, I would really appreciate it if someone could give me some
tips on how to (eventually) package this up so it can be installed from
PyPI, because I have no idea how to do that. :) At the moment I'm testing
it as a package by using a nasty hack to put the folder in my Python Path
which is no doubt highly illegal and should get me escorted from the
mailing list. ;)

Laura

On Mon, Nov 14, 2016 at 9:44 AM, Alex Bradbury <asb at asbradbury.org> wrote:

> On 14 November 2016 at 09:37, Laura Sach <lawsie at gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > As a teacher, I found it really frustrating that there wasn't a Python
> GUI
> > library that was accessible to children. I talked about it to some
> people at
> > Pycon but it didn't really go anywhere, so I decided to have a go myself!
> >
> > https://github.com/lawsie/guizero
> >
> > More on the aims of what I'm trying to do can be found in the readme.
>
> This is looking great, thanks for sharing!
>
> > Any comments/advice/help would be most welcome! :)
>
> Have you looked at Shoes (from the Ruby world) at all? It was created
> with a similar aim - to make it as easy as possible to get started
> with GUI programming http://shoesrb.com/walkthrough/. It might be
> worth looking at for inspiration, but of course it leans heavily on
> Ruby magic.
>
> Alex
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/pythonedu-wg/attachments/20161114/da262077/attachment-0001.html>

From mail at timgolden.me.uk  Mon Nov 14 06:13:46 2016
From: mail at timgolden.me.uk (Tim Golden)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2016 11:13:46 +0000
Subject: [Pythonedu-wg] Simplified GUI library for kids
In-Reply-To: <CAFoiVO0bznqp2VPSELX5yAPrFXhd4WVTnif1Ga6Y5PMWGyE8Rg@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
 <CA+wH297E=szTHwbjsmnCYNVcC+BeZjeJjcVu+ZBu9R8M8DKBdQ@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAFoiVO0bznqp2VPSELX5yAPrFXhd4WVTnif1Ga6Y5PMWGyE8Rg@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <d90574e1-49ef-18d6-e15d-ebcea2a2c916@timgolden.me.uk>

On 14/11/2016 10:47, Laura Sach wrote:
> On that note, I would really appreciate it if someone could give me some
> tips on how to (eventually) package this up so it can be installed from
> PyPI, because I have no idea how to do that. :) At the moment I'm
> testing it as a package by using a nasty hack to put the folder in my
> Python Path which is no doubt highly illegal and should get me escorted
> from the mailing list. ;)

Laura,

In the spirit of teaching people to fish, you should be looking at this:

   https://packaging.python.org/distributing/

and this:

   https://github.com/pypa/sampleproject

and particularly this:

   https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pypa/sampleproject/master/setup.py

But if you'd rather not, then let me know and I'll send through a PR

TJG

From jarvisteach at gmail.com  Mon Nov 14 08:08:38 2016
From: jarvisteach at gmail.com (Richard Jarvis)
Date: Mon, 14 Nov 2016 13:08:38 +0000
Subject: [Pythonedu-wg] Simplified GUI library for kids
In-Reply-To: <d90574e1-49ef-18d6-e15d-ebcea2a2c916@timgolden.me.uk>
References: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
 <CA+wH297E=szTHwbjsmnCYNVcC+BeZjeJjcVu+ZBu9R8M8DKBdQ@mail.gmail.com>
 <CAFoiVO0bznqp2VPSELX5yAPrFXhd4WVTnif1Ga6Y5PMWGyE8Rg@mail.gmail.com>
 <d90574e1-49ef-18d6-e15d-ebcea2a2c916@timgolden.me.uk>
Message-ID: <39D2C08E-0904-4328-B5DA-E4916C141D17@gmail.com>

Not wanting to jump on someone else's thread (but blatantly doing so), I've been working on the exact same thing!

It's been in use at my school for the last couple of years, and a few other local teachers are using it..

I've put a lot of effort into documenting it: http://appJar.info

And had a fair amount of success in the classroom - it's even been used in GCSE controlled assessments. 

When I started it, I knew nothing about Python or tkinter, so it's grown into a bit of a beast! Especially as I kept adding new features for the kids. But it does the job, and I've had lots of positive feedback.

Again, it's still in beta, so there are a couple of bugs, and the 'learn' section isn't finished. But I'd welcome some feedback or the chance to collaborate...

Richard

> On 14 Nov 2016, at 11:13, Tim Golden <mail at timgolden.me.uk> wrote:
> 
>> On 14/11/2016 10:47, Laura Sach wrote:
>> On that note, I would really appreciate it if someone could give me some
>> tips on how to (eventually) package this up so it can be installed from
>> PyPI, because I have no idea how to do that. :) At the moment I'm
>> testing it as a package by using a nasty hack to put the folder in my
>> Python Path which is no doubt highly illegal and should get me escorted
>> from the mailing list. ;)
> 
> Laura,
> 
> In the spirit of teaching people to fish, you should be looking at this:
> 
>  https://packaging.python.org/distributing/
> 
> and this:
> 
>  https://github.com/pypa/sampleproject
> 
> and particularly this:
> 
>  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/pypa/sampleproject/master/setup.py
> 
> But if you'd rather not, then let me know and I'll send through a PR
> 
> TJG
> _______________________________________________
> Pythonedu-wg mailing list
> Pythonedu-wg at python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pythonedu-wg

From ntoll at ntoll.org  Tue Nov 15 03:43:03 2016
From: ntoll at ntoll.org (Nicholas H.Tollervey)
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2016 08:43:03 +0000
Subject: [Pythonedu-wg] Simplified GUI library for kids
In-Reply-To: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
References: <CAFoiVO3w6Qkpu0n=TiVCznsb3GfSQWEE0PZ-3TC2MMchygLr2g@mail.gmail.com>
Message-ID: <fdb4bdaf-4062-b1a9-e67d-008e29c809fb@ntoll.org>

On 14/11/16 09:37, Laura Sach wrote:
> Hi all,
> 
> As a teacher, I found it really frustrating that there wasn't a Python
> GUI library that was accessible to children. I talked about it to some
> people at Pycon but it didn't really go anywhere, so I decided to have a
> go myself!
> 
> https://github.com/lawsie/guizero
> 
> More on the aims of what I'm trying to do can be found in the readme. 
> 
> Any comments/advice/help would be most welcome! :)
> 
> Laura
> (an ex-teacher, for context)
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Pythonedu-wg mailing list
> Pythonedu-wg at python.org
> https://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/pythonedu-wg
> 

There's also "Toga" that appears to be similar in scope!

http://pybee.org/project/projects/libraries/toga/

N.

-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: signature.asc
Type: application/pgp-signature
Size: 455 bytes
Desc: OpenPGP digital signature
URL: <http://mail.python.org/pipermail/pythonedu-wg/attachments/20161115/324e246b/attachment.sig>