How to retrieve entry value in tkinter from a custom form - python-3.x

Question

Wrote a custom frame class so I can easily generate labels, entries etc.
I can input the number of labels, entries I want each form to have. By creating different instances of the class I don't need to write lots of labels and entries each time.
But when I run the code nothing happens. I get no error to guide me.
If I place a print statement in get_first_entry(self) function then it prints the value from the entry, but I would like to access the value from outside the class.
import tkinter as tk
class MyFrame(tk.Frame):
def __init__(self, parent, num_labels, num_entries, num_buttons, label_names=None, *args, **kwargs):
super().__init__(parent, *args, **kwargs)
# If label names are provided, use them instead of default labels
if label_names is None:
label_names = [f"Label {i+1}" for i in range(num_labels)]
# Create labels and entries
self.entries = []
for i in range(num_labels):
label = tk.Label(self, text=label_names[i])
label.grid(row=i, column=0)
for i in range(num_entries):
entry = tk.Entry(self)
entry.grid(row=i, column=1)
self.entries.append(entry)
# Create buttons
for i in range(num_buttons):
if i == 0:
button = tk.Button(self, text=f"Get RA", command=self.get_first_entry)
elif i == 1:
button = tk.Button(self, text=f"Get DEC", command=self.get_second_entry)
#else:
#button = tk.Button(self, text=f"Button {i+1}")
button.grid(row=num_labels+i, column=0, columnspan=2, pady=2)
def get_first_entry(self):
value = self.entries[0].get()
return value
def get_second_entry(self):
value = self.entries[1].get()
return value
root = tk.Tk()
label_RADEC = ['RA','DEC']
label_Time = ['LST','local time']
# Create first frame
frame1 = MyFrame(root, num_labels=2, num_entries=2, num_buttons=2, label_names=label_RADEC)
frame1.grid(row=0, column=0, padx=10, pady=10)
# Access the first entry
first_entry_value = frame1.get_first_entry()
print(first_entry_value)
root.mainloop()
Updated with method to gel all entries as array.
Now it prints empty array at start, but if I input other values in the entries, still doesn't print anything
'',''

Answer 1

The problem isn't that get_entries isn't working, it's that you're using it in the wrong way.
When you first call get_entries and print the results, it's before the user has had a chance to enter anything so it prints a list of empty strings.
When you call get_entries by pressing the button, it computes the values just fine. However, because it only returns the values, the values are thrown away since the caller (mainloop) ignores the return values of all functions it calls since it doesn't know what to do with them.
You can see this by adding a print statement inside get_entries. When you do that, you can see it's getting the values just fine:
def get_entries(self):
result = [entry.get() for entry in self.entries]
print(f"get_entries result: {result}")
return result
When I insert "this is RA" in the first entry, and "this is DEC" in the second entry, when I press the button I get this output:
get_entries result: ['this is RA', 'this is DEC']
If you leave the return statement in, you can use it to get the values outside of the class. It's just that you must do so after the user has entered values and not before.