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From: Thomas MENEZ on 11 Dec 2009 14:49
On Dec 11, 6:12 pm, Donald Arseneau <a...(a)triumf.ca> wrote:
> On Dec 11, 4:58 am, Thomas MENEZ <menez.tho...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > gavino:
> > > how is this different from tk itself?
> > Put simply, PureTkGUI is a Tcl/Tk script that allows to graphically
> > build Tcl/Tk apps.
>
> Yes (I understood that from the initial announcement).
>
> I could have asked:
>
> How is this different from SpecTcl?
>
> (SpecTcl is also pure-script... The answer "SpecTcl is dead"
> is quite acceptable.)
>
> Better question, How is this different from GUIBuilder?
> (Activestate's update of SpecTcl, which is not dead)
>
> The same question regarding other Tk gui-builders springs
> to mind.
>
> I'll try and do a test-drive and post my impressions and
> (limited) comparison to SpecTcl.

Donald,
First thank you for asking this very interesting question as answering
it will really put into perspective the very existence of PureTkGUI. I
have been using Tcl/Tk for quite some time now, and I like it.
Although I understand how Tk works and appreciate the ease of coding
GUIs by hand with Tk, I definitely feel the need for a tool able to
produce Tk code from graphically designed GUIs. I have actually tried
to stick to hand written Tk code for some time, but I was despaired at
the time I wasted when it came to modifying (even slightly) Tk GUIs
designed by hand (e.g. adding a nested labelFrame, which implies many
rename operations, and bugs...). I then started looking around and
found out Visual TCl which was great at that time. It was not the
perfect tool however, I especially disliked the generated code which
was messy. Having separate windows for toplevels, workspace,
properties etc... was finally not handy at all. The widget tree was
ugly and not properly used too.
Time passed, Tk8.5 went out with the great ttk:: themed widgets. Bad
luck, Visual TCL does not support them, as Visual TCL hasn't evolved
for years (pretty much dead by now). Something had to be done, and
then started PureTkGUI.
I had several goals in mind :
- Look modern ;
- Keep pace with the latest Tk changes (new widgets additions,
etc...) ;
- Implement a mechanism allowing the user to add new widgets
without the need to modify the tool itself (just in case I die ;-)) ;
- Separate project and generated files : having a solid, syntax
stable, project file is a good thing to avoid parsing bugs. xml had to
be chosen given the hierarchy of any GUI ;
- Have a configurable code generation process to suit anyone's
needs (we all code differently, right) ;
- Be as handy and user friendly as possible : designing GUIs should
be fast. That's Joe's work ;
- Try to restore faith in a declining language among newcomers :
Tcl/Tk is to my knowledge one of the rare scripting languages that
seamlessly includes a GUI tookit, and that has to be put forward with
a shining, up-to-date GUI design tool ;
- Listen to experienced users' requests and implement them :
PureTkGUI is under active development .

Regarding SpecTCl / GUI Builder : I am not certain this tool still
evolves a lot today, and it basically does not suit my needs for the
mentioned reasons.

Your comparison is welcome, I feel my TODO list will grow even
more :).

All the best.

Thomas
From: T.Dieckmann on 12 Dec 2009 05:14
Hi Thomas,

thank you for sharing your effort. It is always good to have the choice
to use a gui builder or not. Requests and questions about RAD and the
availability and maintenance of those tools came up again and again. So
there are potential users around.

While it is easy to create GUI with tk only I often like to create the
global layout using a gui builder and go on without. My favorit was an
older version of Visual TCL. It was the fastest way for me to try out
how it looks. After refactoring the generated code (e.g. remove the
helper functions) vi is my friend.

Having licenses for the ActiveTCL Pro Studio I never liked the included
GUIBuilder. It simply doesn't suit my taste. And so there is the chance
that PureTkGUI is more suitable for others.


Torsten





Am 11.12.2009 13:58, schrieb Thomas MENEZ:
> On Dec 11, 6:35 am, gavino<gavcom...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>> On Dec 10, 4:32 pm, Thomas MENEZ<menez.tho...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>> Hello all ! Now is the time for another PureTkGUI release. After one
>>> month and a half of hard work in my own free time, v0.9.0 is finally
>>> out. It brings a *lot* of new features.
>>
>>> Here are the highlights :
>>> - Virtually any widget is supported thanks to the WDF (Widget
>>> Definition File) concept;
>>> - Tk, ttk, Tix, Iwidgets, BWidgets WDF provided ;
>>> - Widget's name can now be chosen ;
>>> - Unlimited undo / redo ;
>>> - Code generation& PureTkGUI settings dialogs added.
>>
>>> PureTkGUI is available at SourceForge :http://sourceforge.net/projects/puretkgui/
>>
>>> See file CHANGES inside the delivered zip file for more information.
>>
>>> As a sidenote, if this work is valuable to you and you want it to be
>>> pushed forward faster, donations will be your best friend and a good
>>> incentive for me to invest even more of my limited free time and
>>> publish my work here.
>>
>>> Enjoy !
>>
>>> Thomas
>>
>> how is this different from tk itself?
>
> Hello gavino,
>
> "PureTkGUI is not a Tk replacement. PureTkGUI is actually a RAD-type
> tool that allows to quickly and efficiently design multi-platform Tcl/
> Tk-based GUIs for either rapid GUI-prototyping or full-blown
> professional applications."
>
> Put simply, PureTkGUI is a Tcl/Tk script that allows to graphically
> build Tcl/Tk apps.
>
> I hope this clears things out.
>
> Thomas.

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