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  12 <h1>Creating a User Interface with MacPython</h1>
  13
  14 <p>There are a number of packages that allow creation of a user interface
  15 for your Python code, each of which has its own merits:</p>
  16
  17 <ul>
  18         <li> The Carbon package gives low-level access to the old Macintosh toolbox
  19         calls for windows, events, dialogs and more. The <tt>FrameWork</tt> module
  20         wraps these in a minimal framework. For documentation see the Macintosh
  21         Library section of the <a href="doc/index.html">Python Language and runtime
  22         documentation</a> and the Human Interface Toolbox section of
  23         <a href="help:openbook=Carbon">Apple's Carbon Documentation</a>.
  24         This solution is compatible with MacPython-OS9.</li>
  25         <li> The <tt>W</tt> framework is built on top of this, and easier to use.
  26         The MacPython IDE uses W. Some documentation is available on
  27         <a href="http://www.nevada.edu/~cwebster/Python/index.html">Corran Webster's website</a>.
  28         Compatible with MacPython-OS9.</li>
  29 </ul>
  30
  31 <p>For new work, however, one of the following packages may be better suited.
  32 They may be available out of the box in this distribution, otherwise you
  33 can install them through the <a href="packman.html">Package Manager</a>:</p>
  34
  35 <ul>
  36         <li> <a href="http://pyobjc.sourceforge.net/">PyObjC</a> allows complete access to Cocoa.
  37         In technical terms it is a
  38         bidirectional bridge between Python and Objectve-C, similar to Apple's Java
  39         bridge. Probably the best choice for Mac OS X-only applications, but at the
  40         time of this writing PyObjC is still in beta.</li>
  41
  42         <li> <a href="http://wxpython.sourceforge.net/">wxPython</a> gives Python programs
  43         access to the wxWindows  GUI toolkit. Many people consider this
  44         the best open source cross-platform GUI solution available today.</li>
  45
  46         <li> Tkinter is the oldest cross-platform GUI toolkit for Python, bridging Python
  47         to Tcl/Tk. If you install AquaTk it creates a native user interface on Mac OS X.
  48         Documented in the Library section, Tkinter subsection of the
  49         <a href="doc/index.html">Python Language and runtime documentation</a>. Tkinter
  50         is not available for MacPython-OS9.</li>
  51 </ul>
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