Re: Standard Python GUI builder?

Hi Dietmar,

I'm sorry about my detailed answer. Nevertheless I like your detailed
feedback.

Dietmar Schwertberger schrieb am 13.03.2016:
>  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.
That's a good observation. I spent a lot of time with "invisible"
changes (fixes bugs, increases stability, remove redundant code,
writing doc) - increasing usability wasn't a high priority yet. 

> 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.
Good point. We (the users on the ML and I) should discuss and define
the objective. From my current perspective wxGlade is only a GUI
designer for people who unterstood the sizer concept of wxWidgets
already. It's currently not for beginners.

> 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.
wxGlade has a lack of unique icons for all supported widgets. And
(some of) the icons are probaly to small for HiDPI screens like this
Fedora bug report shows (https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=1157588).
The lack of structure is probably a big usability issue. I'm glad
about your suggestion of a new palette window.

> 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.
Good catch. It's a low hanging fruit - I'll change this in the next
release.

> 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?
I don't know the answer to all of this questions. Generally the sizer
handling is inconsistent and needs an improvement - at least prevent
deleting of the last slot and add the slots to the widget tree (to
allow drag and drop).
A general rework of the sizer handling is to much for me.

> 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.
Currently copy and paste resp. cut and paste. But you are right drag
and drop support should be added soon.

> 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.
The extra code is just for adding some "glue" code e.g. to add custom
imports. Not more.

Thank you for your detailed and valueable feedback,

Carsten

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