Python GUI Programming with Tkinter –SECOND EDITION!

It’s official, friends — The second edition of my book, Python GUI Programming with Tkinter, is officially available for purchase on Amazon!

Python GUI Programming with Tkinter, Second Edition!

This new edition has been my primary focus since last February, and it’s a lot more than just a dust-off of the text and a new cover. Here’s a rundown of the improvements we’ve made since the first edition:

  • Obviously, we updated the code for Python 3.9 and the latest versions of other libraries (Postgres, Matplotlib, cx_Freeze, etc). Many things that had to be worked around in the first edition are fixed now, so all that’s been updated.
  • The learning curve is completely re-tooled. The first edition jumped straight into OOP usage, which I found caused a lot of beginners to struggle. This version starts out with more procedural Tkinter code for the first few chapters. There is an entire new chapter that specifically covers classes and OOP, and goes through various practical ways you can use classes with a Tkinter application.
  • There is a stronger emphasis and consistency in MVC design throughout the book.
  • The networking section now covers SFTP instead of FTP, for a more modern take on file transfers.
  • We cover more Tkinter widgets, and lots of new things the first edition didn’t cover.
  • Overall the text is fleshed out and more readable; the book is about 50% longer than the original edition!

It’s hard to put into words how much work went into this revision; I had a GREAT editing team this time around and technical feedback from author and coder Alejandro Rodas de Paz (author of Tkinter GUI Application Development Cookbook) who really kept me on my toes!

For my Youtube audience, I hope to get a video together soon to tell you all about it!

New Coding-oriented Youtube channel

I’ve been a Youtuber for some time now, mostly focusing on music and studio things. But in light of my side career as an author of coding books, I’ve just created a new Alan D Moore Codes channel related to coding.

Not only that, I’ve just uploaded my first video to the channel describing the proper way to integrate QtDesigner with PyQt5. I’ve seen a lot of people on reddit and elsewhere doing it incorrectly and getting themselves quite fouled up, so I thought I might offer some insight.

I’ll have some more PyQt5-related content going up there soon hopefully, we’ll see how things go.

Mastering GUI Programming with Python

It’s here! My latest book is available from Packt Publications.

It’s here! My latest book, Mastering GUI Programming with Python, is now available in print and eBook formats from Packt Publications. Best of all, it’s currently on sale for 50% off! Can’t wait to hear what you, dear reader, think about it.

See my previous blog post for more details on what’s inside. Or, better, yet, pick up a copy while it’s on sale and find out for yourself!

Did I say September? I meant JUNE!

It’s been a crazy six months working on my new book, Mastering GUI Programming with Python. So crazy that I somehow finished up 3 months early!

Right now the book is going through the last editing stages, gearing up for a release at the end of May, so eBook copies should be available by June at the latest (print copies take a little longer to become available). With that being the case, I am way overdue to give an update on what this book is all about.

What’s in the book?

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New song: “He made a way”

I’ve been working away at my next book, keeping well ahead of schedule, and decided to take a short break over the Easter holiday to record a song that’s been rolling about in my head.

The song is called “He Made a Way” and you can find it on my music page in MP3 and Ogg formats. Unlike most of my recent work, this song isn’t in an odd meter and doesn’t use fancy harmonic stuff; instead, I decided to dip my toes into African styles like Soukous and Rumba, because I don’t think there’s a happier-sounding style of music on the planet. Sometimes you just want to write a happy song, you know?

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Coming September 2019: My second book!

Hot off the heels (well, warmish off the heels) of my first book, I’ve begun writing my second book for Packt Publications, Mastering GUI Programming with Python.

Like my first book, this book tackles building GUI applications in Python, but instead of Tkinter this time I’ll be covering PyQt5. Also unlike the first book, I’ll be spending less time on general application development topics and more time digging deep into the more interesting nooks and crannies of PyQt5.

And boy does it have some interesting nooks and crannies! Apart from the garden-variety buttons-and-text-widgets forms, the book will delve into topics like rich text editing, multimedia editing, 3D graphics, and Raspberry Pi.

Needless to say I have a lot of work ahead researching, coding, and writing this book; I’m just as excited to see where I’ll be as a programmer by the end of this as I am to see what kind of reception this book gets.

Keep an eye on the blog for more news as the book comes into shape.

Random thoughts about “Linux on old computers”

Many years ago I wrote a series on “reviving your old PC with Linux“, a topic which still remains in active discussion all around the Linuxy corners of the Interwebs.  Most of what I wrote still applies, so long as you shift things forward seven years into the future.  But as someone who continues to engage in the hobby (and discussion of the hobby) of foisting free operating systems on whatever decaying PC hulks float my way,  I thought I’d write up random thoughts about the subject in response to things people say or the changes in computing.  A bit of a rant, a bit of state-of-the-union, and a little thinking out-loud on the topic of old hardware running old faithful.

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Tkinter Book Release!

Woohoo!  My new book, Python GUI Programming with Tkinter is finally out!  You can order it directly from Packt Publications or from Amazon if you prefer.  It’s available in print or in a variety of electronic formats, if you prefer.

This book was six months in the making, and it feels good to see it finally available for purchase.

This is a HUGE book that covers much more than just using the Tkinter library; it takes you from being a Python novice to a software architect able to design and build complex data-oriented applications.

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Ubuntu Mate Edition 18.04 will be Great for new users!

Ubuntu mate logoAlthough I’m what you might call an “advanced” Linux user, I like to keep an eye out for Linux distros that really do awesome things for the casual user. Not only do I like to have a good distro ready for friends and family that want to use Linux, but the software developer in me just enjoys seeing “user-friendly” done well. While there are no shortage of distributions that aim for user-friendliness, and no shortage of opinions on which one is the best, every now and then one distro really kicks it to a new level and builds a product that’s just perfect for new or non-technical users. Right now, Ubuntu MATE edition is that distro.

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Tkinter book now available for pre-order

The cover of Python GUI programming with Tkinter by Alan D MooreExciting news!  My book is now available for pre-order from Packt Publications.    It won’t be out until June, but I’m 2/3 of the way through writing and pretty pleased with what I’ve got so far.

If you know a budding Python programmer who’s interested in writing desktop applications, this is going to be a great book for them; even if they don’t end up using Tkinter in the long run, they’ll learn a lot of good coding habits and application design techniques.

For example, I just finished up a chapter on unit testing that covers the Python unittest library in-depth and walks the reader through writing real tests on actual application code.  Beyond the basics, we deal with challenges like mocking out file access, testing mixin classes, and creating integration tests on our GUI elements.

If you have any questions about what is or isn’t in the book, or suggestions on topics I shouldn’t leave out, feel free to comment!

https://www.packtpub.com/application-development/python-gui-programming-tkinter

 

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