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I'm looking to write something in Python to make a GUI that shows: i) A list of checkboxes ii) A graph (of the data corresponding to the checked boxes) - preferably both of these in a single window, but it's OK if they have to be in separate windows. The data that is to be graphed will be coming from a .txt file and the checkboxes will control which parts of the text file are to be displayed/hidden.

Which Python library would work best for that (looking for ease of use, free, and ability to meet the basic reqs)? The main requirements is that a user can look at whichever combination of the data they want in the graph, so the plot updates as the user is clicking on the checkboxes.

After looking at a stackoverflow thread (lost the link and can't find it again, sorry), it seemed like PyQt+matplotlib could be a good option, but I wanted to get advice on if that would work well for me before I start spending too much time on them. Also not too sure on how I would combine a graph+table into one window; I'm new to combining libraries.

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3 Answers 3

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I would also suggest taking a look at wxPython which is the python bindings for wxWigets.

  • Native look and feel
  • Cross Platform
  • Free Libra & FOSS
  • Minimal external dependencies
  • Lots of editable examples in the Documents & Demos Package
  • Active and helpful community
  • Existing matplotlib back-end for wx

A very quick hack of the code from the link above gives:

#!/usr/bin/env python
"""
An example of how to use wx or wxagg in an application with the new
toolbar - comment out the setA_toolbar line for no toolbar
"""

# Used to guarantee to use at least Wx2.8
import wxversion
wxversion.ensureMinimal('2.8')

from numpy import arange, sin, pi

import matplotlib

# uncomment the following to use wx rather than wxagg
#matplotlib.use('WX')
#from matplotlib.backends.backend_wx import FigureCanvasWx as FigureCanvas

# comment out the following to use wx rather than wxagg
matplotlib.use('WXAgg')
from matplotlib.backends.backend_wxagg import FigureCanvasWxAgg as FigureCanvas

from matplotlib.backends.backend_wx import NavigationToolbar2Wx

from matplotlib.figure import Figure

import wx

class CanvasFrame(wx.Frame):

    def __init__(self):
        wx.Frame.__init__(self,None,-1,
                         'CanvasFrame',size=(550,350))

        self.SetBackgroundColour(wx.NamedColour("WHITE"))

        self.figure = Figure()
        self.axes = self.figure.add_subplot(111)
        t = arange(0.0,3.0,0.01)
        s = sin(2*pi*t)

        self.axes.plot(t,s)
        self.canvas = FigureCanvas(self, -1, self.figure)
        sampleList = ['zero', 'one', 'two', 'three', 'four', 'five',
                      'six', 'seven', 'eight', 'nine', 'ten', 'eleven',
                      'twelve', 'thirteen', 'fourteen']
        lb = wx.CheckListBox(self, -1, (80, 50), wx.DefaultSize, sampleList)
        # You will need to add some event handlers
        #self.Bind(wx.EVT_LISTBOX, self.EvtListBox, lb)
        #self.Bind(wx.EVT_CHECKLISTBOX, self.EvtCheckListBox, lb)
        lb.SetSelection(0)
        self.listbox = lb

        self.sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
        self.sizer.Add(self.canvas, 1, wx.LEFT | wx.TOP | wx.GROW)
        self.sizer.Add(self.listbox, 0, wx.RIGHT | wx.TOP)
        self.SetSizer(self.sizer)
        self.Fit()

        self.add_toolbar()  # comment this out for no toolbar


    def add_toolbar(self):
        self.toolbar = NavigationToolbar2Wx(self.canvas)
        self.toolbar.Realize()
        if wx.Platform == '__WXMAC__':
            # Mac platform (OSX 10.3, MacPython) does not seem to cope with
            # having a toolbar in a sizer. This work-around gets the buttons
            # back, but at the expense of having the toolbar at the top
            self.SetToolBar(self.toolbar)
        else:
            # On Windows platform, default window size is incorrect, so set
            # toolbar width to figure width.
            tw, th = self.toolbar.GetSizeTuple()
            fw, fh = self.canvas.GetSizeTuple()
            # By adding toolbar in sizer, we are able to put it at the bottom
            # of the frame - so appearance is closer to GTK version.
            # As noted above, doesn't work for Mac.
            self.toolbar.SetSize(wx.Size(fw, th))
            self.sizer.Add(self.toolbar, 0, wx.LEFT | wx.EXPAND)
        # update the axes menu on the toolbar
        self.toolbar.update()


    def OnPaint(self, event):
        self.canvas.draw()

class App(wx.App):

    def OnInit(self):
        'Create the main window and insert the custom frame'
        frame = CanvasFrame()
        frame.Show(True)

        return True

app = App(0)
app.MainLoop()

Hacked Demo

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PySimpleGUI is a new package that wraps tkinter that supports Matplotlib graphs. It's ideal for programs that need access to the basic GUI widgets like checkboxes, radio buttons, listboxes, etc, but don't need a full-blown GUI framework such as Qt. Sometimes there is a need for a somewhere between just starting and Qt and this may be one answer to that need.

There are a few Demo programs in the GitHub that show how to integrate with Matplotlib to display graphs. With it you should be able to write a program that collects the data to be graphed using GUI widgets, creates a graph using Matplotlib or Pyplot that can then be shown. enter image description here

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PyQt and matplotlib. The PyQt library is very robust and very diverse. I have used it to create an application very similar to what you are looking to do. It does take a little effort to get past the initial understanding of how to create GUI apps using Python and PyQt. I solid understanding of Object Oriented Programming is a must. Good Luck.

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  • Great, thanks for the response! I'll try to remember to post back here with an update once I've gotten done some work on it
    – rwicks
    Jan 9, 2015 at 21:09

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