Crash course

This is a crash course on writing apps for ZPUI, with links to more in-depth explanations.

Basics

What does a “do nothing” ZPUI app need? One directory with two files and 5 lines of code
What does a “Hello, world” app need? One more line of code.
Can you do an app as an object? Sure, here’s how.
Want a walkthrough for writing an app drawing things on the screen? Sure, here’s a guide.
Want to experiment with the code using REPL? Use the sandbox.

Want to display some text real quick and dirty? Use o.display_data("first_line", "second_line", "third_line"...).
Want to display some text in a more user-friendly fashion, with UX bells&whistles? Use PrettyPrinter.
Want to display an image? Use display_image.
Want to display an image in a more user-friendly fashion, with UX bells&whistles? Use GraphicsPrinter.
Want to construct an image dynamically? Use Canvas.

Want some very basic interactivity? Setup some input callbacks and start an input thread.
How do callbacks work, what’s a keymap and how do you set one? Read here.
Want to make a very basic loop and allow the user to interrupt it? Use ExitHelper.
Want to make a menu for your application? Use a Menu.
Want to make a “pick any items out of many and accept” choice? Use a Checkbox.
Want to make a “pick one out of many” choice? Use a Listbox.
Want to make a “Yes”/”No”[/”Cancel”] choice? Use DialogBox.
Want to make a status screen? Use a Refresher.
Want to input some text? Use UniversalInput.
Want to adjust a number? Use IntegerAdjustInput.
Want to pick a directory/file? Use PathPicker.
Want to pick a date from the calendar? Use DatePicker.
Want to pick a time? Use TimePicker.
Want to show a lot of text on the screen? Use TextReader.
Want to indicate that some task is in progress? Use LoadingBar.
Want to indicate a task is in progress, with a progress estimate? Use ProgressBar.
Want to make an UI element react to more buttons? Here’s how you do that.

Want to add logging? It’s very easy - here’s a snippet for adding logging.
Want to include some resource files with your app - i.e. sounds? Here’s how to access them the proper way.
Want to have a place to store variables for your app? Here’s a snippet to use a config file.
Want to learn about things you should do while writing an app? We have some guidelines here and here.
Want to learn about things you should not do while writing an app? Here are some more examples.
Want to run things on app startup/launch/in the background? Here are the basics of that.