What Can wxPython Do?
wxPython is a stable, mature graphical library. As such, it has widgets for nearly everything you plan on creating. Generally speaking, if you can’t do it with wxPython, you’ll probably have to create a custom GUI, such as used in video games. > more <

A Couple Quickie Programs
Time for a long post. I’m going to show a simple wxPython program to highlight the various portions you should be familiar with. But first, I’m giving you a program that I wrote a few years ago so you can see how a command-line program can be easily converted to a GUI program. > more <

Before You Start
Before you start creating a GUI with wxPython, you need to know how to program in Python. This may seem pretty obvious but some people may expect wxPython is self-contained; no additional knowledge required. As a personal plug, you can view my Python programming tutorial at GIDNetwork. Other online instructional sites include the Python languague site and Dive Into Python (which is an intermediate tutorial). > more <

Overview of Graphical User Interfaces
GUIs (graphic user interfaces) are very popular for computers nowadays. Very rarely will you find a program that doesn’t have some sort of graphical interface to use it. Most non-graphical programs will be found on Unix-like operating systems; even then, those programs are usually older ones where the programmer didn’t want (or see the need) for a graphical interface. > more <

On the Revolution Systems blog, the author has a good, common sense approach to making source code more programmer friendly: use better names and be consistent.

Though this is kind of like a “duh” moment, it’s amazing how frequently these practices are ignored. I’ve looked at a lot of source code that was simply horrible because the variable names were concise to the point of being worthless; for example, $tobj could be “temp object”, “time object”, or even “total observational bone joint”. You get the idea.

Alternatively, I’ve also seen code that had an object named something like “Group.classObject.Frame.Widget1.VariableTimer.CountdownToNextEvent”. Even using auto tools like in Visual Studio, it’s still a pain in the butt to write out a name like that every time.

Consistency is another big item. There always seems to be a push to standardize things, especially at my current shop. But even with all the SOPs and policies, I still haven’t actually seen anything discussing variable naming conventions, commenting standards, or even how source code should be put into the code repository. I think part of this is because we rely on the configuration manager to handle things like these; just give the code to the CM and he’ll take care of the logistics.

But what happens when he’s not around and you have to do it yourself? How do you train new people? What about audits or showing senior management how work is accomplished? Standards are made for a reason. They make life easier for everyone.