[Tutor] Choice of GUI builders

[Michael Langford]

When running local, the flex/xmlrpc solution is just as responsive as
a traditional GUI app in my experience with regards to data loading,
etc. The network/python latency isn't especially noticeable when
running the GUI local to the flex UI.

I didn't really get caught up on a difference between the async/sync
nature of the GUI, then again I come from a background (electronics
and embedded software) where asynchronous communications is more
common than for normal software development. If you have a concern
beyond latency, I'll need an example as to what you're worried about.
I don't think I understand your concern enough to address it. Are you
worried about reliability? Error checking? What in particular?

Perhaps you could cut and paste a bit of code you've already written
that you think would be complicated by the Async?

        --Michael

On Jan 2, 2008 12:51 PM, johnf <jfabiani at yolo.com> wrote:
>
> On Wednesday 02 January 2008 06:56:54 am Michael Langford wrote:
> > While some people are Adobe haters("They hate the web...etc"), I think
> > a slick alternative available now is Flex2 calling python via XMLRPC.
> >
> > I've been doing so lately. It is fast to pick up and makes slick
> > looking GUI's rather quickly. It has a cheap GUI builder that actually
> > works if you don't feel like just typing out MXML files. You can use
> > Apollo to do desktop apps and just Flex to do web apps, and all the
> > controls are the same. (The difference is a build setting and a change
> > to a couple tags, and voila, desktop app is on the web or vice versa).
> >
> > Bruce Eckel (the thinking in Java Guy) has written an article on this
> > Approach: http://www.artima.com/weblogs/viewpost.jsp?thread=208528
> >
> > The ActionScript module I'm currently using for XMLRPC:
> > http://code.google.com/p/as3python-xmlrpc-lib/
> >
> > You don't really need to know any ActionScript to do this. Very little
> > is required to marshal data in and out of the controls. Other then
> > that, everything is python!
> >
> > Flex is open source now, so you even have that going for you. And it's
> > actively maintained (and updated) by Adobe. The install on a client
> > computer is easier than with wxPython as the GUI toolkit, and I've
> > done several wxPython apps that needed installers. The python back end
> > to all this is SimpleXMLRPCServer, which is also, very easy to use.
> > Exceptions even work well (a big surprise for me). And the fact this
> > approach is cross platform, for "platform" being defined as Windows,
> > Linux, Mac, Firefox, IE6, IE7 and Opera, makes this a great choice for
> > a easy UI toolkit.
> >
> >          --Michael
> I have been very interested in the Flex solution. Mostly because it supports
> both desktops and the web. I use Dabo for my UI solution and found it covers
> most everything I need at the moment.   But I have real concerns regarding
> data access using Flex.
>
> Flex is asynchronous and most desktop data app's are synchronous when it comes
> to accessing data.  All I have been doing is reading about Flex so maybe
> there is a solution I am not aware of.  It sounds like you are working with
> Flex - is there a solution?
>
> --
> John Fabiani
>
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-- 
Michael Langford
Phone: 404-386-0495
Consulting: http://www.RowdyLabs.com