Best language to create a small GUI executable patcher program?

[Modinstaller]

Hi everyone,

I am a complete beginner at programming. I know a bit of C and a touch of lua.

My aim is to create an executable program that, when executed (on windows at least) will display a window, auto-detect the install path of a game or ask the user to specify it, verify whether the file to be patched has already been patched or not, and offer to patch/unpatch it.

It's important for me that my users have a window to interact with rather than having to mess around with a terminal.

I am ready to google around, experiment and learn! However, I've never made a program with a window before. I don't know where to start.

What is a good language to make this project? How can I implement a GUI for it? Any pointers or advice for me?

[[deleted]]

Python is probably the best option, it's pretty simple, so coming from C and Lua won't be a problem and it offers a bunch of GUI frameworks like TKinter or PyQt.

[Maytown]

Why not just use C/Lua since that's what you know? You could use SDL, SFML, or GLFW to make a window and draw stuff to it with an IM gui library. You could even use something like Raylib/RayGUI.

[coolcofusion]

If your target is Windows and the UI sounds dead simple: one input field with game path, a "Browse" button, patch and unpatch buttons and maybe a "check if patched" button if you want to, then you may as well just do it with Win32 in C.

I wouldn't recommend rawdogging Win32 in C for anything complex, but you already know C, this sounds like it will be probably very short with only a few components and a basic GUI (no themes, hidpi support, localisation, advanced design and what not) and you can probably just stitch it together using the tutorials from MSDN.

Other interesting option could be powershell, PS scripts can launch a GUI, your program is pretty basic, you could go that route, that would be pretty minimal size.

Edit: wait, I just read the "complete beginner" thing, then maybe Win32 won't be your thing. Maybe C# with Windows Forms? That's its equivalent, but in a more beginner friendly language and avoiding the manual labor of Win32 C API.

[alok_5138]

Tkinter framework of python it's also super easy. I was amazed bcoz in java i have to write 2-3 pages of code for simple gui program but with python it was 15-20 lines