utils/wxPython/README.txt

   1 wxPython README
   2 ---------------
   3
   4 Welcome to the wonderful world of wxPython!
   5
   6 Once you have installed the wxPython extension module, you can try it
   7 out by going to the [install dir]\wxPython\demo directory and typing:
   8
   9     python demo.py
  10
  11 There are also some other sample files there for you to play with and
  12 learn from.
  13
  14 If you selected to install the documentation then point your browser
  15 to [install dir]\wxPython\docs\index.htm and you will then be looking
  16 at the docs for wxWindows.  For the most part you can use the C++ docs
  17 as most classes and methods are used identically.  Where there are
  18 differences they are documented with a "wxPython Note."
  19
  20 On Win32 systems the binary self-installer creates a program group on
  21 the Start Menu that contains a link to running the demo and a link to
  22 the help file.  To help you save disk space I'm now using Microsoft's
  23 HTML Help format.  If your system doesn't know what to do with the help
  24 file, you can install the HTML Help Viewer as part of IE 4+, NT
  25 Service Pack 4+, or the HTML Workshop at
  26
  27 http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/download.asp.
  28
  29
  30
  31 Getting Help
  32 ------------
  33
  34 Since wxPython is a blending of multiple technologies, help comes from
  35 multiple sources.  See the http://alldunn.com/wxPython for details on
  36 various sources of help, but probably the best source is the
  37 wxPython-users mail list.  You can view the archive or subscribe by
  38 going to
  39
  40        http://starship.python.net/mailman/listinfo/wxpython-users
  41
  42 Or you can send mail directly to the list using this address:
  43
  44        wxpython-users@starship.python.net
  45
  46 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  47
  48 What's new in 2.1b2
  49 --------------------
  50
  51 Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
  52
  53 Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
  54 provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
  55 their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
  56 It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
  57 line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
  58
  59 It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
  60 process.  The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
  61 prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
  62 is being unloaded by Python.
  63
  64 I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
  65 make wxPython look bad.
  66
  67 wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of  x,y.  Added
  68 wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
  69
  70 Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
  71
  72 You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method.  See
  73 wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
  74
  75 Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
  76 code to show how to use it.
  77
  78 Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
  79 matches MSW's.
  80
  81 Added wxGrid.GetCells
  82
  83 Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
  84 wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
  85
  86 Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
  87 wxWindows.  Use wxMenu and events instead.
  88
  89 Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
  90       wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
  91
  92 Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
  93 objects of one type into shadow objects of another type.  (Like doing
  94 a down-cast.)  See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
  95
  96 Fixed wxImage GetData and SetData to properly use String objects for
  97 data transfer.
  98
  99 Added access methods to wxGridEvent.
 100
 101 New Makefile/Setup files supporting multiple dynamic extension modules
 102 for unix systems.
 103
 104 Fixes for the wxGLCanvas demo to work around a strange bug in gtk.
 105
 106 SWIG support routines now compiled separately instead of being bundled
 107 in wx.cpp.
 108
 109
 110
 111
 112
 113 What's new in 2.1b1
 114 --------------------
 115 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
 116 item.  (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
 117 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
 118
 119 Added the Printing Framework.
 120
 121 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
 122 version.  The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
 123 data after loading each extension module.
 124
 125 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
 126 wxWindows classes.
 127
 128 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items.  Actually was a
 129 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
 130 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
 131
 132 wxSizer and friends.  Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
 133 of windows and sizers.  Different types of sizers apply different
 134 types of layout algorithms.  You saw it here first!  These classes are
 135 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
 136
 137
 138
 139 What's new in 2.0b9
 140 -------------------
 141 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file...  DSM!)
 142
 143 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
 144 wxPython application.
 145
 146 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
 147
 148 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
 149 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl.  Added test pytree.py to show
 150 this feature off.
 151
 152 Added wxSafeYield function.
 153
 154 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
 155
 156 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
 157 how it all works.
 158
 159 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
 160 DLL.  It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
 161
 162 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
 163
 164 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
 165 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
 166
 167 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
 168
 169 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
 170 methods.
 171
 172
 173
 174 What's new in 2.0b8
 175 -------------------
 176 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
 177
 178 Several missing methods from various classes.
 179
 180 Various bug fixes.
 181
 182
 183
 184 What's new in 2.0b7
 185 -------------------
 186 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
 187
 188 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
 189
 190
 191
 192 What's new in 2.0b6
 193 -------------------
 194 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
 195 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
 196
 197
 198 What's new in 2.0b5
 199 -------------------
 200 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed.  I did this to
 201 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
 202 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
 203 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
 204 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
 205
 206 I have finally started documenting wxPython.  There are several pages
 207 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
 208 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
 209 diverges from wxWindows.
 210
 211 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
 212 window handle.  If you can get the window handle into the python code,
 213 it should just work...  More news on this later.
 214
 215 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
 216
 217 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
 218 wxRegConfig class.
 219
 220 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
 221
 222
 223
 224 What's new in 0.5.3
 225 -------------------
 226 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
 227
 228 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
 229 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
 230
 231
 232
 233 What's new in 0.5.0
 234 -------------------
 235 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
 236 wxPython.wx import *"  This is for people who are worried about
 237 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
 238 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
 239
 240 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
 241
 242 Made the events work for wxGrid.
 243
 244 Added wxConfig.
 245
 246 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
 247
 248 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
 249 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
 250
 251 Other assorted fixes and additions.
 252
 253
 254
 255
 256 What's new in 0.4.2
 257 -------------------
 258
 259 wxPython on wxGTK works!!!  Both dynamic and static on Linux and
 260 static on Solaris have been tested.  Many thanks go to Harm
 261 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
 262 down a nasty DECREF bug.  Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
 263 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
 264 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
 265
 266 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
 267 must have been a different issue all along...
 268
 269
 270
 271 What's New in 0.4
 272 -----------------
 273
 274 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility.  It is partially working.  On a
 275 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
 276 linked with the Python interpreter.  When built as a dyamically loaded
 277 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
 278 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
 279 version segfault shortly after starting up.
 280
 281 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
 282
 283 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
 284
 285 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 286
 287
 288
 289 Build Instructions
 290 ------------------
 291 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
 292 extension module.  This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
 293 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
 294 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
 295 me.  You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
 296 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
 297
 298 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
 299 generation.  If you want to playaround with this the patches are in
 300 wxPython/SWIG.patches and they should be applied to the 1.1p5 version
 301 of SWIG.  These new patches are documented at
 302 http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/#swig, and they should also
 303 end up in the 1.2 version of SWIG.
 304
 305 wxPython is organized as a Python package.  This means that the
 306 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
 307 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH.  (And preferably should
 308 be named wxPython.)  You can control where the build process will dump
 309 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR makefile variable.  The default is
 310 $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython, where this README.txt is located.  If you
 311 leave it here then you should add $(WXWIN)/utils to your PYTHONPATH.
 312 However, you may prefer to use something that is already on your
 313 PYTHONPATH, such as the site-packages directory on Unix systems.
 314
 315
 316 Win32
 317 -----
 318
 319 1. Build wxWindows with wxUSE_RESOURCE_LOADING_IN_MSW set to 1 in
 320 include/wx/msw/setup.h so icons can be loaded dynamically.  While
 321 there, make sure wxUSE_OWNER_DRAWN is also set to 1.
 322
 323 2. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 324
 325 3. Edit makefile.vc and specify where your python installation is at.
 326 You may also want to fiddle with the TARGETDIR variable as described
 327 above.
 328
 329 4. Run nmake -f makefile.vc
 330
 331 5. If it builds successfully, congratulations!  Move on to the next
 332 step.  If not then you can try mailing me for help.  Also, I will
 333 always have a pre-built win32 version of this extension module at
 334 http://alldunn.com/wxPython/.
 335
 336 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 337
 338 7. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 339
 340     python demo.py
 341
 342 To run it without requiring a console, you can use the pythonw.exe
 343 version of Python either from the command line or from a shortcut.
 344
 345
 346
 347 Unix
 348 ----
 349 0. I configure wxWindows like this, YMMV:
 350
 351 ./configure  --with-gtk --disable-shared --enable-threads --disable-unicode
 352
 353 1. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 354
 355 2. Edit Setup.in and ensure that the flags, directories, and toolkit
 356 options are correct.  See the above commentary about TARGETDIR.  There
 357 are a few sample Setup.in.[platform] files provided.
 358
 359 3. Run this command to generate a makefile:
 360
 361     make -f Makefile.pre.in boot
 362
 363 4. Run these commands to build and then install the wxPython extension
 364 module:
 365
 366     make
 367     make install
 368
 369
 370 5. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 371
 372 6. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 373
 374     python demo.py
 375
 376 ----------------
 377 Robin Dunn
 378 robin@alldunn.com
 379
 380
 381