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