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 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
50 wxImage.SetData now makes a copy of the image data before giving it to
51 wxImage. I mistakenly thought that wxImage would copy the data
54 Fixed wxMSW's notebook so the pages get their size set as they are
55 being added. This should remove the need for our
56 wxNotebook.ResizeChildren hack.
58 wxPanels now support AutoLayout, and wxNotebooks and wxSplitterWindows
59 no longer tell their children to Layout() themselves. This will
60 probably only effect you if you have a wxWindow with AutoLayout inside
61 a notebook or splitter. If so, either change it to a wxPanel or add
62 an EVT_SIZE handler that calls Layout().
64 Fixed deadlock problem that happened when using threads.
72 This is a quick bug-fix release to take care of a few nasties that
73 crept in at the last minute before 2.1.4 was called done. No new
81 This release is NOT syncronized with a snapshot release of wxGTK or
82 wxMSW. For MSW this isn't much of a problem since you can get the
83 binaries from the web site. For other platforms you'll have to build
84 wxGTK from CVS. (See http://web.ukonline.co.uk/julian.smart/wxwin/cvs.htm)
85 To get the same set of sources from CVS that I used, checkout using
88 Now back to what's new...
90 Much more support for event-less callbacks and add-on modules.
92 Created add-on module with wxOGL classes.
94 Added wxWindow.GetChildren(). Be careful of this. It returns a *copy*
95 of the list of the window's children. While you are using the list if
96 anything changes in the real list (a child is deleted, etc.) then the
97 list you are holding will suddenly have window references to garbage
98 memory and your app will likely crash. But if you are careful it works
101 Added a bunch of new and missing methods to wxTreeCrtl. The
102 SortChildren method is now supported, but currently only for the
105 Added typemaps for wxSize, wxPoint, wxRealPoint, and wxRect that allow
106 either the actual objects or Python sequence values to be used. For
107 example, the following are equivallent:
109 win = wxWindow(parent, size = wxSize(100, 100))
110 win = wxWindow(parent, size = (100, 100))
112 Super-charged the wxHtml module. You can now create your own tag
113 handlers and also have access to the parser and cell classes. There
114 is a tag handler in the library at wxPython.lib.wxpTag that
115 understands the WXP tag and is able to place wxPython windows on HTML
116 pages. See the demo for an example.
118 A bunch of the methods of wxMenuBar were previously ifdef'd out for
119 wxGTK. Added them back in since the methods exist now.
121 Wrapped the wxHtmlHelpController and related classes.
123 Wrapped the C++ versions of wxSizer and firends. The Python-only
124 versions are still in the library, but depreciated. (You will get a
125 warning message if you try to use them, but the warning can be
126 disabled.) The usage of the C++ versions is slightly different, and
127 the functionality of wxBorderSizer is now part of wxBoxSizer. I have
128 added a few methods to wxSizer to try and make the transition as
129 smooth as possible, I combined all Add methods into a single method
130 that handles all cases, added an AddMany method, etc. One step I did
131 not take was to make the default value of flag in the Add method be
132 wxGROW. This would have made it more backward compatible, but less
133 portable to and from wxWin C++ code. Please see the docs and demo for
136 Added wxPyEvent and wxPyCommandEvent classes, derived from wxEvent and
137 wxCommandEvent. Each of them has SetPyData and GetPyData methods that
138 accept or return a single Python object. You can use these classes
139 directly or derive from them to create your own types of event objects
140 that can pass through the wxWindows event system without loosing their
141 Python parts (as long as they are stored with SetPyData.) Stay tuned
142 for more info and examples in future releases.
144 Added wxPython.lib.grids as an example of how to derive a new sizer
145 from the C++ sizers. In this module you will find wxGridSizer and
146 wxFlexGridSizer. wxGridSizer arrainges its items in a grid in which
147 all the widths and heights are the same. wxFlexgridSizer allows
148 different widths and heights, and you can also specify rows and/or
149 columns that are growable. See the demo for a couple examples for how
152 Added the wxValidator class, and created a class named wxPyValidator
153 that should be used for the base class of any Python validators. See
154 the demo for an example. Please note that you MUST implement a Clone
155 method in your validator classes because of the way some things work
156 in the underlying C++ library. I did not add wxTextValidator because
157 of some issues of how it transfers data to and from a wxString, which
158 in wxPython is automatically translated to and from Python strings, so
159 there would never be a concrete wxString that would hang around long
160 enough for the validator to do its job. On the other hand, it should
161 be real easy to duplicate the functionality of wxTextValidator in a
162 pure Python class derived from wxPyValidator.
164 I've finally added a feature that has been on my list for close to two
165 years! Ever wondered what that zero is for when you create your app
166 object? Well now you can leave it out or explicitly set it to a true
167 value. This value now controls what is to be done with sys.stdout and
168 sys.stderr. A false value leaves them alone, and a true value sets
169 them to an instance of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow. (On windows the
170 default is true, on unix platforms the default is false.) This class
171 creates a frame containing a wxTextCtrl as soon as anything is written
172 to sys.stdout or sys.stderr. If you close the window it will come
173 back again the next time something is written. (You can call
174 app.RestoreStdio to turn this off.) If you would rather that the stdio be
175 redirected to a file, you can provide a second parameter to your app
176 object's constructor that is a filename. If you want to use your own
177 class instead of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow you can either implement
178 RedirectStdio() in you app class or change the value of
179 wxApp.outputWindowClass like this:
182 outputWindowClass = MyClass
186 self.SetTopWindow(frame)
189 Please see the implementation of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow and wxApp in
190 wx.py for more details. A few words of caution: if you are running
191 your app in a debugger, changing sys.stdout and sys.stderr is likely
192 to really screw things up.
194 Added wxCaret. Unfortunately it's author has still not documented it
195 in the wxWindows docs...
197 Some new 3rd party contributions in wxPython.lib. PyShell, in
198 shell.py is an interesting implementaion of an interactive Python
199 shell in wxWindows. floatbar.py has a class derived from wxTooBar
200 that can sense mouse drags and then reparent itself into another
201 frame. Moving the new frame close to where it came from puts the tool
202 bar back into the original parent. (Unfortunately there is currently
203 a bug in wxGTK's wxFrame.SetToolBar so the FloatBar has some
212 This release is syncronized with release 2.1 snapshot 9 of wxWindows.
214 Switched to using SWIG from CVS (see http://swig.cs.uchicago.edu/cvs.html)
215 for some of the new features and such. Also they have encorporated my
216 patches so there is really no reason to stick with the current (very
217 old) release... This version of SWIG gives the following new
220 1. Keyword arguments. You no longer have to specify all the
221 parameters with defaults to a method just to specify a
222 non-default value on the end. You can now do this instead:
224 win = wxWindow(parent, -1, style = mystyle)
226 2. There is now an an equivalence between Python's None and C++'s
227 NULL. This means that any methods that might return NULL will
228 now return None and you can use none where wxWindows might be
229 expecting NULL. This makes things much more snake-ish.
232 There is a new build system based on a new Python program instead of
233 raw makefiles. Now wxPython builds are virtually the same on MSW or
234 Unix systems. See the end of this file for new build instructions and
235 see distrib/build.py for more details.
237 wxDC.Bilt now includes the useMask parameter, and has been split into
238 two different versions. wxDC.BlitXY is like what was there before and
239 takes raw coordinants and sizes, and the new wxDC.Blit is for the new
240 interface using wxPoints and a wxSize.
249 Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
251 Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
252 provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
253 their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
254 It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
255 line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
257 It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
258 process. The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
259 prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
260 is being unloaded by Python.
262 I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
263 make wxPython look bad.
265 wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of x,y. Added
266 wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
268 Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
270 You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method. See
271 wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
273 Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
274 code to show how to use it.
276 Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
279 Added wxGrid.GetCells
281 Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
282 wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
284 Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
285 wxWindows. Use wxMenu and events instead.
287 Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
288 wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
290 Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
291 objects of one type into shadow objects of another type. (Like doing
292 a down-cast.) See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
294 Fixed wxImage GetData and SetData to properly use String objects for
297 Added access methods to wxGridEvent.
299 New Makefile/Setup files supporting multiple dynamic extension modules
302 Fixes for the wxGLCanvas demo to work around a strange bug in gtk.
304 SWIG support routines now compiled separately instead of being bundled
313 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
314 item. (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
315 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
317 Added the Printing Framework.
319 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
320 version. The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
321 data after loading each extension module.
323 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
326 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items. Actually was a
327 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
328 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
330 wxSizer and friends. Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
331 of windows and sizers. Different types of sizers apply different
332 types of layout algorithms. You saw it here first! These classes are
333 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
339 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file... DSM!)
341 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
342 wxPython application.
344 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
346 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
347 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl. Added test pytree.py to show
350 Added wxSafeYield function.
352 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
354 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
357 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
358 DLL. It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
360 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
362 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
363 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
365 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
367 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
374 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
376 Several missing methods from various classes.
384 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
386 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
392 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
393 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
398 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed. I did this to
399 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
400 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
401 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
402 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
404 I have finally started documenting wxPython. There are several pages
405 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
406 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
407 diverges from wxWindows.
409 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
410 window handle. If you can get the window handle into the python code,
411 it should just work... More news on this later.
413 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
415 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
418 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
424 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
426 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
427 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
433 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
434 wxPython.wx import *" This is for people who are worried about
435 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
436 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
438 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
440 Made the events work for wxGrid.
444 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
446 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
447 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
449 Other assorted fixes and additions.
457 wxPython on wxGTK works!!! Both dynamic and static on Linux and
458 static on Solaris have been tested. Many thanks go to Harm
459 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
460 down a nasty DECREF bug. Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
461 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
462 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
464 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
465 must have been a different issue all along...
472 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility. It is partially working. On a
473 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
474 linked with the Python interpreter. When built as a dyamically loaded
475 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
476 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
477 version segfault shortly after starting up.
479 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
481 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
483 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
489 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
490 extension module. This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
491 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
492 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
493 me. You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
494 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
496 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
497 generation. If you want to play around with this you will need to get
498 a recent version of SWIG from their CVS or from a daily build. See
499 http://www.swig.org/ for details.
501 wxPython is organized as a Python package. This means that the
502 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
503 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH. (And preferably should
504 be named wxPython.) You can control where the build process will dump
505 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR variable for the build utility, (see
509 1. Build wxWindows as described in its BuildCVS.txt file. For *nix
510 systems I run configure with these flags:
520 --disable-std_iostreams
522 You can use whatever flags you want, but I know these work.
524 For Win32 systems I use Visual C++ 6.0, but 5.0 should work. The
525 build utility currently does not support any other win32 compilers.
527 2. At this point you may want to make an alias or symlink, script,
528 batch file, whatever on the PATH that invokes
529 $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py to help simplify matters
530 somewhat. For example, on my win32 system I have a file named
531 build.bat in a directory on the PATH that contains:
533 python $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6
536 3. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
538 4. Type "build -b" to build wxPython and "build -i" to install it.
540 The build.py script actually generates a Makefile based on what it
541 finds on your system and information found in the build.cfg file.
542 If you have troubles building or you want it built or installed in
543 a different way, take a look at the docstring in build.py. You may
544 be able to override configuration options in a file named
547 5. To build and install the add-on modules, change to the appropriate
548 directory under $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/modules and run the build
551 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
553 7. Try executing the demo program. For example:
557 To run it without requiring a console on win32, you can use the
558 pythonw.exe version of Python either from the command line or from a
projects / wxWidgets.git / blob