Using the Standard Ruby GUI: Tk

• Tk is still the standard GUI for Ruby, and this alone is a compelling reason to consider Tk for your application's user interface. It offers the path of least resistance in terms of distributing your Ruby applications, because you're almost guaranteed that your end users will already have a working Ruby/Tk installation in place.

• The most serious problem with Tk is its lack of more modern widgets like combo-boxes, tree lists, and the like. While it's true that Tk can be extended with third-party widget sets like BLT and Tix, and at least one Ruby extension module exists to take advantage of these Tk extensions, the build and installation efforts are non-trivial.