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Utilities

CocoaGUI provides two utility functions for displaying dialog boxes: alert() for showing messages and confirm() for asking yes/no questions.

alert()

Display an informational message to the user in a popup dialog.

gui.alert(message, title="Alert")

Parameters

Parameter Type Default Description
message str Required The message to display
title str "Alert" The dialog window title

Returns

Nothing. The function blocks until the user closes the dialog.

Examples

import CocoaGUI as gui

# Simple alert
gui.alert("Hello, World!")

# Alert with custom title
gui.alert("File saved successfully!", "Success")

# Multi-line alert
gui.alert("Error occurred:\nFile not found\nPlease try again", "Error")

confirm()

Ask the user a yes/no question and get their response.

result = gui.confirm(message, title="Confirm")

Parameters

Parameter Type Default Description
message str Required The question to ask
title str "Confirm" The dialog window title

Returns

  • bool: True if the user clicked "Yes", False if they clicked "No"

Examples

import CocoaGUI as gui

# Simple confirmation
if gui.confirm("Are you sure?"):
    print("User confirmed")
else:
    print("User cancelled")

# Confirmation with custom title
if gui.confirm("Delete this file?", "Confirm Delete"):
    # Delete the file
    pass

Complete Examples

Success Message

import CocoaGUI as gui

app = gui.Window("Save Example", width=400, height=200)

def save_file():
    # Simulate saving
    gui.alert("Your file has been saved successfully!", "Success")

gui.Button(app, "Save", command=save_file, x=150, y=80)

app.run()

Error Handling

import CocoaGUI as gui

app = gui.Window("Error Example", width=400, height=250)

age_input = gui.Input(app, x=50, y=50, width=300)

def validate_age():
    age_str = age_input.get()

    if not age_str:
        gui.alert("Please enter your age", "Missing Input")
        return

    if not age_str.isdigit():
        gui.alert("Age must be a number", "Invalid Input")
        return

    age = int(age_str)
    if age < 0:
        gui.alert("Age cannot be negative", "Invalid Age")
    elif age < 18:
        gui.alert("You must be 18 or older", "Age Restriction")
    else:
        gui.alert(f"Welcome! You are {age} years old.", "Valid")

gui.Label(app, "Enter your age:", x=50, y=20)
gui.Button(app, "Validate", command=validate_age, x=150, y=90)

app.run()

Delete Confirmation

import CocoaGUI as gui

app = gui.Window("Delete Example", width=400, height=200)

items = ["Document.txt", "Image.png", "Data.csv"]

def delete_item():
    if gui.confirm("Are you sure you want to delete this item?\nThis action cannot be undone.", "Confirm Delete"):
        gui.alert("Item deleted successfully", "Deleted")
    else:
        gui.alert("Delete cancelled", "Cancelled")

gui.Button(app, "Delete", command=delete_item, x=150, y=80)

app.run()

Exit Confirmation

import CocoaGUI as gui

app = gui.Window("Exit Confirmation", width=400, height=200)

def try_exit():
    if gui.confirm("Are you sure you want to exit?", "Exit Application"):
        app.close()
    else:
        gui.alert("Exit cancelled", "Info")

gui.Button(app, "Exit", command=try_exit, x=160, y=80)

app.run()

Form Submission

import CocoaGUI as gui

app = gui.Window("Submission Example", width=450, height=350)

gui.Label(app, "Feedback Form", x=160, y=20, size=16)

gui.Label(app, "Your Name:", x=50, y=70)
name = gui.Input(app, x=50, y=95, width=350)

gui.Label(app, "Feedback:", x=50, y=135)
feedback = gui.TextArea(app, x=50, y=160, width=350, height=100)

def submit_form():
    name_val = name.get()
    feedback_val = feedback.get().strip()

    if not name_val or not feedback_val:
        gui.alert("Please fill in all fields", "Incomplete Form")
        return

    if gui.confirm(f"Submit feedback as {name_val}?", "Confirm Submission"):
        gui.alert("Thank you for your feedback!", "Success")
        name.clear()
        feedback.clear()

gui.Button(app, "Submit", command=submit_form, x=175, y=280)

app.run()

Multi-step Process

import CocoaGUI as gui

app = gui.Window("Wizard Example", width=450, height=250)

step = 1
status = gui.Label(app, "Step 1 of 3", x=180, y=50, size=14)

def next_step():
    global step

    if step == 1:
        gui.alert("Preparing files...", "Step 1")
        step = 2
        status.set("Step 2 of 3")
    elif step == 2:
        gui.alert("Processing data...", "Step 2")
        step = 3
        status.set("Step 3 of 3")
    elif step == 3:
        if gui.confirm("Complete the process?", "Final Step"):
            gui.alert("Process completed successfully!", "Done")
            step = 1
            status.set("Step 1 of 3")

gui.Button(app, "Next", command=next_step, x=185, y=100)

app.run()

Information Display

import CocoaGUI as gui

app = gui.Window("Information", width=400, height=200)

def show_help():
    help_text = """
How to use this application:

1. Enter your data in the fields
2. Click Submit to process
3. View the results

For more help, visit our website.
"""
    gui.alert(help_text, "Help")

def show_about():
    about_text = """
My Application v1.0

Created with CocoaGUI
© 2024 Your Name

All rights reserved.
"""
    gui.alert(about_text, "About")

gui.Button(app, "Help", command=show_help, x=100, y=80)
gui.Button(app, "About", command=show_about, x=200, y=80)

app.run()

Validation Chain

import CocoaGUI as gui

app = gui.Window("Registration", width=450, height=350)

gui.Label(app, "Create Account", x=160, y=20, size=16)

gui.Label(app, "Username:", x=50, y=70)
username = gui.Input(app, x=50, y=95, width=350)

gui.Label(app, "Password:", x=50, y=135)
password = gui.Input(app, x=50, y=160, width=350)

gui.Label(app, "Confirm Password:", x=50, y=200)
confirm_pass = gui.Input(app, x=50, y=225, width=350)

def register():
    user = username.get()
    pwd = password.get()
    confirm = confirm_pass.get()

    # Step 1: Check empty fields
    if not user or not pwd or not confirm:
        gui.alert("All fields are required", "Error")
        return

    # Step 2: Check username length
    if len(user) < 3:
        gui.alert("Username must be at least 3 characters", "Error")
        return

    # Step 3: Check password length
    if len(pwd) < 6:
        gui.alert("Password must be at least 6 characters", "Error")
        return

    # Step 4: Check password match
    if pwd != confirm:
        gui.alert("Passwords do not match", "Error")
        return

    # Step 5: Final confirmation
    if gui.confirm(f"Create account for {user}?", "Confirm"):
        gui.alert("Account created successfully!", "Success")
        username.clear()
        password.clear()
        confirm_pass.clear()

gui.Button(app, "Register", command=register, x=175, y=275)

app.run()

Usage Tips

When to Use alert()

  • Success messages: "File saved successfully"
  • Error messages: "Invalid input detected"
  • Information: "Processing complete"
  • Warnings: "This action cannot be undone"
  • Status updates: "3 items processed"

When to Use confirm()

  • Destructive actions: Deleting, clearing, resetting
  • Important decisions: Submitting forms, making purchases
  • Exit confirmations: Closing with unsaved changes
  • Overwriting: Replacing existing data
  • Final steps: Completing multi-step processes

Writing Good Messages

Be specific and clear: 

# ❌ Not helpful
gui.alert("Error occurred", "Error")

# ✅ Clear and actionable
gui.alert("Could not save file: disk is full", "Save Error")

Use appropriate tone: 

# For errors - clear and direct
gui.alert("Invalid email format. Please include @ and domain.", "Error")

# For success - friendly and positive
gui.alert("Great! Your settings have been saved.", "Success")

Ask clear questions: 

# ❌ Vague
if gui.confirm("Continue?"):

# ✅ Specific
if gui.confirm("Delete all data? This cannot be undone.", "Confirm Delete"):

Multi-line Messages

Use \n for line breaks in longer messages:

message = """Operation completed successfully!

Results:
- 15 files processed
- 3 errors found
- 45 seconds elapsed

Check the log for details."""

gui.alert(message, "Complete")

Best Practices

Don't overuse dialogs. Too many popups can be annoying. Use in-app labels for less critical feedback.

Make confirm() questions clear. Users should immediately understand what "Yes" and "No" mean.

Keep messages concise. Users skim dialog text. Get to the point quickly.

Use appropriate titles. The title helps users understand the context: "Error", "Success", "Confirm", etc.

Handle both outcomes. When using confirm(), always handle both True and False cases.

if gui.confirm("Save changes?", "Unsaved Changes"):
    save_data()
else:
    gui.alert("Changes were not saved", "Info")

See Also