`tkinter` source and docs use the word 'slave'

[i-make-data-sexy]

I know tkinter is just a wrapper for Tk but this reference to slaves is pretty bad. Maybe it could be referenced as child widgets? Pretty much anything other than slaves.

Linked PRs

• gh-143754: Use neutral terminology in tkinter documentation #143779
• gh-143754: Modernize Tkinter docs #143841
• gh-143754: Add Tkinter methods pack_content(), place_content() and grid_content() #143845
• [3.14] gh-143754: Modernize Tkinter docs (GH-143841) #144032
• [3.13] gh-143754: Modernize Tkinter docs (GH-143841) #144033

[StanFromIreland]

There are a series of occurrences both in tkinter/__init__.py and the doc. You can find suggestions for replacements in the devguide.

[VanshAgarwal24036]

Hi, I’d like to work on this issue.

I understand that Tk itself uses this terminology, so my plan is to focus on:

• Updating Python-level error messages and documentation to use neutral terms
  (e.g. “child widgets”, “managed widgets”).
• Renaming internal variables/comments where possible without changing the public API.
• Ensuring no behavioral changes or compatibility regressions.

I’ll start by identifying all occurrences in tkinter/init.py and the docs,
and propose consistent replacements based on the devguide.

Please let me know if this approach sounds good.

[i-make-data-sexy]

That’s fantastic. Thank you! 👏

[terryjreedy]

In tk and tkinters, 'slaves' refers to the geometry managed content of a container. In tk, the place, pack, and grid commands have option 'slaves'. In tkinter/__init__.py, class Misc has corresponding place/pack/grid/_slaves methods, which refer to 'slaves' in their docstring and which call tcl with the corresponding pair of strings. (Lines 1888, 1898, 2021.)

The tcl/tk people have already dealt with this issue. Current 8.6 has a 'content' option that is a synonym for the 'slaves' option. I don't know when these were added. @serhiy-storchaka Do you have the docs or knowledge needed to find out? In 9.0, the names have been reversed, in that 'slaves' is listed as a synonym for 'content'.

We could now add 'place_content = place_slaves', etc, synonyms. There are several others to consider. Misc has 'slaves = pack_slaves', so maybe add 'content = pack_content'. Eack of class Place, Pack, and Grid have lines like slaves = pack_slaves = Misc.pack_slaves (lines 2639, 2690, 2745). So add similar for 'content'?

In docstrings, replace 'slaves' with 'contents' or perhaps 'contained widgets' or even 'placed/packed/gridded widgets'. We should not use 'children' because in tkinter, a_widget.children is a dict mapping child names to the widgets created by passing a_widget as master, the first argument, such as child = tkinter.Text(a_widget). Subsequent on-screen placement is a different issue from creation ancestry, and a child can be a content of more than one container.

Once all tkinter-supported tk versions support 'content', we could change 'slaves' to 'content' in the tcl calls.

EDIT: Docstring changes could be backported. New method names cannot, are are definitely a new feature.