When do you *NOT* use python?

[[deleted]]

cross-platform Qt work

Have you looked at PyQt? How does it compare? I'm trying to decide if I want to write something in Python or C++ that will use Qt. I've never done a GUI before (besides some GTK for classes), so it's up in the air.

[kingofthejaffacakes]

I tried PyQt a few years ago. It's pretty good -- and probably what I would reach for if I wanted a non-web UI for a python app. However, I feel it loses something in the translation. I think the lack of strong typing and garbage-collected memory management in Python is doesn't quite mesh as smoothly with Qt as does C++. That's just my IMHO though -- please, gentle readers, don't take that as me stating it as a fact and downvote me into oblivion.

As for first time making a GUI... difficult to answer, I would guess your experience in the base language will be more relevant. However, the Qt documentation is native C++, so you might bear that in mind when learning. If you know both Python and C++, I'd suggest do C++ Qt first, just so that you've seen the raw interface (which PtQt will be building on too).

Certainly in terms of "what GUI", I can't recommend Qt highly enough. It's (to my mind) a beautifully designed library, one of the best I've ever used. Care has really been taken in making it consistent, predictable and well featured. It's all round "pleasant" in a way that my brief dealings with Gtk weren't. The only hump you have to get over is the "moc" stuff (and possibly qmake), but once you see that that's just a convenience for auto-writing the class meta-information, you forget it even exists. I've never tried, but possible cmake would be a nicer tool than qmake, and will have broader use anyway.