distrib/gtk/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 2.1b2
  49 --------------------
  50
  51 Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
  52
  53 Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
  54 provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
  55 their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
  56 It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
  57 line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
  58
  59 It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
  60 process.  The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
  61 prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
  62 is being unloaded by Python.
  63
  64 I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
  65 make wxPython look bad.
  66
  67 wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of  x,y.  Added
  68 wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
  69
  70 Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
  71
  72 You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method.  See
  73 wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
  74
  75 Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
  76 code to show how to use it.
  77
  78 Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
  79 matches MSW's.
  80
  81 Added wxGrid.GetCells
  82
  83 Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
  84 wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
  85
  86 Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
  87 wxWindows.  Use wxMenu and events instead.
  88
  89 Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
  90       wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
  91
  92 Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
  93 objects of one type into shadow objects of another type.  (Like doing
  94 a down-cast.)  See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
  95
  96
  97
  98
  99
 100 What's new in 2.1b1
 101 --------------------
 102 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
 103 item.  (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
 104 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
 105
 106 Added the Printing Framework.
 107
 108 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
 109 version.  The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
 110 data after loading each extension module.
 111
 112 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
 113 wxWindows classes.
 114
 115 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items.  Actually was a
 116 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
 117 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
 118
 119 wxSizer and friends.  Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
 120 of windows and sizers.  Different types of sizers apply different
 121 types of layout algorithms.  You saw it here first!  These classes are
 122 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
 123
 124
 125
 126 What's new in 2.0b9
 127 -------------------
 128 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file...  DSM!)
 129
 130 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
 131 wxPython application.
 132
 133 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
 134
 135 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
 136 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl.  Added test pytree.py to show
 137 this feature off.
 138
 139 Added wxSafeYield function.
 140
 141 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
 142
 143 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
 144 how it all works.
 145
 146 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
 147 DLL.  It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
 148
 149 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
 150
 151 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
 152 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
 153
 154 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
 155
 156 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
 157 methods.
 158
 159
 160
 161 What's new in 2.0b8
 162 -------------------
 163 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
 164
 165 Several missing methods from various classes.
 166
 167 Various bug fixes.
 168
 169
 170
 171 What's new in 2.0b7
 172 -------------------
 173 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
 174
 175 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
 176
 177
 178
 179 What's new in 2.0b6
 180 -------------------
 181 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
 182 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
 183
 184
 185 What's new in 2.0b5
 186 -------------------
 187 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed.  I did this to
 188 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
 189 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
 190 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
 191 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
 192
 193 I have finally started documenting wxPython.  There are several pages
 194 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
 195 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
 196 diverges from wxWindows.
 197
 198 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
 199 window handle.  If you can get the window handle into the python code,
 200 it should just work...  More news on this later.
 201
 202 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
 203
 204 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
 205 wxRegConfig class.
 206
 207 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
 208
 209
 210
 211 What's new in 0.5.3
 212 -------------------
 213 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
 214
 215 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
 216 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
 217
 218
 219
 220 What's new in 0.5.0
 221 -------------------
 222 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
 223 wxPython.wx import *"  This is for people who are worried about
 224 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
 225 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
 226
 227 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
 228
 229 Made the events work for wxGrid.
 230
 231 Added wxConfig.
 232
 233 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
 234
 235 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
 236 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
 237
 238 Other assorted fixes and additions.
 239
 240
 241
 242
 243 What's new in 0.4.2
 244 -------------------
 245
 246 wxPython on wxGTK works!!!  Both dynamic and static on Linux and
 247 static on Solaris have been tested.  Many thanks go to Harm
 248 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
 249 down a nasty DECREF bug.  Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
 250 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
 251 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
 252
 253 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
 254 must have been a different issue all along...
 255
 256
 257
 258 What's New in 0.4
 259 -----------------
 260
 261 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility.  It is partially working.  On a
 262 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
 263 linked with the Python interpreter.  When built as a dyamically loaded
 264 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
 265 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
 266 version segfault shortly after starting up.
 267
 268 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
 269
 270 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
 271
 272 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 273
 274
 275
 276 Build Instructions
 277 ------------------
 278 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
 279 extension module.  This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
 280 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
 281 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
 282 me.  You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
 283 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
 284
 285 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
 286 generation.  If you want to playaround with this the patches are in
 287 wxPython/SWIG.patches and they should be applied to the 1.1p5 version
 288 of SWIG.  These new patches are documented at
 289 http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/#swig, and they should also
 290 end up in the 1.2 version of SWIG.
 291
 292 wxPython is organized as a Python package.  This means that the
 293 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
 294 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH.  (And preferably should
 295 be named wxPython.)  You can control where the build process will dump
 296 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR makefile variable.  The default is
 297 $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython, where this README.txt is located.  If you
 298 leave it here then you should add $(WXWIN)/utils to your PYTHONPATH.
 299 However, you may prefer to use something that is already on your
 300 PYTHONPATH, such as the site-packages directory on Unix systems.
 301
 302
 303 Win32
 304 -----
 305
 306 1. Build wxWindows with wxUSE_RESOURCE_LOADING_IN_MSW set to 1 in
 307 include/wx/msw/setup.h so icons can be loaded dynamically.  While
 308 there, make sure wxUSE_OWNER_DRAWN is also set to 1.
 309
 310 2. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 311
 312 3. Edit makefile.vc and specify where your python installation is at.
 313 You may also want to fiddle with the TARGETDIR variable as described
 314 above.
 315
 316 4. Run nmake -f makefile.vc
 317
 318 5. If it builds successfully, congratulations!  Move on to the next
 319 step.  If not then you can try mailing me for help.  Also, I will
 320 always have a pre-built win32 version of this extension module at
 321 http://alldunn.com/wxPython/.
 322
 323 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 324
 325 7. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 326
 327     python demo.py
 328
 329 To run it without requiring a console, you can use the pythonw.exe
 330 version of Python either from the command line or from a shortcut.
 331
 332
 333
 334 Unix
 335 ----
 336 0. I configure wxWindows like this, YMMV:
 337
 338 ./configure  --with-gtk --disable-shared --enable-threads --disable-unicode
 339
 340 1. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 341
 342 2. Edit Setup.in and ensure that the flags, directories, and toolkit
 343 options are correct.  See the above commentary about TARGETDIR.  There
 344 are a few sample Setup.in.[platform] files provided.
 345
 346 [I've written a Setup which should work in almost all Unix systems,
 347  so that the steps 1 and 2 don't have to be done. Robert Roebling. ]
 348
 349 3. Run this command to generate a makefile:
 350
 351     make -f Makefile.pre.in boot
 352
 353 4. Run these commands to build and then install the wxPython extension
 354 module:
 355
 356     make
 357
 358 4b. Log in as root. [Robert Roebling]
 359
 360     make install
 361
 362 4c. Log out from root. [Robert Roebling]
 363
 364
 365 5. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
 366
 367 6. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 368
 369     python demo.py
 370
 371 ----------------
 372 Robin Dunn
 373 robin@alldunn.com
 374
 375
 376