Tkinter vs PyQt: Which GUI Framework is Good

In this article we want to talk about Tkinter vs PyQt, also we will talk that Which GUI Framework is Good? Both Tkinter and PyQt are popular GUI frameworks for Python and they both have their advantages and disadvantages. we can say that the choice between the two depends on your specific needs and preferences, first of all let’s talk about these two GUI Frameworks. and after that we will talk that Which GUI Framework is good in Python.

What is TKinter?

tkinter is standard GUI library for Python. TKinter is already built-in in Python, it means that you don’t need to install that, TKinter is one of the best library for creating desktop applications that has graphical user interface, also tkinter is easy to use, it means that you can easily build simple GUI applications with TKinter.

Key Components of tkinter

Widgets: Basic building blocks of a tkinter application. Examples are buttons, labels, text boxes, frames and menus.
Geometry Managers: Methods to control the layout of widgets. most commonly used geometry managers are pack, grid and place.
Events and Bindings: Mechanisms to handle user interactions such as button clicks, key presses, and other events.

Basic Example of TKinter

This is a basic example of TKinter GUI application, in this GUI application we have a window with label and button.

import tkinter as tk

def on_button_click():
    label.config(text="This is codeloop.org")

# Create main window
root = tk.Tk()
root.title("Codeloop.org - Simple Tkinter App")

# Set window icon
root.iconphoto(True, tk.PhotoImage(file='codeloop.png'))

# Create label widget
label = tk.Label(root, text="Hello, Tkinter")
label.pack(pady=10)

# Create button widget
button = tk.Button(root, text="Click Me", command=on_button_click)
button.pack(pady=10)

# Run the application
root.mainloop()

import tkinter as tk

def on_button_click():

label.config(text="This is codeloop.org")

# Create main window

root = tk.Tk()

root.title("Codeloop.org - Simple Tkinter App")

# Set window icon

root.iconphoto(True, tk.PhotoImage(file='codeloop.png'))

# Create label widget

label = tk.Label(root, text="Hello, Tkinter")

label.pack(pady=10)

# Create button widget

button = tk.Button(root, text="Click Me", command=on_button_click)

button.pack(pady=10)

# Run the application

root.mainloop()

Now let’s describe this code:

Importing tkinter: The library is imported as tk.
Creating the Main Window: Tk class is instantiated for creating the main application window.
Creating Widgets: Label widget and a Button widget are created. and command parameter of the Button widget is set to the on_button_click function, which will be called when the button is clicked.

Adding Widgets to the Window: pack geometry manager is used to add the widgets to the window and manage their layout.
Running the Application: mainloop method is called on the root window to start the event loop, which waits for user interactions.

Run the code and this will be the result

What is PyQt?

PyQt is a set of Python bindings for Qt application framework, PyQt was developed by Riverbank Computing. Using PyQt you can build desktop applications with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) in Python. Qt itself is a cross platform GUI framework for developing GUI Applications in C++ programming language.

Key Features of PyQt

Cross-Platform: PyQt applications can run on different operating systems, like Windows, macOS, and Linux, and you don’t need to bring changes in codebase
Comprehensive: PyQt provides different widgets and tools for creating complex and highly functional user interfaces.
Integrated: PyQt supports different non-GUI features such as networking, threading, and database integration.

Customizable: You can use PyQt for creation of custom widgets and functionalities.
Licensing: PyQt is available under the GPL and a commercial license. And using this dual license you can build free and commercial gui applications.

Key Components of PyQt

Widgets: It is building blocks for creating a user interface, such as buttons, labels, text boxes and many more.
Layouts: It Manages the arrangement of widgets in the window, and it will ensure responsive and well-organized interface.

Signals and Slots: It is a mechanism for event handling, connecting user actions (signals) to functions (slots) that define the application’s behavior.
Qt Designer: It is drag-and-drop interface, you can use that for designing and building GUIs visually, after that it will be integrated into PyQt applications.

Basic Example of PyQt

Now let’s create a basic gui example in PyQt.

import sys
from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication, QWidget, QLabel, QPushButton, QVBoxLayout
from PyQt5.QtGui import QIcon

def on_button_click():
    label.setText("This is codeloop.org")

# Create application object
app = QApplication(sys.argv)

# Create main window
window = QWidget()
window.setWindowTitle("Codeloop.org - Simple PyQt App")
window.setWindowIcon(QIcon('codeloop.png'))

# Create label widget
label = QLabel("Hello PyQt")

# Create button widget
button = QPushButton("Click Me")

# Connect button click to the function
button.clicked.connect(on_button_click) 

# Create layout and add widgets
layout = QVBoxLayout()
layout.addWidget(label)
layout.addWidget(button)
window.setLayout(layout)

# Show the window
window.show()

# Run the application event loop
sys.exit(app.exec_())

import sys

from PyQt5.QtWidgets import QApplication, QWidget, QLabel, QPushButton, QVBoxLayout

from PyQt5.QtGui import QIcon

def on_button_click():

label.setText("This is codeloop.org")

# Create application object

app = QApplication(sys.argv)

# Create main window

window = QWidget()

window.setWindowTitle("Codeloop.org - Simple PyQt App")

window.setWindowIcon(QIcon('codeloop.png'))

# Create label widget

label = QLabel("Hello PyQt")

# Create button widget

button = QPushButton("Click Me")

# Connect button click to the function

button.clicked.connect(on_button_click)

# Create layout and add widgets

layout = QVBoxLayout()

layout.addWidget(label)

layout.addWidget(button)

window.setLayout(layout)

# Show the window

window.show()

# Run the application event loop

sys.exit(app.exec_())

Now let’s describe the code

Importing PyQt Modules: These are necessary PyQt modules that we have imported.
Application Object: QApplication is instantiated to manage application level resources and settings.
Main Window: It is QWidget instance, and it is created for the main application window.

Widgets: It is QLabel and QPushButton are that we have created.
Signal and Slot: The button’s clicked signal is connected to on_button_click function using the clicked.connect method.
Layout: QVBoxLayout is used to arrange the label and button vertically.

Running the Application: app.exec_() starts the event loop, and sys.exit() ensures a clean exit from the application.

Run the code and this will be the result