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How to do a series of events run by clicks

I want the program to run different functions by click. I don't want buttons, just want it to run with left clicks.
In the code below, it runs getorigin by a left click, I don't know how to make it run other_function by next left click, and then run third_function by one more left click.
from tkinter import *
# --- functions ---
def getorigin(event):
x0 = event.x
y0 = event.y
print('getorigin:', x0, y0)
def other_function(event):
print('other function', x0+1, y0+1)
def third_function(event):
print('third function', x0+1, y0+1)
# --- main ---
# create global variables
x0 = 0
y0 = 0
root = Tk()
w = Canvas(root, width=1000, height=640)
w.pack()
w.bind("<Button-1>", getorigin)
root.mainloop()

You could bind the left-click with a function that counts clicks and runs functions based on that.
def userClicked(event):
global clickTimes
clickTimes += 1
if clickTimes == 1:
getorigin(event)
elif clickTimes == 2:
other_function(event)
elif clickTimes == 3:
third_function(event)
You would need to declare that global clickTimes as 0 down in your main

You could put the functions in a list, and then rotate the list each time you process a click.
Sometime after you've created the functions, add them to a list:
def getorigin(event):
...
def other_function(event):
...
def third_function(event):
...
functions = [getorigin, other_function, third_function]
Next, associate a function with a button click that pops the first function off of the list, moves it to the end, and then executes it:
def handle_click(event):
global functions
func = functions.pop(0)
functions.append(func)
func(event)
w.bind("<Button-1>", handle_click)

How to use function in tkinter mainloop() [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Tkinter — executing functions over time
(2 answers)
Closed 4 years ago.
I decided to try out Python and it's been fun so far. However while messing around with tkinter I encountered a problem which I haven't been able to solve for hours. I've read some things and tried different stuff but nothing works.
I've got the code so far that I think the program should run fine. Except for the fact that I can't make it loop and thus update automatically.
So my question is: how can I call a function with tkinters loop options in an infite loop fashion?
Simple game of life:
I wrote basicly 2 classes. A Matrix which stores and handles the single cells
and the game itself which utilizes the matrix class through some game logic and basic user input.
First the game class as there is my loop problem:
from tkinter import *
from ButtonMatrix import *
class Conway:
def __init__(self, master, size = 20, cell_size = 2):
self.is_running = True
self.matrix = ButtonMatrix(master,size,cell_size)
self.matrix.randomize()
self.matrix.count_neighbours()
self.master = master
# playbutton sets boolean for running the program in a loop
self.playbutton = Button(master, text = str(self.is_running), command = self.stop)
self.playbutton.grid(row = 0 , column = size +1 )
#Test button to trigger the next generation manually. Works as itended.
self.next = Button(master, text="next", command = self.play)
self.next.grid(row = 1, column = size +1)
def play(self): # Calculates and sets the next generation. Intended to be used in a loop
if self.is_running:
self.apply_ruleset()
self.matrix.count_neighbours()
self.apply_colors()
def apply_ruleset(self):
#The ruleset of conways game of life. I wish i knew how to adress each element
#without using these two ugly loops all the time
size = len(self.matrix.cells)
for x in range (size):
for y in range (size):
if self.cell(x,y).is_alive():
if self.cell(x,y).neighbours < 2 or self.cell(x,y).neighbours > 3:
self.cell(x,y).toggle()
if not self.cell(x,y).is_alive() and self.cell(x,y).neighbours == 3:
self.cell(x,y).toggle()
def apply_colors(self): #Some flashy colors just for fun
size = len(self.matrix.cells)
for x in range (size):
for y in range (size):
if self.cell(x,y).is_alive():
if self.cell(x,y).neighbours < 2 or self.cell(x,y).neighbours > 3:
self.cell(x,y).button.configure(bg = "chartreuse3")
if not self.cell(x,y).is_alive() and self.cell(x,y).neighbours == 3:
self.cell(x,y).button.configure(bg = "lightgreen")
def cell(self,x,y):
return self.matrix.cell(x,y)
def start (self): #start and stop set the boolean for the loop. They work and switch the state properly
self.is_running = True
self.playbutton.configure(text=str(self.is_running), command =self.stop)
def stop (self):
self.is_running = False
self.playbutton.configure(text=str(self.is_running), command =self.start)
#Test program. I can't make the loop work. Manual update via next button works however
root = Tk()
conway = Conway(root)
root.after(1000, conway.play())
root.mainloop()
The Matrix (only for interested readers):
from tkinter import *
from random import randint
class Cell:
def __init__(self,master, cell_size = 1):
self.alive = False
self.neighbours = 0
# initializes a squares shaped button that fills the grid cell
self.frame = Frame(master, width= cell_size*16, height = cell_size*16)
self.button = Button(self.frame, text = self.neighbours, command = self.toggle, bg ="lightgray")
self.frame.grid_propagate(False)
self.frame.columnconfigure(0, weight=1)
self.frame.rowconfigure(0,weight=1)
self.button.grid(sticky="wens")
def is_alive(self):
return self.alive
def add_neighbour(self):
self.neighbours += 1
def toggle (self):
if self.is_alive() :
self.alive = False
self.button.configure( bg = "lightgray")
else:
self.alive = True
self.button.configure( bg = "green2")
class ButtonMatrix:
def __init__(self, master, size = 3, cell_size = 3):
self.master = master
self.size = size
self.cell_size = cell_size
self.cells = []
for x in range (self.size):
row = []
self.cells.append(row)
self.set_cells()
def cell(self, x, y):
return self.cells[x][y]
def set_cells(self):
for x in range (self.size):
for y in range (self.size):
self.cells[x] += [Cell(self.master, self.cell_size)]
self.cell(x,y).frame.grid(row=x,column=y)
def count_neighbours(self): # Checks 8 sourounding neighbours for their stats and sets a neighbour counter
for x in range(self.size):
for y in range(self.size):
self.cell(x,y).neighbours = 0
if y < self.size-1:
if self.cell(x,y+1).is_alive(): self.cell(x,y).add_neighbour() # Right
if x > 0 and self.cell(x-1,y+1).is_alive(): self.cell(x,y).add_neighbour() #Top Right
if x < self.size-1 and self.cell(x+1,y+1).is_alive(): self.cell(x,y).add_neighbour() #Bottom Right
if x > 0 and self.cell(x-1,y).is_alive(): self.cell(x,y).add_neighbour()# Top
if x < self.size-1 and self.cell(x+1,y).is_alive():self.cell(x,y).add_neighbour() #Bottom
if y > 0:
if self.cell(x,y-1).is_alive(): self.cell(x,y).add_neighbour() # Left
if x > 0 and self.cell(x-1,y-1).is_alive(): self.cell(x,y).add_neighbour() #Top Left
if x < self.size-1 and self.cell(x+1,y-1).is_alive(): self.cell(x,y).add_neighbour() #Bottom Left
self.cell(x,y).button.configure(text = self.cell(x,y).neighbours)
def randomize (self):
for x in range(self.size):
for y in range(self.size):
if self.cell(x,y).is_alive(): self.cell(x,y).toggle()
rando = randint(0,2)
if rando == 1: self.cell(x,y).toggle()

There are two problems with your code:
root.after(1000, conway.play())
First, you're not telling Tkinter to call conway.play after 1 second, you're calling conway.play() right now, which returns None, and then telling Tkinter to call None after 1 second. You want to pass the function, not call it:
root.after(1000, conway.play)
Meanwhile, after does not mean "call this function every 1000ms", it means "call this function once, after 1000ms, and then never again". The easy way around this is to just have the function ask to be called again in another 1000ms:
def play(self): # Calculates and sets the next generation. Itended to use in a loop
if self.is_running:
self.apply_ruleset()
self.matrix.count_neighbours()
self.apply_colors()
self.master.after(1000, self.play)
This is explained in the docs for after:
This method registers a callback function that will be called after a given number of milliseconds. Tkinter only guarantees that the callback will not be called earlier than that; if the system is busy, the actual delay may be much longer.
The callback is only called once for each call to this method. To keep calling the callback, you need to reregister the callback inside itself:
class App:
def __init__(self, master):
self.master = master
self.poll() # start polling
def poll(self):
... do something ...
self.master.after(100, self.poll)
(I'm assuming nobody's going to care if your timing drifts a little bit, so after an hour you might have 3549 steps or 3627 instead of 3600+/-1. If that's a problem. you have to get a bit more complicated.)

tkinter cant assign text variable

the problem was my input popup had to be a toplevel window so changing tk.Tk() to tk.Toplevel() makes it work fine ;)
#Josh Harrison
#3008088
from graphics import *
from random import randrange
import winsound, sys
#scale for size of squares
scale = 50
#setupBoard sets up the board with a randomly generated puzzle
def setupBoard(size, color):
board = [[[0, Rectangle(Point(scale*.05,scale*.05),Point(scale*.95,scale*.95))] for x in range(size)] for x in range(size)]
for x in range(size):
for y in range(size):
board[x][y][1] = Rectangle(Point(x*scale+scale*.05,y*scale+scale*.05),Point(x*scale+scale*.95,y*scale+scale*.95))
for i in range(1):
selectTile(board, Point(randrange(size)*scale,randrange(size)*scale), size, color)
return board
#selectTile does the action for selecting tiles
#set color to 0 for black and white and 1 for color rotation
def selectTile(board,point,size,color):
#sets value switch according to if colors are desired or not
if color == 1:
valueSwitch = colorSwitch
else:
valueSwitch = bwSwitch
x = int(point.getX()/scale)
y = int(point.getY()/scale)
#temp is made to preserve the selected tiles state
temp = board[x][y][0]
#swap all square values
#note try and except are also looped
for i in range(3):
for z in range(3):
try:
board[x-1+i][y-1+z][0] = valueSwitch(board[x-1+i][y-1+z][0])
except:
#overlap fix for x maxed
if x == size - 1 and y != size - 1:
board[0][y-1+z][0] = valueSwitch(board[0][y-1+z][0])
#overlap fix for y maxed
if y == size - 1 and x != size - 1:
board[x-1+i][0][0] = valueSwitch(board[x-1+i][0][0])
#overlap fix for bottom right corner
if x == size - 1 and y == size - 1:
board[0][0][0] = valueSwitch(board[0][0][0])
for a in range(2):
board[0][size-a-1][0] = valueSwitch(board[0][size-a-1][0])
board[size-a-1][0][0] = valueSwitch(board[size-a-1][0][0])
#give middle square initial value again
board[x][y][0] = temp
#updateBoard updates the squares to the right colour according to value
def updateBoard(board, size, count):
if count != 0:
winsound.Beep(333, 200)
for x in range(size):
for y in range(size):
if board[x][y][0] == 0:
board[x][y][1].setFill('white')
elif board[x][y][0] == 1:
board[x][y][1].setFill('yellow')
elif board[x][y][0] == 2:
board[x][y][1].setFill('green')
elif board[x][y][0] == 3:
board[x][y][1].setFill('blue')
elif board[x][y][0] == 4:
board[x][y][1].setFill('black')
#drawBoard draws the initial board
def drawBoard(size, board, win):
for x in range(size):
for y in range(size):
board[x][y][1].draw(win)
return
#checks to see if board is white(Winning condition)
def winGame(board, size):
#steps through all x and y values
for x in range(size):
for y in range(size):
if board[x][y][0] != 0:
return 0
#returns true if no black squares are found
return 1
#valueSwitch() just makes switching values easier by checking values and selecting the appropriate one
def colorSwitch(value):
if value == 4:
return 0
else:
return value + 1
#bwSwitch only selects from black and white value
def bwSwitch(value):
if value == 4:
return 0
else:
return 4
#winMessage() displaying a winning message graphic
def winMessage(size, scale, win):
gameMessage = Text(Point(size*scale/2,size*scale/2),"You have won logic!")
gameMessage.setSize(int(scale/4))
gameMessage.setTextColor('red')
gameMessage.draw(win)
#gameMenu() is a menu to select game size
def gameMenu():
win = GraphWin("Logic Menu", 400, 600)
win.setBackground('light blue')
board = [[[Text(Point(0,0),'bleh'),Rectangle(Point(0,0),Point(200,200))] for y in range(3)] for x in range(2)]
#Making and drawing the buttons ;)
for x in range(2):
for y in range(3):
board[x][y][1] = Rectangle(Point(x*200+200*.05,y*200+200*.05),Point(x*200+200*.95,y*200+200*.95))
board[x][y][1].draw(win)
board[0][0][0] = Text(board[0][0][1].getCenter(), 'Click for 5x5 puzzle')
board[1][0][0] = Text(board[1][0][1].getCenter(), 'Click for 7x7 puzzle')
board[0][1][0] = Text(board[0][1][1].getCenter(), 'Click for 9x9 puzzle')
board[1][1][0] = Text(board[1][1][1].getCenter(), 'Click for 12x12 puzzle')
board[0][2][0] = Text(board[0][2][1].getCenter(), 'Click to toggle colors')
board[1][2][0] = Text(board[1][2][1].getCenter(), 'Highscores!')
#drawing button options
for x in range(2):
for y in range(3):
board[x][y][0].draw(win)
#check to see what button is pressed
point = win.getMouse()
x = int(point.getX()/200)
y = int(point.getY()/200)
#colors is either 1 for colors or 0 for no colors
colors = 0
#turning colors on and off
#board[0][2][1] is the rectangle for colors
while y == 2:
if x == 0:
if colors == 0:
winsound.Beep(400, 200)
colors = 1
board[0][2][1].setFill('green')
else:
winsound.Beep(363, 200)
colors = 0
board[0][2][1].setFill('')
else:
winsound.Beep(400, 200)
board[1][2][1].setFill('red')
#board is just passed in for a smother button click effect not necessary for functionality
highscore_board(board)
point = win.getMouse()
x = int(point.getX()/200)
y = int(point.getY()/200)
board[x][y][1].setFill('red')
winsound.Beep(400, 200)
win.close()
if x == 0 and y == 0:
return 5 , colors
if x == 1 and y == 0:
return 7 , colors
if x == 0 and y == 1:
return 9 , colors
if x == 1 and y == 1:
return 12 , colors
return 5 , colors
#highscore() checks to see if player has highscore and outputs a highscore to a text file
def highscore(count):
#checks to see if highscore file exists
try:
scoreInfo = [line.strip() for line in open('highscore.txt')]
#remove all spacing
for i in range(scoreInfo.count('')):
scoreInfo.remove('')
scoreInfo[1]
scores = int(len(scoreInfo)/2)
newEntry = 0
#creates new highscore file is none exist
except:
win = GraphWin("Highscore!", 400, 200)
gameMessage = Text(Point(200,100),"Please input name: ")
gameMessage.setSize(int(scale/4))
gameMessage.setTextColor('red')
gameMessage.draw(win)
name=inputWin()
f = open('highscore.txt', 'w')
f.write(name)
f.write('\n'+str(count))
f.close()
gameMessage.setText(name+': '+str(count)+' - saved!')
time.sleep(1)
win.close()
return
#if there is a new highscore it is added at the beginning of the file
for i in range(scores):
if scores < 10 or count < int(scoreInfo[i*2+1]):
win = GraphWin("Highscore!", 400, 200)
gameMessage = Text(Point(200,100),"Please input name: ")
gameMessage.setSize(int(scale/4))
gameMessage.setTextColor('red')
gameMessage.draw(win)
name=inputWin()
f = open('highscore.txt', 'w')
#max 10 highscores 9 + new highscore
if scores >= 10:
scores = 9
for i in range(scores):
try:
if count < int(scoreInfo[i*2+1]) and not newEntry:
f.write(name)
f.write('\n'+str(count))
f.write('\n\n\n')
newEntry = 1
f.write(scoreInfo[i*2])
f.write('\n')
f.write(scoreInfo[i*2+1])
f.write('\n\n\n')
except:
pass
#if no entries have been added
#the new value is then added to the end
if newEntry == 0:
f.write(name)
f.write('\n'+str(count))
f.write('\n\n\n')
f.close()
gameMessage.setText(name+': '+str(count)+' - saved!')
time.sleep(1)
win.close()
break
pass
#board is just passed in for a smother button click effect not necessary for functionality
def highscore_board(board):
win = GraphWin("Highscores", 200, 500)
win.setBackground('light green')
try:
scoreInfo = [line.strip() for line in open('highscore.txt')]
#remove all spacing
for i in range(scoreInfo.count('')):
scoreInfo.remove('')
Text(Point(50,20),"Highscores:").draw(win)
for i in range(10):
Text(Point(10,45*i+60),str(i+1)+'. ').draw(win)
try:
Text(Point(60,45*i+60),scoreInfo[i*2]).draw(win)
Text(Point(170,45*i+60),scoreInfo[1+i*2]).draw(win)
except:
pass
except:
Text(Point(100,250),"no scores yet.").draw(win)
time.sleep(.05)
board[1][2][1].setFill('')
#prevent program crash if scoreboard is exited through os
try:
win.getMouse()
winsound.Beep(363, 200)
win.close()
except:
winsound.Beep(363, 200)
import tkinter as tk
def getString(ment,mGui):
global hsname
hsname = ment.get()
mGui.destroy()
mGui.quit()
def inputWin():
mGui = tk.Tk()
ment = tk.StringVar()
mGui.title('New Highscore!')
mEntry = tk.Entry(mGui,textvariable=ment).pack(side=tk.LEFT)
mbutton = tk.Button(mGui,text='OK',command=lambda:getString(ment,mGui),fg='red',bg='blue').pack(side=tk.RIGHT)
mGui.mainloop()
return hsname
this is the portion that wont work
import tkinter as tk
def getString(ment,mGui):
global hsname
hsname = ment.get()
mGui.destroy()
mGui.quit()
def inputWin():
mGui = tk.Tk()
ment = tk.StringVar()
mGui.title('New Highscore!')
mEntry = tk.Entry(mGui,textvariable=ment)
mEntry.pack(side=tk.LEFT)
mbutton = tk.Button(mGui,text='OK',command=lambda:getString(ment,mGui),fg='red',bg='blue')
mbutton.pack(side=tk.RIGHT)
mGui.mainloop()
return hsname
I'm just screwing around trying to make adding a highscore more visual for a game I made this code it works fine by itself but when I import it or even copy the whole code into a py file with other functions it just stops assigning ment any values I don't understand :/
any help is appreciated
this is the code that runs the game
#Josh Harrison
#3008088
from logic_game import *
def playGame():
option = gameMenu()
size = option[0]
color = option[1]
win = GraphWin("Logic Game", size*scale, size*scale)
win.setBackground('light pink')
board = setupBoard(size, color)
drawBoard(size, board, win)
countText = Text(Point(scale,scale/2),'moves: 0')
countText.setTextColor('red')
countText.draw(win)
count = 0
while not winGame(board, size):
updateBoard(board, size, count)
selectTile(board, win.getMouse(), size, color)
count += 1
countText.setText('moves: ' + str(count))
updateBoard(board, size, count)
winMessage(size, scale, win)
highscore(count)
#pauses the window and waits for click before continuing
win.getMouse()
#closes the window "win"
win.close()
playGame()
link for graphics.py
http://mcsp.wartburg.edu/zelle/python/graphics.py

I don't understand exactly what your problem is doing wrong, but I'm pretty sure I know what the problem is.
Most of your program is using some library named graphics to run a GUI. Then you're trying to use Tkinter to run another GUI in the same program.
I don't know what that graphics library that is, but unless it's either built on top of Tkinter, or specifically designed to work with Tkinter, this is unlikely to work. Both of them are going to try to be in charge of the one and only GUI for your program, handling all of the events from the user/windowing system, and so forth. One or both are going to fail.
In fact, even if graphics were built on top of Tkinter or designed to work together with it, calling mainloop on the Tkinter window is at best going to freeze up the rest of your GUI until you exit that mainloop, and at worst going to break the outer mainloop that the other GUI is relying on.
From what I can see from your other code, that graphics library seems to have enough features to do everything you were trying to do with Tkinter—create a new window, place some widgets on it, handle a button click. So, why not just use that?
Now that you've given us a link to the graphics library you're using… it looks like a thin wrapper around Tkinter. Which means you should be able to integrate them easily. You just have to create a new Toplevel instead of a root window (since graphics has already created a Tkinter root), and not call mainloop or quit (because you're already in a Tkinter main loop created by graphics).
Since you haven't given us an SSCCE that I can just run and hack on, I've built my own super-simple one around the first example in the graphics docs, which does what you were trying to do, and also shows how you can interact with the graphics window from the Tkinter code.
from graphics import *
import Tkinter as tk
def getString(ment,mGui):
global win
print(ment.get())
mGui.destroy()
win.close()
def inputWin():
global hsname
mGui = tk.Toplevel()
ment = tk.StringVar()
mGui.title('New Highscore!')
tk.Entry(mGui,textvariable=ment).pack(side=tk.LEFT)
tk.Button(mGui,text='OK',command=lambda:getString(ment,mGui),fg='red',bg='blue').pack(side=tk.RIGHT)
win.getMouse()
def main():
global win
win = GraphWin("My Circle", 100, 100)
c = Circle(Point(50,50), 10)
c.draw(win)
win.getMouse() # Pause to view result
inputWin()
main()
It would be better to refactor this to eliminate your global variables, either using an OO design (create a class so you can store things as instance attributes) or a functional design (pass values through closures or bake them in with lambda/partial, as you're already doing in your Button command), but I tried to follow the style you already set in your code rather than rewrite everything.

"after" looping indefinitely: never entering mainloop

This is my first post. I started coding when considering a career swap two months ago and am working on a Tetris clone. I've implemented most of the core features, but cannot get the game to refresh continually with an after loop.
I'm using Tkinter to produce my Gui and am trying out event oriented programming.
My understanding is that after(Time, Event) from Tkinter should schedule whatever the Event callback function is to occur after a delay specified by Time. I think that the code is supposed to continue executing subsequent items after this.
My frame refresh function (game.updateBoard()) does most of the necessary events for tetris to work, then calls itself using after. I call it once when initializing an instance of the game.
Instead of proceeding to mainloop(), the game.updateboard() function calls itself via after indefinitely.
I suspect that it is not behaving how I thought after worked which would be to continue to execute the script until the specified delay occurs. I think it is waiting for the callback to terminate to continue.
I tried to find a resource on this but could not.
If you have suggestions for fixing this question, the attached code, or for coding in general, I am very happy to hear them! This is a learning process and I'll gladly try pretty much anything you suggest.
Here is the relevant portion of the code:
class game():
def __init__(self): #Set up board and image board
self.pieces = ["L","J","S","Z","T","O","I"]
self.board = boardFrame()
self.root = Tk()
self.root.title("Tetris")
self.root.geometry("250x525")
self.frame = Frame(self.root)
#set up black and green squares for display
self.bSquare = "bsquare.gif"
self.gSquare = "square.gif"
self.rSquare = "rsquare.gif"
self.image0 = PhotoImage(file = self.bSquare)
self.image1 = PhotoImage(file = self.gSquare)
self.image2 = PhotoImage(file = self.rSquare)
#get an initial piece to work with
self.activeBlock = piece(self.pieces[random.randint(0,6)])
#Tells program to lower block every half second
self.blockTimer = 0
self.updateBoard()
self.root.bind('<KeyPress-Up>', self.turn)
self.root.bind('<KeyPress-Right>', self.moveR)
self.root.bind('<KeyPress-Left>', self.moveL)
self.root.bind('<KeyPress-Down>',self.moveD)
print("Entering mainloop")
self.root.mainloop()
def turn(self, event):
self.activeBlock.deOccupy(self.board)
self.activeBlock.turn()
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
self.drawGrid(self.board.grid)
def moveR(self, event):
self.activeBlock.deOccupy(self.board)
self.activeBlock.updatePos([1,0], self.board)
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
self.drawGrid(self.board.grid)
def moveL(self, event):
if self.activeBlock.checkLeft(self.board) == False:
self.activeBlock.deOccupy(self.board)
self.activeBlock.updatePos([-1,0], self.board)
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
self.drawGrid(self.board.grid)
def moveD(self, event): #find
self.activeBlock.deOccupy(self.board)
self.activeBlock.updatePos([0,-1],self.board)
if self.activeBlock.checkBottom(self.board) == True:
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
self.activeBlock = piece(self.pieces[random.randint(0,6)])
## self.activeBlock = piece(self.pieces[1])
print("bottomed")
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
self.drawGrid(self.board.grid)
def drawGrid(self, dGrid):
#Generate squares to match tetris board
for widget in self.frame.children.values():
widget.destroy()
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
for x in range(9,-1,-1):
for y in range(20,-1,-1):
if self.board.grid[x][y] == 1:
self.frame.displayA = Label(self.frame, image=self.image1)
## self.frame.displayA.image = self.image1
self.frame.displayA.grid(row=21-y, column=x)
else:
self.frame.displayA = Label(self.frame, image = self.image0)
## self.frame.displayA.image = self.image0
self.frame.displayA.grid(row=21-y, column=x)
self.frame.displayA = Label(self.frame, image = self.image2)
self.frame.displayA.grid(row = 21 - self.activeBlock.center[1], column = self.activeBlock.center[0])
self.frame.grid()
def updateBoard(self):
self.blockTimer += 1
"print updateBoard Loop"
## 1)check for keyboard commands
#1.1 move block by keyboard commands
#2) see if block has bottomed out, if it has, have it enter itself into the grid and generate a new block.
if self.activeBlock.checkBottom(self.board) == True:
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
self.activeBlock = piece(self.pieces[random.randint(0,6)])
print("bottomed")
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
#2.2 - if block has not bottomed and 50 frames (~.5 seconds) have passed, move the active block down a square after clearing its old space.
elif self.blockTimer%12 == 0:
self.activeBlock.deOccupy(self.board)
self.activeBlock.updatePos([0,-1], self.board)
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
## 4) check for filled rows
for y in range(1,21):
for x in range(10):
rowFull = True
if self.board.grid[x][y] == 0:
rowFull == False
#4.1 if any row is filled, delete it and then move all rows above the deleted row down by one
if rowFull == True:
for x2 in range(10):
self.board.grid[x2][y] = 0
for y2 in range(y+1,21):
if self.board.grid[x2][y2] == 1:
self.board.grid[x2][y2] = 0
self.board.grid[x2][y2-1] = 1
#4.11 if the row is full and the row above it was full, delete the row again as well as the row above it, and move all rows down by 2
for x in range(10):
rowFull = True
if self.board.grid[x][y] == 0:
rowFull == False
if rowFull == True:
for x2 in range(10):
try:
self.board.grid[x2][y] = 0
self.board.grid[x2][y+1] = 0
except:
pass
for y2 in range(y+2,21):
try:
if self.board.grid[x2][y2] == 1:
self.board.grid[x2][y2] = 0
self.board.grid[x2][y2-2] = 1
except:
pass
#5) if there is a block in the top row, end the game loop
for x in range(10):
if self.board.grid[x][20] == 1:
game = "over"
#6) update image
self.activeBlock.occupy(self.board)
self.drawGrid(self.board.grid)
self.frame.after(500, self.updateBoard())
Game = game()

You want to do self.frame.after(500, self.updateBoard).
The difference here is subtle, (self.updateBoard instead of self.updateBoard()). In your version, you're passing the result of your function to the after method instead of passing the function. This results in the infinite recursion that you described.

Tkinter events outside of the mainloop?

The program I am writing has a tkinter window that is constantly being fed with data manually rather than being part of a mainloop. It also needs to track mouse location. I havn't found a workaround for tracking the mouse outside of mainloop yet, but if you have one please do tell.
from Tkinter import *
import random
import time
def getCoords(event):
xm, ym = event.x, event.y
str1 = "mouse at x=%d y=%d" % (xm, ym)
print str1
class iciclePhysics(object):
def __init__(self, fallrange, speed=5):
self.speed = speed
self.xpos = random.choice(range(0,fallrange))
self.ypos = 0
def draw(self,canvas):
try:
self.id = canvas.create_polygon(self.xpos-10, self.ypos, self.xpos+10, self.ypos, self.xpos, self.ypos+25, fill = 'lightblue')
except:
pass
def fall(self,canvas):
self.ypos+=self.speed
canvas.move(self.id, 0, self.ypos)
root = Tk()
mainFrame = Frame(root, bg= 'yellow', width=300, height=200)
mainFrame.pack()
mainCanvas = Canvas(mainFrame, bg = 'black', height = 500, width = 500, cursor = 'circle')
mainCanvas.bind("<Motion>", getCoords)
mainCanvas.pack()
root.resizable(0, 0)
difficulty = 1500
#root.mainloop()
currentIcicles = [iciclePhysics(difficulty)]
root.update()
currentIcicles[0].draw(mainCanvas)
root.update_idletasks()
time.sleep(0.1)
currentIcicles[0].fall(mainCanvas)
root.update_idletasks()
tracker = 0
sleeptime = 0.04
while True:
tracker+=1
time.sleep(sleeptime)
if tracker % 3 == 0 and difficulty > 500:
difficulty -= 1
elif difficulty <= 500:
sleeptime-=.00002
currentIcicles.append(iciclePhysics(difficulty))
currentIcicles[len(currentIcicles)-1].draw(mainCanvas)
for i in range(len(currentIcicles)):
currentIcicles[i].fall(mainCanvas)
root.update_idletasks()
for i in currentIcicles:
if i.ypos >= 90:
currentIcicles.remove(i)
root.update_idletasks()

There is no way. Mouse movement is presented to the GUI as a series of events. In order to process events, the event loop must be running.
Also, you should pretty much never do a sleep inside a GUI application. All that does is freeze the GUI during the sleep.
Another hint: you only need to create an icicle once; to make it fall you can use the move method of the canvas.
If you are having problems understanding event based programming, the solution isn't to avoid the event loop, the solution is to learn how event loops work. You pretty much can't create a GUI without it.