Glimmer DSL for WX 0.0.7

wxWidgets Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library

Glimmer DSL for WX is an MRI Ruby desktop development GUI (Graphical User Interface) library for the cross-platform native widget wxWidgets GUI toolkit. It provides a Glimmer GUI DSL on top of the wxruby3 binding.

Glimmer DSL for WX 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 control hierarchy
Convention over configuration via smart defaults and automation of low-level details
Requiring the least amount of syntax possible to build GUI
Custom Control support
Bidirectional/Unidirectional Data-Binding to declaratively wire and automatically synchronize GUI Views with Models
Scaffolding for new custom controls, apps, and gems
Native-Executable packaging on Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Hello, World!

require 'glimmer-dsl-wx'

include Glimmer

frame(title: 'Hello, World!')

Hello, World!

Hello Button!

require 'glimmer-dsl-wx'

include Glimmer

frame { |main_frame|
  title 'Hello, Button!'

  h_box_sizer {
    button {
      sizer_args 0, Wx::RIGHT, 10
      label 'Click To Find Who Built This!'

      on_button do
        about_box(
          name: main_frame.title,
          version: Wx::WXRUBY_VERSION,
          description: "This is the Hello, Button! sample",
          developers: ['The Glimmer DSL for WX Development Team']
        )
      end
    }
  }
}

Glimmer DSL Comparison Table: DSL | Platforms | Native? | Vector Graphics? | Pros | Cons | Prereqs ----|-----------|---------|------------------|------|------|-------- Glimmer DSL for SWT (JRuby Desktop Development GUI Framework) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Yes | Yes (Canvas Shape DSL) | Very Mature / Scaffolding / Native Executable Packaging / Custom Widgets | Slow JRuby Startup Time / Heavy Memory Footprint | Java / JRuby Glimmer DSL for Opal (Pure Ruby Web GUI and Auto-Webifier of Desktop Apps) | All Web Browsers | No | Yes (Canvas Shape DSL) | Simpler than All JavaScript Technologies / Auto-Webify Desktop Apps | Setup Process / Only Rails 5 Support for Now | Rails Glimmer DSL for LibUI (Prerequisite-Free Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Yes | Yes (Area API) | Fast Startup Time / Light Memory Footprint | LibUI is an Incomplete Mid-Alpha Only | None Other Than MRI Ruby Glimmer DSL for Tk (Ruby Tk Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Some Native-Themed Widgets (Not Truly Native) | Yes (Canvas) | Fast Startup Time / Light Memory Footprint | Complicated Setup / Widgets Do Not Look Truly Native, Espcially on Linux | ActiveTcl / MRI Ruby Glimmer DSL for GTK (Ruby-GNOME Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Only on Linux | Yes (Cairo) | Complete Access to GNOME Features on Linux (Forte) | Not Native on Mac and Windows | None Other Than MRI Ruby on Linux / Brew Packages on Mac / MSYS & MING Toolchains on Windows / MRI Ruby Glimmer DSL for FX (FOX Toolkit Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac (requires XQuartz) / Windows / Linux | No | Yes (Canvas) | No Prerequisites on Windows (Forte Since Binaries Are Included Out of The Box) | Widgets Do Not Look Native / Mac Usage Obtrusively Starts XQuartz | None Other Than MRI Ruby on Windows / XQuarts on Mac / MRI Ruby Glimmer DSL for WX (wxWidgets Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | Yes | Yes | Fast Startup Time / Light Memory Footprint | wxruby3 is still beta and does not support Mac yet | wxWidgets library, Doxygen, and other prereqs Glimmer DSL for JFX (JRuby JavaFX Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | No | Yes (javafx.scene.shape and javafx.scene.canvas) | Rich in Custom Widgets | Slow JRuby Startup Time / Heavy Memory Footprint / Widgets Do Not Look Native | Java / JRuby / JavaFX SDK Glimmer DSL for Swing (JRuby Swing Desktop Development GUI Library) | Mac / Windows / Linux | No | Yes (Java2D) | Very Mature | Slow JRuby Startup Time / Heavy Memory Footprint / Widgets Do Not Look Native | Java / JRuby Glimmer DSL for XML (& HTML) | All Web Browsers | No | Yes (SVG) | Programmable / Lighter-weight Than Actual XML | XML Elements Are Sometimes Not Well-Named (Many Types of Input) | None Glimmer DSL for CSS | All Web Browsers | No | Yes | Programmable | CSS Is Over-Engineered / Too Many Features To Learn | None

Glimmer DSL for WX

Setup

Follow instructions for installing wxruby3 on a supported platform (Linux or Windows): https://github.com/mcorino/wxRuby3/blob/master/INSTALL.md

Install glimmer-dsl-wx gem directly into a maintained Ruby version:

gem install glimmer-dsl-wx

Or install via Bundler Gemfile:

gem 'glimmer-dsl-wx', '~> 0.0.7'

Test that installation worked by running a sample:

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

If you cloned project, test by running a sample locally:

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

GIRB (Glimmer IRB)

You can run the girb command (bin/girb if you cloned the project locally) to do some quick and dirty experimentation and learning:

girb

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

Smart Defaults and Conventions

Instantiate any wxWidgets control or sizer by using its underscored name (e.g. Button becomes button)
frame will automatically execute within a Wx::App.run block and show the Frame

Samples

Hello, World!

require 'glimmer-dsl-wx'

include Glimmer

frame(title: 'Hello, World!')

Alternate Syntax:

require 'glimmer-dsl-wx'

include Glimmer

frame {
  title 'Hello, World!'
}

Hello Button!

require 'glimmer-dsl-wx'

include Glimmer

frame(title: 'Hello, Button!') { |main_frame|
  h_box_sizer {
    button(label: 'Click To Find Who Built This!') {
      sizer_args 0, Wx::RIGHT, 10

      on_button do
        about_box(
          name: main_frame.title,
          version: Wx::WXRUBY_VERSION,
          description: "This is the Hello, Button! sample",
          developers: ['The Glimmer DSL for WX Development Team']
        )
      end
    }
  }
}

Alternate Syntax:

require 'glimmer-dsl-wx'

include Glimmer

frame { |main_frame|
  title 'Hello, Button!'

  h_box_sizer {
    button {
      sizer_args 0, Wx::RIGHT, 10
      label 'Click To Find Who Built This!'

      on_button do
        about_box(
          name: main_frame.title,
          version: Wx::WXRUBY_VERSION,
          description: "This is the Hello, Button! sample",
          developers: ['The Glimmer DSL for WX Development Team']
        )
      end
    }
  }
}

Hello Sizer!

Hello, Sizer! Clicked

require 'glimmer-dsl-wx'

include Glimmer

frame { |main_frame|
  title 'Hello, Sizer!'

  h_box_sizer {
    v_box_sizer {
      sizer_args 0, Wx::RIGHT, 10

      button {
        sizer_args 0, Wx::DOWN, 10
        label 'Greeting 1'

        on_button do
          message_dialog(
            "Hello",
            "Greeting",
            Wx::OK | Wx::ICON_INFORMATION
          ).show_modal
        end
      }

      spacer(10)

      button {
        sizer_args 0, Wx::DOWN, 10
        label 'Greeting 2'

        on_button do
          message_dialog(
            "Howdy",
            "Greeting",
            Wx::OK | Wx::ICON_INFORMATION
          ).show_modal
        end
      }

      spacer(10)

      button {
        sizer_args 0, Wx::DOWN, 10
        label 'Greeting 3'

        on_button do
          message_dialog(
            "Hi",
            "Greeting",
            Wx::OK | Wx::ICON_INFORMATION
          ).show_modal
        end
      }
    }

    v_box_sizer {
      sizer_args 0, Wx::RIGHT, 10

      button {
        sizer_args 0, Wx::DOWN, 10
        label 'Greeting 4'

        on_button do
          message_dialog(
            "Ciao",
            "Greeting",
            Wx::OK | Wx::ICON_INFORMATION
          ).show_modal
        end
      }

      spacer(10)

      button {
        sizer_args 0, Wx::DOWN, 10
        label 'Greeting 5'

        on_button do
          message_dialog(
            "Aloha",
            "Greeting",
            Wx::OK | Wx::ICON_INFORMATION
          ).show_modal
        end
      }

      spacer(10)

      button {
        sizer_args 0, Wx::DOWN, 10
        label 'Greeting 6'

        on_button do
          message_dialog(
            "Salut",
            "Greeting",
            Wx::OK | Wx::ICON_INFORMATION
          ).show_modal
        end
      }
    }
  }
}

Process

Glimmer Process

Resources

Help

Issues

If you encounter issues that are not reported, discover missing features that are not mentioned in TODO.md, or think up better ways to use wxWidgets than what is possible with Glimmer DSL for WX, you may submit an issue or pull request on GitHub. In the meantime, you may try older gem versions of Glimmer DSL for WX till you find one that works.

Chat

If you need live help, try to

Planned Features and Feature Suggestions

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

TODO.md

Change Log

CHANGELOG.md

Contributing

If you would like to contribute to the project, please adhere to the Open-Source Etiquette to ensure the best results.

Check out the latest master to make sure the feature hasn't been implemented or the bug hasn't been fixed yet.
Check out the issue tracker to make sure someone already hasn't requested it and/or contributed it.
Fork the project.
Start a feature/bugfix branch.
Commit and push until you are happy with your contribution.
Make sure to add tests for it. This is important so I don't break it in a future version unintentionally.
Please try not to mess with the Rakefile, version, or history. If you want to have your own version, or is otherwise necessary, that is fine, but please isolate to its own commit so I can cherry-pick around it.

Note that the latest development sometimes takes place in the development branch (usually deleted once merged back to master).

Contributors

Andy Maleh (Founder)

Click here to view contributor commits.

License

MIT

Built for Glimmer (DSL Framework).

Glimmer DSL for WX 0.0.7

wxWidgets Ruby Desktop Development GUI Library

Table of Contents

Setup

GIRB (Glimmer IRB)

Smart Defaults and Conventions

Samples

Hello, World!

Hello Button!

Hello Sizer!

Process

Resources

Help

Issues

Chat

Planned Features and Feature Suggestions

Change Log

Contributing

Contributors

License