Glimmer DSL for Tk 0.0.26

MRI Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library

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Glimmer DSL for Tk enables desktop development with Glimmer in Ruby.

Tcl/Tk has recently improved by gaining native looking themed widgets on Mac, Windows, and Linux in Tk version 8.5.

Additionally, Ruby 3.0 Ractor (formerly known as Guilds) supports truly parallel multi-threading, making both MRI and Tk finally viable for support in Glimmer (Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library) as an alternative to JRuby on SWT.

The trade-off is that while SWT provides a plethora of high quality reusable widgets for the Enterprise (such as Nebula), Tk enables very fast app startup time and a small memory footprint via MRI Ruby.

Glimmer DSL for Tk aims to provide a DSL similar to the Glimmer DSL for SWT to enable more productive desktop development in Ruby with:

  • Declarative DSL syntax that visually maps to the GUI widget hierarchy
  • Convention over configuration via smart defaults and automation of low-level details
  • Requiring the least amount of syntax possible to build GUI
  • Bidirectional Data-Binding to declaratively wire and automatically synchronize GUI with Business Models
  • Custom Widget support
  • Scaffolding for new custom widgets, apps, and gems
  • Native-Executable packaging on Mac, Windows, and Linux

Hello, World!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_world.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

include Glimmer

root {
  title 'Hello, World!'

  label {
    text 'Hello, World!'
  }
}.open

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_world'"

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello world

NOTE: Glimmer DSL for Tk is currently in early alpha mode (incomplete). Please help make better by contributing, adopting for small or low risk projects, and providing feedback. It is still an early alpha, so the more feedback and issues you report the better.

Other Glimmer DSL gems:

Table of Contents

Pre-requisites

For example, on the Mac, you can:

  • Install the ActiveTcl Mac package from ActiveState.com
  • Install RVM by running \curl -sSL https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable (and run curl -sSL https://rvm.io/pkuczynski.asc | gpg --import - if needed for mentioned security reasons)
  • Run: rvm install 3.0.2 --enable-shared --enable-pthread --with-tk --with-tcl
  • Run: gem install tk -v0.4.0

Afterwards, if you open irb, you should be able to run require 'tk' successfully.

Setup

Option 1: Install

Run this command to install directly:

gem install glimmer-dsl-tk

Option 2: Bundler

Add the following to Gemfile:

gem 'glimmer-dsl-tk', '~> 0.0.26'

And, then run:

bundle

Girb (Glimmer IRB)

You can run the girb command (bin/girb if you cloned the project locally):

girb

This gives you irb with the glimmer-dsl-tk gem loaded and the Glimmer module mixed into the main object for easy experimentation with GUI.

Tk Concepts

Here is a summary taken from the official Tk Concepts Tutorial

Tk Concepts consist of:

  • Widgets: Widgets are all the things that you see onscreen. In our example, we had a button, an entry, a few labels, and a frame. Others are things like checkboxes, tree views, scrollbars, text areas, and so on. Widgets are what are often referred to as "controls"; you'll also often see them referred to as "windows," particularly in Tk's documentation, a holdover from its X11 roots (so under that terminology, both a toplevel window and things like a button would be called windows).
  • Geometry Management: If you've been playing around creating widgets, you've probably noticed that just by creating them, they didn't end up showing up onscreen. Having things actually put in the onscreen window, and precisely where in the window they show up is a separate step called geometry management.
  • Event Handling: In Tk, as in most other user interface toolkits, there is an event loop which receives events from the operating system. These are things like button presses, keystrokes, mouse movement, window resizing, and so on.

Learn more at the official Tk Concepts Tutorial

Glimmer GUI DSL Concepts

The Glimmer GUI DSL provides a declarative syntax for Tk that:

  • Supports smart defaults (e.g. grid layout on most widgets)
  • Automates wiring of widgets (e.g. nesting a label under a toplevel root or adding a frame to a notebook)
  • Hides lower-level details (e.g. main loop is started automatically when opening a window)
  • Nests widgets according to their visual hierarchy
  • Requires the minimum amount of syntax needed to describe an app's GUI

The Glimmer GUI DSL follows these simple concepts in mapping from Tk syntax:

  • Widget Keyword: Any Tk widget (e.g. Tk::Tile::Label) or toplevel window (e.g. TkRoot) may be declared by its lower-case underscored name without the namespace (e.g. label or root). This is called a keyword and is represented in the Glimmer GUI DSL by a Ruby method behind the scenes.
  • Args: Any keyword method may optionally take arguments surrounded by parentheses (e.g. a frame nested under a notebook may receive tab options like frame(text: 'Users'), which gets used behind the scenes by Tk code such as notebook.add tab, text: 'Users')
  • Content/Options Block: Any keyword may optionally be followed by a Ruby curly-brace block containing nested widgets (content) and attributes (options). Attributes are simply Tk option keywords followed by arguments and no block (e.g. title 'Hello, World!' under a root)
  • Event Binding Block: on(event) {} keyword receiving a Tk binding event name (e.g. KeyPress or ComboboxSelected). No need to surround event by <> as Glimmer DSL for Tk takes care of that automatically.

Example of an app written in Tk imperative syntax:

root = TkRoot.new
root.title = 'Hello, Notebook!'

notebook = ::Tk::Tile::Notebook.new(root).grid

tab1 = ::Tk::Tile::Frame.new(notebook).grid
notebook.add tab1, text: 'English'
label1 = ::Tk::Tile::Label.new(tab1).grid
label1.text = 'Hello, World!'

tab2 = ::Tk::Tile::Frame.new(notebook).grid
notebook.add tab2, text: 'French'
label2 = ::Tk::Tile::Label.new(tab2).grid
label2.text = 'Bonjour, Univers!'

root.bind('KeyPress') do |event|
  case event.keysym
  when 'e', 'E'
    notebook.select(0)
  when 'f', 'F'
    notebook.select(1)
  end
end

root.mainloop

Example of the same app written in Glimmer declarative syntax:

root {
  title 'Hello, Notebook!'

  @notebook = notebook {
    frame(text: 'English') {
      label {
        text 'Hello, World!'
      }
    }

    frame(text: 'French') {
      label {
        text 'Bonjour, Univers!'
      }
    }
  }

  on('KeyPress') do |event|
    case event.keysym
    when 'e', 'E'
      @notebook.select(0)
    when 'f', 'F'
      @notebook.select(1)
    end
  end
}.open

Supported Widgets

keyword(args) attributes event bindings & callbacks
button text, image (optional keyword args: subsample, zoom, from, to, shrink, compositingrule), compound ('center', 'top', 'bottom', 'left', 'right'), default ('active', 'normal') command {}
checkbutton text, variable (Boolean), image (optional keyword args: subsample, zoom, from, to, shrink, compositingrule), compound ('center', 'top', 'bottom', 'left', 'right'), onvalue (default: 1), offvalue (default: 0) command {}
combobox state, text 'ComboboxSelected'
entry width, text, validate, show ('none', 'focus', 'focusin', 'focusout', 'key', or 'all') 'validate', 'invalid', 'change', validatecommand {}, invalidcommand {}
spinbox text, from, to, increment, format, more attributes command {}, 'increment', 'decrement'
frame(text: nil) width, height, borderwidth, relief ('flat' (default), 'raised', 'sunken', 'solid', 'ridge', 'groove') None
label text, image (optional keyword args: subsample, zoom, from, to, shrink, compositingrule), compound ('center', 'top', 'bottom', 'left', 'right'), font ('default', 'text', 'fixed', 'menu', 'heading', 'caption', 'small_caption', 'icon', 'tooltip'), relief ('flat' (default), 'raised', 'sunken', 'solid', 'ridge', 'groove'), justify ('left', 'center', 'right'), foreground, background None
list selectmode, selection None
message_box(type: , message: , detail: , title: , icon: , default: , parent: ) None None
notebook None None
radiobutton text, variable (Boolean), image (optional keyword args: subsample, zoom, from, to, shrink, compositingrule), compound ('center', 'top', 'bottom', 'left', 'right'), value (default: text) command {}
root title, iconphoto, background, alpha, fullscreen?, topmost?, transparent?, stackorder, winfo_screendepth, winfo_screenvisual, winfo_screenwidth, winfo_screenheight, winfo_pixels('li'), winfo_screen, wm_maxsize, state ('normal', 'iconic', 'withdrawn', 'icon', 'zoomed') 'DELETE_WINDOW', 'OPEN_WINDOW'
text text, many more attributes 'modified', 'selection'

Common Attributes

  • grid: Hash of :row, :column, :padx, :pady, :sticky ('e', 'w', 'n', 's' or any combination of direction letters)

Common Event Bindings

  • Activate
  • Deactivate
  • MouseWheel
  • KeyPress
  • KeyRelease
  • ButtonPress
  • ButtonRelease
  • Motion
  • Configure
  • Map
  • Unmap
  • Visibility
  • Expose
  • Destroy
  • FocusIn
  • FocusOut
  • Enter
  • Leave
  • Property
  • Colormap
  • MapRequest
  • CirculateRequest
  • ResizeRequest
  • ConfigureRequest
  • Create
  • Gravity
  • Reparent
  • Circulate

Common Themed Widget States

  • active?
  • disabled?
  • focus?
  • pressed?
  • selected?
  • background?
  • readonly?
  • alternate?
  • invalid?
  • hover?

Smart Defaults and Conventions

Event Bindings

Any events that normally can be accepted by the Tk bind or protocol methods can be accepted by the on(event) {} listener syntax. For actual (non-virtual) events, there is no need to surround event name by <> as Glimmer DSL for Tk automatically takes care of that when needed and leaves out when not needed.

Grid Layout

grid layout with sticky: 'nsew' is the default on all widgets except toplevel widgets.

Also, any widget that is the first in a series of siblings has column_weight as 1 to automatically resize with window resizing by default.

To override that behavior, you may set alternative grid keyword args if needed (e.g. grid sticky: '', column_weight: 0 disables the smart defaults).

Label/Button Image

Label and Button image attribute can accept image path directly as an alternative to TkPhotoImage object in addition to key values for automatic processing of image (subsample, zoom, from, to, shrink, compositingrule)

Notebook Frame

When nesting frame under notebook, you can pass a :text keyword argument to indicate the tab title.

Icon Photo

The iconphoto attribute on root is set to the Glimmer icon by default if no icon photo is supplied.

Otherwise, Glimmer DSL for Tk is smart enough to accept an image path directly (no need to wrap with TkPhotoImage)

Example with direct image path (you may copy/paste in girb):

root {
  title 'Title'
  iconphoto 'icons/glimmer.png'
}.open

Example with TkPhotoImage object (you may copy/paste in girb):

root {
  title 'Title'
  iconphoto TkPhotoImage.new(file: 'icons/glimmer.png')
}.open

Root Background

root background color attribute is automatically set to '#ececec' on the Mac to avoid having a non-native-looking light-colored background.

The Grid Geometry Manager

The Grid Geometry Manager is supported via the grid keyword just as per the Tk documentation, except by nesting under the widget it concerns.

Example:

        label {
          grid column: 0, row: 2, sticky: 'w'
          text 'Year of Birth: '
        }
        entry {
          grid column: 1, row: 2
          width 15
          text <=> [@contact, :year_of_birth]
        }

Extra convenience options may be passed to grid when using Glimmer DSL for Tk:

  • min_width: alias for columnminsize being called on TkGrid.columnconfigure
  • min_height: alias for rowminsize being called on TkGrid.rowconfigure
  • column_weight: alias for columnweight being called on TkGrid.columnconfigure
  • row_weight: alias for rowweight being called on TkGrid.rowconfigure

Note also the Grid Layout conventions (e.g. column_weight is automatically set to 1 for the first widget in a series of siblings to automatically have all resize when window resize)

More details can be found in the Hello, Computed! sample below.

Data-Binding

Glimmer supports Shine syntax bidirectional data-binding via the <=> operator (read-write) and unidirectional data-binding via the <= operator (read-only), which takes a model and an attribute (the bind keyword may also be used as the old-style of data-binding).

Label Data-Binding

Example:

This assumes a Person model with a country attribute.

  label {
    text <= [person, :country]
  }

That code binds the textvariable value of the label unidirectionally (read-only) to the country property on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes.

More details can be found in the Hello, Computed! sample below.

Combobox Data-Binding

Example:

This assumes a Person model with a country attribute representing their current country and a country_options attribute representing available options for the country attribute.

  combobox {
    readonly true # this applies to text editing only (item selection still triggers a write to model)
    text <=> [person, :country]
  }

That code sets the values of the combobox to the country_options property on the person model (data-binding attribute + "_options" by convention). It also binds the text selection of the combobox to the country property on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes, such as using TkVariable and setting combobox values from person.country_options by convention (attribute_name + "_options").

More details can be found in the Hello, Combobox! sample below.

List Single Selection Data-Binding

Tk does not support a native themed listbox, so Glimmer implements its own list widget on top of Tk::Tile::Treeview. It is set to single selection via selectmode 'browse'.

Example:

This assumes a Person model with a country attribute representing their current country and a country_options attribute representing available options for the country attribute.

  list {
    selectmode 'browse'
    text <=> [person, :country]
  }

That code binds the items text of the list to the country_options attribute on the person model (data-binding attribute + "_options" by convention). It also binds the selection text of the list to the country attribute on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes.

More details can be found in the Hello, List Single Selection! sample below.

List Multi Selection Data-Binding

Tk does not support a native themed listbox, so Glimmer implements its own list widget on top of Tk::Tile::Treeview. It is set to multi selection by default.

Example:

This assumes a Person model with a provinces attribute representing their current country and a provinces_options attribute representing available options for the provinces attribute.

  list {
    text <=> [person, :provinces]
  }

That code binds the items text of the list to the provinces_options attribute on the person model (data-binding attribute + "_options" by convention). It also binds the selection text of the list to the provinces attribute on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes.

More details can be found in the Hello, List Multi Selection! sample below.

Entry Data-Binding

Example:

This assumes a Person model with a country attribute.

  entry {
    text <=> [person, :country]
  }

That code binds the textvariable value of the entry to the country attribute on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes.

More details can be found in Hello, Entry! and Hello, Computed! samples below.

Spinbox Data-Binding

Example:

This assumes a Person model with a donation attribute.

  spinbox {
    from 1.0 # minimum value
    to 150.0 # maximum value
    increment 5.0 # increment on up and down
    format '%0.2f'
    text <=> [person, :country]
  }

That code binds the textvariable value of the spinbox to the donation attribute on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes.

More details can be found in Hello, Spinbox! sample below.

Text Data-Binding

Example:

This assumes a Person model with a address attribute.

  text {
    text <=> [person, :address]
  }

That code binds the text content of text to the address attribute on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes (including fine-grained inserts and deletes, abstracting them all away).

More details can be found in Glimmer Meta-Sample below.

Checkbutton Data-Binding

Example:

This assumes a Person model with a boolean adult attribute.

  checkbutton {
    variable <=> [person, :adult]
  }

That code binds the variable value of the checkbutton to the boolean adult attribute on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes.

If you need to display a half-checked checkbutton, bind to alternate attribute.

More details can be found in the Hello, Checkbutton! sample below.

Radiobutton Data-Binding

Example:

This assumes a Person model with boolean male and female attributes.

  radiobutton {
    text 'Male'
    variable <=> [@person, :male]
  }

  radiobutton {
    text 'Female'
    variable <=> [@person, :female]
  }

That code binds the variable value of the radiobutton to the boolean male and female attributes on the person model.

It automatically handles all the Tk plumbing behind the scenes, including setting the radiobutton value (uses text attribute as value), enabling an API that works with simple booleans for each radiobutton.

For very rare cases, if you need to display a half-selected radiobutton, set alternate attribute as true when the variable value is false.

More details can be found in the Hello, Radiobutton! sample below.

Command Callback

button, spinbox, radiobutton and checkbutton can set a command block to trigger when the user clicks the button/checkbutton. This may be done with the command keyword, passing in a block directly.

Example:

  button {
    text "Reset Selection"

    command {
      person.reset_country
    }
  }

Alternatively, it can be treated as simply an event for consistency with other event bindings:

  button {
    text "Reset Selection"

    on('command') do
      person.reset_country
    end
  }

More details can be found in the Hello, Button! sample below.

Gotchas

  • Setting background attribute on frame or label does not work in 'aqua' theme on the Mac (only in 'classic' theme)

Samples

The easiest way to run samples is by launching the Glimmer Meta-Sample (the Sample of Samples).

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/elaborate/meta_sample'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/elaborate/meta_sample.rb

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample meta sample

Hello, World!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_world.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

include Glimmer

root {
  title 'Hello, World!'

  label {
    text 'Hello, World!'
  }
}.open

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_world'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_world.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello world

Hello, Button!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_button.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloButton
  include Glimmer

  attr_accessor :count

  def initialize
    @count = 0
  end

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Button!'

      frame {
        grid row: 0, column: 0

        label {
          grid pady: 15
          text 'Text Button'
        }

        button {
          text <= [self, :count, on_read: ->(value) { "Click To Increment: #{value}  " }]
          default 'active'
          focus true

          command {
            self.count += 1
          }
        }
      }

      frame {
        grid row: 0, column: 1

        label {
          grid pady: 15
          text 'Image Button'
        }

        button {
          image File.expand_path('../../icons/glimmer.png', __dir__), subsample: 5

          command {
            message_box(title: 'Image Button', message: 'Image Button Clicked!')
          }
        }
      }

      frame {
        grid row: 0, column: 2

        label {
          grid pady: 15
          text 'Text Image Buttons'
        }

        ['center', 'top', 'bottom', 'left', 'right'].each do |compound_option|
          button {
            image File.expand_path('../../icons/glimmer.png', __dir__), subsample: 5
            text 'Text Image Button'
            compound compound_option

            command {
              message_box(title: 'Text Image Button', message: 'Text Image Button Clicked!', detail: "(#{compound_option})")
            }
          }
        end
      }
    }.open
  end
end

HelloButton.new.launch

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_button'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_button.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello button

Hello, Checkbutton!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_checkbutton.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloCheckbutton
  class Person
    attr_accessor :skiing, :snowboarding, :snowmobiling, :snowshoeing, :snow_activities, :snow_activities_alternate

    def initialize
      reset_activities!
      individual_observer = Glimmer::DataBinding::Observer.proc do
        unless @updating_group
          @updating_individual = true
          if skiing && snowboarding && snowmobiling && snowshoeing
            self.snow_activities = true
            self.snow_activities_alternate = false
          elsif skiing || snowboarding || snowmobiling || snowshoeing
            self.snow_activities = true
            self.snow_activities_alternate = true
          else
            self.snow_activities = false
            self.snow_activities_alternate = false
          end
          @updating_individual = false
        end
      end
      individual_observer.observe(self, :skiing)
      individual_observer.observe(self, :snowboarding)
      individual_observer.observe(self, :snowmobiling)
      individual_observer.observe(self, :snowshoeing)

      group_observer = Glimmer::DataBinding::Observer.proc do
        unless @updating_individual
          @updating_group = true
          self.skiing = self.snow_activities
          self.snowboarding = self.snow_activities
          self.snowmobiling = self.snow_activities
          self.snowshoeing = self.snow_activities
          @updating_group = false
        end
      end
      group_observer.observe(self, :snow_activities)
    end

    def reset_activities!
      self.snow_activities = true
      self.snow_activities_alternate = true
      self.skiing = false
      self.snowboarding = true
      self.snowmobiling = false
      self.snowshoeing = false
    end
  end

  include Glimmer

  def initialize
    @person = Person.new
  end

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Checkbutton!'
      background '#ececec' if OS.mac?

      label {
        text 'Check all snow activities you are interested in:'
        font 'caption'
      }

      frame {
        checkbutton {
          text 'Snow Activities'
          variable <=> [@person, :snow_activities]
          alternate <=> [@person, :snow_activities_alternate] # binds half-checked state
        }

        frame {
          checkbutton {
            text 'Skiing'
            variable <=> [@person, :skiing]
          }

          checkbutton {
            text 'Snowboarding'
            variable <=> [@person, :snowboarding]
          }

          checkbutton {
            text 'Snowmobiling'
            variable <=> [@person, :snowmobiling]
          }

          checkbutton {
            text 'Snowshoeing'
            variable <=> [@person, :snowshoeing]
          }
        }
      }

      button {
        text 'Reset Activities'

        command do
          @person.reset_activities!
        end
      }
    }.open
  end
end

HelloCheckbutton.new.launch

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_checkbutton'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_checkbutton.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello checkbutton

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello checkbutton

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello checkbutton

Hello, Radiobutton!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_radiobutton.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloRadiobutton
  class Person
    attr_accessor :male, :female, :child, :teen, :adult, :senior

    def initialize
      reset!
    end

    def reset!
      self.male = true
      self.female = nil
      self.child = nil
      self.teen = nil
      self.adult = true
      self.senior = nil
    end
  end

  include Glimmer

  def initialize
    @person = Person.new
  end

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Radio!'
      background '#ececec' if OS.mac?

      label {
        text 'Gender:'
        font 'caption'
      }

      frame {
        radiobutton {
          text 'Male'
          variable <=> [@person, :male]
        }

        radiobutton {
          text 'Female'
          variable <=> [@person, :female]
        }
      }

      label {
        text 'Age Group:'
        font 'caption'
      }

      frame {
        radiobutton {
          text 'Child'
          variable <=> [@person, :child]
        }

        radiobutton {
          text 'Teen'
          variable <=> [@person, :teen]
        }

        radiobutton {
          text 'Adult'
          variable <=> [@person, :adult]
        }

        radiobutton {
          text 'Senior'
          variable <=> [@person, :senior]
        }
      }

      button {
        text 'Reset'

        command do
          @person.reset!
        end
      }
    }.open
  end
end

HelloRadiobutton.new.launch

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_radiobutton'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_radiobutton.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello radiobutton

Hello, Frame!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_frame.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloFrame
  include Glimmer

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Frame!'

      frame { # frame simply contains widgets for visual organization via a layout
        relief 'sunken'

        label {
          grid row: 0, column: 0, columnspan: 4, padx: 5, pady: 5
          text 'Enter Your Full Name'
          font 'caption'
          anchor 'center'
        }

        label {
          grid row: 1, column: 0, padx: 5
          text "First Name:"
        }

        entry {
          grid row: 1, column: 1, padx: 5
        }

        label {
          grid row: 2, column: 0, padx: 5
          text "Last Name:"
        }

        entry {
          grid row: 2, column: 1, padx: 5
        }
      }

      frame { # an empty frame can specify width and height
        grid padx: 7, pady: 7
        width 200
        height 100
        borderwidth 3
        relief 'sunken'
      }
    }.open
  end
end

HelloFrame.new.launch

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_frame'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_frame.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello frame

Hello, Root!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_frame.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

include Glimmer

root { |r|
  title 'Hello, Root!'
  iconphoto File.expand_path('../../icons/glimmer.png', __dir__)
  width 400
  height 200
  x -150
  y 300
  resizable true # same as `resizable true, true`, meaning cannot resize horizontally and vertically
  minsize 200, 100
  maxsize 600, 400
  background 'lightgrey'
  alpha 0.85 # on the mac, you can set `transparent true` as well
  topmost true

  on('OPEN_WINDOW') do # custom event that runs right after Tk.mainloop
    message_box(parent: r, title: 'Hi', message: 'Hi')
  end

  on('DELETE_WINDOW') do |event| # alias for WM_DELETE_WINDOW protocol event
    message_box(parent: r, title: 'Bye', message: 'Bye')
    exit(0)
  end
}.open

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_root'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_root.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello root hi

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello root

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello root bye

Hello, Notebook!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_notebook.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloNotebook
  include Glimmer

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Notebook!'

      notebook {
        frame(text: 'English') {
          label {
            text 'Hello, World!'
          }
        }

        frame(text: 'French') {
          label {
            text 'Bonjour, Univers!'
          }
        }
      }
    }.open
  end
end

HelloNotebook.new.launch

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_notebook'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_notebook.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello notebook English glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello notebook French

Hello, Label!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_label.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloLabel
  include Glimmer

  LABEL_FONTS = ['default', 'text', 'fixed', 'menu', 'heading', 'caption', 'small_caption', 'icon', 'tooltip']
  LABEL_RELIEFS = ['flat', 'raised', 'sunken', 'solid', 'ridge', 'groove']

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Label!'

      notebook {
        frame(text: 'left-aligned') {
          3.times do |n|
            label {
              text "Field #{n + 1} / default font / flat relief"
              width 60
              anchor 'w'
            }
          end
        }

        frame(text: 'centered') {
          9.times do |n|
            label {
              text "Field #{n + 1} / fixed font / raised relief"
              width 80
              anchor 'center'
              font 'fixed'
              relief 'raised'
            }
          end
        }

        frame(text: 'right-aligned') {
          9.times do |n|
            label {
              text "Field #{n + 1} / small_caption font / ridge relief"
              width 80
              anchor 'e'
              font 'small_caption'
              relief 'ridge'
            }
          end
        }

        frame(text: 'justified') {
          label {
            text "              This is a very long paragraph that spans multiple lines. It looks better and\n              is easier to read when justified. In fact, this is how to make it look like a\n              new paper column. That results in professional looking text. Magazines use the\n              same sort of justified text. Word processors also support justified text. In\n              fact, this is how text is made for news papers and magainzes, and then published\n              in paper form and digitally.\n            MULTI_LINE_STRING\n            width 60\n            anchor 'center'\n            justify 'center' # other options are: 'left' and 'right'\n            font 'caption' # other options are: 'default', 'text', 'fixed', 'menu', 'heading', 'small_caption', 'icon', 'tooltip'\n            foreground 'blue'\n            relief 'sunken' # other options are: 'flat' (default), 'raised', 'solid', 'ridge', 'groove'\n          }\n        }\n\n        frame(text: 'images') {\n          ['denmark', 'finland', 'norway'].each do |image_name|\n            label {\n              image File.expand_path(\"images/\#{image_name}.png\", __dir__)\n            }\n          end\n        }\n\n        frame(text: 'background images') {\n          ['italy', 'france', 'mexico'].each do |image_name|\n            label {\n              text image_name.capitalize\n              image File.expand_path(\"images/\#{image_name}.png\", __dir__)\n              compound 'center'\n            }\n          end\n        }\n      }\n    }.open\n  end\nend\n\nHelloLabel.new.launch\n"

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_label'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_label.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello label left aligned

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello label centered

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello label right aligned

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello label justified

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello label images

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello label background images

Hello, Message Box!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_message_box.rb):

root { |r|
  title 'Hello, Message Box!'

  frame {
    grid sticky: 'nsew', padx: 15, pady: 15

    button {
      text 'Please Click To Win a Surprise'

      command {
        # specifying parent ensures dialog shows up centered on top of window (instead of centered in display monitor)
        @result_label.text = message_box(parent: r, title: 'Surprise', message: "Congratulations!\n\nYou won $1,000,000!") # type: 'ok' by default
      }
    }

    button {
      text 'Download Software Update'

      command {
        @result_label.text = message_box(type: 'okcancel', title: 'Software Update', message: "We will begin to download software update.")
      }
    }

    button {
      text 'Format Hard Drive'

      command {
        @result_label.text = message_box(type: 'yesno', icon: 'question', title: 'Format', message: "Would you like to format your hard drive?")
      }
    }

    button {
      text 'Submit Application'

      command {
        @result_label.text = message_box(type: 'yesnocancel', icon: 'question', title: 'Application', message: "Would you like to review application before submitting?")
      }
    }

    button {
      text 'Play Video'

      command {
        @result_label.text = message_box(type: 'retrycancel', icon: 'error', title: 'Video Replay', message: "Video has failed to play. Would you like to retry?")
      }
    }

    button {
      text 'Installation Completed'

      command {
        @result_label.text = message_box(type: 'abortretryignore', icon: 'warning', default: 'ignore', title: 'Failed To Install Extra Utilities', message: "Installation is complete, but extra utilities have failed to install. Would you like to retry installing extra utilities?", detail: 'Encountered network error in downloading extra utilities, resulting in failure to install them')
      }
    }
  }

  frame {
    grid sticky: 'nsew', padx: 15, pady: 15

    label {
      grid row: 0, column: 0
      text 'Result:'
    }

    @result_label = label {
      grid row: 0, column: 1
    }
  }
}.open

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_message_box'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_message_box.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello message box glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello message box open

Hello, Combobox!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_combobox.rb):

# ... more code precedes
root {
  title 'Hello, Combobox!'

  combobox {
    readonly true # this applies to text editing only (item selection still triggers a write to model)
    text <=> [person, :country]
  }

  button {
    text "Reset Selection"
    command {
      person.reset_country
    }
  }
}.open
# ... more code follows

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_combobox'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_combobox.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello combobox glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello combobox dropdown

Hello, List Single Selection!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_list_single_selection.rb):

# ... more code precedes
root {
  title 'Hello, List Single Selection!'

  list {
    selectmode 'browse'
    selection <=> [person, :country]
  }

  button {
    text "Reset Selection To Default Value"

    command { person.reset_country }
  }
}.open
# ... more code follows

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_list_single_selection'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_list_single_selection.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello list single selection

Hello, List Multi Selection!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_list_multi_selection.rb):

# ... more code precedes
root {
  title 'Hello, List Multi Selection!'

  list {
    selection <=> [person, :provinces]
  }

  button {
    text "Reset Selection To Defaults"

    command { person.reset_provinces }
  }
}.open
# ... more code follows

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_list_multi_selection'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_list_multi_selection.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello list multi selection

Hello, Entry!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_entry.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloEntry
  include Glimmer

  attr_accessor :default, :password, :telephone, :read_only

  def initialize
    self.default = 'default'
    self.password = 'password'
    self.telephone = '555-555-5555'
    self.read_only = 'Telephone area code is 555'
  end

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Entry!'

      label {
        grid sticky: 'ew'
        text 'default entry'
      }
      entry {
        grid sticky: 'ew'
        text <=> [self, :default]
      }

      label {
        grid sticky: 'ew'
        text 'password entry'
      }
      entry {
        grid sticky: 'ew'
        show '*'
        text <=> [self, :password]
      }

      @validated_entry_label = label {
        grid sticky: 'ew'
        text 'entry with event handlers'
      }
      entry {
        grid sticky: 'ew'
        text <=> [self, :telephone]
        validate 'key'

        ## this event kicks in just after the user typed and before modifying the text variable
        on('validate') do |new_text_variable|
          telephone?(new_text_variable.value)
        end

        ## this event kicks in just after the text variable is validated and before it is modified
        on('invalid') do |validate_args|
          @validated_entry_label.text = "#{validate_args.string} is not valid!"
          @validated_entry_label.foreground = 'red'
        end

        ## this event kicks in just after the text variable is validated and modified
        on('change') do |new_text_variable|
          self.read_only = "Telephone area code is #{new_text_variable.value.gsub(/[^0-9]/, '')[0...3]}"
          @validated_entry_label.text = 'entry with event handlers'
          @validated_entry_label.foreground = nil
        end
      }

      label {
        grid sticky: 'ew'
        text 'read-only entry'
      }
      entry {
        grid sticky: 'ew'
        text <=> [self, :read_only]
        readonly true
      }
    }.open
  end

  def telephone?(text)
    !!text.match(/^\d{0,3}[-.\/]?\d{0,3}[-.\/]?\d{0,4}$/)
  end
end

HelloEntry.new.launch

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_entry'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_entry.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello entry glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello entry validated

Hello, Text!

Glimmer DSL for Tk automatically provides a text attribute for the text widget that enables updating its content simply without worrying about whether to manually insert by index, delete, or append.

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_text.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloText
  include Glimmer

  COLOR_OPTIONS = %w[black purple blue green orange yellow red white].map(&:capitalize)
  FOREGROUND_PROMPT = '<select foreground>'
  BACKGROUND_PROMPT = '<select background>'

  def initialize
    @foreground = FOREGROUND_PROMPT
    @background = BACKGROUND_PROMPT
  end

  attr_accessor :foreground

  def foreground_options
    [FOREGROUND_PROMPT] + COLOR_OPTIONS
  end

  attr_accessor :background

  def background_options
    [BACKGROUND_PROMPT] + COLOR_OPTIONS
  end

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Text!'

      frame {
        grid row: 0, column: 0

        combobox {
          grid row: 0, column: 0, column_weight: 1
          readonly true
          text <=> [self, :foreground, after_write: ->(value) { @text.add_selection_format('foreground', value == FOREGROUND_PROMPT ? 'black' : value) }]
        }

        combobox {
          grid row: 0, column: 1, column_weight: 1
          readonly true
          text <=> [self, :background, after_write: ->(value) { @text.add_selection_format('background', value == BACKGROUND_PROMPT ? 'black' : value) }]
        }
      }

      @text = text {
        grid row: 1, column: 0, row_weight: 1
        text "          According to the National Post, a heavy metal-loving high school principal in Canada will be allowed to keep her job, days after a public campaign to oust her made headlines around the globe.\n\n          Parents at Eden High School in St. Catharines, Ontario launched a petition to remove principal Sharon Burns after discovering she's an IRON MAIDEN fan.\n\n          The petition, titled \"Eden High School Principal, Sharon Burns, Needs to Be Transferred Immediately!\" read, \"We are deeply disturbed that the principal assigned to the school blatantly showed Satanic symbols and her allegiance to Satanic practices on her public social media platforms where all the students can see them under @edenprincipal (not her personal account).\"\n\n          More than 500 people signed the petition to transfer Burns after she posted a picture of herself flashing the \"devil horns\" hand sign with a doll of the MAIDEN zombie mascot Eddie behind her as well as a personalized license plate reading \"IRNMADEN\" and a handwritten note that reads \"Eddie 666\" on a car's dashboard.\n\n\n          The number 666 is used to represent the devil, and is featured prominently in MAIDEN's artwork by the band, whose classic third album is titled \"The Number Of The Beast\".\n\n          The petition was later updated to state that the demand for her transfer is not because of her love for metal, but for \"openly displaying her own handmade sign with the 666 clearly displayed on it\".\n\n          The creator of the original petition wrote: \"Sharon knows full well what she did was simply inappropriate, unnecessary and not professional but has yet to publicly admit so and is willing to allow people to believe a completely different story, making very real concerns seem petty.\"\n\n          Meanwhile, a counter-petition supporting Burns garnered over 20,000 signatures.\n\n          \"It is ridiculous that a couple of parents judge her role as a principal only based on an Instagram post. (About liking the band IRON MAIDEN. That's it.) Eden High School is a public school. Not a Christian school,\" the petition titled \"We need Mrs Burns\" stated. \"She has made Eden a safe space for so many people. She spreads nothing but love and kindness.\"\n\n          After the complaints were aired, the District School Board of Niagara spoke with Burns and the parents who launched the petition, and the issue is over as far as the board is concerned, Kim Sweeney, the board's chief communications officer, told the National Post. No disciplinary action or policy changes were needed.\n\n          \"Our belief is that taste in music is subjective and we support that both students and staff enjoy a wide variety of genres,\" Sweeney said.\n\n          The original petition has since been removed.\n        MULTI_LINE_STRING\n      }\n    }.open\n  end\nend\n\nHelloText.new.launch\n"

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_text'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_text.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello text

Hello, Spinbox!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_spinbox.rb):

require 'glimmer-dsl-tk'

class HelloSpinbox
  class Person
    attr_accessor :donation
  end

  include Glimmer

  def initialize
    @person = Person.new
    @person.donation = 5.0 # in dollars
  end

  def launch
    root {
      title 'Hello, Spinbox!'

      label {
        text 'Please select the amount you would like to donate to the poor:'
      }

      frame {
        label {
          grid row: 0, column: 0
          text 'Amount:'
          font 'caption'
        }

        label {
          grid row: 0, column: 1
          text '$'
        }

        spinbox { |sb|
          grid row: 0, column: 2
          from 1.0 # minimum value
          to 150.0 # maximum value
          increment 5.0 # increment on up and down
          format '%0.2f'
          text <=> [@person, :donation]
        }

        label {
          grid row: 1, column: 0, columnspan: 3
          text <=> [@person, :donation, on_read: ->(value) { "Thank you for your donation of $#{"%.2f" % value.to_f}"}]
        }

      }
    }.open
  end
end

HelloSpinbox.new.launch

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_spinbox'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_spinbox.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello spinbox

Hello, Computed!

Glimmer code (from samples/hello/hello_computed.rb):

# ... more code precedes
    root {
      title 'Hello, Computed!'

      frame {
        grid column: 0, row: 0, padx: 5, pady: 5

        label {
          grid column: 0, row: 0, sticky: 'w'
          text 'First Name: '
        }
        entry {
          grid column: 1, row: 0
          width 15
          text <=> [@contact, :first_name]
        }

        label {
          grid column: 0, row: 1, sticky: 'w'
          text 'Last Name: '
        }
        entry {
          grid column: 1, row: 1
          width 15
          text <=> [@contact, :last_name]
        }

        label {
          grid column: 0, row: 2, sticky: 'w'
          text 'Year of Birth: '
        }
        entry {
          grid column: 1, row: 2
          width 15
          text <=> [@contact, :year_of_birth]
        }

        label {
          grid column: 0, row: 3, sticky: 'w'
          text 'Name: '
        }
        label {
          grid column: 1, row: 3, sticky: 'w'
          text <=> [@contact, :name, computed_by: [:first_name, :last_name]]
        }

        label {
          grid column: 0, row: 4, sticky: 'w'
          text 'Age: '
        }
        label {
          grid column: 1, row: 4, sticky: 'w'
          text <=> [@contact, :age, on_write: :to_i, computed_by: [:year_of_birth]]
        }
      }
    }.open
# ... more code follows

Run with glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r glimmer-dsl-tk -e "require 'samples/hello/hello_computed'"

Alternatively, run from cloned project without glimmer-dsl-tk gem installed:

ruby -r ./lib/glimmer-dsl-tk.rb samples/hello/hello_computed.rb

Glimmer app:

glimmer dsl tk screenshot sample hello computed

Help

Issues

You may submit issues on GitHub.

Click here to submit an issue.

Chat

If you need live help, try to Join the chat at https://gitter.im/AndyObtiva/glimmer

Process

Glimmer Process

Planned Features and Feature Suggestions

These features have been planned or suggested. You might see them in a future version of Glimmer DSL for Tk. You are welcome to contribute more feature suggestions.

TODO.md

Change Log

CHANGELOG.md

Contributing

CONTRIBUTING.md

Contributors

Click here to view contributor commits.

License

MIT

Copyright (c) 2020-2021 - Andy Maleh.

--

Built for Glimmer (DSL Framework).