Re: Standard Python GUI builder?

Hi Carsten,

I'm trying wxGlade and other GUI builders from time to time to see 
whether there's a tool that I could recommend to Python GUI beginners. 
Unfortunately, in many areas the lack of a GUI builder is a blocking 
point for people to move to Python.


 From a technical point of view, wxGlade supports many features that are 
required, especially Python code generation. Also, it's written in 
Python, so it's easier to develop than other tools. Unfortunately, 
usability seems not to be a high priority for wxGlade.


The effect is that until now I never found a tool to recommend.
The discussion about GUI builders pops up every now an then on c.l.p. 
Once even someone mentioned wxGlade in such a thread, but never anyone 
stood up and shouted "Hey, there's such a tool, named....".
So, even though a handful of people may use wxGlade or other GUI 
builders, it's consensus that there's no GUI builder for general usage.


IMHO the top priority for a tool like wxGlade should be usability.
Without that priority, there will probably be not many code contributions...
Maybe, also the objective for the tool should be defined. Who is the 
audience? IMHO the objective for a GUI builder should be that a newcomer 
should be able to create a GUI program after a few minutes of 
introduction by someone who knows the tool and the toolkit.



My specific observations with wxGlade:

The "old-style" of the icons is not a concern. The lack of structure of 
the icons on the palette is.
Even a very basic structure like in the attached screenshot would 
increase usability a lot. It would be even better to have separate icons 
for e.g. horizontal and vertical sizers.

Also the currently selected icon should be highlighted in a way that 
it's really visible what's going on.
Maybe the status line should also indicate what's going on and what the 
user is supposed to do or can do.

If the sizers are such a core requirement that they are used even if 
they are  not necessary for wxPython, why is the usability not better?
  - Why are the slots (or the lack of) not indicated in the tree view?
  - Why are the slots not displayed in the properties window?
  - Why is it possible to "lose" the (single and last) slot?
  - And, if there is no slot, why does the user not get any feedback 
about this or why is no slot generated?
  - Why is it possible to delete the sizer if they are so important?
  - Why do horizontal/vertical and Grid/FlexGrid sizers have the same icons?

Drag and drop within the tree window should be implemented. How else is 
the user supposed to rearrange widgets in sizers? Delete and re-create? 
Then, there's no point in using a GUI builder.

The "Extra code for this widget" suggests that it was somehow planned to 
create a RAD tool. It should be possible to add initialization code for 
a form and basic "glue" code for the controls right in the GUI builder.


Regards,

Dietmar

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