Creating a Basic Calculator Application Using Python and Tkinter

In this tutorial, we will be building a simple calculator app using Python and the Tkinter library. Tkinter is a built-in GUI library for Python that allows us to create windows, buttons, labels, and other GUI elements for our applications.

To get started, make sure you have Python installed on your computer. You can download Python from the official website if you haven’t already.

Now, open your favorite text editor or IDE and create a new Python file. Let’s name it "calculator.py".

First, we need to import the necessary modules from Tkinter and define the layout of our calculator app.

from tkinter import *

# Create a Tkinter window
root = Tk()
root.title("Simple Calculator")

# Create an entry widget to display the result
entry = Entry(root, width=25, borderwidth=5)
entry.grid(row=0, column=0, columnspan=4)

# Define button functions
def button_click(value):
    current = entry.get()
    entry.delete(0, END)
    entry.insert(0, str(current) + str(value))

def button_clear():
    entry.delete(0, END)

def button_equal():
    try:
        result = eval(entry.get())
        entry.delete(0, END)
        entry.insert(0, result)
    except:
        entry.delete(0, END)
        entry.insert(0, "Error")

# Create buttons for numbers and operations
button_1 = Button(root, text="1", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(1))
button_2 = Button(root, text="2", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(2))
button_3 = Button(root, text="3", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(3))
button_4 = Button(root, text="4", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(4))
button_5 = Button(root, text="5", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(5))
button_6 = Button(root, text="6", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(6))
button_7 = Button(root, text="7", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(7))
button_8 = Button(root, text="8", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(8))
button_9 = Button(root, text="9", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(9))
button_0 = Button(root, text="0", padx=86, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click(0))

button_add = Button(root, text="+", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click("+"))
button_subtract = Button(root, text="-", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click("-"))
button_multiply = Button(root, text="*", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click("*"))
button_divide = Button(root, text="/", padx=40, pady=20, command=lambda: button_click("/"))

button_clear = Button(root, text="C", padx=40, pady=20, command=button_clear)
button_equal = Button(root, text="=", padx=86, pady=20, command=button_equal)

# Arrange the buttons on the grid
button_1.grid(row=3, column=0)
button_2.grid(row=3, column=1)
button_3.grid(row=3, column=2)
button_4.grid(row=2, column=0)
button_5.grid(row=2, column=1)
button_6.grid(row=2, column=2)
button_7.grid(row=1, column=0)
button_8.grid(row=1, column=1)
button_9.grid(row=1, column=2)
button_0.grid(row=4, column=0, columnspan=2)
button_add.grid(row=1, column=3)
button_subtract.grid(row=2, column=3)
button_multiply.grid(row=3, column=3)
button_divide.grid(row=4, column=3)
button_clear.grid(row=4, column=2)
button_equal.grid(row=4, column=1)

# Run the main event loop
root.mainloop()

Save the file and run it using the command python calculator.py. You should see a simple calculator window with buttons for numbers, arithmetic operations, and a result display.

You can now perform basic mathematical calculations using the calculator app. Try entering some numbers and operations to see the result.

This is a basic example of how to build a simple calculator app with Python and Tkinter. Feel free to customize and expand on this code to add more features and functionality to your calculator app. Happy coding!