fbs

Dev tools

desktop app build and packaging

SHOW HN2018

315points
285comments
#78of 2,155 in 2018
Top 4%of 2018 by points

How HN took it

MixedNo clear lean

13 positive, 32 neutral or asking, 4 mixed, 24 critical, out of 73 comments about the project. Thread score -0.11.

Design: 4 for, 9 againstIdea: 5 for, 3 againstPricing: 0 for, 7 againstDocs: 3 for, 1 againstPerformance: 0 for, 3 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Useful packaging help beyond PyInstaller for installers and DLL edge cases

    From 2 comments
    • I write desktop apps using PyQt and build an installer with pynsist. This is cross-platform, but I only need Windows support. Other than that, is this project just a simplified…
      _raoulcousins on HN
    • If this comes to fruition it would be great. I, wanting to start a new commercial desktop app, recently researched using Python/PyQT. The packaging situation was not good so I…
      darreld on HN

Objections

  • PyQt commercial license cost ($500) is a barrier for commercial apps

    From 2 comments
    • > "PyQt is dual licensed on all supported platforms under the GNU GPL v3 and the Riverbank Commercial License. Unlike Qt, PyQt is not available under the LGPL. You can purchase…
      monkmartinez on HN
    • It costs $500 for a commercial license for PyQT!!!!!!! That is super welcoming for people that want to run more than CLI in 2018! /s
      monkmartinez on HN
  • Electron is easier and has a larger ecosystem than PyQt

    From 2 comments
    • The main problem with "other toolkits" vs Electron apps is that they are not as simple to use in order to create a very good looking UIs. Compare how easy it is to use HTML and…
      _em6m on HN
    • Every time this argument comes up, I see the same tired comments, and they're typically from people that don't have to build a modern UI. There is an insane amount that you get…
      Klonoar on HN
  • Python GUI tooling and packaging are weak

    From 2 comments
    • > "PyQt is dual licensed on all supported platforms under the GNU GPL v3 and the Riverbank Commercial License. Unlike Qt, PyQt is not available under the LGPL. You can purchase…
      monkmartinez on HN
    • Coding is only a part of my job. I am currently building an application for our warehouse, connecting our ERP to some external services. Lots of moving parts across several…
      jimnotgym on HN

Requests

  • Package size comparison across platforms

    From 1 comment
    • I am curious about final package size on various platforms when using this project. The download bundles for the related "fman" project vary considerably -- Win: 1MB; macOS:…
      ihnorton on HN

Questions

  • What does it offer beyond PyInstaller

    From 2 comments
    • So this is a wrapper for PyInstaller? I see that it creates an installer .exe on Windows or a dmg on Mac, which is nice (I'm having trouble with PyQt and the latter at the…
      jubjubbird on HN
    • I write desktop apps using PyQt and build an installer with pynsist. This is cross-platform, but I only need Windows support. Other than that, is this project just a simplified…
      _raoulcousins on HN
  • How well does CPython scale for large GUI apps

    From 1 comment
    • I am curious about final package size on various platforms when using this project. The download bundles for the related "fman" project vary considerably -- Win: 1MB; macOS:…
      ihnorton on HN

Alternatives named

  • Electron

    From 2 comments
    • Not directly related to the initiative itself, but comparing and contrasting the Electron website vs. PyQT is striking: https://riverbankcomputing.com/software/pyqt/intro…
      wiremine on HN
    • It seems Sciter[0] is another alternative to Electron for those who aren't too keen on Electron's resource usage but still want to use HTML, Js and CSS for their UI. I haven't…
      wilsonfiifi on HN
  • Sciter

    From 1 comment
    • It seems Sciter[0] is another alternative to Electron for those who aren't too keen on Electron's resource usage but still want to use HTML, Js and CSS for their UI. I haven't…
      wilsonfiifi on HN
  • Lazarus

    From 1 comment
  • PyInstaller and pynsist

    From 2 comments
    • I write desktop apps using PyQt and build an installer with pynsist. This is cross-platform, but I only need Windows support. Other than that, is this project just a simplified…
      _raoulcousins on HN
    • So this is a wrapper for PyInstaller? I see that it creates an installer .exe on Windows or a dmg on Mac, which is nice (I'm having trouble with PyQt and the latter at the…
      jubjubbird on HN

Category, keywords, summaries and labels on this page were made by AI (Thread Reader v2) and not checked by hand. Each point links to the comments it came from.

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