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 2.1b4
  49 --------------------
  50
  51 Much more support for event-less callbacks and add-on modules
  52
  53 Created add-on module with wxOGL classes.
  54
  55 Added wxWindow.GetChildren().  Be careful of this.  It returns a copy
  56 of the list of the window's children.  While you are using the list if
  57 anything changes in the real list (a child is deleted, etc.) then the
  58 list you are holding will suddenly have window references to garbage
  59 memory and your app will likely crash.  But if you are careful it works
  60 great!
  61
  62 Added a bunch of new and missing methods to wxTreeCrtl.  The
  63 SortChildren method is now supported, but currently only for the
  64 default sort order.
  65
  66
  67
  68
  69 What's new in 2.1b3
  70 --------------------
  71
  72 This release is syncronized with release 2.1 snapshot 9 of wxWindows.
  73
  74 Switched to using SWIG from CVS (see http://swig.cs.uchicago.edu/cvs.html)
  75 for some of the new features and such.  Also they have encorporated my
  76 patches so there is really no reason to stick with the current (very
  77 old) release...  This version of SWIG gives the following new
  78 features:
  79
  80     1. Keyword arguments.  You no longer have to specify all the
  81        parameters with defaults to a method just to specify a
  82        non-default value on the end.  You can now do this instead:
  83
  84           win = wxWindow(parent, -1, style = mystyle)
  85
  86     2. There is now an an equivalence between Python's None and C++'s
  87        NULL.  This means that any methods that might return NULL will
  88        now return None and you can use none where wxWindows might be
  89        expecting NULL.  This makes things much more snake-ish.
  90
  91
  92 There is a new build system based on a new Python program instead of
  93 raw makefiles.  Now wxPython builds are virtually the same on MSW or
  94 Unix systems.  See the end of this file for new build instructions and
  95 see distrib/build.py for more details.
  96
  97 wxDC.Bilt now includes the useMask parameter, and has been split into
  98 two different versions.  wxDC.BlitXY is like what was there before and
  99 takes raw coordinants and sizes, and the new wxDC.Blit is for the new
 100 interface using wxPoints and a wxSize.
 101
 102
 103
 104
 105
 106 What's new in 2.1b2
 107 --------------------
 108
 109 Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
 110
 111 Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
 112 provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
 113 their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
 114 It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
 115 line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
 116
 117 It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
 118 process.  The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
 119 prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
 120 is being unloaded by Python.
 121
 122 I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
 123 make wxPython look bad.
 124
 125 wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of  x,y.  Added
 126 wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
 127
 128 Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
 129
 130 You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method.  See
 131 wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
 132
 133 Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
 134 code to show how to use it.
 135
 136 Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
 137 matches MSW's.
 138
 139 Added wxGrid.GetCells
 140
 141 Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
 142 wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
 143
 144 Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
 145 wxWindows.  Use wxMenu and events instead.
 146
 147 Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
 148       wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
 149
 150 Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
 151 objects of one type into shadow objects of another type.  (Like doing
 152 a down-cast.)  See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
 153
 154 Fixed wxImage GetData and SetData to properly use String objects for
 155 data transfer.
 156
 157 Added access methods to wxGridEvent.
 158
 159 New Makefile/Setup files supporting multiple dynamic extension modules
 160 for unix systems.
 161
 162 Fixes for the wxGLCanvas demo to work around a strange bug in gtk.
 163
 164 SWIG support routines now compiled separately instead of being bundled
 165 in wx.cpp.
 166
 167
 168
 169
 170
 171 What's new in 2.1b1
 172 --------------------
 173 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
 174 item.  (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
 175 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
 176
 177 Added the Printing Framework.
 178
 179 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
 180 version.  The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
 181 data after loading each extension module.
 182
 183 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
 184 wxWindows classes.
 185
 186 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items.  Actually was a
 187 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
 188 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
 189
 190 wxSizer and friends.  Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
 191 of windows and sizers.  Different types of sizers apply different
 192 types of layout algorithms.  You saw it here first!  These classes are
 193 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
 194
 195
 196
 197 What's new in 2.0b9
 198 -------------------
 199 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file...  DSM!)
 200
 201 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
 202 wxPython application.
 203
 204 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
 205
 206 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
 207 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl.  Added test pytree.py to show
 208 this feature off.
 209
 210 Added wxSafeYield function.
 211
 212 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
 213
 214 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
 215 how it all works.
 216
 217 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
 218 DLL.  It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
 219
 220 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
 221
 222 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
 223 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
 224
 225 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
 226
 227 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
 228 methods.
 229
 230
 231
 232 What's new in 2.0b8
 233 -------------------
 234 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
 235
 236 Several missing methods from various classes.
 237
 238 Various bug fixes.
 239
 240
 241
 242 What's new in 2.0b7
 243 -------------------
 244 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
 245
 246 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
 247
 248
 249
 250 What's new in 2.0b6
 251 -------------------
 252 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
 253 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
 254
 255
 256 What's new in 2.0b5
 257 -------------------
 258 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed.  I did this to
 259 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
 260 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
 261 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
 262 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
 263
 264 I have finally started documenting wxPython.  There are several pages
 265 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
 266 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
 267 diverges from wxWindows.
 268
 269 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
 270 window handle.  If you can get the window handle into the python code,
 271 it should just work...  More news on this later.
 272
 273 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
 274
 275 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
 276 wxRegConfig class.
 277
 278 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
 279
 280
 281
 282 What's new in 0.5.3
 283 -------------------
 284 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
 285
 286 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
 287 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
 288
 289
 290
 291 What's new in 0.5.0
 292 -------------------
 293 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
 294 wxPython.wx import *"  This is for people who are worried about
 295 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
 296 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
 297
 298 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
 299
 300 Made the events work for wxGrid.
 301
 302 Added wxConfig.
 303
 304 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
 305
 306 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
 307 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
 308
 309 Other assorted fixes and additions.
 310
 311
 312
 313
 314 What's new in 0.4.2
 315 -------------------
 316
 317 wxPython on wxGTK works!!!  Both dynamic and static on Linux and
 318 static on Solaris have been tested.  Many thanks go to Harm
 319 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
 320 down a nasty DECREF bug.  Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
 321 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
 322 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
 323
 324 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
 325 must have been a different issue all along...
 326
 327
 328
 329 What's New in 0.4
 330 -----------------
 331
 332 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility.  It is partially working.  On a
 333 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
 334 linked with the Python interpreter.  When built as a dyamically loaded
 335 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
 336 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
 337 version segfault shortly after starting up.
 338
 339 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
 340
 341 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
 342
 343 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 344
 345
 346
 347 Build Instructions
 348 ------------------
 349 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
 350 extension module.  This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
 351 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
 352 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
 353 me.  You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
 354 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
 355
 356 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
 357 generation.  If you want to play around with this you will need to get
 358 a recent version of SWIG from their CVS or from a daily build.  See
 359 http://www.swig.org/ for details.
 360
 361 wxPython is organized as a Python package.  This means that the
 362 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
 363 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH.  (And preferably should
 364 be named wxPython.)  You can control where the build process will dump
 365 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR variable for the build utility, (see
 366 below.)
 367
 368
 369 1. Build wxWindows as described in its BuildCVS.txt file.  For *nix
 370    systems I run configure with these flags:
 371
 372                 --with-gtk
 373                 --with-libjpeg
 374                 --without-odbc
 375                 --enable-unicode=no
 376                 --enable-threads=yes
 377                 --enable-socket=yes
 378                 --enable-static=no
 379                 --enable-shared=yes
 380                 --disable-std_iostreams
 381
 382    You can use whatever flags you want, but I know these work.
 383
 384    For Win32 systems I use Visual C++ 6.0, but 5.0 should work.  The
 385    build utility currently does not support any other win32 compilers.
 386
 387 2. At this point you may want to make an alias or symlink, script,
 388    batch file, whatever on the PATH that invokes
 389    $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py to help simplify matters
 390    somewhat.  For example, on my win32 system I have a file named
 391    build.bat in a directory on the PATH that contains:
 392
 393    python $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6
 394
 395
 396 3. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 397
 398 4. Type "build -b" to build wxPython and "build -i" to install it.
 399
 400    The build.py script actually generates a Makefile based on what it
 401    finds on your system and information found in the build.cfg file.
 402    If you have troubles building or you want it built or installed in
 403    a different way, take a look at the docstring in build.py.  You may
 404    be able to override configuration options in a file named
 405    build.local.
 406
 407 5. To build and install the add-on modules, change to the appropriate
 408    directory under $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/modules and run the build
 409    utility again.
 410
 411 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 412
 413 7. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 414
 415     python demo.py
 416
 417 To run it without requiring a console on win32, you can use the
 418 pythonw.exe version of Python either from the command line or from a
 419 shortcut.
 420
 421
 422
 423 ----------------
 424 Robin Dunn
 425 robin@alldunn.com
 426
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