True standard Windows app in Python?

[Pjer Holton]

If I were to build a Windows application that is a true standard Windows
application in every conceivable way and that adheres to the MS Windows
standards as much as possible (installation, GUI, printing, registry, RTF
etc.), and if portability to other platforms is only a minor concern, ...
would Python be a good choice?

What packages, libraries and modules would you recommend for GUI,
installation, data storage etc.?

Thank you very much in advance for your advice!

--
Pjer.

[Harald Massa]

Pjer,

I use Python for sth like that.

GUI, printing, registry, RTF For GUI and Printing I use wxpython

for registry-work I use win32all
rtf is not standardized in any way. It is documented. But you should not
expect the dominating word processor to adhere to this documentation. But
.... it's only text, so it's possible to deal with it.
installation ,

Installation: I just create an exe with py2exe and copy the contents of the
distribution directory. To do this in a "Microsoft conformant way" there is
a great bunch of installers availible; some even generate .MSI foramt.
McMillanInstall er provides sth. quite similiar.

[Miki Tebeka]

Hello Pjer,

If I were to build a Windows application that is a true standard Windows
application in every conceivable way and that adheres to the MS Windows
standards as much as possible (installation, GUI, printing, registry, RTF
etc.), and if portability to other platforms is only a minor concern, ...
would Python be a good choice?

What packages, libraries and modules would you recommend for GUI,
installation, data storage etc.?

The combination I use at work is:
Python + wxPython + win32all + py2exe + NSIS Installer.

Works like a charm, native looking Windows application in no-time.

HTH.
Miki

[Alan Gauld]

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:28:42 +0100, Pjer Holton
<no************ @se.invalid> wrote:

If I were to build a Windows application that is a true standard Windows
application in every conceivable way
It depends on what the app does, there are some things you simply
can't do with python in Windows even with winall installed. But
then again there are things you can't do with MFC and C++. It
depends what you are aiming for.
and that adheres to the MS Windows
standards as much as possible (installation, GUI, printing, registry, RTF
etc.),
If you want to get the Windows "kite-mark" then probably Python
is not the best solution, then again if you want to produce it
quickly and cheaply... Pick the tool for the job. Most commercial
apps on Windows are still written in C++ for performance reasons
and because you get access to all the windows stiuff when you
need it. But that comes at a significant price in terms of
effort.
What packages, libraries and modules would you recommend for GUI,
installation, data storage etc.?

If you do go down the Python route I'd recommend either the MFC
stuff in winall, or maybe Qt or wxPython. They all use the native
toolkit/API under the covers.

Alan G.
Author of the Learn to Program website
http://www.freenetpages.co.uk/hp/alan.gauld

[Thomas Dorn]

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:28:42 +0100, Pjer Holton wrote:

If I were to build a Windows application that is a true standard Windows
application in every conceivable way and that adheres to the MS Windows
standards as much as possible (installation, GUI, printing, registry, RTF
etc.), and if portability to other platforms is only a minor concern, ...
would Python be a good choice?

In your situation (i.e. trying to build a Windows application which
is "standard in every conceivable way"), I would not use Python.

If you do not want to use C++ on Windows, C# (.NET) should be a
good solution for you. You even might have a look at the Python
for .NET solutions (in the near future).

HTHomas

[Ville Vainio]

Thomas Dorn <th*********@ph reaker.net> writes:

In your situation (i.e. trying to build a Windows application which
is "standard in every conceivable way"), I would not use Python.

Doesn't using the mfc library (like PythonWin does) enable creating
applications that are "standard in every conceivable way"?

--
Ville Vainio http://www.students.tut.fi/~vainio24

[Thomas Dorn]

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 15:35:56 +0200, Ville Vainio wrote:

Thomas Dorn <th*********@ph reaker.net> writes:

In your situation (i.e. trying to build a Windows application which
is "standard in every conceivable way"), I would not use Python.

Doesn't using the mfc library (like PythonWin does) enable creating
applications that are "standard in every conceivable way"?

Even if there are wrappers for things like the MFC library, I would
not say that Python is a "good choice" for writing Windows applications
as defined by Pjer (and Pjer was asking whether it Python is a "good
choice" for his kind of projects or not).

I use Python for 80%+ of my projects (mostly cross-platform) and
would normally recommend it for almost any project; but considering
the various Microsoft OS (incl. Longhorn) and their differences, I
think using C#/.NET (or maybe even C++) is a better choice for some-
one in Pjer's situation.

[Dave Brueck]

Thomas wrote:

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:28:42 +0100, Pjer Holton wrote:

If I were to build a Windows application that is a true standard Windows
application in every conceivable way and that adheres to the MS Windows
standards as much as possible (installation, GUI, printing, registry, RTF
etc.), and if portability to other platforms is only a minor concern, ...
would Python be a good choice?

In your situation (i.e. trying to build a Windows application which
is "standard in every conceivable way"), I would not use Python.

Why?

-Dave

[Dave Brueck]

Thomas wrote:

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 15:35:56 +0200, Ville Vainio wrote:

Thomas Dorn <th*********@ph reaker.net> writes:

In your situation (i.e. trying to build a Windows application which
is "standard in every conceivable way"), I would not use Python.
Doesn't using the mfc library (like PythonWin does) enable creating
applications that are "standard in every conceivable way"?

Even if there are wrappers for things like the MFC library, I would
not say that Python is a "good choice" for writing Windows applications
as defined by Pjer (and Pjer was asking whether it Python is a "good
choice" for his kind of projects or not).

Why? I use Python for writing Windows applications all the time (installers,
registry, COM access, etc, etc) and it works really well.
I use Python for 80%+ of my projects (mostly cross-platform) and
would normally recommend it for almost any project; but considering
the various Microsoft OS (incl. Longhorn) and their differences, I
think using C#/.NET (or maybe even C++) is a better choice for some-
one in Pjer's situation.

Can you give a specific example of how the various OSs cause problems for
Python but not for other languages?

-Dave

[Dave Brueck]

Alan wrote:

On Sun, 28 Dec 2003 14:28:42 +0100, Pjer Holton
<no************ @se.invalid> wrote:

If you want to get the Windows "kite-mark" then probably Python
is not the best solution
Why? Just curious, but what specifically are you thinking of? The OP's question
was pretty vague, so it's hard to tell what the question was really about.
quickly and cheaply... Pick the tool for the job. Most commercial
apps on Windows are still written in C++ for performance reasons
Hmmm... most Windows programs are purely event driven and therefore spend
oodles and oodles of time idle waiting for user input. If in fact most are
still written in C++ I'd say it has more to do with habit and/or tools like
Visual Studio rather than because of performance reasons.
and because you get access to all the windows stiuff when you
need it.

That's what ctypes is for. :)

-Dave