Using Python to Create a Vocabulary Builder App

Introduction
Prerequisites
Project Setup
Creating the App Interface
Adding Vocabulary Words
Fetching Definitions
Testing the App
Conclusion

Introduction

In this tutorial, we will learn how to create a Vocabulary Builder App using Python. This app will help users improve their vocabulary by allowing them to add new words, fetch their definitions, and test their knowledge. By the end of this tutorial, you will have a basic understanding of creating graphical user interfaces (GUIs) with Python, interacting with an external API to fetch data, and implementing the logic for a vocabulary building application.

Prerequisites

To follow along with this tutorial, you should have a basic understanding of the Python programming language. Familiarity with GUI development using libraries such as Tkinter will be helpful but not necessary. You will also need Python installed on your machine.

Project Setup

Before we start building the app, let’s create a new directory for our project and set up the necessary files and folders.

Open your terminal or command prompt.
Create a new directory for the project by running the following command:
```
 mkdir vocabulary_builder_app
```
Navigate to the project directory:
```
 cd vocabulary_builder_app
```
Create a virtual environment to isolate the project dependencies:
```
 python -m venv venv
```
Activate the virtual environment:
```
 source venv/bin/activate
```
Install the required Python libraries:
```
 pip install tkinter requests
```
Now that we have set up the project, let’s start building the app interface.

Creating the App Interface

The first step in building our Vocabulary Builder App is to create the graphical user interface (GUI) using the Tkinter library. Tkinter is a standard Python library for creating GUIs.

Create a new Python file inside the project directory called app.py.

 import tkinter as tk
	
 # Create a new Tkinter window
 window = tk.Tk()
	
 # Set the window title
 window.title("Vocabulary Builder App")
	
 # Set the window dimensions
 window.geometry("600x400")
	
 # Run the Tkinter event loop
 window.mainloop()

Run the Python file by executing the following command:
```
 python app.py
```
You should see a new window titled “Vocabulary Builder App” with the specified dimensions.

Adding Vocabulary Words

Now that we have our app interface, let’s add functionality to allow users to add vocabulary words to their list.

Add the following code to the app.py file, inside the window.mainloop() loop:

 # Create a Label widget
 label = tk.Label(window, text="Enter a new word:")
	
 # Create an Entry widget for the user to input the word
 entry = tk.Entry(window)
	
 # Create an Add button to add the word to the list
 add_button = tk.Button(window, text="Add")
	
 # Pack the widgets into the window
 label.pack()
 entry.pack()
 add_button.pack()

Run the Python file again. You should see the “Enter a new word” label, an input field, and an Add button in the app window.
```
 python app.py
```

Next, let’s implement the functionality to add the word entered by the user to a list.

 # Create an empty list to store the vocabulary words
 vocabulary_words = []
	
 # Function to handle the addition of a new word
 def add_word():
     word = entry.get()
     vocabulary_words.append(word)
     entry.delete(0, tk.END)
	
 # Configure the Add button to call the add_word() function when clicked
 add_button.configure(command=add_word)

Now, whenever the user enters a word and clicks the Add button, the word will be added to the vocabulary_words list.

Fetching Definitions

To make our app more useful, let’s add a feature to fetch definitions for the entered words using the Merriam-Webster API.

Sign up for an API key at Merriam-Webster’s developer portal.
Install the requests library if you haven’t already:
```
 pip install requests
```

Add the following code to the app.py file, below the section where we defined the add_word() function:

 import requests
	
 # Function to fetch the definition of a word
 def fetch_definition(word):
     api_key = "YOUR_API_KEY"  # Replace with your actual API key
     url = f"https://www.dictionaryapi.com/api/v3/references/learners/json/{word}?key={api_key}"
     response = requests.get(url)
     if response.status_code == 200:
         definitions = response.json()
         return definitions[0]["shortdef"]
     else:
         return "Definition not found."
	
 # Function to display the definition of the latest added word
 def show_definition():
     if vocabulary_words:
         word = vocabulary_words[-1]
         definition = fetch_definition(word)
         label.configure(text=f"{word}: {definition}")
     else:
         label.configure(text="No words added yet.")
	
 # Create a button to display the definition of the latest added word
 definition_button = tk.Button(window, text="Show Definition", command=show_definition)
 definition_button.pack()

Replace "YOUR_API_KEY" with your actual API key obtained from the Merriam-Webster developer portal.

Now, whenever the user clicks the “Show Definition” button, the app will display the definition for the latest word added.

Testing the App

Let’s test our Vocabulary Builder App to ensure everything is functioning as expected.

Run the Python file again:
```
 python app.py
```
Add a few words using the input field and the Add button.
Click the “Show Definition” button to fetch and display the definition for the latest word added.

Congratulations! You have successfully created a Vocabulary Builder App using Python. You can further enhance the app by adding features like deleting words, creating flashcards, or implementing a quiz mode.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we learned how to create a Vocabulary Builder App using Python and Tkinter. We built a simple app interface to allow users to add vocabulary words and fetch their definitions using an external API. You can now apply these concepts to create your own vocabulary building or language learning applications. Keep exploring and experimenting to enhance your Python skills and develop more useful applications. Happy coding!

Published: 8 October 2019