Simple Customer Queue System In Python Tkinter (Free Download)

Welcome to a quick tutorial on how to create a simple customer queue system with Python Flask. Want to create your own simple queue management system? Well, the basics are actually pretty simple – Read on for an example!

ⓘ I have included a zip file with all the source code at the start of this tutorial, so you don’t have to copy-paste everything… Or if you just want to dive straight in.

DOWNLOAD & NOTES

Firstly, here is the download link to the example code as promised.

QUICK NOTES

Create a project folder, e.g. D:\queue, unzip the code inside this folder.
Navigate to the project folder in the command line cd D:\queue, create a virtual environment to not mess up your other projects.
- virtualenv venv
- Windows – venv\scripts\activate
- Mac/Linux – venv/bin/activate
Get all the packages – pip install tk
Launch! python queue.py

If you spot a bug, feel free to comment below. I try to answer short questions too, but it is one person versus the entire world… If you need answers urgently, please check out my list of websites to get help with programming.

EXAMPLE CODE DOWNLOAD

Click here to download all the example source code, I have released it under the MIT license, so feel free to build on top of it or use it in your own project.

PYTHON CUSTOMER QUEUE

All right, let us now get into the details of creating a simple python customer queue system.

STEP 1) QUEUE MECHANICS

queue.py

# (B) QUEUE MECHANICS
# (B1) COUNTERS
qAll = 0 # total number of people in queue
qNow = 0 # current queue number
 
# (B2) ISSUE QUEUE NUMBER
def issue():
  global qAll
  qAll += 1
  issL1["text"] = qAll
 
# (B3) NEXT CUSTOMER
def next():
  global qAll, qNow
  if qNow < qAll:
    qNow += 1
    issL2["text"] = qNow
    nowL1["text"] = qNow

(B1) For the queue system, we have 2 simple variables to keep track of the queue number.
- qAll The total number of customers.
- qNow “Now serving” number.
(B2) issue() is “step 1” of the process, where a staff hits the “issue queue number” button.
(B3) next() is “step 2” to advance the “now serving” number.

Yep, that’s all to the basic mechanics.

STEP 2) USER INTERFACE

queue.py

# (A) LOAD MODULES
from tkinter import *
 
# (C) BUILD INTERFACE
# (C1) ISSUE QUEUE NUMBER
issFONTA = ("Arial", 20)
issFONTB = ("Arial", 16)
issTK = Tk()
issF1 = Frame(issTK)
issB1 = Button(issF1, width=6, bg="red", fg="white", text="Issue", font=issFONTB, command=issue)
issB2 = Button(issF1, width=6, bg="blue", fg="white", text="Next", font=issFONTB, command=next)
issL1 = Label(issF1, text="0", fg="red", font=issFONTA)
issL2 = Label(issF1, text="0", fg="blue", font=issFONTA)
#issTK.geometry("640x480")
issF1.place(relx=.5, rely=.5, anchor=CENTER)
issB1.grid(row=0, column=0, pady=2)
issB2.grid(row=1, column=0, pady=2)
issL1.grid(row=0, column=1, pady=2, padx=10)
issL2.grid(row=1, column=1, pady=2, padx=10)
 
# (C2) NOW SERVING
issFONTA = ("Arial", 180)
issFONTB = ("Arial", 20)
nowTK = Tk()
nowF1 = Frame(nowTK)
nowL1 = Label(nowF1, text="0", font=issFONTA)
nowL2 = Label(nowF1, text="NOW SERVING", font=issFONTB)
nowTK.geometry("350x450")
nowF1.place(relx=.5, rely=.5, anchor=CENTER)
nowL1.pack()
nowL2.pack()
 
# (C3) START!
issTK.mainloop()
nowTK.mainloop()

Not the prettiest interface design in the world, but it works…

(A) Yes, we are using tkinter to build the interface here. For you guys who are new – This is basically the de facto module to build GUI apps in Python.
(C) There are 2 windows.
- (C1) issTK For admin to issue a queue number, and to advance the queue.
- (C2) nowTK Pretty much a big “now serving” display board.
(C3) Start the app. Captain Obvious at your service.

Yep. This simple app can pretty much run on a single device but requires 2 display monitors.

EXTRA BITS & LINKS

That’s all for the tutorial, and here is a small section on some extras and links that may be useful to you.

IMPROVEMENT IDEAS

Of course, this is only a tutorial and covers the bare basics. A lot of improvements can be made:

A better interface. Big numbers, funky fonts, and stuff.
Play a sound on “next customer”, and flash the screen.
Find ways to better manage the queue number… Or it will run to very big numbers eventually.
Maybe even save the current queue numbers in a file, so that it is not lost when the system crashes.
Attach a thermal printer, print, and issue a “hard copy” to the customer.
If there is an Internet connection, maybe even send out a reminder to the customer.

The possibilities are endless, so it’s up to you to create your own “perfect system”.

LINKS & REFERENCES

tkinter

THE END

Thank you for reading, and we have come to the end. I hope that it has helped you to better understand, and if you want to share anything with this guide, please feel free to comment below. Good luck and happy coding!