[Tfug] wxWidgets

[Chris Niswander]

[Bexley Hall wrote some stuff, which I didn't copy]

I've used wxPython
(Python library that's a Python interface to wxWidgets)
some, and I can respond to some of your questions and concerns.

I didn't think the documentation for wxPython was always all that
thorough either, for what that's worth.
Nevertheless I was able to use wxPython,
leaning sometimes on the extensive example code in the official
wxPython demo.

I found that wxPython includes layout components that are specifically
designed to produce "panels" (as you call them) that are smart enough
to resize themselves within a user-resized window.
I myself used components like wxBoxSizer (aka BoxSizer).
Based on what I saw when I used them, I believe these should readily
handle all the example requirements cases that you gave.

There are multiple alternatives for layout in wxPython,
so if you choose a totally different layout method that has no
connection to wxBoxSizer, my comments might not apply.

My development was more oriented around specifying the layout I wanted
in code than using "grab-n-drag" type GUI drawing tools, so I can't
comment on the latter.

I wrote & used software that called wxPython on some different
Windows boxes, of which the slowest was a supposed "500 GHz" CPU box,
but maybe kind of slow for that.  If I had a complicated GUI
(and I did in one app, with 80-90 visible controls and multiple levels
of nesting) redraw could then take a good fraction of a second on that
old semi-500 GHz box.
Using post-2001 computers, *or* a simpler GUI,
you should hope for faster redraw on resize. :-)

I know there's a bundled all-in-one wxPython installer
(for Windows at least)
but it packs a significant amount of stuff in it--
I think a version of MFC is even included in that Windows verison.
MFC does *NOT* have a tiny footprint, IMHO.

I would guess the wx installers for non-Windows OSes would
likely have a smaller footprint, as no one in their right mind
would rely on MFC to implement GUIs for those systems. :-)

I do wonder, what non-Windows systems are you very interested in supporting?

--Chris