Creating your first Python GUI: Building a simple calculator with Tkinter

Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) make interaction with software applications intuitive and efficient. Python, known for its simplicity and versatility, offers several libraries for GUI development. This guide focuses on using Tkinter, Python’s standard GUI toolkit, to build a basic calculator. This article aims to provide an easy-to-follow guide for those new to Python GUI development, offering a hands-on approach to building a simple yet functional application.

Understanding Tkinter

Tkinter is the de-facto GUI package that comes bundled with Python. It’s lightweight and easy to use, making it ideal for beginners and small-scale applications.

Setting up environment

Ensure Python is installed on your system. Tkinter is included with standard Python installations, so additional installation is typically not required.

Building the calculator GUI

Importing Tkinter:

Begin by importing the Tkinter module:

import tkinter as tk
from tkinter import ttk

root = tk.Tk()
root.title("Simple Calculator")

entry = ttk.Entry(root, width=15)
entry.grid(row=0, column=0, columnspan=3)

def on_click(char):
    entry.insert(tk.END, char)

button1 = ttk.Button(root, text="1", command=lambda: on_click('1'))
button1.grid(row=1, column=0)
# Add buttons for other numbers and operations similarly

def calculate():
    try:
        result = eval(entry.get())
        entry.delete(0, tk.END)
        entry.insert(0, str(result))
    except Exception as e:
        entry.delete(0, tk.END)
        entry.insert(0, "Error")

equal_button = ttk.Button(root, text="=", command=calculate)
equal_button.grid(row=4, column=2)

root.mainloop()