Ruby GUI with IDE

[Josh Mr.]

Hello all,

I am currently looking for a good easy to use IDE that includes GUI
development as well. Something like how C++ has DevC++ that suppots
wxWidgets and allows you to code and create frames at the same time. I
want something like this for Ruby. I have found VisualWx which supports
Ruby but I could not seem to get it to work at all. Right now I'm having
to develop my frame using Farpy (http://farpy.holev.com/), export it,
and then add any additional code in another IDE. This slows down the
process by a lot because any changes I make to the GUI forces me to
export it again and manually make the changes to my original source.

So, my question is what's a good GUI toolkit that has a really nice IDE
that supports Ruby?

Cheers,
~ Josh

 

[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

Hello all,

I am currently looking for a good easy to use IDE that includes GUI
development as well. Something like how C++ has DevC++ that suppots
wxWidgets and allows you to code and create frames at the same time. I
want something like this for Ruby. I have found VisualWx which supports
Ruby but I could not seem to get it to work at all. Right now I'm having
to develop my frame using Farpy (http://farpy.holev.com/), export it,
and then add any additional code in another IDE. This slows down the
process by a lot because any changes I make to the GUI forces me to
export it again and manually make the changes to my original source.

So, my question is what's a good GUI toolkit that has a really nice IDE
that supports Ruby?

Cheers,
~ Josh

This should be a FAQ. There are quite a few -- my favorite (on Linux)
is Kommander/Korundum/QTRuby.

 

[AliasX Neo]

This should be a FAQ. There are quite a few -- my favorite (on Linux)
is Kommander/Korundum/QTRuby.


--

--
M. Edward (Ed) Borasky, FBG, AB, PTA, MS, MNLP, NST, ACMC(P)
http://borasky-research.blogspot.com/

If God had meant for carrots to be eaten cooked, He would have given
rabbits fire.

I'm running Windows, any good ones for that?

 

[David Vallner]

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=20
I'm running Windows, any good ones for that?
=20

The short answer: no.

The long answer:

If you manage to port qtruby4 to Windows, you get QtDesigner (overall
Qt4 seems to be designed to have the GUI layout created in that,
decoupling the UI design and behaviour implementations.) Things like
rubyuic should work the same on all platforms.

Another hope is the wx rewrite getting into a stable state, and wxGlade
supporting emitting of Ruby code. This is however just speculation.

Personally, if you need to do this sort of GUI development on Windows,
Ruby is so far rough around the edges.

David Vallner


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[AliasX Neo]

The short answer: no.

The long answer:

If you manage to port qtruby4 to Windows, you get QtDesigner (overall
Qt4 seems to be designed to have the GUI layout created in that,
decoupling the UI design and behaviour implementations.) Things like
rubyuic should work the same on all platforms.

Another hope is the wx rewrite getting into a stable state, and wxGlade
supporting emitting of Ruby code. This is however just speculation.

Personally, if you need to do this sort of GUI development on Windows,
Ruby is so far rough around the edges.

David Vallner

That's what I figured, I guess I'm going to have to stick to ugly
command line programs.

Thanks anyways.

 

[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

The short answer: no.

The long answer:

If you manage to port qtruby4 to Windows, you get QtDesigner (overall
Qt4 seems to be designed to have the GUI layout created in that,
decoupling the UI design and behaviour implementations.) Things like
rubyuic should work the same on all platforms.

IIRC Caleb Tennis posted some encouraging words on this a couple of
weeks ago. I don't do Windows development, so I haven't even attempted
to make this work.

Another hope is the wx rewrite getting into a stable state, and wxGlade
supporting emitting of Ruby code. This is however just speculation.

Personally, if you need to do this sort of GUI development on Windows,
Ruby is so far rough around the edges.

Well, there's always CygWin <ducking>

But seriously, both the One-Click Installer and Instant Rails contain
FreeRide and the dependencies FXRuby and Fox. If you don't mind spending
some money, some combination of the ActiveState tool set (ActiveTcl,
Komodo 4, etc.) and the One-Click Installer or Instant Rails ought to be
workable. So should the Sapphire In Steel IDE that hooks into Visual
Studio. I don't know what shape the various Ruby/CLR projects are in, so
I can't comment on them. jRuby 1.0 will probably be better than any of
them, but I don't know how long it will be till that release.

 

[AliasX Neo]

But seriously, both the One-Click Installer and Instant Rails contain
FreeRide and the dependencies FXRuby and Fox. If you don't mind spending
some money, some combination of the ActiveState tool set (ActiveTcl,
Komodo 4, etc.) and the One-Click Installer or Instant Rails ought to be
workable. So should the Sapphire In Steel IDE that hooks into Visual
Studio. I don't know what shape the various Ruby/CLR projects are in, so
I can't comment on them. jRuby 1.0 will probably be better than any of
them, but I don't know how long it will be till that release.

You lost me there with the combination of ActiveState tools.

 

[David Vallner]

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You lost me there with the combination of ActiveState tools.
=20

ActiveState Komodo supports targetting Ruby/Tk from its GUI builder, it
seems.

It's just that... Well... Ugh, Tk. <ducking yet faster>

David Vallner


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[AliasX Neo]

ActiveState Komodo supports targetting Ruby/Tk from its GUI builder, it
seems.

It's just that... Well... Ugh, Tk. <ducking yet faster>

David Vallner

I wasn't aware it has a GUI builder. I have ActiveState Komodo 3.5
installed on my computer right now. Is there some extension I need?

 

[Caleb Tennis]

IIRC Caleb Tennis posted some encouraging words on this a couple of
weeks ago. I don't do Windows development, so I haven't even
attempted to make this work.

The word on the street is that it works, with a little coercion. It
sounds like the biggest issue is the build system, which was designed
for *nix.

I haven't verified because I'm not familiar with Windows development
and am too covered up to go down that path. I think Richard's in the
same boat.

We just need someone to figure out what needs to be done and tidy up
the process.

Caleb

 

[AliasX Neo]

So I guess a better format for my original question should be:

Windows users, what do you do to develop GUI's for Ruby?

 

[David Vallner]

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Windows users, what do you do to develop GUI's for Ruby?
=20

Handcode / use Python.

David Vallner


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[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

Handcode / use Python.

David Vallner

Use commercial Microsoft tools, just like they teach you about in the
Microsoft Certification courses

<ducking>

 

[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

I wasn't aware it has a GUI builder. I have ActiveState Komodo 3.5
installed on my computer right now. Is there some extension I need?

Try the Komodo 4 beta.

 

[David Vallner]

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Use commercial Microsoft tools, just like they teach you about in the
Microsoft Certification courses
=20
<ducking>
=20

You're evil. So very evil.

(And unfortunately right. MSVS+VB6 by far holds the record in
approachable RAD GUIs. Of abysmal quality, but oh, the quantity and
sheer scope of people making them.)

David Vallner


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[M. Edward (Ed) Borasky]

You're evil. So very evil.

(And unfortunately right. MSVS+VB6 by far holds the record in
approachable RAD GUIs. Of abysmal quality, but oh, the quantity and
sheer scope of people making them.)

David Vallner

But a QTDesigner GUI is a lot prettier than the ones I've seen come out
of VBA, Even a Tcl/Tk GUI looks better than most of the VBA default
dialog boxes.

 

[David Vallner]

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But a QTDesigner GUI is a lot prettier than the ones I've seen come out=

of VBA, Even a Tcl/Tk GUI looks better than most of the VBA default
dialog boxes.
=20

Well, I never said they looked pretty. Just did the job, for given
values of the term, for amazing numbers of people. (Who coincidentally
weren't their own users. Explains a lot.)

VBA =3D managers. Managers =3D control freaks. I'm forced to use a hacked=

version of Windows XP on my work laptop. Nothing says "I hate my users"
like an always-on-top, unmovable popup asking you if you want to reboot
your computer for updates now or in 30 minutes. With pixel-positioned
controls, unresizable, taking up 1/9 of the screen in the middle.

(The flamewar on whether to empower users that are Unqualified and Proud
Of It to be able to create things to be imposed on others is old, very
old. The fact that given any number of assistive tools and sensible
defaults they will do it in the worst way possible anyway well-known )

David Vallner


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[Leslie Viljoen]

You're evil. So very evil.

(And unfortunately right. MSVS+VB6 by far holds the record in
approachable RAD GUIs. Of abysmal quality, but oh, the quantity and
sheer scope of people making them.)

I think Visual Studio 2005 is great. Controls on forms are pixel
positioned, but you can anchor any side so that they can be resized,
and it's a quick thing to set minimum and maximum sizes. If you anchor
opposite sides, the control resizes itself as its container resizes.
It's very easy to design and seems to work well. I could never get
used to the pain of the X-Windows way, with inserting all kinds of
sizers and spacers that don't seem to need to be there. What is the
advantage over the MS way?

--
Man's unfailing capacity to believe what he prefers to be true rather
than what the evidence shows to be likely and possible has always
astounded me. We long for a caring Universe which will save us from
our childish mistakes, and in the face of mountains of evidence to the
contrary we will pin all our hopes on the slimmest of doubts. God has
not been proven not to exist, therefore he must exist.

- Prokhor Zakharov

 

[David Roberts]

So I guess a better format for my original question should be:

Windows users, what do you do to develop GUI's for Ruby?

foxGUIb (http://fox-tool.rubyforge.org/) is a possible option,
but is mainly a gui for building guis, not an IDE in its
own right.

 

[Leslie Viljoen]

It has been a pleasure reading your posts, RIP

But I agree with what you have said before (this sentence can be applied
once only!).

There should be a FAQ, and yes I volunteer to work on it!!!!, and if there
was a FAQ this should be one of the leading issues.

But maybe there is a FAQ? Never seen any ref to it, though.

Cheers
Robert

--


--
The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress
depends on the unreasonable man.

- George Bernard Shaw

There are some wiki pages you might want to overhaul or add to:

http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Ruby_programming_language
http://www.trug.ca/Ruby_GUI_Toolkits/archive_of_crap

..I think I have seen more.

Then the next time someone asks this question, everyone should just go
to the best wiki page, add their comments there, and point the poster
to the page.

Can we agree on a good place to put such info? Perhaps a page at Ruby Garden?


Les