What I learned designing a (barebones) UI engine
Hacker News
February 23, 2026
AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary
Designing a custom UI framework in PyGame allowed the developer to experiment with minimal overhead while maintaining transparency and speed. The initial approach relied on a flat list of components, manually placing each one using pixel math. While simple, this method was impractical for complex or fluid designs.
To address this, the author restructured the UI hierarchy into a tree-based system, where nodes represent layout-only or content-only elements. This hierarchical model required depth-first traversal and implemented key methods like measure() and distribute(), mirroring principles found in modern UI engines like Flutter. However, the current implementation lacks constraint support, limiting its responsiveness. Despite this, the approach offers a powerful yet lightweight framework for simple UI needs.
The article highlights the importance of adopting higher-level layout semantics to simplify development and improve scalability. While the engine's constraints make it less versatile for fluid designs, its simplicity makes it ideal for rapid experimentation in Python. This exploration underscores the value of custom UI frameworks in fostering innovation, particularly for tech enthusiasts and developers seeking flexible tools for interactive design.
Verticals
techstartups
Originally published on Hacker News on 2/23/2026