I've done a fair amount of work with Tk under Windows in the past. When a new project came up, I decided to re-evaluate this Win32::Gui that I'd heard about.

My bout with Win32::Gui was short and painful. I found it severely under-documented -- whereas Tk has many, many pages of POD detailing every function, parameter, and copious examples -- not to mention a book on the subject -- Win32::Gui has less than minimal documentation. The examples use features which are labelled (TBD) in the docs.

Thus, I would say that the learning curve for Win32::Gui is rather steep. You'll also probably find more people out there who are aquainted with Tk than Win32::Gui. I can't really comment on speed -- but I would imagine that Win32::Gui might have a slight edge in that category. Unfortunatly, I never got to the point where that was an issue.

Hope this helps.

Update: I was unaware of the existance of the mailing list that dvergin points out below. As he says, this might make Win32::Gui a little more palatable.

 
perl -e 'print "I love $^X$\"$]!$/"#$&V"+@( NO CARRIER'

I'm working with Tk under Linux as well as Win32, and while not always easy, I found it a better option than Win32::GUI. Why?

• Like Chmrr says the documentation: What I did with Win32::GUI was hardly documented.
• Stability. The things I tried in Win32::GUI were very unstable and crashed more often than Windows itself ;-)
• Tk is portable. I run the same code on Win32 as on Linux. With NO change. There's not even a single command I have to keep in mind that does work on one, and doesn't work on another platform.
But of course there are a few advantages of Win32::GUI too:
• Real Win32 gui elements. Tk comes from the X-environments and the look and feel is not 100% Win32...With Win32::GUI you're accessing the real Windows-controls
• If you're familiar with windows-programming at all (like in VC(++) or VB), it is probably easier to use Win32::GUI in Perl.

Just my $0.02...

Jouke Visser, Perl 'Adept'

My two reasons for using Tk:

• Canvases - make drawing very easy and interactive graphics a doddle
• Text - the text widget is easy to use and powerful, it's also been extended by various people

--
Kevin O'Rourke

Speed: There's a bit more setup with a direct Win32 interface than with TK. Also, Windows doesn't manage the windows, letting the program do it; TK helps you in that regard.

Ease of use: Tk you can design dynamically with eaze. Windows? Painful.

Documentation: Two CD's and a few books for Windows, not all of them from Microsoft. Tk? The manpages and "Tcl and the Tk toolkit", but there's also a Perl/Tk book.

It's much better to use Tk than to sink more money into Win32::GUI. You'll be glad you did.

--
$Stalag99{"URL"}="http://stalag99.keenspace.com";

I have been working with this recently, so I'm very glad to share my experiences. For what they are worth.

Personally, I had some frustration getting Tk working with IndigoPerl, but no problems whatsoever with ActiveState. Win32 worked fine with either. (Though IMHO it's more likely it was my fault than anything else, to be sure.)

As far as working with them... I can only add to the voices here in expressing a distinct preference for Tk. Since neither is supported on Macintosh, there is no real cross-platform GUI support anyway. However, you can at least have the opportunity to share your work with the rest of the community & help Save The World by writing PERL code. :-}

Plus, if you look at the Big Picture you'd realize that a Tk module for the Mac platform would be forthcoming a lot faster than say a Win32 module. :-\

Though, you did say that compatability wasn't an issue, I simply suggest it's something that you look at from both sides. With a greater audience comes a greater amount of shared code resources. You'll find more examples & help in the long run using Tk because of compatability.

Also, as noted previously, it doesn't crash as much! 8-P

I was just up on the scriptics download page and they now have a Mac version of tcl/tk available.

http://www.scriptics.com/software/tcltk/downloadnow83.tml

Seriously, the lack of documentation for and inflexibility of Win32::GUI versus Tk consitute considerable consternation (note the fine use of alliteration). The AS mail lists can help, but the vast quantity of support in the Perl community for Tk makes it an obvious choice.

One could improve the Win32::GUI docs and become the foremost expert on the module, improving status for oneself and providing a valuable resource to the community at large.

HTH
--
idnopheq
Apply yourself to new problems without preparation, develop confidence in your ability to to meet situations as they arrise.

~ Shunryu Suzuki

--
I have two comments on this.

Though I'm mostly a Linux developer, I've had to code
for Windows as well. The times I've been required
to code something that didn't need to be cross-platform,
the moment is was not cross platform it then needed to be.

i.e., if it could be Win-specific and I wrote it that way,
suddenly "Cross-Platform" was the new requirement.

That being said, I have also used Win32::GUI and did not
have a good time with it. Even on my Windows-specific
tasks I resort to using Tk. Ease of use and
documentation are my reasons.

Regarding doumentation, I found that Perl in a Nutshell
provided enough info to start with Perl/Tk.
Advanced Perl Programming finished off the topic,
so when I finally got around to reading the Perl/Tk book
I didn't learn very much. Still a good book though.

--
-Felonious

I have read most of the perl/tk book, and found it quite informative. it taught me a great deal about idiomatic perl that i didn't find in other books.

I haven't used Win32::GUI but I can tell you that Tk was easy and good for me.

gosh, i hope you don't mind the rum that i've been drinking tonight.

michael
the blue haired monk

I found that quick setting up and building of simple(ish) windows was pretty quick with Win32::GUI - even for a relatively new Perl programmer (9mths) so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for simple tasks.

Since everyone is raving about Tk I'm going to have to take a look!
c-ya.

Larry