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I think I'm missing something here. What is the operation that this tool is meant to simplify? This takes five minutes because you're copy-pasting a 250-line f
by alxlaz 8y ago
I think I'm missing something here. What is the operation that this tool is meant to simplify?
This takes five minutes because you're copy-pasting a 250-line file. Which otherwise builds the layout manually. Doing that from scratch would easily take, what, an hour? even for an experienced Qt developer.
During that hour you can definitely read an introductory tutorial (from Qt's excellent documentation). Assembling that UI with the GUI builder then takes all of five minutes, maybe ten if you've never used it before. And you don't need Docker and a VM for that (!?).
Is this meant to showcase how easy it is to package the application? If so, that's definitely cool, but I'm not sure how it relates to the article, which starts with "This article shows how to program a Linux GUI. In five minutes from now, you will have created an app and a downloadable installer. We'll build the following GUI, but you can also create any other" -- and then goes on to show you neither how to program a Linux GUI, nor how to build that application (unless you count copy-pasting code as either of them?)
Edit: it's worth pointing out that cross-platform packaging Qt applications, especially written and Python definitely isn't too easy. If this is the point, then this program doesn't look bad at all!
- mherrmann 8y ago> cross-platform packaging Qt applications, especially written and Python definitely isn't too easy. If this is the point, then this program doesn't look bad at all! That's what it is about, yes, sorry. I should have written the article shows how to create a Linux GUI. I let myself be distracted by SEO considerations ("Linux GUI programming").
- alxlaz 8y agoWell, it's not like you're showing anyone how to create a Linux GUI, either (unless, you know, you count the copy-paste part :-) ). If SEO is the goal, perhaps it's worth looking into keywords along some other directions? A lot of folks who get past the "getting started with Qt" part is going to be interested in the problem of packaging Qt applications (especially where Python is involved, which comes with its own set of difficulties). If these are the people such an article is relevant for, I doubt "Linux GUI programming" is the kind of stuff they're googling for. After all, they already know a little about that, the problem is how to let their friends use what they wrote already. Meanwhile, people who are googling things like "how to write gui program Linux" probably need help figuring out things like signals and slots, not how to package an application that they can't even write yet.
- mherrmann 8y agoI do feel like I am showing people how to create a Linux GUI. After all, they do end up with a GUI. I already have a few other articles targeting other key words, and I feel the unique contribution of this one (and the latest version of fbs, which this one aims to spread the word about) is a much better solution for ... Linux GUI programming. But I'll keep in mind what you said. I'm still pretty new to SEO.
- aflag 8y agoIt's quite clickbaity. I clicked on it and I was disappointed.
- mherrmann 8y agoI'm sorry. dang (the moderator) has since changed the title. (I can't change it any more now.) Hopefully it's better.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y agoA better title might have been "package a standalone PyQT GUI application in minutes". I like that the project supports AppImage. I don't suppose fman supports displaying AppImage icons? I've been keeping my eye out for any filemanager that does.
- alxlaz 8y agoI guess it's better, but I'm with AnIdiotOnTheNet on this one :-). Packaging is definitely something important, and definitely not something that we ought to be looking down upon. Why avoid calling it by its name?
- subway 8y agoNo. You are showing people how to copypasta some GUI code from an article.
- purerandomness 8y ago