wxPython syntax

[OKB (not okblacke)]

I've started taking a look at wxPython, and, well, I've noticed
that the syntax needed to code with it is extremely ugly. I am
wondering if there exist any preprocessing tools or clever refactorings
that allow users to write more sane-looking code. In particular, it
seems to me that the structure of the code often does not reflect the
structure of the GUI being designed. For instance, the wxPython wiki
"Getting Started" guide includes this code to set up a file menu with
About and Exit options:

filemenu= wxMenu()
filemenu.Append (ID_ABOUT, "&About","Infor mation about this
program")
filemenu.Append Separator()
filemenu.Append (ID_EXIT,"E&xit ","Terminat e the program")
# Creating the menubar.
menuBar = wxMenuBar()
menuBar.Append( filemenu,"&File ")
self.SetMenuBar (menuBar)conten t.
EVT_MENU(self, ID_ABOUT, self.OnAbout)
EVT_MENU(self, ID_EXIT, self.OnExit)
self.Show(true)
def OnAbout(self,e) :
d= wxMessageDialog ( self, "A sample editor \n" "in
wxPython","Abou t Sample Editor", wxOK)
d.ShowModal()
d.Destroy()
def OnExit(self,e):
self.Close(true )

Pieces of the code, like "filemenu" and ID_ABOUT and OnAbout, are
confusingly repeated throughout the definition. Doesn't it seem like
there should be some way to structure it so that the interface nesting
"option in menu in frame" is reflected in the code? I want to do
something like this:

menus:
File(wxMenu):
name = "&File"
about(menuOptio n):
name = "About"
statusText = "Informatio n about this program"
action():
wxMessageDialog (self, "A sample editor. . .")
exit(menuOption ):
name = "Exit"
etc. . .

Now, obviously that isn't valid code, but it seems like it might be
possible to get something like by using nested classes and/or functions
(e.g., have it say "class menus:" and then "class file(wxMenu)"). So my
basic questions are:

1) Does anything like this exist (or is anything in development)?
Is there any way to write GUI code in a way that reflects the structure
of the GUI?

2) If not, is it possible?

3) One specific problem is that I can't find a way to get at the
information in nested classes. Does Python provide any way to, say,
take a certain class and loop through all the classes which are defined
as nested classes inside it? Or, more generally, what kind of syntactic
help can be had from Python with regard to creating nested structures
like this?

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

--
--OKB (not okblacke)
Brendan Barnwell
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is
no path, and leave a trail."
--author unknown

[Grant Edwards]

In article <Xn************ *****@130.133.1 .4>, OKB (not okblacke) wrote:

I've started taking a look at wxPython, and, well, I've
noticed that the syntax needed to code with it is extremely
ugly.
Yup -- we just had this discussion a couple weeks ago.
I am wondering if there exist any preprocessing tools or
clever refactorings that allow users to write more
sane-looking code.

wax is one such attempt to wrap wxPython widgets and provide a
cleaner, simpler syntax.

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! I had pancake makeup
at for brunch!
visi.com

[Grant Edwards]

In article <40************ ***********@new sreader.visi.co m>, Grant Edwards wrote:

I've started taking a look at wxPython, and, well, I've
noticed that the syntax needed to code with it is extremely
ugly.

Yup -- we just had this discussion a couple weeks ago.

Google the group for the subject line "Don't understand wxPython ids".

The bottom line is that un-pythonic syntax of wxPython reflects
the un-pythonic syntax of the underlying C++ library. Two of
the fundamental decisions that makes wxWidgets complex and
difficult to work with compared to most other widget sets are

1) Using the "object-ID/event-ID" scheme to hook handlers to
events rather that making handlers attributes of widgets.
It's a more general/powerful scheme, but for small apps
like I write it's just gratuitous complexity.

2) Making the widget hierarchy separate from the layout
hierarchy. Again, it's a more general and powerful way to
do things, but for the small apps I write it's added work
and complexity with no benefit.

--
Grant Edwards grante Yow! I'd like TRAINED
at SEALS and a CONVERTIBLE on
visi.com my doorstep by NOON!!

[OKB (not okblacke)]

Grant Edwards wrote:

The bottom line is that un-pythonic syntax of wxPython reflects
the un-pythonic syntax of the underlying C++ library.

I've noticed this, and I must say it irks me. It seems as though
wxPython is simply providing a way to drop C++ code into a Python
program, which is, needless to say, undesirable. (I mean, Python is
NICE. I use it so I DON'T have to learn ugly C++ stuff.) I don't want
to sound harsh, but why is it like this? I suppose the obvious answer
is "it's easier to do it that way", but it still seems like it would be
nice if there were a real PYTHON GUI library.

--
--OKB (not okblacke)
Brendan Barnwell
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go, instead, where there is
no path, and leave a trail."
--author unknown

[John Taylor]

David Fraser <da****@sjsoft. com> wrote in message

One of the main things that would need to be addressed is how sizers and
layout could be defined using this approach

David

The easiest (and therefore best, imho) way that I have ever seen to
manage widget layout is in Java's RelativeLayout. See
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2...ivelayout.html
Within this, layout is controlled by a xml file.

Does anyone know if any of the python gui toolkits have something
similar to this?
Not the xml file, but the methodology itself.

-John

[David Fraser]

John Taylor wrote:

David Fraser <da****@sjsoft. com> wrote in message

One of the main things that would need to be addressed is how sizers and
layout could be defined using this approach

David

The easiest (and therefore best, imho) way that I have ever seen to
manage widget layout is in Java's RelativeLayout. See
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2...ivelayout.html
Within this, layout is controlled by a xml file.

Thanks for the link, interesting article.
Does anyone know if any of the python gui toolkits have something
similar to this?
Not the xml file, but the methodology itself.

Not sure. I'm sure you could create a similar methodology layout class
for wxPython though...

David

[John Taylor]

David Fraser <da****@sjsoft. com> wrote in message news:<cb******* ***@ctb-nnrp2.saix.net> ...

John Taylor wrote:

David Fraser <da****@sjsoft. com> wrote in message

One of the main things that would need to be addressed is how sizers and
layout could be defined using this approach

David

The easiest (and therefore best, imho) way that I have ever seen to
manage widget layout is in Java's RelativeLayout. See
http://www.onjava.com/pub/a/onjava/2...ivelayout.html
Within this, layout is controlled by a xml file.

Thanks for the link, interesting article.

Does anyone know if any of the python gui toolkits have something
similar to this?
Not the xml file, but the methodology itself.

Not sure. I'm sure you could create a similar methodology layout class
for wxPython though...

David

I forgot to mention that I got this up & running in Jython without too
much trouble. Jython can't use CPython's external libraries (on at
least Windows platforms). So if I wanted to use ldap and/or mysql, I
would have to code those sections in Java. By this point, it kind of
defeated the whole point as it would have been better to have coded
the whole thing in Java instead.

I could have used a client/server model and ran the GUI in Java which
would communicate to a python based server. I never did get around to
trying this approach, however.

-John