Good Looking UI for a stand alone application

[Paul McNett]

Luc Heinrich wrote:
> Peter Decker <pydecker at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
>> You're full of it. I routinely write GUI apps in Dabo for both Windows
>> and Linux users, and they look just fine on both platforms.
> 
> Oh, I'm sure you do. Now go try to run one of your Dabo apps on a Mac
> and see how it looks/feels... :>

It looks/feels like a native app on OS X.


> Here's a hint directly taken from the Dabo homepage: "It also suffers
> from the same display limitations on some platforms (most notably OS X),
> but these should improve as the underlying toolkits improve."

That was written a long time ago, and doesn't really apply anymore as a
lot of effort has gone into wxPython over the past three years getting
correctly interfaced to the OS X native API.

(Note to self: rewrite that (prescient) paragraph).


>> Using sizers is the key; layouts just 'look right' no matter what the native
>> fonts and control sizes are.
> 
> No, sizers are a tiny part of a much bigger problem. Sizers might be the
> key to solve parts of the "look" problem, they don't address any of the
> "feel" problem.

Admittedly, to some extent there is a lowest common denominator problem
inherent in any UI toolkit that tries to be crossplatform and use the
platform's native GUI. But for the most part, that just isn't the case
anymore in a practical sense.

Why not use the best crossplatform native toolkit (wxPython) and then if
you need native features that aren't provided, use ctypes or something
to get access to the native GUI? Nothing in wxPython or Dabo prevents
you from doing that.


> But you clearly have a point here, so let me rephrase: "Crossplatform
> toolkits/frameworks suck. All of them. No exception. UNLESS you only
> target the lowest common denominator, aka Windows and its Linux
> followers".

Absolutism sucks. Please try not to be so black and white about things,
and you may find you enjoy life more.


> Now, the OP *explicitely* said that "[his] requirement is that the
> application needs to look as good on Windows as on the Apple Mac", so
> the rephrasing does not apply in this case. So here's a last try:
> 
> "Crossplatform toolkits/frameworks suck. All of them. No exception.
> ESPECIALLY if one of your target is Mac OS".

It is much more nuanced than that.


-- 
pkm ~ http://paulmcnett.com