Programming Python, 3rd Edition

GuiMixin: Common Tool Mixin Classes

If you read the last three chapters, you probably noticed that the code used to construct nontrivial GUIs can become long if we make each widget by hand. Not only do we have to link up all the widgets manually, but we also need to remember and then set dozens of options. If we stick to this strategy, GUI programming often becomes an exercise in typing, or at least in cut-and-paste text editor operations.

Instead of performing each step by hand, a better idea is to wrap or automate as much of the GUI construction process as possible. One approach is to code functions that provide typical widget configurations; for instance, we could define a button function to handle configuration details and support most of the buttons we draw.

Alternatively, we can implement common methods in a class and inherit them everywhere they are needed. Such classes are commonly called mixin classes because their methods are “mixed in” with other classes. Mixins serve to package generally useful tools as methods. The concept is almost like importing a module, but mixin classes can access the subject instance, self, to utilize per-instance state and inherited methods. The script in Example 11-1 shows how.

Example 11-1. PP3E\Gui\Tools\guimixin.py

############################################################################## # a "mixin" class for other frames: common methods for canned dialogs, # spawning programs, simple text viewers, etc; this class must be mixed # with a ...