Python GUI Programming with Tkinter

Transform your evolving user requirements into feature-rich Tkinter applications

Key Features

• Extensively revised with new content on RESTful networking, classes in Tkinter, and the Notebook widget
• Take advantage of Tkinter’s lightweight, portable, and easy-to-use features
• Build better-organized code and learn to manage an evolving codebase

Book Description

Tkinter is widely used to build GUIs in Python due to its simplicity. In this book, you’ll discover Tkinter’s strengths and overcome its challenges as you learn to develop fully featured GUI applications.

Python GUI Programming with Tkinter, Second Edition, will not only provide you with a working knowledge of the Tkinter GUI library, but also a valuable set of skills that will enable you to plan, implement, and maintain larger applications. You’ll build a full-blown data entry application from scratch, learning how to grow and improve your code in response to continually changing user and business needs.

You’ll develop a practical understanding of tools and techniques used to manage this evolving codebase and go beyond the default Tkinter widget capabilities. You’ll implement version control and unit testing, separation of concerns through the MVC design pattern, and object-oriented programming to organize your code more cleanly.

You’ll also gain experience with technologies often used in workplace applications, such as SQL databases, network services, and data visualization libraries. Finally, you’ll package your application for wider distribution and tackle the challenge of maintaining cross-platform compatibility.

What you will learn

• Produce well-organized, functional, and responsive GUI applications
• Extend the functionality of existing widgets using classes and OOP
• Plan wisely for the expansion of your app using MVC and version control
• Make sure your app works as intended through widget validation and unit testing
• Use tools and processes to analyze and respond to user requests
• Become familiar with technologies used in workplace applications, including SQL, HTTP, Matplotlib, threading, and CSV
• Use PostgreSQL authentication to ensure data security for your application

Who this book is for

This book is for programmers who understand the syntax of Python, but do not yet have the skills, techniques, and knowledge to design and implement a complete software application. A fair grasp of basic Python syntax is required.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Tkinter
2. Designing GUI Applications
3. Creating Basic Forms with Tkinter and Ttk Widgets
4. Organizing Our Code with Classes
5. Reducing User Error with Validation and Automation
6. Planning for the Expansion of Our Application
7. Creating Menus with Menu and Tkinter Dialogs
8. Navigating Records with Treeview and Notebook
9. Improving the Look with Styles and Themes
10. Maintaining Cross-Platform Compatibility
11. Creating Automated Tests with unittest
12. Improving Data Storage with SQL
13. Connecting to the Cloud
14. Asynchronous Programming with Thread and Queue
15. Visualizing Data Using the Canvas Widget
16. Packaging with setuptools and cxFreeze
17. Appendix A : A Quick Primer on reStructuredText
18. Appendix B: A Quick SQL Tutorial

What makes this book different from other books on Tkinter?

Technology books are often written with an emphasis on the “how” of a technology, but not a lot on the “why.” Sure, it is useful to learn syntax and APIs, but how do you get from a set of user requirements to a piece of code that solves real problems? Too many books just give you some boilerplate to paste into your editor and, hey, presto! You have a solution!

With this book, I wanted to (as my middle-school math teacher would put it) “show my work.” I wanted to start with the problem and talk through the thought process that takes us to a solution. Here’s why we are using this widget, here’s why we are configuring it this way, and so on.

I think it is no secret that Tkinter is mostly a beginner’s GUI toolkit, so I did not just want to give knowledge about Tkinter; I wanted to provide readers with an understanding about application and GUI development that they can apply no matter what technologies they end up using.

What are the key takeaways from your book?

The goal is to take a beginner Python developer – someone who knows the basics and has written small scripts – and lead them to a place where they can confidently develop a complete GUI solution for a real-world business need.

Key Takeaways:

• You’ll thoroughly explore the Tkinter library, from the basics of building simple GUI forms to more advanced things like integration with third-party libraries
• The book discusses Python-related topics that you may not have learned or found a use for in simple scripts, such as creating your own classes, organizing a project into a package, and exception handling
• You’ll gain a good grounding in auxiliary technologies often employed in data-oriented applications, like SQL databases, network services, and data serialization formats
• You’ll cover a lot of the “soft skills” essential to application development, such as planning, documenting, interacting with users, and staying organized when dealing with an evolving code base

About the Author

Alan D. Moore is a data analyst and software developer who has been solving problems with Python since 2006. He’s developed both open source and private code using frameworks like Django, Flask, Qt, and of course Tkinter, and is known to contribute to various open-source Python and JavaScript projects. Alan maintains a YouTube channel, “Alan D Moore Codes”, where he posts Python, PyQt, and Tkinter tutorials. Alan lives in Franklin, Tennessee, where he works for the County Government, and with his wife Cara raises a crew of children who are just as geeky as their dad.