Glimmer VS glimmer-dsl-swt

Glimmer is a award winning GUI Toolkit for ruby which supports every major platform (gtk, qt, wxwidgets, swt, swing, java fx, etc), it can also output as SVG or CSS: https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer

Here's the github for the glimmer GUI library . https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer

I don't quite understand why you would need to only create a web application. I see the future much more similar to like what glimmer (but in ruby https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer) is doing. Write once, run verywhere.

Personally I'd love to have a "meta-DSL" that can describe widgets and functionality without being tied to a specific language. A bit like glimmer: https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer however had unified for as many possible languages out there, and not tied to a specific language per se.

Qt is probably the more sophisticated toolkit, but GTK has a few things going. I love its language support + CSS. I wrote tons of ruby-gtk3 apps and hopefully ruby-gtk4 soon. No such thing exists for qt (ruby-qt died years ago). I actually write in a mostly GUI agnostic manner; andy pushed this to a new level though: https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer

# From: https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer-dsl-swt/blob/master/docs/reference/GLIMMER_SAMPLES.md#hello-table require 'glimmer-dsl-swt' class HelloTable class BaseballGame class << self attr_accessor :selected_game def all_playoff_games @all_playoff_games ||= { 'NLDS' => [ new(Time.new(2037, 10, 6, 12, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Milwaukee Brewers', 'Free Bobblehead'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 7, 12, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Milwaukee Brewers'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 8, 12, 0), 'Milwaukee Brewers', 'Chicago Cubs'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 9, 12, 0), 'Milwaukee Brewers', 'Chicago Cubs'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 10, 12, 0), 'Milwaukee Brewers', 'Chicago Cubs', 'Free Umbrella'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 6, 18, 0), 'Cincinnati Reds', 'St Louis Cardinals', 'Free Bobblehead'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 7, 18, 0), 'Cincinnati Reds', 'St Louis Cardinals'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 8, 18, 0), 'St Louis Cardinals', 'Cincinnati Reds'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 9, 18, 0), 'St Louis Cardinals', 'Cincinnati Reds'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 10, 18, 0), 'St Louis Cardinals', 'Cincinnati Reds', 'Free Umbrella'), ], 'ALDS' => [ new(Time.new(2037, 10, 6, 12, 0), 'New York Yankees', 'Boston Red Sox', 'Free Bobblehead'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 7, 12, 0), 'New York Yankees', 'Boston Red Sox'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 8, 12, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'New York Yankees'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 9, 12, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'New York Yankees'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 10, 12, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'New York Yankees', 'Free Umbrella'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 6, 18, 0), 'Houston Astros', 'Cleveland Indians', 'Free Bobblehead'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 7, 18, 0), 'Houston Astros', 'Cleveland Indians'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 8, 18, 0), 'Cleveland Indians', 'Houston Astros'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 9, 18, 0), 'Cleveland Indians', 'Houston Astros'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 10, 18, 0), 'Cleveland Indians', 'Houston Astros', 'Free Umbrella'), ], 'NLCS' => [ new(Time.new(2037, 10, 12, 12, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Cincinnati Reds', 'Free Towel'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 13, 12, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Cincinnati Reds'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 14, 12, 0), 'Cincinnati Reds', 'Chicago Cubs'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 15, 18, 0), 'Cincinnati Reds', 'Chicago Cubs'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 16, 18, 0), 'Cincinnati Reds', 'Chicago Cubs'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 17, 18, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Cincinnati Reds'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 18, 12, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Cincinnati Reds', 'Free Poncho'), ], 'ALCS' => [ new(Time.new(2037, 10, 12, 12, 0), 'Houston Astros', 'Boston Red Sox', 'Free Towel'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 13, 12, 0), 'Houston Astros', 'Boston Red Sox'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 14, 12, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'Houston Astros'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 15, 18, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'Houston Astros'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 16, 18, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'Houston Astros'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 17, 18, 0), 'Houston Astros', 'Boston Red Sox'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 18, 12, 0), 'Houston Astros', 'Boston Red Sox', 'Free Poncho'), ], 'World Series' => [ new(Time.new(2037, 10, 20, 18, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Boston Red Sox', 'Free Baseball Cap'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 21, 18, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Boston Red Sox'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 22, 18, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'Chicago Cubs'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 23, 18, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'Chicago Cubs'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 24, 18, 0), 'Boston Red Sox', 'Chicago Cubs'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 25, 18, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Boston Red Sox'), new(Time.new(2037, 10, 26, 18, 0), 'Chicago Cubs', 'Boston Red Sox', 'Free World Series Polo'), ] } end def playoff_type @playoff_type ||= 'World Series' end def playoff_type=(new_playoff_type) @playoff_type = new_playoff_type self.schedule=(all_playoff_games[@playoff_type]) self.selected_game = schedule.first unless selected_game.nil? end def playoff_type_options all_playoff_games.keys end def schedule @schedule ||= all_playoff_games[playoff_type] end def schedule=(new_schedule) @schedule = new_schedule end end include Glimmer include Glimmer::DataBinding::ObservableModel TEAM_BALLPARKS = { 'Boston Red Sox' => 'Fenway Park', 'Chicago Cubs' => 'Wrigley Field', 'Cincinnati Reds' => 'Great American Ball Park', 'Cleveland Indians' => 'Progressive Field', 'Houston Astros' => 'Minute Maid Park', 'Milwaukee Brewers' => 'Miller Park', 'New York Yankees' => 'Yankee Stadium', 'St Louis Cardinals' => 'Busch Stadium', } ATTRIBUTES = [:game_date, :game_time, :home_team, :away_team, :ballpark, :promotion] ATTRIBUTES_BACKGROUND = ATTRIBUTES.map {|attribute| "#{attribute}_background"} ATTRIBUTES_FOREGROUND = ATTRIBUTES.map {|attribute| "#{attribute}_foreground"} ATTRIBUTES_FONT = ATTRIBUTES.map {|attribute| "#{attribute}_font"} ATTRIBUTES_IMAGE = ATTRIBUTES.map {|attribute| "#{attribute}_image"} attr_accessor *([:booked, :date_time] + ATTRIBUTES + ATTRIBUTES_BACKGROUND + ATTRIBUTES_FOREGROUND + ATTRIBUTES_FONT + ATTRIBUTES_IMAGE) alias booked? booked def initialize(date_time, home_team, away_team, promotion = 'N/A') self.date_time = date_time self.home_team = home_team self.away_team = away_team self.promotion = promotion self.ballpark_image = [File.expand_path('hello_table/baseball_park.png', __dir__), width: 20, height: 20] self.booked = false observe(self, :date_time) do |new_value| notify_observers(:game_time) end end def home_team=(home_team_value) if home_team_value != away_team @home_team = home_team_value self.ballpark = TEAM_BALLPARKS[@home_team] end end def away_team=(away_team_value) if away_team_value != home_team @away_team = away_team_value end end def date Date.new(date_time.year, date_time.month, date_time.day) end def time Time.new(0, 1, 1, date_time.hour, date_time.min, date_time.sec, '+00:00') end def game_date date_time.strftime("%m/%d/%Y") end def game_time date_time.strftime("%I:%M %p") end def home_team_options TEAM_BALLPARKS.keys end def away_team_options TEAM_BALLPARKS.keys end def ballpark_options [TEAM_BALLPARKS[@home_team], TEAM_BALLPARKS[@away_team]] end def to_s "#{home_team} vs #{away_team} at #{ballpark} on #{game_date} #{game_time}" end def book! self.booked = true self.background = :dark_green self.foreground = :white self.font = {style: :italic} "Thank you for booking #{to_s}" end # Sets background for all attributes def background=(color) self.game_date_background = color self.game_time_background = color self.home_team_background = color self.away_team_background = color self.ballpark_background = color self.promotion_background = color end # Sets foreground for all attributes def foreground=(color) self.game_date_foreground = color self.game_time_foreground = color self.home_team_foreground = color self.away_team_foreground = color self.ballpark_foreground = color self.promotion_foreground = color end # Sets font for all attributes def font=(font_properties) self.game_date_font = font_properties self.game_time_font = font_properties self.home_team_font = font_properties self.away_team_font = font_properties self.ballpark_font = font_properties self.promotion_font = font_properties end end include Glimmer::UI::CustomShell before_body do Display.app_name = 'Hello, Table!' end body { shell { grid_layout text 'Hello, Table!' background_image File.expand_path('hello_table/baseball_park.png', __dir__) image File.expand_path('hello_table/baseball_park.png', __dir__) label { layout_data :center, :center, true, false text 'BASEBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULE' background :transparent if OS.windows? foreground rgb(94, 107, 103) font name: 'Optima', height: 38, style: :bold } combo(:read_only) { layout_data :center, :center, true, false selection <=> [BaseballGame, :playoff_type] font height: 14 } table(:editable) { |table_proxy| layout_data :fill, :fill, true, true table_column { text 'Game Date' width 150 sort_property :date # ensure sorting by real date value (not `game_date` string specified in items below) editor :date_drop_down, property: :date_time } table_column { text 'Game Time' width 150 sort_property :time # ensure sorting by real time value (not `game_time` string specified in items below) editor :time, property: :date_time } table_column { text 'Ballpark' width 180 editor :none } table_column { text 'Home Team' width 150 editor :combo, :read_only # read_only is simply an SWT style passed to combo widget } table_column { text 'Away Team' width 150 editor :combo, :read_only # read_only is simply an SWT style passed to combo widget } table_column { text 'Promotion' width 150 # default text editor is used here } # This is a contextual pop up menu that shows up when right-clicking table rows menu { menu_item { text 'Book' on_widget_selected do book_selected_game end } } # Data-bind table items (rows) to a model collection (BaseballGame.schedule), # mapping columns in declaration order to row model properties (attributes) # By convention, every column property can be accompanied by extra properties # with the following suffixes: `_background`, `_foreground`, `_font`, and `_image` # For example, for `game_date`, model could also implement these related properties: # `game_date_background`, `game_date_foreground`, `game_date_font`, `game_date_image` # That is done in order to let the table widget set extra properties if needed. items <=> [BaseballGame, :schedule, column_properties: [:game_date, :game_time, :ballpark, :home_team, :away_team, :promotion]] # Data-bind table selection selection <=> [BaseballGame, :selected_game] # Default initial sort property sort_property :date # Sort by these additional properties after handling sort by the column the user clicked additional_sort_properties :date, :time, :home_team, :away_team, :ballpark, :promotion on_key_pressed do |key_event| book_selected_game if key_event.keyCode == swt(:cr) end } button { text 'Book Selected Game' layout_data :center, :center, true, false font height: 14 enabled <= [BaseballGame, 'selected_game.booked', on_read: ->(value) { value == false }] on_widget_selected do book_selected_game end } } } def book_selected_game return if BaseballGame.selected_game.booked? message_box { text 'Baseball Game Booked!' message BaseballGame.selected_game.book! }.open end end HelloTable.launch

The other project, which is a bit more akin to Shoes, is the glimmer suite. https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer

One day glimmer will support gosu apps! (For those not knowing glimmer, here is a promo link: https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer; it's not my project but Andy is cool so there you go - gosu is also great, though I don't fully understand why it were to be limited solely to games rather than also support GUI-like elements. Buttons it already supports, input-fields too. Needs more GUI functionality.)

Well, I am happy to announce that the same single line of code that data-binds a table does even more now as of the latest release made yesterday! In Glimmer DSL for SWT v4.24.3.0, that line of code also data-binds the following additional table cell properties without any change to the view code:

There are various limitations, no doubt. I don't mean to imply otherwise. And I am not sure if it is equivalent to shoes (though glimmer-swt may be equivalent, check it out here: https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer-dsl-swt although it also uses java so it's not identical to shoes either).

# From: https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer-dsl-swt/blob/development/docs/reference/GLIMMER_SAMPLES.md#hello-canvas-path require 'glimmer-dsl-swt' class HelloCanvasPath include Glimmer::UI::Application after_body do regenerate end body { shell { grid_layout { margin_width 0 margin_height 0 margin_top 5 } text 'Hello, Canvas Path!' minimum_size 800, 700 @button = button { layout_data :center, :center, true, false text 'Regenerate' enabled false on_widget_selected do regenerate end } canvas { layout_data :fill, :fill, true, true background :white text('line', 15, 200) { foreground :red } @path1 = path { antialias :on foreground :red } text('quad', 15, 300) { foreground :dark_green } @path2 = path { antialias :on foreground :dark_green } text('cubic', 15, 400) { foreground :blue } @path3 = path { antialias :on foreground :blue } } on_widget_disposed do # safe to kill thread as data is in memory only, so no risk of data loss @thread.kill end } } def regenerate @thread = Thread.new do @button.enabled = false @path1.clear @path2.clear @path3.clear y1 = y2 = y3 = 300 700.times.each do |x| x += 55 x1 = x - 2 x2 = x - 1 x3 = x y1 = y3 y2 = y1 y3 = [[y3 + (rand*24 - 12), 0].max, 700].min @path1.content { line(x1, y1 - 100) } if x % 2 == 0 @path2.content { quad(x1, y1, x2, y2) } end if x % 3 == 0 @path3.content { cubic(x1, y1 + 100, x2, y2 + 100, x3, y3 + 100) } end sleep(0.01) end @button.enabled = true end end end HelloCanvasPath.launch

Glimmer DSL for SWT v4.24.0.2 has been released with the following changes:

SQLite is the simplest relational database to use from JRuby desktop applications, it is built-in on all platforms (Mac, Windows, and Linux), and it can be utilized conveniently via ActiveRecord, the Rails object-relational mapping library following the Active Record Enterprise Application Architecture Pattern. In fact, I have used it a few years ago to build Are We There Yet?, a small project management app, using Glimmer DSL for SWT and bidirectional data-binding. In this blog post tutorial, I cover how to configure a SQLite database and connect to it using ActiveRecord from within a Ruby desktop application, data-binding the ActiveRecord Model to the GUI View bidirectionally.

Native Executable Packaging for CRuby (Glimmer in JRuby already has Native Executable Packaging support for building Mac APP/DMG/PKG files, Windows EXE/MSI files, and Linux DEB/RPM files)

Happy Glimmering!

# From: https://github.com/AndyObtiva/glimmer-dsl-swt/blob/master/docs/reference/GLIMMER_SAMPLES.md#hello-drag-and-drop require 'glimmer-dsl-swt' class Location attr_accessor :country def country_options %w[USA Canada Mexico Columbia UK Australia Germany Italy Spain] end end @location = Location.new include Glimmer shell { text 'Hello, Drag and Drop!' tab_folder { tab_item { fill_layout text 'List' list { selection <=> [@location, :country] # Option 1: Automatic Drag Data Setting drag_source true # Option 2: Manual Drag Data Setting # on_drag_set_data do |event| # drag_widget = event.widget.control # event.data = drag_widget.selection.first # end # Option 3: Full Customization of Drag Source (details at: https://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-SWT-DND/DND-in-SWT.html) # drag_source(:drop_copy) { # options: :drop_copy, :drop_link, :drop_move, :drop_target_move # transfer :text # options: :text, :file, :rtf # # on_drag_start do |event| # drag_widget = event.widget.control.data('proxy') # obtain Glimmer widget proxy since it permits nicer syntax for setting cursor via symbol # drag_widget.cursor = :wait # end # # on_drag_set_data do |event| # drag_widget = event.widget.control # event.data = drag_widget.selection.first # end # # on_drag_finished do |event| # drag_widget = event.widget.control.data('proxy') # obtain Glimmer widget proxy since it permits nicer syntax for setting cursor via symbol # drag_widget.cursor = :arrow # end # } } list { # Option 1: Automatic Drop Data Consumption drop_target true # drop_target :unique # setting drop_target to :unique makes the list not add the same data twice # Option 2: Manual Drop Data Consumption # on_drop do |event| # drop_widget = event.widget.control # drop_widget.add(event.data) # drop_widget.select(drop_widget.items.count - 1) # end # Option 3: Full Customization of Drop Target (details at: https://www.eclipse.org/articles/Article-SWT-DND/DND-in-SWT.html) # drop_target(:drop_copy) { # options: :drop_copy, :drop_link, :drop_move, :drop_target_move # transfer :text # options: :text, :file, :rtf # # on_drag_enter do |event| # ### event.detail = DND::DROP_NONE # To reject a drop, you can set event.detail to DND::DROP_NONE # drop_widget = event.widget.control.data('proxy') # obtain Glimmer widget proxy since it permits nicer syntax for setting background via symbol # drop_widget.background = :red # end # # on_drag_leave do |event| # drop_widget = event.widget.control.data('proxy') # obtain Glimmer widget proxy since it permits nicer syntax for setting background via symbol # drop_widget.background = :white # end # # on_drop do |event| # drop_widget = event.widget.control.data('proxy') # obtain Glimmer widget proxy since it permits nicer syntax for setting background/cursor via symbol # drop_widget.background = :white # drop_widget.add(event.data) # drop_widget.select(drop_widget.items.count - 1) # drop_widget.cursor = :arrow # end # } } } tab_item { grid_layout 2, true text 'Label' label { layout_data { horizontal_span 2 } text 'Drag text from any label and drop it unto another label' } { Argentina: :green, Brazil: :red, Finland: :yellow, Sweden: :magenta, Denmark: :gray, Iceland: :cyan }.each do |country, color| label { layout_data :fill, :fill, true, true text country font height: 20 background color drag_source true drop_target true } end } tab_item { grid_layout 2, true text 'Text' label { text 'Drag' } label { text 'Drop To Insert' } text { layout_data :fill, :center, true, false text 'Text1' drag_source true } text { layout_data :fill, :center, true, false text 'Drop To Insert' drop_target true } label { text 'Drag' } label { text 'Drop To Replace' } text { layout_data :fill, :center, true, false text 'Text2' drag_source true } text { layout_data :fill, :center, true, false text 'Drop To Replace' drop_target :replace } } tab_item { grid_layout 2, true text 'Spinner' label { text 'Drag' } label { text 'Drop To Insert' } spinner { layout_data :fill, :center, true, false selection 30 drag_source true } spinner { layout_data :fill, :center, true, false drop_target true } } tab_item { fill_layout text 'File' @drop_zone_label = label(:center, :wrap) { text 'Drop One File Or More Here' background :white rectangle { foreground :black line_width 4 line_style :dash } drop_target(:drop_copy) { transfer :file on_drag_enter do |event| drop_widget = event.widget.control.data('proxy') # obtain Glimmer widget proxy since it permits nicer syntax for setting background via symbol drop_widget.background = :yellow end on_drag_leave do |event| drop_widget = event.widget.control.data('proxy') # obtain Glimmer widget proxy since it permits nicer syntax for setting background via symbol drop_widget.background = :white end on_drop do |event| drop_widget = event.widget.control.data('proxy') # obtain Glimmer widget proxy since it permits nicer syntax for setting background/cursor via symbol drop_widget.background = :white @drop_zone_label.text = event.data.to_a.join("\n") end } } } } }.open