4 Welcome to the wonderful world of wxPython!
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:
11 There are also some other sample files there for you to play with and
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."
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
27 http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/download.asp.
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
40 http://starship.python.net/mailman/listinfo/wxpython-users
42 Or you can send mail directly to the list using this address:
44 wxpython-users@starship.python.net
46 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
52 Much more support for event-less callbacks and add-on modules.
54 Created add-on module with wxOGL classes.
56 Added wxWindow.GetChildren(). Be careful of this. It returns a *copy*
57 of the list of the window's children. While you are using the list if
58 anything changes in the real list (a child is deleted, etc.) then the
59 list you are holding will suddenly have window references to garbage
60 memory and your app will likely crash. But if you are careful it works
63 Added a bunch of new and missing methods to wxTreeCrtl. The
64 SortChildren method is now supported, but currently only for the
67 Added typemaps for wxSize, wxPoint, wxRealPoint, and wxRect that allow
68 either the actual objects or Python sequence values to be used. For
69 example, the following are equivallent:
71 win = wxWindow(parent, size = wxSize(100, 100))
72 win = wxWindow(parent, size = (100, 100))
74 Super-charged the wxHtml module. You can now create your own tag
75 handlers and also have access to the parser and cell classes. There
76 is a tag handler in the library at wxPython.lib.wxpTag that
77 understands the WXP tag and is able to place wxPython windows on HTML
78 pages. See the demo for an example.
80 A bunch of the methods of wxMenuBar were previously ifdef'd out for
81 wxGTK. Added them back in since the methods exist now.
83 Wrapped the wxHtmlHelpController and related classes.
85 Wrapped the C++ versions of wxSizer and firends. The Python-only
86 versions are still in the library, but depreciated. (You will get a
87 warning message if you try to use them, but the warning can be
88 disabled.) The usage of the C++ versions is slightly different, and
89 the functionality of wxBorderSizer is now part of wxBoxSizer. I have
90 added a few methods to wxSizer to try and make the transition as
91 smooth as possible, I combined all Add methods into a single method
92 that handles all cases, added an AddMany method, etc. One step I did
93 not take was to make the default value of flag in the Add method be
94 wxGROW. This would have made it more backward compatible, but less
95 portable to and from wxWin C++ code. Please see the docs and demo for
98 Added wxPyEvent and wxPyCommandEvent classes, derived from wxEvent and
99 wxCommandEvent. Each of them has SetPyData and GetPyData methods that
100 accept or return a single Python object. You can use these classes
101 directly or derive from them to create your own types of event objects
102 that can pass through the wxWindows event system without loosing their
103 Python parts (as long as they are stored with SetPyData.) Stay tuned
104 for more info and examples in future releases.
106 Added wxPython.lib.grids as an example of how to derive a new sizer
107 from the C++ sizers. In this module you will find wxGridSizer and
108 wxFlexGridSizer. wxGridSizer arrainges its items in a grid in which
109 all the widths and heights are the same. wxFlexgridSizer allows
110 different widths and heights, and you can also specify rows and/or
111 columns that are growable. See the demo for a couple examples for how
114 Added the wxValidator class, and created a class named wxPyValidator
115 that should be used for the base class of any Python validators. See
116 the demo for an example. Please note that you MUST implement a Clone
117 method in your validator classes because of the way some things work
118 in the underlying C++ library. I did not add wxTextValidator because
119 of some issues of how it transfers data to and from a wxString, which
120 in wxPython is automatically translated to and from Python strings, so
121 there would never be a concrete wxString that would hang around long
122 enough for the validator to do its job. On the other hand, it should
123 be real easy to duplicate the functionality of wxTextValidator in a
124 pure Python class derived from wxPyValidator.
126 I've finally added a feature that has been on my list for close to two
127 years! Ever wondered what that zero is for when you create your app
128 object? Well now you can leave it out or explicitly set it to a true
129 value. This value now controls what is to be done with sys.stdout and
130 sys.stderr. A false value leaves them alone, and a true value sets
131 them to an instance of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow. (On windows the
132 default is true, on unix platforms the default is false.) This class
133 creates a frame containing a wxTextCtrl as soon as anything is written
134 to sys.stdout or sys.stderr. If you close the window it will come
135 back again the next time something is written. (You can call
136 app.RestoreStdio to turn this off.) If you would rather that the stdio be
137 redirected to a file, you can provide a second parameter to your app
138 object's constructor that is a filename. If you want to use your own
139 class instead of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow you can either implement
140 RedirectStdio() in you app class or change the value of
141 wxApp.outputWindowClass like this:
144 outputWindowClass = MyClass
148 self.SetTopWindow(frame)
151 Please see the implementation of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow and wxApp in
152 wx.py for more details. A few words of caution: if you are running
153 your app in a debugger, changing sys.stdout and sys.stderr is likely
154 to really screw things up.
156 Added wxCaret. Unfortunately it's author has still not documented it
157 in the wxWindows docs...
159 Some new 3rd party contributions in wxPython.lib. PyShell, in
160 shell.py is an interesting implementaion of an interactive Python
161 shell in wxWindows. floatbar.py has a class derived from wxTooBar
162 that can sense mouse drags and then reparent itself into another
163 frame. Moving the new frame close to where it came from puts the tool
164 bar back into the original parent.
172 This release is syncronized with release 2.1 snapshot 9 of wxWindows.
174 Switched to using SWIG from CVS (see http://swig.cs.uchicago.edu/cvs.html)
175 for some of the new features and such. Also they have encorporated my
176 patches so there is really no reason to stick with the current (very
177 old) release... This version of SWIG gives the following new
180 1. Keyword arguments. You no longer have to specify all the
181 parameters with defaults to a method just to specify a
182 non-default value on the end. You can now do this instead:
184 win = wxWindow(parent, -1, style = mystyle)
186 2. There is now an an equivalence between Python's None and C++'s
187 NULL. This means that any methods that might return NULL will
188 now return None and you can use none where wxWindows might be
189 expecting NULL. This makes things much more snake-ish.
192 There is a new build system based on a new Python program instead of
193 raw makefiles. Now wxPython builds are virtually the same on MSW or
194 Unix systems. See the end of this file for new build instructions and
195 see distrib/build.py for more details.
197 wxDC.Bilt now includes the useMask parameter, and has been split into
198 two different versions. wxDC.BlitXY is like what was there before and
199 takes raw coordinants and sizes, and the new wxDC.Blit is for the new
200 interface using wxPoints and a wxSize.
209 Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
211 Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
212 provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
213 their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
214 It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
215 line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
217 It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
218 process. The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
219 prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
220 is being unloaded by Python.
222 I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
223 make wxPython look bad.
225 wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of x,y. Added
226 wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
228 Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
230 You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method. See
231 wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
233 Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
234 code to show how to use it.
236 Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
239 Added wxGrid.GetCells
241 Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
242 wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
244 Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
245 wxWindows. Use wxMenu and events instead.
247 Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
248 wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
250 Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
251 objects of one type into shadow objects of another type. (Like doing
252 a down-cast.) See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
254 Fixed wxImage GetData and SetData to properly use String objects for
257 Added access methods to wxGridEvent.
259 New Makefile/Setup files supporting multiple dynamic extension modules
262 Fixes for the wxGLCanvas demo to work around a strange bug in gtk.
264 SWIG support routines now compiled separately instead of being bundled
273 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
274 item. (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
275 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
277 Added the Printing Framework.
279 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
280 version. The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
281 data after loading each extension module.
283 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
286 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items. Actually was a
287 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
288 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
290 wxSizer and friends. Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
291 of windows and sizers. Different types of sizers apply different
292 types of layout algorithms. You saw it here first! These classes are
293 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
299 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file... DSM!)
301 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
302 wxPython application.
304 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
306 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
307 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl. Added test pytree.py to show
310 Added wxSafeYield function.
312 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
314 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
317 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
318 DLL. It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
320 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
322 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
323 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
325 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
327 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
334 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
336 Several missing methods from various classes.
344 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
346 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
352 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
353 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
358 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed. I did this to
359 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
360 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
361 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
362 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
364 I have finally started documenting wxPython. There are several pages
365 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
366 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
367 diverges from wxWindows.
369 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
370 window handle. If you can get the window handle into the python code,
371 it should just work... More news on this later.
373 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
375 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
378 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
384 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
386 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
387 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
393 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
394 wxPython.wx import *" This is for people who are worried about
395 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
396 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
398 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
400 Made the events work for wxGrid.
404 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
406 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
407 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
409 Other assorted fixes and additions.
417 wxPython on wxGTK works!!! Both dynamic and static on Linux and
418 static on Solaris have been tested. Many thanks go to Harm
419 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
420 down a nasty DECREF bug. Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
421 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
422 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
424 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
425 must have been a different issue all along...
432 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility. It is partially working. On a
433 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
434 linked with the Python interpreter. When built as a dyamically loaded
435 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
436 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
437 version segfault shortly after starting up.
439 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
441 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
443 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
449 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
450 extension module. This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
451 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
452 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
453 me. You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
454 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
456 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
457 generation. If you want to play around with this you will need to get
458 a recent version of SWIG from their CVS or from a daily build. See
459 http://www.swig.org/ for details.
461 wxPython is organized as a Python package. This means that the
462 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
463 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH. (And preferably should
464 be named wxPython.) You can control where the build process will dump
465 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR variable for the build utility, (see
469 1. Build wxWindows as described in its BuildCVS.txt file. For *nix
470 systems I run configure with these flags:
480 --disable-std_iostreams
482 You can use whatever flags you want, but I know these work.
484 For Win32 systems I use Visual C++ 6.0, but 5.0 should work. The
485 build utility currently does not support any other win32 compilers.
487 2. At this point you may want to make an alias or symlink, script,
488 batch file, whatever on the PATH that invokes
489 $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py to help simplify matters
490 somewhat. For example, on my win32 system I have a file named
491 build.bat in a directory on the PATH that contains:
493 python $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6
496 3. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
498 4. Type "build -b" to build wxPython and "build -i" to install it.
500 The build.py script actually generates a Makefile based on what it
501 finds on your system and information found in the build.cfg file.
502 If you have troubles building or you want it built or installed in
503 a different way, take a look at the docstring in build.py. You may
504 be able to override configuration options in a file named
507 5. To build and install the add-on modules, change to the appropriate
508 directory under $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/modules and run the build
511 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
513 7. Try executing the demo program. For example:
517 To run it without requiring a console on win32, you can use the
518 pythonw.exe version of Python either from the command line or from a
projects / wxWidgets.git / blob