use strict;
use warnings;

use Tk;

my $main = MainWindow->new();
my ($width, $height) = ($main->screenwidth(), $main->screenheight());

print "Width: $width\nHeight: $height";
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Thank you so much. You have given me my hope back for Perl/Tk.

Also be careful with assumptions: not all setups use just one monitor, and the combined surface area is not always a simple rectangle. Thus the best window dimensions for a given application is not at all consistent or obvious. Add to that the concerns for various trays and other edge-warts, and you may not even be able to accurately request the usable desktop region in one shot.

Any suggestions? I will sure take your advice :)

Make your application window(s) big enough to do the job, and no bigger. That's my advice, and I'm sticking to it.

--
[ e d @ h a l l e y . c c ]

The aptly named screenwidth and screenheight methods of the MainWindow will give you that info. They are documented in Tk::Wm. While the documentation for Tk is good, it takes some searching to find relevant info. I own a copy of "Mastering Perl/Tk", and it's a good reference to have on hand.

Here's a quick example:

#!/usr/bin/perl
use warnings;
use strict;
use Tk;

my $mw = MainWindow->new;
$mw->Label( -text  => $mw->screenheight . " x ". $mw->screenwidth )->p
+ack;
MainLoop;
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Thank you very much. I tried using just Internet resources, but it looks like I have to get the resource book ($$). I really appreciate your response though :)

To be honest, I didn't use the book this time. I had a dim recollection of "screenheight" so I grepped the Tk directory and found Wm.pm and Wm.pod.

If you're looking at buying the book, I got mine with the Perl CD Bookshelf v3 - includes paper Perl in a nutshell and digital "Programming Perl" (3rd edition), "Perl Cookbook", "Mastering Perl/Tk", "Perl and LWP", and "Perl and XML", all for about the price of two books. I'd check ebay.

The fourth version is available now, but it drops the LWP, Tk and XML books in favor of merlyn's latest book and "Mastering Regular Expressions". It also has a newer version of the cookbook.

Good luck!

Update: A quick search on ebay shows several copies for under $20 US, including shipping.

I use the below for a Pane widget which is to hold a Label widget which is to hold a multi-line string for display in a pop-up window.

# Calculate dimensions of message for pane, etc. Then
# configure widget to that height and width.
sub size_widget_for_string {
    my ($wgt, $msg, $font) = @_;

    # Measure widest line of string for given font.
    my @msg = split "\n", $msg;
    my $hght = 1.5 * $wgt->fontMetrics($font, -linespace);
    my $wdth = 0;
    foreach (@msg) {
        my $line_wdth = $wgt->fontMeasure($font, " $_ ");
        $wdth = $line_wdth if $wdth < $line_wdth;
        $hght += $wgt->fontMetrics($font, -linespace);
    }

    # Limit size to reasonable maximums.
    my $max_hght = 0.6 * $wgt->screenheight;
    my $max_wdth  = 0.9 * $wgt->screenwidth;
    $hght = $max_hght if $hght > $max_hght;
    $wdth = $max_wdth if $wdth > $max_wdth;

    # Configure the widget.
    $wgt->configure( -width => $wdth, -height => $hght );
}
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Synopsis:

The pane widget was exactly what I was looking for! How did you know that? Thank you very much :) I am a novice perl monk.