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