distrib/gtk/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 http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/download.asp.
  27
  28
  29
  30 Getting Help
  31 ------------
  32
  33 Since wxPython is a blending of multiple technologies, help comes from
  34 multiple sources.  See the http://alldunn.com/wxPython for details on
  35 various sources of help, but probably the best source is the
  36 wxPython-users mail list.  You can view the archive or subscribe by
  37 going to
  38
  39        http://starship.python.net/mailman/listinfo/wxpython-users
  40
  41 Or you can send mail directly to the list using this address:
  42
  43        wxpython-users@starship.python.net
  44
  45 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  46
  47
  48 What's new in 2.1b1
  49 --------------------
  50 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
  51 item.  (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
  52 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
  53
  54 Added the Printing Framework.
  55
  56 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
  57 version.  The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
  58 data after loading each extension module.
  59
  60 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
  61 wxWindows classes.
  62
  63 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items.  Actually was a
  64 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
  65 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
  66
  67 wxSizer and friends.  Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
  68 of windows and sizers.  Different types of sizers apply different
  69 types of layout algorithms.  You saw it here first!  These classes are
  70 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
  71
  72
  73
  74 What's new in 2.0b9
  75 -------------------
  76 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file...  DSM!)
  77
  78 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
  79 wxPython application.
  80
  81 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
  82
  83 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
  84 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl.  Added test pytree.py to show
  85 this feature off.
  86
  87 Added wxSafeYield function.
  88
  89 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
  90
  91 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
  92 how it all works.
  93
  94 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
  95 DLL.  It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
  96
  97 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
  98
  99 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
 100 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
 101
 102 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
 103
 104
 105
 106 What's new in 2.0b8
 107 -------------------
 108 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
 109
 110 Several missing methods from various classes.
 111
 112 Various bug fixes.
 113
 114
 115
 116 What's new in 2.0b7
 117 -------------------
 118 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
 119
 120 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
 121
 122
 123
 124 What's new in 2.0b6
 125 -------------------
 126 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
 127 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
 128
 129
 130 What's new in 2.0b5
 131 -------------------
 132 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed.  I did this to
 133 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
 134 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
 135 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
 136 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
 137
 138 I have finally started documenting wxPython.  There are several pages
 139 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
 140 have added notes within the class references about where wxPython
 141 diverges from wxWindows.
 142
 143 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
 144 window handle.  If you can get the window handle into the python code,
 145 it should just work...  More news on this later.
 146
 147 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
 148
 149 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
 150 wxRegConfig class.
 151
 152 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
 153
 154
 155
 156 What's new in 0.5.3
 157 -------------------
 158 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
 159
 160 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
 161 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
 162
 163
 164
 165 What's new in 0.5.0
 166 -------------------
 167 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
 168 wxPython.wx import *"  This is for people who are worried about
 169 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
 170 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
 171
 172 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
 173
 174 Made the events work for wxGrid.
 175
 176 Added wxConfig.
 177
 178 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
 179
 180 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
 181 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
 182
 183 Other assorted fixes and additions.
 184
 185
 186
 187
 188 What's new in 0.4.2
 189 -------------------
 190
 191 wxPython on wxGTK works!!!  Both dynamic and static on Linux and
 192 static on Solaris have been tested.  Many thanks go to Harm
 193 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
 194 down a nasty DECREF bug.  Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
 195 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
 196 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
 197
 198
 199 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
 200 must have been a different issue all along...
 201
 202
 203
 204 What's New in 0.4
 205 -----------------
 206
 207 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility.  It is partially working.  On a
 208 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
 209 linked with the Python interpreter.  When built as a dyamically loaded
 210 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
 211 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
 212 version segfault shortly after starting up.
 213
 214 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
 215
 216 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
 217
 218
 219
 220 Build Instructions
 221 ------------------
 222 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
 223 extension module.  This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
 224 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
 225 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
 226 me.  You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
 227 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
 228
 229 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
 230 generation.  If you want to playaround with this the patches are in
 231 wxPython/SWIG.patches and they should be applied to the 1.1p5 version
 232 of SWIG.  These new patches are documented at
 233 http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/python/#swig, and they should
 234 also end up in the 1.2 version of SWIG.
 235
 236 wxPython is organized as a Python package.  This means that the
 237 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
 238 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH.  (And preferably should
 239 be named wxPython.)  You can control where the build process will dump
 240 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR makefile variable.  The default is
 241 $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython, where this README.txt is located.  If you
 242 leave it here then you should add $(WXWIN)/utils to your PYTHONPATH.
 243 However, you may prefer to use something that is already on your
 244 PYTHONPATH, such as the site-packages directory on Unix systems.
 245
 246
 247 Win32
 248 -----
 249
 250 1. Build wxWindows with wxUSE_RESOURCE_LOADING_IN_MSW set to 1 in
 251 include/wx/msw/setup.h so icons can be loaded dynamically.  While
 252 there, make sure wxUSE_OWNER_DRAWN is also set to 1.
 253
 254 2. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 255
 256 3. Edit makefile.vc and specify where your python installation is at.
 257 You may also want to fiddle with the TARGETDIR variable as described
 258 above.
 259
 260 4. Run nmake -f makefile.vc
 261
 262 5. If it builds successfully, congratulations!  Move on to the next
 263 step.  If not then you can try mailing me for help.  Also, I will
 264 always have a pre-built win32 version of this extension module at
 265 http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/python.
 266
 267 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
 268
 269 7. Try executing the test programs.  Note that some of these print
 270 diagnositc or test info to standard output, so they will require the
 271 console version of python.  For example:
 272
 273     python test1.py
 274
 275 To run them without requiring a console, you can use the pythonw.exe
 276 version of Python either from the command line or from a shortcut.
 277
 278
 279
 280 Unix
 281 ----
 282
 283 1. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 284
 285 2. Edit Setup.in and ensure that the flags, directories, and toolkit
 286 options are correct.  See the above commentary about TARGETDIR.  There
 287 are a few sample Setup.in.[platform] files provided.
 288
 289 [I've written a Setup which should work in almost all Unix systems,
 290  so that the steps 1 and 2 don't have to be done. Robert Roebling. ]
 291
 292 3. Run this command to generate a makefile:
 293
 294     make -f Makefile.pre.in boot
 295
 296 4. Run these commands to build and then install the wxPython extension
 297 module:
 298
 299     make
 300
 301 4b. Log in as root. [Robert Roebling]
 302
 303     make install
 304
 305 4c. Log out from root. [Robert Roebling]
 306
 307
 308 5. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
 309
 310 6. Try executing the test programs.  For example:
 311
 312     python test1.py
 313
 314
 315 ------------------------
 316 10/20/1998
 317
 318 Robin Dunn
 319 robin@alldunn.com
 320
 321
 322