Consider upgrading bundled Tk to 8.6.13

[aivarannamaa]

Tcl/Tk 8.6.13 with many bugfixes was released a week ago. I think it's worth trying it out in the next Python 3.12 alphas and betas.

Linked PRs

• gh-99834: Update bundled copy of Tcl/Tk to 8.6.13.0 on Windows #101307
• gh-99834: Update macOS installer to Tcl/Tk 8.6.13. #104738
• [3.11] gh-99834: Update macOS installer to Tcl/Tk 8.6.13. (GH-104738) #110710

[zooba]

I've pushed builds of 8.6.13 to our deps repositories, so anyone can update the references now.

It seems we have to bring a copy of zlib as a DLL now, so the installers will need an update. I'm also a little bit concerned about it interfering with other modules, but there doesn't seem to be an easy way to statically link it anymore, so I guess we'll just have to deal with any fallout if it breaks stuff.

[aivarannamaa]

According to my tests the bundled 8.6.13 works nicely on Windows.

Now I am eagerly waiting for the update in the macOS installer.

[ned-deily]

It seems that 8.6.13 has been shown to solve some problems seen on macOS as in #110218 so let's backport this to 3.11 as well; next release is 3.11.7.

[gernophil]

I have the same issue for python 3.9 would it also be an option to update this installer?

[ned-deily]

Sorry but our release policy has long been that we do not produce binary installers (for Windows or macOS) once a release reaches the "security-fix-only" phase of its life cycle which happened in 2022-05 for Python 3.9.

[gernophil]

Damn, so is there any option to solve this issue for Python 3.9?

[ned-deily]

If you can't upgrade to a branch currently in a full bugfix support phase by the CPython project (3.11.x or 3.12.x), a Python 3.9.x bundled with a newer Tcl/Tk might be available from a third-party distributor depending on what platform you need.

[aivarannamaa]

@gernophil, if you want to upgrade Tk in Python 3.9 you are bundling with your app, then you may be able to simply copy Tcl/Tk files over from your Python 3.12 installation. I haven't tried this with 3.9, but I successfully used this approach for upgrading older Tk in Python 3.10.

[gernophil]

Thanks for that. I'll try that. What files exactly would that be? Did you also use PyInstaller? Any chance, I can integrate this in the freezing process or already copy it to a venv?

[aivarannamaa]

Thanks for that. I'll try that. What files exactly would that be? Did you also use PyInstaller? Any chance, I can integrate this in the freezing process or already copy it to a venv?

I didn't write down the list of files and I'm not using this trick anymore after moving to Python 3.12. I only remember that in Windows, Tcl/Tk gained a new dll between 3.10 and 3.12 which had to be copied over. In macOS (and possibly also in Windows) I also had to update some paths in tkConfig.sh and tclConfig.sh.

I suggest you try to update your existing Python installation and test it by launching IDLE and noting the Tk version in IDLE's About box. This way PyInstaller will pick up the updated Tcl/Tk as well and you don't have to do any post-processing.

Repeating my warning, though -- while it worked for my app and Python 3.10, this is no proof that it will work for your app and Python 3.9 (for example _tkinter module may have been changed after 3.9 to match newer Tk). It's worth trying, though, if you are unable to upgrade to Python 3.12 directly.

[gernophil]

OK, I just tested my application and it seems to work fine using 3.11 (I need torchaudio 2.0.2, which is incompatible to 3.12. torchaudio 3.1.0 has a bug that should be fixed in the next release). So, Now I have to wait for an update for the 3.11 installer or torchaudio :). Let's see who's faster. Any idea, when the 3.11 update will be released?

[chrstphrchvz]

Any idea, when the 3.11 update will be released?

https://peps.python.org/pep-0664/#bugfix-releases
3.11.7 is scheduled for 2023-12-04