simple_standard_file.py

#!/usr/bin/env python3
# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
"""simple_standard_file.py is a set of quick "just somehow ask the user where to
save/open a file" routines. Each does its best to ask the user a specific
question in the best way available and to degrade gracefully if the services
it's trying to use prove not to be available.


simple-standard-file.py is part of Patrick Mooney's personal Python library.
This program is licensed under the GPL v3 or, at your option, any later
version. See the file LICENSE.md for a copy of this licence.
"""

import sys

import patrick_logger  # https://github.com/patrick-brian-mooney/python-personal-library/blob/master/patrick_logger.py


def do_save_dialog(**kwargs):
    """Shows a dialog asking the user where to save a file, or comes as close as
    possible to doing so. Any keyword arguments passed in are piped to the
    underlying function tkinter.filedialog.asksaveasfilename

    Returns a path to the file that the user wants to create.

    Adapted from more complex code in Zombie Apocalypse.
    """
    patrick_logger.log_it("DEBUGGING: simple_standard_file.do_save_dialog() called", 2)
    try:  # Use Tkinter if possible
        import tkinter
        import tkinter.filedialog

        tkinter.Tk().withdraw()  # No root window

        filename = tkinter.filedialog.asksaveasfilename()
    except Exception as errrr:  # If all else fails, ask the user to type a filename.
        filename = input('Under what name would you like to save the file? ')
    patrick_logger.log_it('    Selected file is %s' % filename, 2)
    return filename


def do_open_dialog(**kwargs):
    """Shows a dialog asking the user which file to open, or comes as close as
    possible to doing so. Any keyword arguments passed in are piped to the
    underlying function tkinter.filedialog.askopenfilename

    Returns a path to the file that the user wants to open.

    Adapted from more complex code in Zombie Apocalypse.
    """
    patrick_logger.log_it("DEBUGGING: simple_standard_file.do_open_dialog() called", 2)
    try:  # Use TKinter if possible
        import tkinter
        import tkinter.filedialog
        tkinter.Tk().withdraw()  # No root window
        filename = tkinter.filedialog.askopenfilename(**kwargs)
    except:  # If all else fails, ask the user to type it.
        filename = input('What file would you like to open? ')
    if filename == tuple([]):
        patrick_logger.log_it('    INFO: simple_standard_file: do_open_dialog() cancelled', 2)
        filename = None
    else:
        patrick_logger.log_it('    INFO: simple_standard_file: Selected file is "%s"' % filename, 2)
    return filename


if __name__ == "__main__":
    patrick_logger.log_it(
        "ERROR: %s is not a program you can run. It is a collection of software to be used by other software." %
        sys.argv[0])