Prototype Python Editor Can Run Py5

[vsquared]

New editor can run py5 code right out of the box (along with tkinter, GraphWin, matplotlib, pyglet, pygame, numpy, pyObjc). Latest iteration is below (evolving quickly).

import javafx
import java.io.FileReader
import java.io.BufferedReader
import java.io.FileWriter
import java.io.BufferedWriter
import subprocess
import os

_wndW = 700
_wndH = 700

pyStr = "python3"
fileStr = ""
runStr = ""

global logArea
global txtArea
global selectedFile

def myBtnAction(event):
  global stage
  stage.close()
  
def openAction(event):
  global selectedFile, txtArea, fileStr
  fileChooser = javafx.stage.FileChooser()
  fileChooser.getExtensionFilters().add(fileChooser.ExtensionFilter("Python Files","*.py"))
  selectedFile = fileChooser.showOpenDialog(stage)
  fileStr = selectedFile.getAbsolutePath()
  if(fileStr != None):
    window_title(fileStr)
    reader = java.io.FileReader(selectedFile)
    buffer = java.io.BufferedReader(reader)
    s1 = ""  
    while ((s1 := buffer.readLine()) != None):
      txtArea.appendText(s1 + "\n") 
    buffer.close()
  
def saveAction(evnt):
  global selectedFile
  print("Save mItem hit.")
  if(fileStr != None):
    try:
      content = txtArea.getText()
      fileWriter = java.io.FileWriter(selectedFile)
      bufferedWriter = java.io.BufferedWriter(fileWriter)
      bufferedWriter.write(content)
      bufferedWriter.close()
    except Exception as e:
      print("There was a problem saving the file:",e)
  else:
    print("There is no file to save.")

def saveAsAction(evnt):
  global txtArea,fileStr, savedFile
  
  print("SaveAs mItem hit.")
  fileChooser = javafx.stage.FileChooser()
  savedFile = fileChooser.showSaveDialog(stage)
  fileStr = savedFile.getAbsolutePath()
  print(fileStr)
  if(fileStr != None):
    window_title(fileStr)
    try:
      content = txtArea.getText()
      fileWriter =  java.io.FileWriter(savedFile)
      bufferedWriter = java.io.BufferedWriter(fileWriter)
      bufferedWriter.write(content)
      bufferedWriter.close()
    except Exception as e:
      print("There was a problem saving the file:",e)
  else:
    print("There is no file.")  
        
def runAction(event):
  global logArea, runStr

  runStr = ('%s %s') % (pyStr,fileStr)
  print(runStr)
  if(runStr != None):
    s = subprocess.check_output(runStr, shell=True)
    logArea.appendText(s)

def stopAction(evnt):
  print("Stop btn hit.")
  
def clearAction(event):
  global txtArea
  print("Clear btn hit.")
  txtArea.setText("")
  
def setup():
  global stage,txtArea,logArea
  
  size(_wndW,_wndH,FX2D)
  window_title('Python Editor Prototype')
  canvas = get_surface().get_native()
  root = canvas.getParent()
  scene = root.getScene()
  stage = scene.getWindow()
  
  hbox = javafx.scene.layout.HBox(20)
  vbox = javafx.scene.layout.VBox()
 
  txtArea = javafx.scene.control.TextArea()
  logArea = javafx.scene.control.TextArea()

# **** MenuBar **** 
  fileMenu = javafx.scene.control.Menu("File")
  mItemOpen = javafx.scene.control.MenuItem("Open")
  mItemSave = javafx.scene.control.MenuItem("Save")
  mItemSaveAs = javafx.scene.control.MenuItem("SaveAs...")
  fileMenu.getItems().addAll(mItemOpen, mItemSave,mItemSaveAs)
  mBar = javafx.scene.control.MenuBar()
  mBar.getMenus().addAll(fileMenu)
  
# **** MenuItem Actions ****
  mItemOpen.setOnAction(openAction)
  mItemSave.setOnAction(saveAction)
  mItemSaveAs.setOnAction(saveAsAction)

# **** Run Btn ****
  arrw = javafx.scene.shape.Polygon()
  arrw.getPoints().addAll(        
    90.0, 52.0,
    90.0, 68.0,
    100.0, 60.0
  )
  arrw.setStroke(javafx.scene.paint.Color.WHITE)
  arrw.setFill(javafx.scene.paint.Color.BLUE)

  runBtn = javafx.scene.control.Button()
  runBtn.setStyle("-fx-background-radius:5em;"+
                  "-fx-min-width:24px;"+
                  "-fx-min-height:24px;"+
                  "-fx-max-width:30px;"+
                  "-fx-max-height:30px;"                 
                  )
  runBtn.setGraphic(arrw)
  runBtn.setOnAction(runAction)
  
# **** Stop Btn ****
  stop = javafx.scene.shape.Polygon()
  stop.getPoints().addAll(        
    90.0, 60.0,
    90.0, 72.0,
    102.0, 72.0,
    102.0, 60.0
  )
  stop.setStroke(javafx.scene.paint.Color.WHITE)
  stop.setFill(javafx.scene.paint.Color.RED)

  stopBtn = javafx.scene.control.Button()
  stopBtn.setStyle("-fx-background-radius:5em;"+
                  "-fx-min-width:24px;"+
                  "-fx-min-height:24px;"+
                  "-fx-max-width:30px;"+
                  "-fx-max-height:30px;"                 
                  )
  stopBtn.setGraphic(stop)
  stopBtn.setOnAction(stopAction)
  
# **** Clear Btn ****
  clearBtn = javafx.scene.control.Button("X")
  clearBtn.setStyle("-fx-background-radius:5em;"+"-fx-min-width:30px;"+"-fx-min-height:30px;"+"-fx-max-width:30px;"+"-fx-max-height:30px;")
  clearBtn.setOnAction(clearAction)
  
# **** Quit Btn ****
  quitBtn = javafx.scene.control.Button("Q")
  quitBtn.setStyle("-fx-background-radius:5em;"+"-fx-min-width:30px;"+"-fx-min-height:30px;"+"-fx-max-width:30px;"+"-fx-max-height:30px;")
  quitBtn.setOnAction(myBtnAction)

  margin = javafx.geometry.Insets(10,0,0,20)
  hbox.setMargin(mBar, margin)
  hbox.setMargin(runBtn,margin)
  hbox.setMargin(stopBtn,margin)
  hbox.setMargin(clearBtn,margin)
  hbox.setMargin(quitBtn,margin)
  
  hbox.getChildren().addAll(mBar, runBtn, stopBtn, clearBtn, quitBtn)

  splitPane = javafx.scene.control.SplitPane()
  splitPane.setOrientation(javafx.geometry.Orientation.VERTICAL)
  sp1 = javafx.scene.layout.StackPane()
  sp1.getChildren().add(txtArea)
  sp2 = javafx.scene.layout.StackPane()
  sp2.getChildren().add(logArea)
  splitPane.getItems().addAll(sp1, sp2)
  splitPane.setDividerPositions(0.8, 0.2)
 
  margin = javafx.geometry.Insets(10)
  vbox.getChildren().addAll(hbox,splitPane)
  vbox.setVgrow(splitPane, javafx.scene.layout.Priority.ALWAYS)
  vbox.setMargin(splitPane,margin)

  root.getChildren().add(vbox)

Output:

[villares]

Very cool!!! See if you can launch py5-sketch-runner your_sketch.py in the subprocess and you might be able to add an imported mode capability...

[vsquared]

I'm looking for a way to get 'Imported mode for py5' so you have read my mind. The first part of the subprocess string needs to be some compiler (interpreter) such as 'python', 'gcc', 'javac', 'g++', etc and unfortunately it does not recognize 'py5-sketch-runner'. I tried adding 'import py5' and 'import javafx' together, but so far I'm unable to get that to work. For some reason in Thonny I can only run javafx code if I have 'Imported mode for py5' installed and this little editor doesn't know how to do that.

[villares]

if you study the thonny-py5mode plug-in source you can see how to find the sketch-runner path (I find the code rather confusing), it works a bit like an interpreter, in the sense it will execute the sketch in place of the standard python interpreter.

[hx2A]

This is nice @vsquared !

Is it possible to do things like tab completion or syntax highlighting?

[vsquared]

Is it possible to do things like tab completion or syntax highlighting?

I'm not familiar with tab completion and yes, it does need syntax highlighting. For now I'm just trying to get the basic stuff to work and to be able to run anything that Thonny can. I'm not sure that we want to compete with Thonny; mainly I'm just trying to figure out what it would take to get py5 to work in the Processing editor, realizing that it's another kettle of fish and a lot more complex than our little javafx demo. ...Unless you want to include an editor with py5.

[hx2A]

mainly I'm just trying to figure out what it would take to get py5 to work in the Processing editor, realizing that it's another kettle of fish and a lot more complex than our little javafx demo

The PDE code needs to be improved to separate the bare-bones editor from the nuances of each language "mode". It is a priority for the Processing team to do this work. It will take some time and will require some funding. Once that happens, the PDE will be better positioned to accommodate py5 as well as other related Processing projects.

[villares]

Here, on the __init__.py file: https://github.com/tabreturn/thonny-py5mode/blob/3043f6e7fc8a7a4396f1787913c2c990041ba9aa/thonnycontrib/thonny-py5mode/__init__.py#L52 Em qua., 2 de jul. de 2025 às 20:48, vsquared ***@***.***> escreveu:

…

study the thonny-py5mode plug-in source I'm having trouble finding the code. I went to the github site: https://github.com/tabreturn/thonny-py5mode/tree/main/thonnycontrib/thonny-py5mode but all I see is 'about_plugin.py' and that doesn't have what I'm looking for. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub <#672 (comment)>, or unsubscribe <https://github.com/notifications/unsubscribe-auth/AA4GADEGSXGLF6AL2AIJO6D3GRVTLAVCNFSM6AAAAACASV6FDKVHI2DSMVQWIX3LMV43URDJONRXK43TNFXW4Q3PNVWWK3TUHMYTGNRUGYYTGMY> . You are receiving this because you commented.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[villares]

Great! Thank you!

[vsquared]

@GoToLoop I substituted your file with proposed changes for the original install_jdk.py and I am now able to use the command line in Thonny. I have modifed the prototype editor above to use 'py5-run-sketch fileName.py' instead of 'python3 fileName.py' and it will now run the same files as Thonny that use Imported mode for py5. For me that is good news as far as the editor goes because it will now run more files than just 'Module mode'. The bad news is that the editor beach balls (becomes unresponsive) after one run, but I think that is due to a threading issue that I have yet to solve and not your changes (it was doing that before the file substitution). At any rate, thanks a million and so far I've seen no unexpected behavior.

[villares]

Good to hear this, @vsquared! In what OS are you working on? MacOS? If we can test the modifications on Windows, Linux and MacOS it will be good to go.

[vsquared]

If we can test the modifications on Windows, Linux and MacOS it will be good to go.
I have all three systems; just tested on MacOS so far. Should be able to test other two later today.

[vsquared]

Here's the output of Windows 11 test using GoTo's modified code:

As you can see this code runs in Thonny using Imported mode for py5. It also runs in the prototype editor using the Thonny command line: py5-sketch-run myFile.py. App still becomes unresponsive after single run.

Linux test:
Unable to test on Linux with or without modified file due to following error:

Graphics Device initialization failed for :  es2, sw
Error initializing QuantumRenderer: no suitable pipeline found

Thonny editor used to work on Linux; now it doesn't and I have no idea why.

[GoToLoop]

Pull request to fix: py5coding/thonny-py5mode#67
For file: https://github.com/tabreturn/thonny-py5mode/blob/0.4.6-alpha/thonnycontrib/thonny-py5mode/install_jdk.py

Pull Request: py5coding/thonny-py5mode#70
Fork Repo: https://github.com/GoToLoop/thonny-py5mode/blob/main/thonnycontrib/thonny-py5mode/install_jdk.py

[hx2A]

A separate thread is not the same as a separate process. You'll need to make a system call to launch the new process.

[vsquared]

@hx2A After more thought and testing I am now suspicious of 'py5-run-sketch' as the reason for hanging of the prototype editor. I say that because if I switch the cmd-line string to 'python3' instead of 'py5-run-sketch' I can run as many sketches as I want and the editor does not hang. I also recall that when using py5.run_sketch(block=False) there is a 'block' parameter which seems to be important. I don't understand how this works but it may explain the unexpected behavior. I am using the cmd-line version of run_sketch so my question is ... is there a 'block' parameter for it as well?

[vsquared]

The solution was to change subprocess to Popen(which is non-blocking) instead of check_output.
The following allows the editor to use 'py5-run-sketch' to open multiple files without hanging:

def runAction(event):
  global runStr
  try:
    proc = subprocess.Popen(runStr, shell=True)
  except Exception as e:
    print("Error: ",e)  

Now I sure would like to get rid of all those open python apps on my dock; wish I could use cmd-Q on each and every one.

[hx2A]

I am using the cmd-line version of run_sketch so my question is ... is there a 'block' parameter for it as well?

When you execute the py5-run-sketch utility on the command line it will not exit until the Sketch exits. So if your code is waiting for the process to exit before proceeding, it will hang.

Now I sure would like to get rid of all those open python apps on my dock; wish I could use cmd-Q on each and every one

Hmmm, those processes are not exiting properly. How are you exiting the Sketches?

[vsquared]

So if your code is waiting for the process to exit before proceeding, it will hang.
Changing subprocess to non-blocking solved the hang problem. Would love to know how to 'exit' a sketch in this environment.

I 'exit' the sketches that the editor runs by closing the sketch window which does not 'terminate' the sketch app. The same thing will happen with my objc editor, the difference being that on mac cmd-Q (calls terminate) will wipe it off the dock. I build that capability into each demo by adding a 'Quit cmd-Q' menu item to the App menu on the menubar (first menu to right of the 'Apple'). With python there is no cmd-Q (at least that I have been able to find) and we don't seem to be able to add it the 'Python' menu on the menubar. In summary, all that we are doing is closing the app's window without terminating the app.

What is the python equivalent of 'when the window closes the app terminates'?