Tkinter GUI Programming by Example PDF

Preface

Welcome to Tkinter GUI Programming by Example. We will be exploring how to use the Tkinter library, which is included alongside most Python installs. This framework is very simple to use, and has a powerful event-handling system and an open license, perfect for anyone who wishes to quickly write and share graphical applications.

Throughout this book, we will be creating three powerful desktop applications, learning about the variety of widgets available in Tkinter. After we have these applications polished, we will then learn how to share them with other people by packaging them up for sharing. When you have finished this book, you will have in-depth knowledge of Tkinter, its widgets, GUI-design principles, and packaging Python projects.

Who this book is for

Do you have a great Python script, which runs via the command line that you wish could have a nice user interface? Or, do you know of a problem which could be resolved with a program containing a graphical interface? If so, this book is for you. All you need is some basic Python knowledge—things such as function declarations, if statements, for loops, and writing to files via the with statement. Everything else, including the use of Python's class system, will be covered in as much detail as you should need to complete each chapter.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, Meet Tkinter, introduces us to the Tkinter library itself. We will look at ensuring that it is installed, how to use its widget system, and how to display widgets inside a window. Once the basics are down, we will have a play with some of the easier widgets, including using a Label widget to display text and a Button widget to provide interactivity.

Chapter 2, Back to the Command Line – Basic Blackjack, has us return to our roots as Python programmers and create a command-line only version of blackjack. This will get us up to speed with the common situation where we a command-line application, which we want to convert to a nicer interface. We will also discuss Python's class system and how to structure an application for conversion to a graphical interface.