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wxPython application does not respond

I have a complex application, with a GUI that needs to dialogue with some I/O devices and with some WebAPI. I put my wx.Frame class in the main file, as I read that the GUI should be in the main thread to avoid freezing
if __name__ == "__main__":
app = wx.App()
frame = Window()
app.MainLoop()
but still the GUI freezes very often, and sometimes it doesn't show at all and a message saying "My_app is not responding" appears.
All the I/O and webAPI management is done in separate threads that are created by frame. The only GUI elements that are not in the main file are the pages that compose my notebook
from PageOne import PageOne
from PageTwo import PageTwo
from PageThree import PageThree
...
self.page1 = PageOne(self.nb)
self.page2 = PageTwo(self.nb)
self.page3 = PageThree(self.nb)
self.nb.AddPage(self.page1, "Page1")
self.nb.AddPage(self.page2, "Page2")
self.nb.AddPage(self.page3, "Page3")
All the communications between secondary threads and the GUI are done using wx.lib.newevent.NewEvent() in the main file and wx.PostEvent(self.parent, my_evt) in the threads.
I am using wxpython 4.1.1 and Ubuntu 20.04.2 LTS.
Any suggestion on how to prevent the GUI from not responding or freezing? Is maybe a better idea to use multiprocessing instead of multithreading? I know that threads are usually better for I/O applications...but is it still true in my case where the threads are all enless loops?
def run(self):
while True:
do_stuff()

This is not an answer per se.
However it might help track down a solution.
Given that we have no idea, none, what your code is doing, no one can answer a question like this.
It's the equivalent of asking, How long is a piece of string?
The best advice is to use something like the code below, adapting the thread to perform something akin to what your thread/threads are doing and see if you can replicate the behaviour and hopefully find the cause.
import time
import wx
from threading import Thread
import wx.lib.newevent
progress_event, EVT_PROGRESS_EVENT = wx.lib.newevent.NewEvent()
class ThreadFrame(wx.Frame):
def __init__(self, title, parent=None):
wx.Frame.__init__(self, parent=parent, title=title)
panel = wx.Panel(self)
self.btn = wx.Button(panel,label='Stop Long running process', size=(200,30), pos=(10,10))
self.btn.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.OnExit)
self.progress = wx.Gauge(panel,size=(240,10), pos=(10,50), range=240)
#Bind to the progress event issued by the thread
self.Bind(EVT_PROGRESS_EVENT, self.OnProgress)
#Bind to Exit on frame close
self.Bind(wx.EVT_CLOSE, self.OnExit)
self.Show()
self.mythread = TestThread(self)
#Enable the GUI to be responsive by briefly returning control to the main App
while self.mythread.isAlive():
time.sleep(0.1)
wx.GetApp().Yield()
continue
try:
self.OnExit(None)
except:
pass
def OnProgress(self, event):
self.progress.SetValue(event.count)
#or for indeterminate progress
#self.progress.Pulse()
def OnExit(self, event):
if self.mythread.isAlive():
self.mythread.terminate() # Shutdown the thread
self.mythread.join() # Wait for it to finish
self.Destroy()
class TestThread(Thread):
def __init__(self,parent_target):
Thread.__init__(self)
self.parent = parent_target
self.stopthread = False
self.time = time.time()
self.start() # start the thread
def run(self):
# A loop that will run for 2 minutes then terminate
while self.stopthread == False:
curr_loop = int(time.time() - self.time)
if curr_loop < 240:
time.sleep(0.1)
evt = progress_event(count=curr_loop)
#Send back current count for the progress bar
try:
wx.PostEvent(self.parent, evt)
except: # The parent frame has probably been destroyed
self.terminate()
else:
self.terminate()
def terminate(self):
self.stopthread = True
class MyPanel(wx.Panel):
def __init__(self, parent):
wx.Panel.__init__(self, parent)
self.text_count = 0
self.thread_count = 0
self.parent=parent
btn = wx.Button(self, wx.ID_ANY, label='Start Long running process', size=(200,30), pos=(10,10))
btn.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.Thread_Frame)
btn2 = wx.Button(self, wx.ID_ANY, label='Is the GUI still active?', size=(200,30), pos=(10,50))
btn2.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.AddText)
self.txt = wx.TextCtrl(self, wx.ID_ANY, style= wx.TE_MULTILINE, pos=(10,90),size=(400,100))
def Thread_Frame(self, event):
self.thread_count += 1
frame = ThreadFrame(title='Threaded Task '+str(self.thread_count), parent=self.parent)
def AddText(self,event):
self.text_count += 1
txt = "Gui is still active " + str(self.text_count)+"\n"
self.txt.write(txt)
class MainFrame(wx.Frame):
def __init__(self):
wx.Frame.__init__(self, None, title='Main Frame', size=(600,400))
panel = MyPanel(self)
self.Show()
if __name__ == '__main__':
app = wx.App(False)
frame = MainFrame()
app.MainLoop()

wxPython - Setting a help string for a button in toolbar

I noticed I can have a help string appear in the status bar whenever I mouse over tools in my toolbar. I cannot find a way to accomplish this with text buttons.
My toolbar creation is similar to
# Make Tool Bar
toolbar = self.CreateToolBar()
# Make Tool Bar Items
# Play
self.addBasicTool(toolbar, "Play",
"This is my help string",
stuff.image_play,
self.OnPlay)
# My Button
btn = wx.Button(toolbar, wx.ID_OPEN, label="TEXT BUTTON ")
btn.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.OnButtonPress)
toolbar.AddControl(btn)
addBasicTool just takes the image, scales it to a proper size, creates the tool with AddBasicTool, and binds the tool to the handler.
def addBasicTool(self, toolbar, label, desc, imgPath, handler):
icon_width=stuff.toolbar_icon_w
icon_height=stuff.toolbar_icon_h
size = (icon_width, icon_height)
img = wx.Image(imgPath, wx.BITMAP_TYPE_ANY).\
Scale(*size).ConvertToBitmap()
tool = toolbar.AddSimpleTool(-1, img, label, desc)
self.Bind(wx.EVT_MENU, handler, tool)
For the tool, the helper string is set pretty straight forward. I can't find anything to do the same with a button.
This button may just end up being a filler until I get an icon for it, but I'm still curious how helper strings can be done. I could have a handler that sets the statusBar when the mouse is over the button, but I feel like that is already done somewhere. Thanks the help

Basically you'll have to catch the mouse as it moves over your buttons and update the status bar accordingly. It's not very hard. You just need to bind to wx.EVT_MOTION. Here's a simple example:
import wx
########################################################################
class MyPanel(wx.Panel):
""""""
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
def __init__(self, parent):
"""Constructor"""
wx.Panel.__init__(self, parent)
self.frame = parent
test_btn = wx.Button(self, label='Test Button')
test_btn.Bind(wx.EVT_MOTION, self.updateStatusBar)
test_btn_2 = wx.Button(self, label='Test Button')
test_btn_2.Bind(wx.EVT_MOTION, self.updateStatusBar)
self.buttons = {test_btn: 'Test help string',
test_btn_2: 'Another string'}
main_sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
main_sizer.Add(test_btn, 0, wx.ALL, 5)
main_sizer.Add(test_btn_2, 0, wx.ALL, 5)
self.SetSizer(main_sizer)
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
def updateStatusBar(self, event):
""""""
btn = event.GetEventObject()
if btn in self.buttons:
status = self.buttons[btn]
self.frame.sb.SetStatusText(status)
########################################################################
class MyFrame(wx.Frame):
""""""
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
def __init__(self):
"""Constructor"""
wx.Frame.__init__(self, None, title='Test Help Strings')
panel = MyPanel(self)
self.sb = self.CreateStatusBar()
self.Show()
if __name__ == '__main__':
app = wx.App(False)
frame = MyFrame()
app.MainLoop()

How to link multiple wx.Dialogs in wxPython

I want to make a game in wxPython (no other modules) and I want to make it so that you can enter some values in popup screens before the game starts, and then the game will be drawn on a canvas which in turn is drawn on a panel, which is bound to the main game.
I made the gamescreen with all fancy stuff (works solo)
I made the input screens
But I cannot link them.
How do I start the game so it will open a dialog box, then on the closure of it open another one, and then open the game ?
I tried the following, but it will not open my canvas:
# makes a game by showing 2 dialogs
# after dialogs have been answered, starts the game by drawing the canvas.
# imports
import wx
import Speelveld3
# globals
SCRWIDTH = 950
SCRHEIGHT = 700
# dialogbox class
class MyDialog1(wx.Dialog):
def __init__(self, parent):
wx.Dialog.__init__(self, parent)
self.username = wx.TextCtrl(self)
self.okButton = wx.Button(self, wx.ID_OK, "OK")
class MyDialog2(wx.Dialog):
def __init__(self, parent):
wx.Dialog.__init__(self, parent)
self.canvasWidth = wx.TextCtrl(self)
self.okButton = wx.Button(self, wx.ID_OK, "OK")
# main class
class Game(wx.Frame):
def __init__(self):
wx.Frame.__init__(self, None, -1, title='My game', size=(SCRWIDTH, SCRHEIGHT))
self.username = ""
self.canvasWidth = 10
# hide the frame for now
self.Hide()
def OnInit(self):
#Make your dialogs
dlg1 = MyDialog1(self)
#if the user pressed "OK" (i.e. NOT "Cancel" or any other button you might add)
if dlg1.ShowModal() == wx.ID_OK:
#get the username from the dialog
self.username = dlg1.username.GetValue()
#clean up the dialog (AFTER you get the username)
dlg1.Destroy()
dlg2 = MyDialog2(self)
#if the user pressed "OK" (i.e. NOT "Cancel" or any other button you might add)
if dlg2.ShowModal() == wx.ID_OK:
#get the username from the dialog
self.canvasWidth = dlg2.canvasWidth.GetValue()
#clean up the dialog (AFTER you get the username)
dlg2.Destroy()
# Now that you have your settings, Make the gameboard
# THIS PART IS STILL BROKEN!
# I can paste the whole board class (structure of it is taken from the tetris tutorial)
# but that seems a bit much tbh...
self.gameBoard = Board.Board(self)
self.gameBoard = SetFocus()
self.gameBoard.start()
self.Centre()
self.Show(True) #show the frame
if __name__ == '__main__':
# how can I start the game here?
app = wx.App()
frame = Game()
board = Speelveld3.Speelveld(frame)
board.start()
frame.Show()
app.MainLoop()

You've double posted, and the lack of any wx.Dialog in your sample code suggests to me that you haven't even looked at a tutorial yet, but I will give you the benefit of the doubt.
First, if you want to return information from a dialog, the easiest way is to define a custom dialog. Define a new class that inherits from wx.Dialog and then set it up just like you would a normal panel or a frame. It seems to me that you will need two of these. They'll look something like this:
class MyDialog1(wx.Dialog):
def __init__(self, parent):
wx.Dialog.__init__(self, parent)
self.username = wx.TextCtrl(self) #this is where users will enter their username
self.okButton = wx.Button(self, wx.ID_OK, "OK") #Note that I'm using wx.ID_OK. This is important
Now, for the logic you want. Pretty much every object in wxPython that you actually see has the functions Show() and Hide() (API here). You don't want to show your frame until AFTER the dialogs are finished, so in your __init__(), call Hide(). I'm also initializing a variable, username, which is where I will store the data from my dialog.
class Game(wx.Frame):
def __init__(self, parent, id, title):
wx.Frame.__init__(self, parent, id, title, size=(SCRWIDTH, SCRHEIGHT))
self.username = ""
self.Hide() #don't show the frame just yet
#self.Hide() is the exact same as self.Show(False)
Now, for your dialogs. Like Mike Driscoll suggested, you call your dialogs BEFORE making your canvas. wx.Dialogs are launched using ShowModal(). By setting the ID of self.okButton to the constant wx.ID_OK, wxPython recognizes that the dialog should be closed after the button in clicked. You should also be aware of wx.ID_CANCEL.
def OnInit(self):
#Make your dialogs
dlg1 = MyDialog1(self)
if dlg1.ShowModal() == wx.ID_OK:
#if the user pressed "OK" (i.e. NOT "Cancel" or any other button you might add)
self.username = dlg1.username.GetValue() #get the username from the dialog
dlg1.Destroy() #clean up the dialog (AFTER you get the username)
#do this again for your second dialog
#Now that you have your settings, Make the gameboard
self.gameBoard = Board.Board(self)
self.gameBoard = SetFocus()
self.gameBoard.start()
self.Centre()
self.Show(True) #show the frame

In your OnInit you just need to call your dialogs and show them modally BEFORE you create your Board instance. Then it should work correctly.
EDIT (6-28-12): Here's some code:
import wx
########################################################################
class MyDlg(wx.Dialog):
""""""
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
def __init__(self):
"""Constructor"""
wx.Dialog.__init__(self, None, title="I'm a dialog!")
lbl = wx.StaticText(self, label="Hi from the panel's init!")
btn = wx.Button(self, id=wx.ID_OK, label="Close me")
sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
sizer.Add(lbl, 0, wx.ALL, 5)
sizer.Add(btn, 0, wx.ALL, 5)
self.SetSizer(sizer)
########################################################################
class MyPanel(wx.Panel):
""""""
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
def __init__(self, parent):
"""Constructor"""
wx.Panel.__init__(self, parent)
# show a custom dialog
dlg = MyDlg()
dlg.ShowModal()
dlg.Destroy()
self.Bind(wx.EVT_PAINT, self.OnPaint)
def OnPaint(self, evt):
pdc = wx.PaintDC(self)
try:
dc = wx.GCDC(pdc)
except:
dc = pdc
rect = wx.Rect(0,0, 100, 100)
for RGB, pos in [((178, 34, 34), ( 50, 90)),
(( 35, 142, 35), (110, 150)),
(( 0, 0, 139), (170, 90))
]:
r, g, b = RGB
penclr = wx.Colour(r, g, b, wx.ALPHA_OPAQUE)
brushclr = wx.Colour(r, g, b, 128) # half transparent
dc.SetPen(wx.Pen(penclr))
dc.SetBrush(wx.Brush(brushclr))
rect.SetPosition(pos)
dc.DrawRoundedRectangleRect(rect, 8)
########################################################################
class MyFrame(wx.Frame):
""""""
#----------------------------------------------------------------------
def __init__(self):
"""Constructor"""
wx.Frame.__init__(self, None, title="Example frame")
# show a MessageDialog
style = wx.OK|wx.ICON_INFORMATION
dlg = wx.MessageDialog(parent=None,
message="Hello from the frame's init",
caption="Information", style=style)
dlg.ShowModal()
dlg.Destroy()
# create panel
panel = MyPanel(self)
if __name__ == "__main__":
app = wx.App(False)
frame = MyFrame()
frame.Show()
app.MainLoop()

Using the same handler for multiple wx.TextCtrls?

I'm having a bit of trouble with a panel that has two wxPython TextCtrls in it. I want either an EVT_CHAR or EVT_KEY_UP handler bound to both controls, and I want to be able to tell which TextCtrl generated the event. I would think that event.Id would tell me this, but in the following sample code it's always 0. Any thoughts? I've only tested this on OS X.
This code simply checks that both TextCtrls have some text in them before enabling the Done button
import wx
class MyFrame(wx.Frame):
def __init__(self, parent, ID, title):
wx.Frame.__init__(self, parent, ID, title,
wx.DefaultPosition, wx.Size(200, 150))
self.panel = BaseNameEntryPanel(self)
class BaseNameEntryPanel(wx.Panel):
def __init__(self, parent):
wx.Panel.__init__(self, parent, -1)
self.entry = wx.TextCtrl(self, wx.NewId())
self.entry2 = wx.TextCtrl(self, wx.NewId())
self.donebtn = wx.Button(self, wx.NewId(), "Done")
self.donebtn.Disable()
vsizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
vsizer.Add(self.entry, 1, wx.EXPAND|wx.GROW)
vsizer.Add(self.entry2, 1, wx.EXPAND|wx.GROW)
vsizer.Add(self.donebtn, 1, wx.EXPAND|wx.GROW)
self.SetSizer(vsizer)
self.Fit()
self.entry.Bind(wx.EVT_KEY_UP, self.Handle)
self.entry2.Bind(wx.EVT_KEY_UP, self.Handle)
def Handle(self, event):
keycode = event.GetKeyCode()
print keycode, event.Id # <- event.Id is always 0!
def checker(entry):
return bool(entry.GetValue().strip())
self.donebtn.Enable(checker(self.entry) and checker(self.entry2))
class MyApp(wx.App):
def OnInit(self):
frame = MyFrame(None, -1, "Hello from wxPython")
frame.Show(True)
self.SetTopWindow(frame)
return True
app = MyApp(0)
app.MainLoop()

You could try event.GetId() or event.GetEventObject() and see if either of these work.
Another approach to this is to use lambda or functools.partial to effectively pass a parameter to the handler. So, for example, sub in the lines below into your program:
self.entry.Bind(wx.EVT_KEY_UP, functools.partial(self.Handle, ob=self.entry))
self.entry2.Bind(wx.EVT_KEY_UP, functools.partial(self.Handle, ob=self.entry2))
def Handle(self, event, ob=None):
print ob
And then ob will be either entry or entry2 depending on which panel is clicked. But, of course, this shouldn't be necessary, and GetId and GetEventObject() should both work -- though I don't (yet) have a Mac to try these on.

Opening a wx.Frame in Python via a new thread

I have a frame that exists as a start up screen for the user to make a selection before the main program starts. After the user makes a selection I need the screen to stay up as a sort of splash screen until the main program finishes loading in back.
I've done this by creating an application and starting a thread:
class App(wx.App):
'''
Creates the main frame and displays it
Returns true if successful
'''
def OnInit(self):
try:
'''
Initialization
'''
self.newFile = False
self.fileName = ""
self.splashThread = Splash.SplashThread(logging, self)
self.splashThread.start()
#...More to the class
which launches a frame:
class SplashThread(threading.Thread):
def __init__(self, logger, app):
threading.Thread.__init__(self)
self.logger = logger
self.app = app
def run(self):
frame = Frame(self.logger, self.app)
frame.Show()
The app value is needed as it contains the callback which allows the main program to continue when the user makes their selection. The problem is that the startup screen only flashes for a millisecond then goes away, not allowing the user to make a selection and blocking the rest of start up.
Any ideas? Thanks in advance!

You don't need threads for this. The drawback is that the splash window will block while loading but that is an issue only if you want to update it's contents (animate it) or if you want to be able to drag it. An issue that can be solved by periodically calling wx.SafeYield for example.
import time
import wx
class Loader(wx.Frame):
def __init__(self):
wx.Frame.__init__(self, None)
sizer = wx.BoxSizer(wx.VERTICAL)
self.SetSizer(sizer)
self.btn1 = wx.Button(self, label="Option 1")
self.btn2 = wx.Button(self, label="Option 2")
sizer.Add(self.btn1, flag=wx.EXPAND)
sizer.Add(self.btn2, flag=wx.EXPAND)
self.btn1.Bind(wx.EVT_BUTTON, self.OnOption1)
self.btn2.Bind(
wx.EVT_BUTTON, lambda e: wx.MessageBox("There is no option 2")
)
def OnOption1(self, event):
self.btn1.Hide()
self.btn2.Hide()
self.Sizer.Add(
wx.StaticText(self, label="Loading Option 1..."),
1, wx.ALL | wx.EXPAND, 15
)
self.Layout()
self.Update()
AppFrame(self).Show()
class AppFrame(wx.Frame):
def __init__(self, parent):
wx.Frame.__init__(self, parent)
time.sleep(3)
parent.Hide()
# the top window (Loader) is hidden so the app needs to be told to exit
# when this window is closed
self.Bind(wx.EVT_CLOSE, lambda e: wx.GetApp().ExitMainLoop())
app = wx.PySimpleApp()
app.TopWindow = Loader()
app.TopWindow.Show()
app.MainLoop()