[wxWidgets.git] / docs / html / roadmap.htm

<HTML>
<HEAD>
  <TITLE>wxWindows Roadmap</TITLE>
</HEAD>

<BODY>

<a name="top"></a>

<font face="Arial, Lucida Sans, Helvetica">

<table width=100% border=4 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0>
<tr>
<td bgcolor="#660000">
<font size=+1 face="Arial, Lucida Sans, Helvetica" color="#FFFFFF">
wxWindows Roadmap
</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>

<P>

<CENTER>
<a href="#schedule">Schedule</a> | <a href="#todo">To-Do List</a>
</CENTER>

<P>

This page represents current thinking about where wxWindows is going in the near, 
medium and long-term. It also serves as a schedule for new releases so
that both developers and users can know what to expect when, at least approximately.<P>

We are adopting the Linux kernel style of numbering system where odd minor version numbers are development
versions, and even numbers are stable versions. For example, 2.1.x are development releases,
and the next 'stable' or final release of it would be 2.2.<P>

Bug-fix patches to the stable release (if made) then become point
releases of 2.2 (2.2.x) while development continues with wild abandon
on 2.3.x until the end of the next development cycle when it is
released as 2.4.<P>

Development versions that end up on the FTP site or CD-ROM, as opposed to remaining
in the CVS archive, are semi-stable -- i.e. they are checked for compilation and
run-time problems, but not as thoroughly as the stable versions.<P>

Note that since the wxWindows effort is voluntary, these are not hard-and-fast deadlines:
but we will endeavour to follow them as closely as possible.<P>

Note also that the releases described are for wxGTK, wxMSW and wxMotif ports. wxMac currently follows
its own development path but is due to merge with the main code base in November/December.
Also, minor snapshot releases for specific platforms may be
available at dates convenient to the developers.<P>

<CENTER>
<HR> <FONT SIZE=+2><I><B><a name="schedule">Schedule</a></B></I></FONT> <HR>
</CENTER>
<P>

<H4>Release 2.1.11</H4>

Release date: November 7th, 1999<P>

<ul>
<li>Split wxWindows into base and GUI libraries. Most, but not all makefiles
are expected to support this: for the rest, the makefiles will build a valid
combined base/GUI library for GUI applications only.
<li>wxWizard (beta).
<li>wxDialUpManager and wxPhoneDialer.
<li>wxFontEnumerator.
<li>Preliminary support for different font encodings
<li>wxPostEvent function
<li>New wxGrid.
<li>wxSocket working.
<li>Full support for fonts in different encodings.
<li>Tested multithreading support (wxThread).
<li>wxHTML printing.
<li>Better i18n support (i.e. more translations).
</ul>

<P>

<H4>Release 2.2 (stable)</H4>

Release date: December 19th, 2000.<P>

<ul>
<li>Miscellaneous fixes and small enhancements.
</ul>

<P>

<H4>Release 2.3</H4>

Release date: March 5th, 2000

<ul>
<li>Miscellaneous fixes and small enhancements.
<li>wxDateTime class in beta.
<li>Context sensitive help.
<li>More i18n issues: dates, times, ...
<li>Regular expressions support.
</ul>

<P>

<H4>Release 2.4 (stable)</H4>

Release date: May 7th, 2000.

<ul>
<li>Unicode compilation starting to work in wxGTK and wxMSW.
<li>wxDateTime class.
</ul>

<P>

<CENTER>
<HR> <FONT SIZE=+2><I><B><a name="todo">To-Do List</a></B></I></FONT> <HR>
</CENTER>

<P>

Developers: please feel free to add to these, and delete them when they are done.

<P>

<B><I>General</I></B><P>

<ul>
<li>wxHTML printing. When finished, this will allow an application to generate
printed reports with very little effort.
<li>wxSocket.
<li>Split library into several, for base (classes and functions usable by console and GUI
applications), console (classes and functions usable by console application only)
and GUI (classes and functions usable by GUI application only).
<li>Extend and unify drag and drop handling (e.g. we need to specify multiple drop targets
that can handle multiple formats).
<li>Expand the number of controls that can be specified in a WXR file;
add constraint specification to WXR syntax and Dialog Editor; add multilanguage support to WXR.
May be we'd better change the format completely and replace WXR with XML
(providing conversion utility for old files)?
<li>Context sensitive help: we need to have wxHelpEvent which would be
generated when the help for a given control is requested and a standard
handler for it in wxWindow which would invoke the default help system with the
correct help id.
<li>Rewrite Dialog Editor.
<li>Modem-oriented classes: wxDialUpManager for dialing up the ISP and
determining if there is a connection to Internet on the machine and
wxPhoneDialer for dialing arbitrary phone numbers and otherwise communicating
with the modem.
<li>wxImage handlers in separate .h and .cpp files.
<li>PCX writing code.
<li>GIF animation code.
<li>Tidying of timer code, addition of wxChrono class.
<li>Debug wxPostScriptDC further.
<li>wxDateTime class.
<li>Regular expressions support.
<li>Expansion of wxHTML to support further tags, and frames.
<li>MGL port (see Backroom/Future Ports page).
<li>Rotated text support.
<li>FreeType support.
<li>Support for 'skins', perhaps using a set of alternative control and window classes
written generically in wxWindows.
<li>Serial and parallel port support.
<li>Modem and telephony support.
<li>Book, tutorial.
<li>More examples.
<li>Bug tracking system.
</ul>

<P>

<B><I>wxMSW</I></B><P>

<ul>
<li>Windows CE port.
<li>Cure bug whereby in a panel within another panel, all buttons become
default buttons (heavy black border).
<li>Write a RC->WXR converter.
</ul>

<P>

<B><I>wxGTK</I></B><P>

<ul>
<li>GNOME/KDE integration libraries.
</ul>

<P>

<B><I>wxMotif</I></B><P>

<ul>
<li>Fix menu accelerators
<li>Fix refresh problems
<li>Allow wxSystemSettings to be configurable, perhaps via a control
panel application.
</ul>


</BODY>
</HTML>
Commit	Line	Data
25a37c8c JS	1	<HTML>
	2	<HEAD>
	3	<TITLE>wxWindows Roadmap</TITLE>
	4	</HEAD>
	5
	6	<BODY>
	7
	8	<a name="top"></a>
	9
	10	<font face="Arial, Lucida Sans, Helvetica">
	11
	12	<table width=100% border=4 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0>
	13	<tr>
	14	<td bgcolor="#660000">
	15	<font size=+1 face="Arial, Lucida Sans, Helvetica" color="#FFFFFF">
	16	wxWindows Roadmap
	17	</font>
	18	</td>
	19	</tr>
	20	</table>
	21
	22	<P>
	23
	24	<CENTER>
	25	<a href="#schedule">Schedule</a> \| <a href="#todo">To-Do List</a>
	26	</CENTER>
	27
	28	<P>
	29
	30	This page represents current thinking about where wxWindows is going in the near,
	31	medium and long-term. It also serves as a schedule for new releases so
	32	that both developers and users can know what to expect when, at least approximately.<P>
	33
d139753a JS	34	We are adopting the Linux kernel style of numbering system where odd minor version numbers are development
	35	versions, and even numbers are stable versions. For example, 2.1.x are development releases,
	36	and the next 'stable' or final release of it would be 2.2.<P>
	37
	38	Bug-fix patches to the stable release (if made) then become point
	39	releases of 2.2 (2.2.x) while development continues with wild abandon
	40	on 2.3.x until the end of the next development cycle when it is
	41	released as 2.4.<P>
	42
	43	Development versions that end up on the FTP site or CD-ROM, as opposed to remaining
	44	in the CVS archive, are semi-stable -- i.e. they are checked for compilation and
	45	run-time problems, but not as thoroughly as the stable versions.<P>
	46
	47	Note that since the wxWindows effort is voluntary, these are not hard-and-fast deadlines:
25a37c8c JS	48	but we will endeavour to follow them as closely as possible.<P>
25a37c8c JS	49
d139753a	50	Note also that the releases described are for wxGTK, wxMSW and wxMotif ports. wxMac currently follows
9b94d7f9 JS	51	its own development path but is due to merge with the main code base in November/December.
9b94d7f9 JS	52	Also, minor snapshot releases for specific platforms may be
25a37c8c JS	53	available at dates convenient to the developers.<P>
	54
	55	<CENTER>
	56	<HR> <FONT SIZE=+2><I><B><a name="schedule">Schedule</a></B></I></FONT> <HR>
	57	</CENTER>
	58	<P>
	59
d139753a	60	<H4>Release 2.1.11</H4>
25a37c8c	61
d139753a	62	Release date: November 7th, 1999<P>
25a37c8c JS	63
25a37c8c JS	64	<ul>
d139753a	65	<li>Split wxWindows into base and GUI libraries. Most, but not all makefiles
25a37c8c JS	66	are expected to support this: for the rest, the makefiles will build a valid
25a37c8c JS	67	combined base/GUI library for GUI applications only.
d139753a JS	68	<li>wxWizard (beta).
	69	<li>wxDialUpManager and wxPhoneDialer.
	70	<li>wxFontEnumerator.
	71	<li>Preliminary support for different font encodings
	72	<li>wxPostEvent function
25a37c8c JS	73	<li>New wxGrid.
25a37c8c JS	74	<li>wxSocket working.
d139753a JS	75	<li>Full support for fonts in different encodings.
	76	<li>Tested multithreading support (wxThread).
	77	<li>wxHTML printing.
	78	<li>Better i18n support (i.e. more translations).
25a37c8c JS	79	</ul>
	80
	81	<P>
	82
d139753a JS	83	<H4>Release 2.2 (stable)</H4>
	84
	85	Release date: December 19th, 2000.<P>
25a37c8c JS	86
25a37c8c JS	87	<ul>
25a37c8c JS	88	<li>Miscellaneous fixes and small enhancements.
	89	</ul>
	90
	91	<P>
	92
d139753a JS	93	<H4>Release 2.3</H4>
	94
	95	Release date: March 5th, 2000
25a37c8c JS	96
25a37c8c JS	97	<ul>
25a37c8c JS	98	<li>Miscellaneous fixes and small enhancements.
25a37c8c JS	99	<li>wxDateTime class in beta.
d139753a	100	<li>Context sensitive help.
7c7d8b16	101	<li>More i18n issues: dates, times, ...
d139753a	102	<li>Regular expressions support.
25a37c8c JS	103	</ul>
	104
	105	<P>
	106
d139753a	107	<H4>Release 2.4 (stable)</H4>
25a37c8c	108
d139753a	109	Release date: May 7th, 2000.
25a37c8c JS	110
25a37c8c JS	111	<ul>
d139753a	112	<li>Unicode compilation starting to work in wxGTK and wxMSW.
25a37c8c	113	<li>wxDateTime class.
25a37c8c JS	114	</ul>
	115
	116	<P>
	117
	118	<CENTER>
	119	<HR> <FONT SIZE=+2><I><B><a name="todo">To-Do List</a></B></I></FONT> <HR>
	120	</CENTER>
	121
	122	<P>
	123
	124	Developers: please feel free to add to these, and delete them when they are done.
	125
	126	<P>
	127
	128	<B><I>General</I></B><P>
	129
	130	<ul>
	131	<li>wxHTML printing. When finished, this will allow an application to generate
	132	printed reports with very little effort.
	133	<li>wxSocket.
	134	<li>Split library into several, for base (classes and functions usable by console and GUI
	135	applications), console (classes and functions usable by console application only)
	136	and GUI (classes and functions usable by GUI application only).
	137	<li>Extend and unify drag and drop handling (e.g. we need to specify multiple drop targets
	138	that can handle multiple formats).
9b94d7f9 JS	139	<li>Expand the number of controls that can be specified in a WXR file;
9b94d7f9 JS	140	add constraint specification to WXR syntax and Dialog Editor; add multilanguage support to WXR.
f19d58d5 VZ	141	May be we'd better change the format completely and replace WXR with XML
f19d58d5 VZ	142	(providing conversion utility for old files)?
7c7d8b16 VZ	143	<li>Context sensitive help: we need to have wxHelpEvent which would be
	144	generated when the help for a given control is requested and a standard
	145	handler for it in wxWindow which would invoke the default help system with the
	146	correct help id.
25a37c8c	147	<li>Rewrite Dialog Editor.
f19d58d5 VZ	148	<li>Modem-oriented classes: wxDialUpManager for dialing up the ISP and
	149	determining if there is a connection to Internet on the machine and
	150	wxPhoneDialer for dialing arbitrary phone numbers and otherwise communicating
	151	with the modem.
d139753a	152	<li>wxImage handlers in separate .h and .cpp files.
25a37c8c JS	153	<li>PCX writing code.
	154	<li>GIF animation code.
	155	<li>Tidying of timer code, addition of wxChrono class.
9b94d7f9	156	<li>Debug wxPostScriptDC further.
25a37c8c	157	<li>wxDateTime class.
d139753a	158	<li>Regular expressions support.
9b94d7f9	159	<li>Expansion of wxHTML to support further tags, and frames.
25a37c8c JS	160	<li>MGL port (see Backroom/Future Ports page).
	161	<li>Rotated text support.
	162	<li>FreeType support.
	163	<li>Support for 'skins', perhaps using a set of alternative control and window classes
	164	written generically in wxWindows.
9b94d7f9 JS	165	<li>Serial and parallel port support.
9b94d7f9 JS	166	<li>Modem and telephony support.
25a37c8c JS	167	<li>Book, tutorial.
25a37c8c JS	168	<li>More examples.
d139753a	169	<li>Bug tracking system.
25a37c8c JS	170	</ul>
	171
	172	<P>
	173
	174	<B><I>wxMSW</I></B><P>
	175
	176	<ul>
	177	<li>Windows CE port.
	178	<li>Cure bug whereby in a panel within another panel, all buttons become
	179	default buttons (heavy black border).
	180	<li>Write a RC->WXR converter.
	181	</ul>
	182
	183	<P>
	184
	185	<B><I>wxGTK</I></B><P>
	186
	187	<ul>
	188	<li>GNOME/KDE integration libraries.
	189	</ul>
	190
	191	<P>
	192
	193	<B><I>wxMotif</I></B><P>
	194
	195	<ul>
f19d58d5 VZ	196	<li>Fix menu accelerators
f19d58d5 VZ	197	<li>Fix refresh problems
25a37c8c JS	198	<li>Allow wxSystemSettings to be configurable, perhaps via a control
	199	panel application.
	200	</ul>
	201
	202
	203	</BODY>
	204	</HTML>
	205