wxPython In Action

Description

Because they are often large and complex, GUI programming tool kits can be hard to use. wxPython is a combination of the Python programming language and the wxWidgets toolkit, which allows programmers to create programs with a robust, highly functional graphical user interface, simply and easily. wxPython combines the power of an exceptionally complete user interface toolkit with an exceptionally flexible programming language. The result is a toolkit that is unique in the ease with which complex applications can be built and maintained.

 "wxPython in Action" is a complete guide to the wxPython toolkit, containing a tutorial for getting started, a guide to best practices, and a reference to wxPython's extensive widget set. After an easy introduction to wxPython concepts and programming practices, the book takes an in-depth tour of when and how to use the bountiful collection of widgets offered by wxPython. All features are illustrated with useful code examples and reference tables are included for handy lookup of an object's properties, methods, and events. The book enables developers to learn wxPython quickly and remains a valuable resource for futurework.

FEATURES:

The book's direct, no-nonsense style makes for an easy introduction to the concepts. It offers a complete discussion of when, why, and how to use the many widgets in the toolkit.

And it includes dozens of handy reference tables so you can easily look up object properties, methods, and events. Co-authored by wxPython creator Robin Dunn, wxPython in Action is the authoritative book on the subject.

    * Create professional GUIs with wxPython
    * Program in an event-oriented framework
    * Use wxPython sizers for your layout
    * Refactor and unit test to improve your programs
    * A reference to wxPython's powerful widget set

CONTENTS:

Part 1 Introduction to wxPython 1

1 Welcome to wxPython 3
    1.1 Getting started with wxPython 5
    1.2 Creating the bare-minimum wxPython program 7

        Importing wxPython 9

        Working with applications and frames 11

    1.3 Extending the bare-minimum wxPython program 12
    1.4 Creating the final hello.py program 15
    1.5 What can wxPython do? 17
    1.6 Why choose wxPython? 19

        Python programmers 19

        wxWidget users 20

        New users 20

    1.7 How wxPython works 21

        The Python language 21

        The wxWidgets toolkit 22

        Putting it together: the wxPython toolkit 25

    1.8 Summary 27
2 Giving your wxPython program a solid foundation 29
    2.1 What do I need to know about the required objects? 30
    2.2 How do I create and use an application object? 31

        Creating a wx.App subclass 31

        Understanding the application object lifecycle 34

    2.3 How do I direct output from a wxPython program? 35

        Redirecting output 35

        Modifying the default redirect behavior 37

    2.4 How do I shut down my wxPython application? 38

        Managing a normal shutdown 38

        Managing an emergency shutdown 39

    2.5 How do I create and use the top-level window object? 39

        Working with wx.Frame 40

        Working with wxPython IDs 42

        Working with wx.Size and wx.Point 43

        Working with wx.Frame styles 44

    2.6 How do I add objects and subwindows to a frame? 47

        Adding widgets to a frame 47

        Adding a menubar, toolbar, or status bar to a frame 49

    2.7 How can I use common dialogs? 51
    2.8 What are some common errors with application objects and frames? 53
    2.9 Summary 54
3 Working in an event-driven environment 56
    3.1 What terminology do I need to understand events? 57
    3.2 What is event-driven programming? 58

        Coding event handlers 60

        Designing for event-driven programs 61

        Event triggers 62

    3.3 How do I bind an event to a handler? 63

        Working with the wx.EvtHandler methods 65

    3.4 How are events processed by wxPython? 68

        Understanding the event handling process 69

        Using the Skip() method 75

    3.5 What other event properties are contained in the application object? 77
    3.6 How can I create my own events? 77

        Defining a custom event for a custom widget 78

    3.7 Summary 81
4 Making wxPython easier to handle with PyCrust 83
    4.1 How do I interact with a wxPython program? 84
    4.2 What are the useful features of PyCrust? 86

        Autocompletion 87

        Calltips and parameter defaults 88

        Syntax highlighting 89

        Python help 90

        Command recall 91

        Cut and paste 92

        Standard shell environment 93

        Dynamic updating 94

    4.3 What do the PyCrust notebook tabs do? 95

        Namespace tab 95

        Display tab 97

        Calltip tab 97

        Session tab 98

        Dispatcher tab 98

    4.4 How can I wrap PyCrust around my wxPython application? 99
    4.5 What else is in the Py package? 104

        Working with the GUI programs 104

        Working with the support modules 105

    4.6 How can I use modules from the Py package in my wxPython programs? 112
    4.7 Summary 115
5 Creating your blueprint 116
    5.1 How can refactoring help me improve my code? 117

        A refactoring example 118

        Starting to refactor 121

        More refactoring 122

    5.2 How do I keep the Model and View separate in my program? 126

        What is a Model-View-Controller system? 126

        A wxPython model: PyGridTableBase 128

        A custom model 136

    5.3 How do you unit-test a GUI program? 140

        The unittest module 140

        A unittest sample 141

        Testing user events 143

    5.4 Summary 145
6 Working with the basic building blocks 146
    6.1 Drawing to the screen 148

        How do I draw on the screen? 148

    6.2 Adding window decorations 155

        How do I add and update a status bar? 155

        How do I include a submenu or checked menu? 158

        How do I include a toolbar? 161

    6.3 Getting standard information 165

        How do I use standard file dialogs? 165

        How do I use a standard color picker? 169

    6.4 Making the application look nice 170

        How do I lay out widgets? 170

        How do I build an about box? 178

        How do I build a splash screen? 180

    6.5 Summary 181
Part 2 Essential wxPython 183
7 Working with the basic controls 185
    7.1 Displaying text 186

        How do I display static text? 186

        How can I get the user to enter text? 189

        How do I change the text without user input? 192

        How do I create a multi-line or styled text control? 193

        How do I create a font? 196

        Can I have styled text if my platform doesnt support rich text? 197

        What if my text control doesnt match my string? 198

        How do I respond to text events? 199

    7.2 Working with buttons 199

        How do I make a button? 200

        How do I make a button with a bitmap? 201

        How do I create a toggle button? 202

        Whats a generic button, and why should I use one? 203

    7.3 Entering and displaying numbers 205

        How do I make a slider? 205

        How can I get those neat up/down arrow buttons? 208

        How can I make a progress bar? 210

    7.4 Giving the user choices 211

        How do I create a checkbox? 211

        How can I create a group of radio buttons? 212

        How can I create a list box? 216

        Can I combine a checkbox and a list box? 219

        What if I want a pull-down choice? 220

        Can I combine text entry and a list? 221

    7.5 Summary 222
8 Putting widgets in frames 224
    8.1 The life of a frame 225

        How do I create a frame? 225

        What are some different frame styles? 227

        How do I create a frame with extra style information? 230

        What happens when I close a frame? 232

    8.2 Using frames 234

        What are the methods and properties of wx.Frame? 234

        How do I find a subwidget of a frame? 237

        How do I create a frame with a scrollbar? 238

    8.3 Alternative frame types 242

        How do I create an MDI frame? 242

        Whats a mini-frame and why would I use it? 244

        How do I make a non-rectangular frame? 245

        How can I drag a frame without a title bar? 248

    8.4 Using splitter windows 250

        Creating a splitter window 250

        A splitter example 251

        Changing the appearance of the splitter 253

        Manipulating the splitter programmatically 254

        Responding to splitter events 255

    8.5 Summary 256
9 Giving users choices with dialogs 258
    9.1 Working with modal dialogs 259

        How do I create a modal dialog? 259

        How do I create an alert box? 261

        How do I get short text from the user? 264

        How can I display a list of choices in a dialog? 266

        How can I display progress? 267

    9.2 Using standard dialogs 269

        How can I use a file picker? 269

        How can I use a font picker? 273

        How can I use a color picker? 275

        Can I allow the user to browse images? 277

    9.3 Creating a wizard 278
    9.4 Showing startup tips 281
    9.5 Using validators to manage data in a dialog 282

        How do I use a validator to ensure correct data? 282

        How do I use a validator to transfer data? 286

        How do I validate data as it is entered? 288

    9.6 Summary 291
10 Creating and using wxPython menus 293
    10.1 Creating Menus 294

        How do I create a menu bar and attach it to a frame? 295

        How do I create a menu and attach it to the menu bar? 295

        How do I add items to a pull-down menu? 297

        How do I respond to a menu event? 301

    10.2 Working with menu items 303

        How do I find a specific menu item in a menu? 303

        How do I enable or disable a menu item? 306

        How do I associate a menu item with a keyboard shortcut? 307

        How do I create a toggle menu item with a checkbox or radio button? 311

    10.3 Sprucing up your menus 313

        How do I create a submenu? 313

        How do I create a pop-up menu? 315

        How can I create fancier menus? 317

    10.4 Usability guidelines for menus 319

        Keeping menus uniform in length 319

        Creating logical item groups 319

    10.5 Summary 321
11 Placing widgets with sizers 323
    11.1 Whats a sizer? 324
    11.2 Basic sizers with the grid sizer 326

        What is a grid sizer? 327

        How do you add or remove children from a sizer? 329

        How do sizers manage the size and alignment of their children? 331

        Can I specify a minimum size for my sizer or its children? 334

        How do sizers manage the border around each child? 336

    11.3 Using the other sizer types 337

        Whats a flex grid sizer? 337

        Whats a grid bag sizer? 341

        Whats a box sizer? 345

        Whats a static box sizer? 349

    11.4 Can I see a real-world example of sizers in action? 350
    11.5 Summary 354
12 Manipulating basic graphical images 356
    12.1 Working with images 357

        How do I load images? 357

        What can I do with an image? 361

        How can I change cursors? 364

    12.2 Dealing with device contexts 367

        What is a device context, and how can I create one? 367

        How do I draw to a device context? 371

        How do I draw images to the context? 376

        How can I draw text to the context? 379

    12.3 Graphics manipulation 381

        How do I manage the foreground drawing pen? 381

        How do I manage the background drawing brush? 384

        How can I manage logical and physical device coordinates? 385

        What color names are predefined? 387

    12.4 Summary 388
Part 3 Advanced wxPython 391
13 Building list controls and managing items 393
    13.1 Building a list control 394

        What is icon mode? 394

        What is small icon mode? 395

        What is list mode? 396

        What is report mode? 397

        How do I create a list control? 398

    13.2 Managing items in a list 400

        What is an image list and how do I add images to it? 400

        How can I add and delete items from a list? 402

    13.3 Responding to users 405

        How can I respond to a user selection in a list? 405

        How can I respond to a user selection in a column header? 407

    13.4 Editing and sorting list controls 411

        How can I edit a label? 411

        How can I sort my list? 413

        How can I learn more about list controls? 416

    13.5 Creating a virtual list control 420
    13.6 Summary 423
14 Coordinating the grid control 425
    14.1 Creating your grid 426

        How do I create a simple grid? 426

        How do I create a grid with a grid table? 429

    14.2 Working with your grid 432

        How do I add and delete rows, columns, and cells? 432

        How do I manage the row and column headers of a grid? 433

        How can I manage the size of grid elements? 436

        How can I manage which cells are selected or visible? 440

        How do I change the color or font of a grid cell? 442

    14.3 Custom renderers and editors 445

        How do I use a custom cell renderer? 445

        How do I edit a cell? 449

        How do I use a custom cell editor? 450

    14.4 Capturing user events 455

        How can I capture user mouse selections? 455

        How can I capture user keyboard navigation? 457

    14.5 Summary 458
15 Climbing the tree control 460
    15.1 Creating tree controls and adding items 461

        How do I add a root? 463

        How do I add more items to the tree? 463

        How do I manage items? 464

    15.2 What styles control the display of the tree control? 465
    15.3 Sorting elements of a tree control 467
    15.4 Controlling the image for each item 468
    15.5 Navigating the tree programmatically 471
    15.6 Managing the tree selection 472
    15.7 Controlling which items are visible 473
    15.8 Making a tree control user editable 477
    15.9 Responding to other user events from a tree control 478
    15.10 Using a tree list control 480
    15.11 Summary 482
16 Incorporating HTML into your application 485
    16.1 Displaying HTML 486

        How can I display HTML in a wxPython window? 486

        How can I display HTML from a file or URL? 488

    16.2 Manipulating the HTML window 490

        How can I respond to a user click on an active link? 490

        How can I change an HTML window programmatically? 491

        How can I display the page title in a frames title bar? 493

        How can I print an HTML page? 495

    16.3 Extending the HTML window 496

        How does the HTML parser work? 496

        How can I add support for new tags? 498

        How can I support other file formats? 501

        How can I get a more fully featured HTML Widget? 502

    16.4 Summary 503
17 The wxPython printing framework 504
    17.1 How do I print in wxPython? 505

        Understanding the printout lifecycle 506

        Print framework in action 507

        Working with wx.Printout methods 511

    17.2 How do I display the print dialog? 512

        Creating a print dialog 512

    17.3 How do I display the page setup dialog? 515

        Creating a page setup dialog 515

        Working with page setup properties 516

    17.4 How do I print something? 518
    17.5 How can I perform a print preview? 519
    17.6 Summary 520
18 Using other wxPython functionality 521
    18.1 Putting objects on the clipboard 522

        Getting data in the clipboard 522

        Manipulating data in the clipboard 523

        Retrieving text data from the clipboard 524

        The clipboard in action 524

        Passing other data formats 526

    18.2 Being the source of a drag and drop 527

        Dragging in action 529

    18.3 Being the target of a drag and drop 530

        Using your drop target 531

        Dropping in action 533

    18.4 Transferring custom objects 534

        Transferring a custom data object 534

        Retrieving a custom object 535

        Transferring an object in multiple formats 535

    18.5 Setting timed events using wx.Timer 536

        Generating EVT_TIMER events 536

        Learning other timer uses 539

    18.6 Creating a multithreaded wxPython application 539

        Working with the global function wx.CallAfter() 540

        Managing thread communication with the queue object 543

        Developing your own solution 543

    18.7 Summary 544

    index 545