GTK VS Tkinter

Compare GTK VS Tkinter and see what are their differences

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GTK

GTK+ is a multi-platform toolkit for creating graphical user interfaces.

Tkinter

Tkinter is a Python wrapper for Tcl/Tk that offers classes to create various graphical user interfaces.

Landing page //
2021-10-17

Landing page //
2023-08-28

GTK

Website: gtk.org
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Tkinter

Website: docs.python.org
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GTK features and specs

Cross-Platform Compatibility
GTK supports multiple platforms including Linux, Windows, and macOS, making it versatile for developing applications across different operating systems.
Rich Widget Set
GTK provides a comprehensive set of widgets for GUIs, allowing developers to create complex and highly functional user interfaces.
Open Source
Being open-source, GTK offers developers the ability to inspect, modify, and distribute their modifications, fostering a community of collaboration and innovation.
Language Bindings
GTK supports multiple programming languages through various bindings, including C, Python, and JavaScript, thereby offering flexibility to developers.
Consistent Look and Feel
GTK strives to maintain a consistent look and feel across applications and platforms, providing a unified user experience.

Possible disadvantages of GTK

Steep Learning Curve
For beginners, GTK can present a steep learning curve due to its comprehensive nature and the depth of its APIs.
Performance Overhead
GTK applications can sometimes exhibit performance issues, especially on less powerful hardware, due to the extensive features and capabilities it includes.
Limited Native Support on macOS
Although GTK is cross-platform, native support and integration on macOS can be limited compared to its support on Linux and Windows.
Heavy Dependencies
GTK applications often require a significant amount of dependencies, which can lead to larger application sizes and more complex installation processes.
Documentation Quality
While GTK has extensive documentation, the quality and depth can sometimes be inconsistent, which may hinder learning and troubleshooting for developers.

Tkinter features and specs

Built-in Standard Library
Tkinter comes bundled with Python, so there is no need for additional installations. This makes it highly accessible and quick to set up for projects.
Ease of Use
Tkinter provides a simple syntax and an easy-to-understand system for building GUI applications, making it ideal for beginners who are just starting with programming.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
Tkinter applications can run on multiple operating systems like Windows, macOS, and Linux without modification, which ensures broader audience reach.
Strong Community Support
Being part of Python's standard library means that Tkinter benefits from Python's extensive community support, with plenty of tutorials and resources available online.
Object-Oriented Approach
Tkinter supports an object-oriented programming model, which allows for structuring code in a manageable way, especially for larger applications.

Possible disadvantages of Tkinter

Limited Widget Set
Compared to more modern GUI frameworks, Tkinter has a limited set of widgets and may not support advanced user interface features that newer applications might require.
Outdated Look and Feel
The default Tkinter themes and styles may look outdated by modern standards, which might not be suitable for applications where a contemporary design is important.
Performance Limitations
Tkinter may not perform well with applications requiring high-performance graphics or real-time updates, as it is not optimized for these tasks.
Learning Curve for Complex Applications
While simple to use for basic applications, building more complex UI components can become challenging and might require a deeper understanding of the Tkinter framework.
Lack of Advanced Features
Some advanced features like drag-and-drop, custom widgets, or native look and feel on different platforms might be either missing or require additional work to implement.

Analysis of GTK

Overall verdict

Yes, GTK is a good choice for developers looking to create cross-platform desktop applications. It is especially beneficial for those who prioritize open-source software and appreciate a well-documented, community-supported framework.

Why this product is good

GTK, which stands for GIMP Toolkit, is a highly versatile and widely-used open-source library for creating graphical user interfaces. It is praised for its ease of use, comprehensive documentation, and ability to produce visually appealing, native-looking interfaces across different operating systems. With a large community and a wealth of resources, GTK is continuously updated, ensuring it remains relevant for modern application development. Developers also appreciate its integration capabilities with various programming languages like C, C++, Python, and more.

Recommended for

Developers creating cross-platform desktop applications
Open-source software enthusiasts
Projects requiring consistent look and feel across different operating systems
Those seeking integration with programming languages like C, C++, and Python

GTK videos

+ Add

GTK4 Is Here: Why You Should Even Care

Tkinter videos

+ Add

Which is Better Kivy Or Tkinter? - Python Kivy GUI Tutorial #42

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GTK and Tkinter)

Tkinter

Development Tools

70 70%

Development Tools

30% 30

Rapid Application Development

61 61%

Rapid Application Development

39% 39

Developer Tools

39 39%

Developer Tools

61% 61

Cross-Platform Development

100 100%

Cross-Platform Development

0% 0

User comments

Share your experience with using GTK and Tkinter. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GTK and Tkinter

The go-gtk package is a Go binding for the GTK toolkit. The package enables Go developers to use the GTK library in Go with similar features as the GTK library. The package is performant, well-documented, and actively maintained. The go-gtk package depends on the GTK library to function, and you’ll need to have GTK installed on your machine to build GUI applications in Go....

Source: blog.logrocket.com

Tkinter Reviews

25 Python Frameworks to Master

It’s a great option for creating simple and easy-to-use graphical user interfaces in Python and allows you to add a GUI to your already working scripts pretty easily. PySimpleGUI wraps the power of 4 different GUI libraries, PySide, Tkinter, wxPython, and Remi.

Source: kinsta.com

Which Python GUI library should you use? Comparing the Python GUI libraries available in 2023

Tkinter is a simple library with support for standard layouts and widgets, as well as more complex widgets such as tabbed views & progressbars. Tkinter is a pure GUI library, not a framework. There is no built-in support for GUIs driven from data sources, databases, or for displaying or manipulating multimedia or hardware. However, if you need to make something simple that...

Source: www.pythonguis.com

10 Best Python Libraries for GUI

Another top Python library for GUI is Tkinter, which is an open-source Python Graphic User Interface library. It is well known for its simplicity and comes pre-installed in Python, meaning there is no work on your part. These features make it a great choice for beginners and intermediates, but it is not capable of carrying out larger-scale projects.

Source: www.unite.ai

Top 10 Python GUI Frameworks for Developers

Often referred to as the go-to GUI toolkit by a majority of Python developers, Tkinter was created to equip modern developers with a standard interface to the Tk GUI toolkit with its Python bindings. In Tkinter’s world, most of the visual elements that we’re familiar with are called widgets, and each of these widgets offers a different level of customizability.

Source: towardsdatascience.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Tkinter should be more popular than GTK. It has been mentiond 37 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GTK mentions (6)

What GNOME needs to progress faster? (More contributors, money, better docs etc.)
Wha? An example of a barebones GTK JavaScript app is right there on the front page. One click on the bindings link, will send you to the official GNOME-hosted GitLab repo for gjs, which in-turn, has links to official API documentation. Source: over 2 years ago
GTK 4 & JavaScript - how to start?
I think what is lacking is a kind of introduction similar to what you have written in your post now. Myself, I am totally new to GTK. I come as a user of Gnome. All I knew until today was that to develop applications for Gnome, preferably I should use something called GTK. And I heard so much about the recent version that came out - GTK 4. So I started to look for a Getting Started tutorial for GTK 4, to build... Source: about 3 years ago
GTK 4 & JavaScript - how to start?
BTW, I think the GTK team should really step up their game in terms of how to encourage new people into their ecosystem. Seeing that windows screenshot in the official tutorial makes me think I'm dealing with some old technology. Also, the official gtk.org has two separate tutorials that show very similar applications being built. Source: about 3 years ago
CTA: We need Web Developers to Contribute to GNOME!
Faces of GNOME Faces of GNOME is an initiative to create something similar to People of Mozilla / Mozillians which is a directory of active, current or past GNOME Contributors. Faces of GNOME (Current Demo HERE) aims to give a space for every GNOME Contributor, GNOME Foundation Member and more. It is being designed to showcase the list of current Maintainers, People that spoke at GNOME Conferences/Events, GNOME... Source: over 3 years ago
Software Engineering student looking to get started developing apps on the pinephone
My advice is to basically learn how to write GTK apps using Python. Source: over 3 years ago

Tkinter mentions (37)

Building a Lightweight OCR-Powered Receipt Parser
Tkinter Documentation – Official Python Tkinter library documentation. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
The Adventures of Blink S2e7: A GUI Screen in Python
For our hangman, I've elected to use Tkinter. It has a pre-built collection of little widgets that make dialog-based apps work, and I think it will be useful for Hangman, which doesn't require a great deal of animation and image management but does require us to have an easy-to-use interface for the user to make changes. - Source: dev.to / 8 months ago
Ask HN: How popular is Tcl in 2024?
>> So it's hard for me to recommend tk for GUI development. Tcl/Tk is widely used in lightweight legacy GUIs. Python distributions will typically include tkinter (https://docs.python.org/3/library/tkinter.html) which is just a Python wrapper for Tk. Git usually includes the gitk graphical utility which is written in Tcl/TK: - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
A brief interview with Tcl creator John Ousterhout
Lots of people care about it, and it's alive and kicking in-industry and being developed (Tcl 9 is imminent[0]). I've had fun w Guile over the years (though actually never considered its "heaviness"); fun. I'm constantly amazed at the professional love for Python; its got it's network effect in full-effect: lots of people, lots of software - there's just no denying that. But for Joy of Development, Tcl (and C) is... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
Essential Deep Learning Checklist: Best Practices Unveiled
How to Accomplish: Create a simple interface (CLI or GUI) where users can input an image, and the script processes and displays the model's prediction. For a CLI, use argparse to handle input arguments. For a GUI, consider libraries like Tkinter or web-based interfaces using FastAPI or Flask. The script should perform necessary preprocessing, invoke the model prediction, and present the results clearly, such as... - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GTK and Tkinter, you can also consider the following products

Qt - Powerful, flexible and easy to use, Qt will help you not only meet your tight deadline, but also reduce the maintainable code by an astonishing percentage.

PyQt - Riverbank | Software | PyQt | What is PyQt?

wxWidgets - wxWidgets: Cross-Platform GUI Library

PySimpleGUI - A simple to use GUI that can create custom GUIs

MD Python Designer - A drag and drop GUI Designer that uses a combination of Tkinter and its own code.

Flutter - Build beautiful native apps in record time 🚀