Programming Python, 3rd Edition

A PyMailGUI Demo

PyMailGUI is a multiwindow interface. It consists of the following:

• A main mail-server list window opened initially, for online mail processing

• One or more mail save-file list windows for offline mail processing

• One or more mail-view windows for viewing and editing messages

• Text editor windows for displaying the system’s source code

• Nonblocking busy state pop-up dialogs

• Assorted pop-up dialogs for opened message parts, help, and more

Operationally, PyMailGUI runs as a set of parallel threads, which may overlap in time: one for each active server transfer, and one for each active offline save file load or deletion. PyMailGUI supports mail save files, automatic saves of sent messages, configurable fonts and colors, viewing and adding attachments, main message text extraction, and much more.

To make this case study easier to understand, let’s begin by seeing what PyMailGUI actually does—its user interaction and email processing functionality—before jumping into the Python code that implements that behavior. As you read this part, feel free to jump ahead to the code listings that appear after the screenshots, but be sure to read this section too; this is where some subtleties of PyMailGUI’s design are explained. After this section, you are invited to study the system’s Python source code listings on your own for a better and more complete explanation than can be crafted in English.

Getting Started

PyMailGUI is a Python/Tkinter program, run by executing its top-level script ...