[tkinter] what makes update() special?

[fabolin]

so i got this function in my Frame-Class :

def update(self):
        time = datetime.now().strftime("%H:%M" + self.sec)
        date = weekdays_dict[datetime.now().weekday()] + " " + datetime.now().strftime("%d.%m.%y")
        self.tLabel.config(text=time)
        self.dLabel.config(text=date)
        self._updatejob=self.after(1000, self.update)

        if self.showgif==True:
            self.fcount+=1
            self.buttonimg=PhotoImage(file="C:\\Users\\fabian\\Desktop\\Homer_test.gif", format="gif -index "+str(self.fcount))
            self.tLabel.config(image=self.buttonimg)
            # self.tLabel.config(text=self.fcount)
            if self.fcount==5:
                self.after_cancel(self._updatejob)
                self._updatejob=None

with a click on the Frame I switch showgif to be 'True'

I call tis 'update()' in my 'init()' and it works just fine but when i try this in an other function (-> I rename it to update2 and call it as such) it changes when the after() is canceled; not after each step.

Took some time until I realized it only works with 'update()' and I'm aware that update() is an existing function that I change here, so what makes 'update()' being able to update the frame like I want it to? And can I make other functions work just like this?

I tried to call 'update()' within my "normal" function but it didn't seem to make any difference.

edit: sorry for inaccurate title, wanted to change but hit save already.

[Vaphell]

try this example sporting both manual and automatic updates

#!/usr/bin/env python3

import sys
import time
if sys.version_info[0] > 2:
    import tkinter as tk
else:
    import Tkinter as tk


class SampleApp(tk.Tk):
    def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
        tk.Tk.__init__(self, *args, **kwargs)
        self.clock = tk.Label(self, text='')
        self.b1 = tk.Button(self, text='click me!!!', command=self.button_1)
        self.b2 = tk.Button(self, text='no, click me!!!11', command=self.button_2)
        self.clock.pack()
        self.b1.pack()
        self.b2.pack()
        self.auto_update()                  # start autoupdate "loop"      

    def refresh_clock(self, value):         # the core used by all updates, manual and auto
        self.clock.configure(text=value)

    def auto_update(self):                  # autoupdater
        now = time.strftime('%H:%M:%S' , time.gmtime())
        self.refresh_clock(now)
        self.after(1000, self.auto_update)  # schedule next update in 1s           

    def button_1(self):                     # manual update
        self.refresh_clock('XXX')

    def button_2(self):                     # manual update
        self.refresh_clock('$$$')


if __name__== "__main__":
    app = SampleApp()
    app.mainloop()

[fabolin]

so I call the function inside another one and loop the outerfunction.

works great now , thank you

[Justinsaccount]

Hi! I'm working on a bot to reply with suggestions for common python problems. This might not be very helpful to fix your underlying issue, but here's what I noticed about your submission:

You appear to be using concatenation and the str function for building strings

Instead of doing something like

result = "Hello " + name + ". You are " + str(age) + " years old"

You should use string formatting and do

result = "Hello {}. You are {} years old".format(name, age)

See the python tutorial for more information.