Total Python Newbie needs geting started info.

[Ev J]

I am learning Python and wish to develop GUI applications to run on Windows..
I have installed the Visual Studio integrated shell (Ver. 12.0.21005.1 REL)IDE and the Python 3.3 interpreter. I have gone through some of the 3.3 tutorial available at http://docs.python.org/3.3/tutorial/.

The tutorial is all about using the interactive interrupter and writing little console programs to learn the language.

Before I go too far down this road, I need to know if I can/should use thisenvironment to develop GUI applications. Is there graphical support for this - for example I can I just insert/move/set properties of buttons, comboboxes, etc. using an interface like the one in VBA?

If not, what is the best free IDE for me to use?
What is the best tutorial for the IDE?

I am a bit overwhelmed as to how to get started.

Thanks for any help.

 

[Rod Person]

I am learning Python and wish to develop GUI applications to run on Windows.
I have installed the Visual Studio integrated shell (Ver. 12.0.21005.1 REL) IDE and the Python 3.3 interpreter. I have gone through some of the 3.3 tutorial available at http://docs.python.org/3.3/tutorial/.

The tutorial is all about using the interactive interrupter and writing little console programs to learn the language.

Before I go too far down this road, I need to know if I can/should use this environment to develop GUI applications. Is there graphical support for this - for example I can I just insert/move/set properties of buttons, combo boxes, etc. using an interface like the one in VBA?

If not, what is the best free IDE for me to use?
What is the best tutorial for the IDE?

I am a bit overwhelmed as to how to get started.

Thanks for any help.

The integrated shell for Visual Studio does not give you the drag and drop GUI builder like is available for VB or C#.

I would say for a newbie you at Eric IDE:
http://eric-ide.python-projects.org/

It uses the QT widget set and intergrated with QTBuilder to allow you to design GUI via dragging and dropping components.

There are other GUI builders like GLADE for gtk, but QtBuilder is probably the closes to what you would be familiar with from using Visual Studio.


--
Rod

So little pains do the vulgar take in the investigation of truth, accepting readily the first story that comes to hand.
-Thucydides
History of The Peloponnesian War, 432BC

 

[Christopher Welborn]

I am learning Python and wish to develop GUI applications to run on Windows.
I have installed the Visual Studio integrated shell (Ver. 12.0.21005.1 REL) IDE and the Python 3.3 interpreter. I have gone through some of the 3.3 tutorial available at http://docs.python.org/3.3/tutorial/.

The tutorial is all about using the interactive interrupter and writing little console programs to learn the language.

Before I go too far down this road, I need to know if I can/should use this environment to develop GUI applications. Is there graphical support for this - for example I can I just insert/move/set properties of buttons, combo boxes, etc. using an interface like the one in VBA?

If not, what is the best free IDE for me to use?
What is the best tutorial for the IDE?

I am a bit overwhelmed as to how to get started.

Thanks for any help.

+1 for GTK. It takes a minute to get used to coming from a VB background
(VB spoils people with its easy GUI builder). You write your own signal
handlers with GTK (and other GUI libs also), instead of having it
'auto-created' along with the button when its dropped. You also learn a
lot more. Qt and Wx look good, I just don't have any experience with
them. Glade for GTK is a very good GUI builder, but again, coming from
VB it's not what you think. It only generates a glade file (XML-like
file containing the layout for the GUI), but it's up to you to fill in
the actual code. The process is something like this:

Build a gui with glade and save it.

Load .glade file in your python code. (builder.add_from_file(myfile))
(where builder is a Gtk.Builder())

Grab objects from it. (self.button1 = builder.get_object('Button1'))
(where Button1 is the name of a GtkButton in the glade file.)

Write signal handlers. (def button1_clicked_cb(self, btn)
(signal names can be defined in glade)

Connect signals (builder.connect_signals(self))
(where self is a class containing the signal handlers)


I'm no expert at it, but I really like using it. There are different
approaches and styles for using Gtk, so don't think my 'process' is set
in stone. Someone else here may have a different view. The great thing
about Gtk is the amount of control you have over everything. Large
projects may require a different style than small ones.