By Dr. Angela Yu
Day 31 of 100: Tkinter, Dynamic Typing and the Pomodoro GUI Application
Using TkInter and the Math libraries, develop a pomodoro technique time management application to help people be more productive.
From Wikipedia: "Each interval is known as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for tomato, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used as a university student."
This application is written with Python 3.11.
The app uses a counting-down timer to break work into 25 minute-long intervals, separated by short, 5-minute breaks. Each work and short break interval is called a pomodoro.
Each interval type (work or rest) shows as a header in green above the tomato graphic. The timer itself counts down in white integers within the tomato graphic.
After completing 4 pomodoros, the timer then sets to a 20 minute "long" break.
This project uses two libraries:
- TkInter
- Math
First we create the Graphic User Interface (GUI) using Tkinter, using variable variable constants to set the interface colors, font name, and background image.
PINK = "#e2979c"
RED = "#e7305b"
GREEN = "#9bdeac"
YELLOW = "#f7f5dd"
FONT_NAME = "Courier"
window = Tk()
window.title("Pomodoro")
window.config(padx=100, pady=50, bg=YELLOW)
title = Label(text="Timer", font=(FONT_NAME, 48), fg=GREEN, bg=YELLOW, highlightthickness=0)
title.grid(column=1, row=0)
canvas = Canvas(width=200, height=224, bg=YELLOW, highlightthickness=0)
tom_img = PhotoImage(file="tomato.png")
canvas.create_image(100, 112, image=tom_img)
timer_text = canvas.create_text(100, 130, text="00:00", fill="white", font=(FONT_NAME, 35, "bold"))
canvas.grid(column=1, row=1)
We then add two buttons to the interface which will start and reset our pomodoro timer:
- Start - tied to the
start_timer()function - Reset - tied to the
reset()function
start = Button(text="Start", highlightthickness=0, command=start_timer)
start.grid(column=0, row=2)
reset = Button(text="Reset", highlightthickness=0, command=reset)
reset.grid(column=2, row=2)
check = Label(font=(FONT_NAME, 24), fg=GREEN, bg=YELLOW, highlightthickness=0)
check.grid(column=1, row=3)
The start_timer() function counts how many cycles of work and short breaks have been completed, and starts our timer with the appropriate amount of time:
def start_timer():
global REPS
REPS += 1
work_sec = WORK_MIN * 60
short_break_sec = SHORT_BREAK_MIN * 60
long_break_sec = LONG_BREAK_MIN * 60
if REPS % 8 == 0:
title.config(text="Long Break", fg=RED)
count_down(long_break_sec)
elif REPS % 2 == 0:
title.config(text="Short Break", fg=PINK)
count_down(short_break_sec)
else:
title.config(text="Work")
count_down(work_sec)
Once the start_timer() function knows the amount of time to count, it then calls to the count_down() function which animates the timer at the top of the interface, informing the user how much time is left in each interval:
def count_down(count):
global REPS, TIMER
count_min = math.floor(count / 60)
count_sec = count % 60
if count_sec < 10:
count_sec = f"0{count_sec}"
canvas.itemconfig(timer_text, text=f"{count_min}:{count_sec}")
if count > 0:
TIMER = window.after(1000, count_down, count - 1)
else:
start_timer()
marks = ""
work_sessions = math.floor(REPS/2)
for _ in range(work_sessions):
marks += "✔"
check.config(text=marks)
Lastly, to reset the timer and start the intervals from the beginning, we add the reset() function:
def reset():
global TIMER, REPS
window.after_cancel(TIMER)
title.config(text="Timer", fg=GREEN)
canvas.itemconfig(timer_text, text="00:00")
check.config(text="")
REPS = 0
All of the commands below should be typed into the Python terminal of your IDE (I use PyCharm for my Python Development).
First, clone the repository from Github and switch to the new directory:
$ git clone git@github.com:shelbyblanton/pomodoro-timer.git
Then open the project in PyCharm.
Setup is complete!
Click Run in PyCharm to see the app in action.
Programmed by M. Shelby Blanton under the instructional guidance of Dr. Angela Yu via Udemy.com.