Re: Tkinter pack Problem
Simon Forman [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: | I find the Tkinter reference: a GUI for Python under Local links on | this page http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/lang/python/tkinter.html to | be very helpful. It has a decent discussion of the grid layout | manager. | | HTH, | ~Simon Thanks am checking it out - downloading pdf... - Hendrik -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Tkinter pack Problem
Hi,
I am struggling to get the pack method to do what I intend.
I am trying to display user input in a seperate window, along with
a little description of the field, something like this:
Current entry
Company : entered co. name
First entry : entered stuff
The second entry: more entered stuff
Entry number three : Last entered stuff
This seems so simple - but I have now spent a day or two mucking around -
and no matter what I do with the side, after and anchor parameters,
I just seem to get weird results - I must be doing something terribly stupid,
but I cant see it
So I have boiled the thing down as far as I can. - to an entry window with a
start and quit button,
one entry method, and the display window for the entered content - aside from
displaying, the programme does nothing.
Its doing the same thing on Linux and on Windows
This code should run and illustrate the hassles I am having:
8-start of code section--
#!/usr/bin/python
# The original of this module is supposed to do an accounting entry -
# we get the gui stuff
from Tkinter import *
class Entryscreen(Frame):
This screen is used to construct a new Entry.
# we define the variables we use
des_string = '' # Description of what we want to do
req_string = '' # Prompt string
dis_string = '' # Description of field for display
Company = New Entry Screen # we dont have a company yet
Entry_1 = ''# or any entries
Entry_2 = ''
Entry_3 = ''
def start_new(self):
This is the routine that assembles a new record
if self.Company == New Entry Screen: # if its the first time,
# we make a new window
show = Tk()
show.title('Accounting entry display window')
# we get an instance to display results in
self.disp = Showscreen(Current entry,master=show)
# then we ask for the company:
des_string = Getting the Company
req_string = Enter the Company for this session
dis_string = 'Company:'
error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string, self.disp)
self.Company = self.Amount
# Then or else we ask for entry details
des_string = Getting first entry
req_string = Enter first field
dis_string = First entry:
error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string, self.disp)
des_string = Getting second entry
req_string = Enter second field
dis_string = The second entry:
error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string, self.disp)
des_string = Getting third entry
req_string = Enter third field
dis_string = Entry number three:
error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string, self.disp)
def GetEntry(self, des_string, req_string, dis_string, disp):
Entry routine for one field
line = Entryline(des_string, req_string, dis_string, disp, master=root)
error = line.mainloop()
self.Amount = line.retstring
line.destroy()
def say_bye(self):
print 'Have a nice day, Bye!'
self.quit()
def createWidgets(self):
self.descr = Label(self)
self.descr[text] = self.Company
self.descr[fg] = 'purple'
self.descr['bg'] = 'yellow'
self.descr.pack({'expand': 'yes', 'fill': 'both', side: top})
Start = Button(self)
Start[text] = Start a new entry
Start[fg] = blue
Start['bg'] = 'green'
Start[command] = self.start_new
Start.pack({'expand': 'yes', 'fill': 'both', side: left, 'after':
self.descr})
QUIT = Button(self)
QUIT[text] = QUIT
QUIT[fg] = black
QUIT['bg'] = 'red'
QUIT[command] = self.say_bye
QUIT.pack({'expand': 'yes', 'fill': 'both', side: left, 'after':
Start})
def __init__(self, master=None):
Frame.__init__(self, master)
self.pack()
self.createWidgets()
class Showscreen(Frame):
This is supposed to show the entries as they occur.
def CreateWidgets(self, Description):
self.descr = Label(self)
self.descr[text] = Description
self.descr[fg] = 'purple'
self.descr['bg'] = 'yellow'
self.descr.pack({'expand': 'yes', 'fill': 'x', side: top, anchor:
n})
def __init__(self, Description, master=None):
Frame.__init__(self,master)
self.pack()
self.CreateWidgets(Description)
class Entryline(Frame):
This asks for an entry from the user and displays the result
retstring = ''
def entryend(self,S):
This gets done on carriage return and is where the hassles
originate
self.retstring = self.estring.get() # get the entered string
self.disp.Amount_des = Label(self.disp) # and put it into the
display window
Re: Tkinter pack Problem
On Wed, 26 Jul 2006 12:46:39 +0200, H J van Rooyen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
Hi,
I am struggling to get the pack method to do what I intend.
I am trying to display user input in a seperate window, along with
a little description of the field, something like this:
Current entry
Company : entered co. name
First entry : entered stuff
The second entry: more entered stuff
Entry number three : Last entered stuff
You won't be able to do that kind of layout with pack. This is - quite
obviously IMHO - a job for grid, since your widgets are arranged in a grid.
According to my experience, pack should only be used for *very* simple
layouts, such as all widgets in a single row or in a single column. Trying
to do anything else will very soon end up being a nightmare, with unneeded
frames everywhere. Learn to use grid and life will be far easier for you.
[snip]
A few comments on your code:
#!/usr/bin/python
# The original of this module is supposed to do an accounting entry -
# we get the gui stuff
from Tkinter import *
class Entryscreen(Frame):
Why do you inherit from Frame? Apparently, you're trying to do a window. A
Frame is not a window; it's a general-purpose container for widgets. If
you want to do a window, inherit from Tk (for a main window) or from
Toplevel (for any other).
This screen is used to construct a new Entry.
# we define the variables we use
des_string = '' # Description of what we want to do
req_string = '' # Prompt string
dis_string = '' # Description of field for display
Company = New Entry Screen # we dont have a company yet
Entry_1 = ''# or any entries
Entry_2 = ''
Entry_3 = ''
def start_new(self):
This is the routine that assembles a new record
if self.Company == New Entry Screen: # if its the first time,
# we make a new window
show = Tk()
No, we don't. We actually create a whole new tcl/tk interpreter
environment, completely independent from the one we already have, which
happens to create a new main window. Doing so is bound to cause problems
later. If you want to create a new window, instantiate Toplevel.
show.title('Accounting entry display window')
# we get an instance to display results in
self.disp = Showscreen(Current entry,master=show)
# then we ask for the company:
des_string = Getting the Company
req_string = Enter the Company for this session
dis_string = 'Company:'
error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string,
self.disp)
self.Company = self.Amount
# Then or else we ask for entry details
des_string = Getting first entry
req_string = Enter first field
dis_string = First entry:
error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string,
self.disp)
des_string = Getting second entry
req_string = Enter second field
dis_string = The second entry:
error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string,
self.disp)
des_string = Getting third entry
req_string = Enter third field
dis_string = Entry number three:
error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string,
self.disp)
This is not important, but why do you always create variables for your
strings instead of passing them directly? For example, the previous 4
lines can be written:
error = self.GetEntry(Getting third entry, Enter third field, Entry
number three:, self.disp)
This would shorten your code a lot. And why do you always pass self.disp
as the last argument? This is an attribute, so using it directly inside
the GetEntry method is not a problem.
def GetEntry(self, des_string, req_string, dis_string, disp):
Entry routine for one field
line = Entryline(des_string, req_string, dis_string, disp,
master=root)
error = line.mainloop()
*Never* call mainloop twice in an application! This is not the way to go.
If you want to do a modal dialog, you have to use the wait_window method,
which waits for a given window to be closed.
self.Amount = line.retstring
line.destroy()
def say_bye(self):
print 'Have a nice day, Bye!'
self.quit()
def createWidgets(self):
self.descr = Label(self)
self.descr[text] = self.Company
self.descr[fg] = 'purple'
self.descr['bg'] = 'yellow'
self.descr.pack({'expand': 'yes', 'fill': 'both', side: top})
This can be written:
self.descr.pack(side=TOP, fill=BOTH, expand=1)
which is shorter and IMHO clearer. TOP and BOTH are constants defined in
the Tkinter module, and passing named arguments is exactly the same as
passing a dictionary.
Start = Button(self)
Start[text] = Start a new entry
Re: Tkinter pack Problem
I find the Tkinter reference: a GUI for Python under Local links on this page http://infohost.nmt.edu/tcc/help/lang/python/tkinter.html to be very helpful. It has a decent discussion of the grid layout manager. HTH, ~Simon -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: Tkinter pack Problem
H J van Rooyen wrote: Hi, I am struggling to get the pack method to do what I intend. I am trying to display user input in a seperate window, along with a little description of the field, something like this: Current entry Company : entered co. name First entry : entered stuff The second entry: more entered stuff Entry number three : Last entered stuff You can achieve this with pack(), but only by using a lot of nested panels: +-+ | Current entry | +-+ +-+ |Company : entered co. name | +-+ +-+ |First entry : entered stuff| +-+ +-+ |The second entry: more entered stuff | +-+ +-+ |Entry number three : Last entered stuff | +-+ Create the subpanels and pack the labels into their respective subpanels with side=left and the entry fields with side=right; then pack all the subpanels into the main window with side=top. But this is really a PITA, it would be simpler use grid() as Eric B suggests. Once you learn grid(), you will probably never need to use pack() again. -- JK -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
Re: Tkinter pack Problem
Eric Brunel [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
|On Wed, 26 Jul 2006 12:46:39 +0200, H J van Rooyen [EMAIL PROTECTED]
|wrote:
|
| Hi,
|
| I am struggling to get the pack method to do what I intend.
| I am trying to display user input in a seperate window, along with
| a little description of the field, something like this:
|
| Current entry
| Company : entered co. name
| First entry : entered stuff
| The second entry: more entered stuff
| Entry number three : Last entered stuff
|
|You won't be able to do that kind of layout with pack. This is - quite
|obviously IMHO - a job for grid, since your widgets are arranged in a grid.
|
|According to my experience, pack should only be used for *very* simple
|layouts, such as all widgets in a single row or in a single column. Trying
|to do anything else will very soon end up being a nightmare, with unneeded
|frames everywhere. Learn to use grid and life will be far easier for you.
I can kind of agree with this - If I learnt one thing it was that I can get them
in a column, or a row, or what looks like a weird kind of horizontal hierarchy,
but not what I was looking for...
|
|[snip]
|
|A few comments on your code:
|
| #!/usr/bin/python
| # The original of this module is supposed to do an accounting entry -
|
| # we get the gui stuff
|
| from Tkinter import *
|
| class Entryscreen(Frame):
|
|Why do you inherit from Frame? Apparently, you're trying to do a window. A
|Frame is not a window; it's a general-purpose container for widgets. If
|you want to do a window, inherit from Tk (for a main window) or from
|Toplevel (for any other).
No particular reason other than ignorance - the original example I was following
did something like this, and
as it actually produced something that looked to me like it was working I did
not mess with it :-)
What is the best place to get info on all these wonderful things - I have been
trying to come right by reading the module help - but its kind of cryptic... -
like most things its cool as a reminder if you already know what it does...
|
| This screen is used to construct a new Entry.
|
| # we define the variables we use
|
| des_string = '' # Description of what we want to do
| req_string = '' # Prompt string
| dis_string = '' # Description of field for display
|
| Company = New Entry Screen # we dont have a company yet
| Entry_1 = ''# or any entries
| Entry_2 = ''
| Entry_3 = ''
|
| def start_new(self):
| This is the routine that assembles a new record
|
| if self.Company == New Entry Screen: # if its the first time,
|
| # we make a new window
|
| show = Tk()
|
|No, we don't. We actually create a whole new tcl/tk interpreter
|environment, completely independent from the one we already have, which
|happens to create a new main window. Doing so is bound to cause problems
|later. If you want to create a new window, instantiate Toplevel.
|
Ok I will try it, thanks.
| show.title('Accounting entry display window')
|
| # we get an instance to display results in
|
| self.disp = Showscreen(Current entry,master=show)
|
| # then we ask for the company:
|
| des_string = Getting the Company
| req_string = Enter the Company for this session
| dis_string = 'Company:'
| error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string,
| self.disp)
| self.Company = self.Amount
|
| # Then or else we ask for entry details
|
| des_string = Getting first entry
| req_string = Enter first field
| dis_string = First entry:
| error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string,
| self.disp)
|
| des_string = Getting second entry
| req_string = Enter second field
| dis_string = The second entry:
| error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string,
| self.disp)
|
| des_string = Getting third entry
| req_string = Enter third field
| dis_string = Entry number three:
| error = self.GetEntry(des_string, req_string, dis_string,
| self.disp)
|
|This is not important, but why do you always create variables for your
|strings instead of passing them directly? For example, the previous 4
|lines can be written:
The original code actually used the variables as globals ... *ducks*
|
|error = self.GetEntry(Getting third entry, Enter third field, Entry
|number three:, self.disp)
|
|This would shorten your code a lot. And why do you always pass self.disp
|as the last argument? This is an attribute, so using it directly inside
|the GetEntry method is not a problem.
The thing was giving me all sorts of errors when I changed disp from being a
global - It prolly has to do with the bad move of having a second instance of
k - I messed around and stopped when I got no more errors - could this be what
is really meant by Heuristic Programming?
|
