Linux GUI programming help - Python?

[ChrisC]

Hi all,

I don't know jack about programming, with the exception of QBasic which I've almost entirely forgotten. What I'd like to do is write a really tiny, simple, single-window program to calculate delay times. It would have a box to enter a number for BPM (say, .1 to 1000*), another box to enter a number for divisions (.1 to 256 perhaps), and a box to print the output of the equation "(240000/box1)/box2". Right now, I just use a spreadsheet which works fine but it would be nice to have a little floating window that takes up no space and few resources. Python looked like a decent bet since I understand is reasonably easy to use and I already have it ready to go on this machine. Anyone able to point me in the right direction or give me a chunk of code to experiment with?

Thanks!

* I realise the that the numbers seem insane for the application but I like the flexibility for experimentation. Sometimes I want a delay length of 1 / 3.2152 of a bar which will be played back at 704.8 BPM.

 

[CMacDady]

Python is one language that I have never tried. I just wrote a whole bunch of code for GUIs but it was all in Matlab. I don't think that would be very helpful.

 

[Pulvinar]

You can use wxPython for the GUI. That makes it relatively easy and portable, though it's still some work to set up an app with a window, get the box sizes how you want them, handle events, etc.

Personally, even though I'm well-versed in wxPython, I'd stick with the spreadsheet for this. I usually have it running anyway for other uses.

 

[epepke]

This is a very simple application in terms of calculation.

I would suggest not using Python. It's a great language, but you're going to go through some aggravation for the user interface. Instead, I'd look at something that easily makes user interfaces.

If you are using a PC, I'd suggest a free version of Visual Studio using C#. It makes it very easy to put together a simple user interface. C# is a real language, but for your purposes it should be as easy as using a form of BASIC.

 

[Paul C. Anagnostopoulos]

Can you create a dialog box in your spreadsheet app?

~~ Paul

 

[jt512]

I used Glade to design the GUI for the one and only Linux application I ever programmed. I thought it was pretty easy.

 

[ChrisC]

Thanks for all the replies. The issue with using the spreadsheet is that I've got to run a piece of software that doesn't stay out of my way physically and takes precious resources away from the audio software I'm running. Truth be told, it's not really that a big deal but I like the idea of a tiny little app that just does this particular job in the corner of my desktop. I also worry about something going wonky with my complicated spreadsheet software and causing a recording to get screwed up.

Maybe it's not worth the effort, though. I have a tendency to overcomplicate things. Wasn't planning to make it pretty or worth using for anyone else, just a bare bones, single-function calculator. In fact, I've got a TI-83 in front of me that will remove the software component from my PC entirely. I'll have a look at Glade anyway since I like tinkering with stuff.

Thanks again!

 

[alex04]

I can't help you regarding Python as I don't use it, although I understand that it's well regarded.

If you end up going down the route of using C# (as suggested), this only took a minute to generate;

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/339/codeaz.jpg/

I couldn't preview it - I've used up my monthly data and am at dialup speed!

Code used,

double bpm = Convert.ToDouble(tbxBpm.Text.ToString());
double divisions = Convert.ToDouble(tbxDivisions.Text.ToString());
double result = (240000 / bpm) / divisions;
tbxResult.Text = result.ToString("#.#");

Autocomplete does most of the work; the rest is just sizing the window, and drag/dropping the textboxes and button and modifying a couple of properties (e.g. textbox names, readonly attributes etc.)

 

[mikeyx]

Hi all,

I don't know jack about programming, with the exception of QBasic which I've almost entirely forgotten. What I'd like to do is write a really tiny, simple, single-window program to calculate delay times. It would have a box to enter a number for BPM (say, .1 to 1000*), another box to enter a number for divisions (.1 to 256 perhaps), and a box to print the output of the equation "(240000/box1)/box2". Right now, I just use a spreadsheet which works fine but it would be nice to have a little floating window that takes up no space and few resources. Python looked like a decent bet since I understand is reasonably easy to use and I already have it ready to go on this machine. Anyone able to point me in the right direction or give me a chunk of code to experiment with?

Thanks!

* I realise the that the numbers seem insane for the application but I like the flexibility for experimentation. Sometimes I want a delay length of 1 / 3.2152 of a bar which will be played back at 704.8 BPM.

I'll stop by long enough to wish ya luck, python along with ruby on rails; two languages I've never found enough time to really embrace. I'm limited to php myself, perl was an abomination.

 

[SumDood]

I'm pretty ignorant on the system resources used, but I think this is what you need via javascript:

<html>
<script>
function calculateBeats(){

var beats = document.getElementById("bpm").value;
var division = document.getElementById("divisions").value;

document.getElementById("results").value = (240000/beats)/division;

}

</script>

<body>

BPM: <input type="text" id="bpm"/><br />
Divisions: <input type="text" id="divisions"/><br />
<input type="button" value="Calculate" onclick="calculateBeats()"/><br />
Results: <input type="text" id="results"/>

</body>
</html>

I would think a browser window would be much less resource intensive than a spread sheet, but I have no idea if it will be good enough for your needs. Let me know if you need any more help and how it works.