]>
Commit | Line | Data |
---|---|---|
ce3ed50d JS |
1 | <HTML> |
2 | ||
3 | <HEAD> | |
4 | <TITLE>wxWindows 2 FAQ: General</TITLE> | |
5 | </HEAD> | |
6 | ||
4e4dc03d | 7 | <BODY BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF TEXT=#000000 VLINK="#00376A" LINK="#00529C" ALINK="#313063"> |
ce3ed50d JS |
8 | |
9 | <font face="Arial, Lucida Sans, Helvetica"> | |
10 | ||
4e4dc03d | 11 | <table width=100% border=0 cellpadding=3 cellspacing=0> |
ce3ed50d | 12 | <tr> |
4e4dc03d JS |
13 | <td bgcolor="#004080" align=left height=24 background="images/bluetitlegradient.gif"> |
14 | <font size=+1 face="Arial, Lucida Sans, Helvetica" color="#FFFFFF"> | |
15 | <b>wxWindows 2 FAQ: General</b> | |
ce3ed50d JS |
16 | </font> |
17 | </td> | |
18 | </tr> | |
19 | </table> | |
20 | ||
21 | <P> | |
22 | ||
23 | See also <a href="faq.htm">top-level FAQ page</a>. | |
24 | <hr> | |
8b283bb8 JS |
25 | <h3>List of questions in this category</h3> |
26 | <ul> | |
27 | <li><a href="#whatis">What is wxWindows?</a></li> | |
28 | <li><a href="#users">Who uses wxWindows?</a></li> | |
29 | <li><a href="#platforms">What platforms are supported by wxWindows 2?</a></li> | |
30 | <li><a href="#specific">How does wxWindows 2 support platform-specific features?</a></li> | |
31 | <li><a href="#stl">Does wxWindows use STL? or the standard string class?</a></li> | |
32 | <li><a href="#richedit">Is there a rich edit/markup widget for wxWindows 2?</a></ li> | |
53e112a0 | 33 | <li><a href="#exceptions">How to use C++ exceptions with wxWindows?</a></ li> |
8b283bb8 JS |
34 | <li><a href="#dev">How is wxWindows 2 being developed?</a></li> |
35 | <li><a href="#distrib">How is wxWindows 2 distributed?</a></li> | |
36 | <li><a href="#future">What are the plans for the future?</a></li> | |
37 | <li><a href="#univ">What is wxUniversal?</a></li> | |
38 | <li><a href="#jave">What about Java?</a></li> | |
39 | <li><a href="#help">How can I help the project?</a></li> | |
40 | </ul> | |
41 | <hr> | |
ce3ed50d JS |
42 | |
43 | <H3><a name="whatis">What is wxWindows?</a></H3> | |
44 | ||
45 | wxWindows is a class library that allows you to compile graphical C++ programs on a range of | |
46 | different platforms. wxWindows defines a common API across platforms, but uses the native graphical user interface (GUI) on each platform, | |
8b283bb8 | 47 | so your program will take on the native 'look and feel' that users are familiar with.<P> |
ce3ed50d JS |
48 | |
49 | Although GUI applications are mostly built programmatically, there is a dialog editor to help | |
8b283bb8 | 50 | build attractive dialogs and panels. Robert Roebling's <a href="http://www.roebling.com">wxDesigner</a> |
51ab9400 | 51 | makes light work of resizable, portable dialogs.<P> |
ce3ed50d | 52 | |
8b283bb8 JS |
53 | You don't have to use C++ to use wxWindows: there is a <a href="http://wxpython.org">Python interface</a> for wxWindows 2, |
54 | and also a <a href="http://wxperl.sourceforge.net" target=_top>Perl interface</a>. | |
ce3ed50d JS |
55 | <P> |
56 | ||
8b283bb8 | 57 | <h3>Can I use wxWindows 2 for both proprietary (commercial) projects, and GPL'ed projects?</h3> |
ce3ed50d JS |
58 | |
59 | Yes. Please see the <a href="newlicen.htm">licence</a> for details, but basically | |
60 | you can distribute proprietary binaries without distributing any source code, and neither will wxWindows | |
61 | conflict with GPL code you may be using or developing with it. | |
62 | <P> | |
63 | The conditions for using wxWindows 2 are the same whether you are a personal, academic | |
64 | or commercial developer. | |
65 | <P> | |
66 | ||
67 | <h3>Is there support?</h3> | |
68 | ||
69 | No official support, but the mailing list is very helpful and some people say that | |
70 | wxWindows support is better than for much commercial software. The developers are | |
71 | keen to fix bugs as soon as possible, though obviously there are no guarantees. | |
72 | <P> | |
73 | ||
74 | <H3><a name="users">Who uses wxWindows?</a></H3> | |
75 | ||
76 | Many organisations - commercial, government, and academic - across the | |
8b283bb8 | 77 | world. It's impossible to estimate the true number of users, since |
ce3ed50d JS |
78 | wxWindows is obtained by many different means, and we cannot monitor |
79 | distribution. The mailing list contains around 300-400 entries which is | |
80 | quite large for a list of this type.<P> | |
81 | ||
51ab9400 JS |
82 | See <a href="users.htm">Users</a> for a list of some users and their applications, and |
83 | also <A href="feedback.htm">Feedback</a> for comments.<P> | |
b953bdc2 | 84 | |
8b283bb8 | 85 | <H3><a name="platforms">What platforms are supported by wxWindows 2?</a></H3> |
b953bdc2 JS |
86 | |
87 | <ul> | |
8b283bb8 JS |
88 | <li>Windows 3.1, Windows 95/98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows ME. |
89 | <li>Linux and other Unix platforms with GTK+. | |
90 | <li>Unix with Motif or the free Motif clone Lesstif. | |
91 | <li>Mac OS. | |
92 | <li>Embedded platforms are being investigated. See the <a href="wxuniv.htm">wxUniversal</a> project. | |
51ab9400 JS |
93 | <li>An OS/2 port is in progress, and you can also compile wxWindows for GTK+ or Motif |
94 | on OS/2. | |
b953bdc2 JS |
95 | </ul> |
96 | <P> | |
97 | ||
8b283bb8 JS |
98 | <H3><a name="specific">How does wxWindows 2 support platform-specific |
99 | features?</a></H3> | |
b953bdc2 JS |
100 | |
101 | This is a hotly-debated topic amongst the developers. My own philosophy | |
102 | is to make wxWindows as platform-independent as possible, but allow in a | |
103 | few classes (functions, window styles) that are platform-specific. | |
104 | For example, Windows metafiles and Windows 95 taskbar icons have | |
105 | their own classes on Windows, but nowhere else. Because these classes | |
8b283bb8 | 106 | are provided and are wxWindows-compatible, it doesn't take much |
b953bdc2 JS |
107 | coding effort for an application programmer to add support for |
108 | some functionality that the user on a particular platform might otherwise | |
109 | miss. Also, some classes that started off as platform-specific, such | |
110 | as the MDI classes, have been emulated on other platforms. I can imagine | |
111 | that even wxTaskBarIcon may be implemented for Unix desktops one day. | |
112 | <P> | |
113 | ||
8b283bb8 | 114 | In other words, wxWindows is not a 'lowest common denominator' approach, |
b953bdc2 JS |
115 | but it will still be possible to write portable programs using the |
116 | core API. Forbidding some platform-specific classes would be a stupid | |
117 | approach that would alienate many potential users, and encourage | |
118 | the perception that toolkits such as wxWindows are not up to the demands | |
8b283bb8 | 119 | of today's sophisticated applications.<P> |
b953bdc2 JS |
120 | |
121 | Currently resources such as bitmaps and icons are handled in a platform-specific | |
122 | way, but it is hoped to reduce this dependence in due course.<P> | |
123 | ||
8b283bb8 | 124 | Another reason why wxWindows 2 is not a 'lowest common denominator' toolkit is that |
b953bdc2 JS |
125 | some functionality missing on some platform has been provided using generic, |
126 | platform-independent code, such as the wxTreeCtrl and wxListCtrl classes.<P> | |
127 | ||
8b283bb8 | 128 | <H3><a name="stl">Does wxWindows use STL? or the standard string class?</a></H3> |
b953bdc2 JS |
129 | |
130 | No. This is a much-discussed topic that has (many times) ended with the conclusion that it is in | |
8b283bb8 | 131 | wxWindows' best interests to avoid use of templates. Not all compilers can handle |
b953bdc2 | 132 | templates adequately so it would dramatically reduce the number of compilers |
cd508246 | 133 | and platforms that could be supported. It would also be undersirable to make |
b953bdc2 JS |
134 | wxWindows dependent on another large library that may have to be downloaded and installed. |
135 | In addition, use of templates can lead to executable bloat, which is something | |
cd508246 | 136 | wxWindows 2 is strenously trying to avoid.<P> |
b953bdc2 JS |
137 | |
138 | The standard C++ string class is not used, again because it is not available to all compilers, | |
139 | and it is not necessarily a very efficient implementation. Also, we retain more flexibility | |
140 | by being able to modify our own string class. Some compatibility with the string class | |
141 | has been built into wxString.<P> | |
142 | ||
143 | There is nothing to stop an application using templates or the string class for its own | |
8b283bb8 JS |
144 | purposes. With wxWindows debugging options on, you may find you get errors when including |
145 | STL headers. You can work around it either by switching off memory checking, | |
146 | or by adding this to a header before you include any STL files:<P> | |
147 | ||
148 | <PRE> | |
149 | #ifdef new | |
150 | #undef new | |
151 | #endif | |
152 | </PRE> | |
153 | ||
154 | <P> | |
155 | ||
b953bdc2 | 156 | |
8b283bb8 | 157 | <H3><a name="richedit">Is there a rich edit/markup widget for wxWindows 2?</a></H3> |
790ad94f JS |
158 | |
159 | These are the possibilities so far:<P> | |
160 | ||
161 | <ul> | |
162 | <li>The richedit sample has a text editor that does markup. | |
163 | <li>See <a href="http://www.scintilla.org" target=_top>www.scintilla.org</a> for | |
164 | a very nice syntax-highlighting editor widget. Robin Dunn is writing a wxWindows wrapper | |
165 | for this widget. | |
166 | <li>If you only need to display marked-up information, rather than edit it, | |
167 | then wxHTML will suit your needs. wxHTML is built into wxWindows - please see the reference | |
168 | manual for details, and samples/html. | |
169 | <li>There are rich edit widgets in both WIN32 and GTK+, but there is currently | |
8b283bb8 | 170 | no wxWindows wrapper for these (but text attribute functions are being added in the wxWindows 2.3.x series). |
790ad94f JS |
171 | </ul> |
172 | ||
173 | <P> | |
174 | ||
53e112a0 JS |
175 | <h3><a name="exceptions">How to use C++ exceptions with wxWindows?</a></h3> |
176 | ||
177 | wxWindows library itself is unfortunately <i>not</i> exception-safe (as its | |
178 | initial version predates, by far, the addition of the exceptions to the C++ | |
179 | language). However you can still use the exceptions in your own code and use | |
180 | the other libraries using the exceptions for the error reporting together with | |
181 | wxWindows. | |
182 | ||
183 | <p> | |
184 | There are a few issues to keep in mind, though: | |
185 | <ul> | |
186 | <li>You shouldn't let the exceptions propagate through wxWindows code, | |
187 | in particular you should always catch the exceptions thrown by the | |
188 | functions called from an event handler in the handler itself and not | |
189 | let them propagate upwards to wxWindows. | |
190 | ||
191 | <li>You may need to ensure that the compiler support for the exceptions is | |
192 | enabled as, considering that wxWindows itself doesn't use the | |
193 | exceptions and turning their support on results in the library size | |
194 | augmentation of 10% to 20%, it is turned off by default for a few | |
195 | compilers. Moreover, for gcc (or at least its mingw version) you must | |
196 | also turn on the RTTI support to be able to use the exceptions, so you | |
197 | should use <tt>--disable-no_rtti --disable-no_exceptions</tt> options | |
198 | when configuring the library (attention to the double negation). | |
199 | </ul> | |
200 | ||
201 | <p> | |
202 | ||
8b283bb8 | 203 | <H3><a name="dev">How is wxWindows 2 being developed?</a></H3> |
b953bdc2 JS |
204 | |
205 | We are using the <a href="cvs.htm">CVS</a> system to develop and maintain wxWindows. This allows | |
51ab9400 | 206 | us to make alterations and upload them instantly to the SourceForge server, from |
b953bdc2 JS |
207 | which others can update their source.<P> |
208 | ||
91c93c99 JS |
209 | To build source from CVS, see the file BuildCVS.txt in the top-level wxWindows distribution |
210 | directory.<P> | |
211 | ||
8b283bb8 | 212 | <H3><a name="distrib">How is wxWindows 2 distributed?</a></H3> |
b953bdc2 | 213 | |
8b283bb8 JS |
214 | By ftp, and via the <a href="cdrom2.htm">wxWindows CD-ROM</a>. |
215 | <P> | |
216 | If you are feeling adventurous, you may also check out the sources directly | |
217 | from the <a href="cvs.htm">cvs</a> | |
218 | <p> | |
b953bdc2 | 219 | |
8b283bb8 | 220 | <H3><a name="future">What are the plans for the future?</a></H3> |
b953bdc2 | 221 | |
8b283bb8 | 222 | Currently we're working too hard on getting wxWindows 2 finished (are GUI toolkits ever |
b953bdc2 JS |
223 | finished?) to think very far ahead. However, we know we want to make wxWindows as robust |
224 | and well-publicised as possible. We also want to aim for better platform-independence of | |
225 | resources such as icons and bitmaps, standardising on the PNG for all platforms.<P> | |
226 | ||
91c93c99 | 227 | Other possibilities include: DCOM/CORBA compatibility; a wxWindows book; |
8b283bb8 JS |
228 | <a href="http://wxworkshop.sourceforge.net/">wxWorkshop</a>, an IDE; |
229 | other platforms, especially embedded systems; other interface abilities such as speech output.<P> | |
b953bdc2 JS |
230 | |
231 | We will investigate the possibility of compiler or operating system vendors bundling wxWindows with | |
232 | their product.<P> | |
233 | ||
234 | The high-level goal of wxWindows is to be thought of as the number one C++ framework, | |
235 | for virtually any platform. Move over, MFC!<P> | |
236 | ||
8b283bb8 JS |
237 | <H3><a name="univ">What is wxUniversal?</a></H3> |
238 | ||
239 | wxUniversal is a new port of wxWindows being currently actively developed. The | |
240 | main difference is that wxUniversal implements all controls (or widgets) in | |
241 | wxWindows itself thus allowing to have much more flexibility (i.e. support for | |
242 | themes even under MS Windows!). It also means that it is now much easier to | |
243 | port wxWindows to a new platform as only the low-level classes must be ported | |
244 | which make for a small part of the library. | |
245 | <p> | |
246 | You may find more about wxUniversal <a href=wxuniv.htm>here</a>. | |
247 | ||
248 | <H3><a name="jave">What about Java?</a></H3> | |
b953bdc2 JS |
249 | |
250 | The Java honeymoon period is over :-) and people are realising that it cannot | |
8b283bb8 | 251 | meet all their cross-platform development needs. We don't anticipate a major threat |
b953bdc2 JS |
252 | from Java, and the level of interest in wxWindows is as high as ever.<P> |
253 | ||
8b283bb8 | 254 | <H3><a name="help">How can I help the project?</a></H3> |
b953bdc2 | 255 | |
8b283bb8 JS |
256 | Please check out the <a href="http://www.wxwindows.org/develop2.htm">Community</a> pages, |
257 | in particular the <a href="projects.htm">suggested projects</a>, and | |
258 | mail <a href="mailto:julian.smart@btopenworld.com">Julian Smart</a> or the developers' mailing list with your own suggestions.<P> | |
b953bdc2 | 259 | |
ce3ed50d JS |
260 | </font> |
261 | ||
262 | </BODY> | |
263 | ||
264 | </HTML> |