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
  57
  58 What's new in 2.1b2
  59 --------------------
  60
  61 Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
  62
  63 Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
  64 provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
  65 their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
  66 It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
  67 line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
  68
  69 It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
  70 process.  The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
  71 prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
  72 is being unloaded by Python.
  73
  74 I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
  75 make wxPython look bad.
  76
  77 wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of  x,y.  Added
  78 wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
  79
  80 Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
  81
  82 You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method.  See
  83 wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
  84
  85 Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
  86 code to show how to use it.
  87
  88 Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
  89 matches MSW's.
  90
  91 Added wxGrid.GetCells
  92
  93 Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
  94 wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
  95
  96 Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
  97 wxWindows.  Use wxMenu and events instead.
  98
  99 Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
 100       wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
 101
 102 Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
 103 objects of one type into shadow objects of another type.  (Like doing
 104 a down-cast.)  See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
 105
 106 Fixed wxImage GetData and SetData to properly use String objects for
 107 data transfer.
 108
 109 Added access methods to wxGridEvent.
 110
 111 New Makefile/Setup files supporting multiple dynamic extension modules
 112 for unix systems.
 113
 114 Fixes for the wxGLCanvas demo to work around a strange bug in gtk.
 115
 116 SWIG support routines now compiled separately instead of being bundled
 117 in wx.cpp.
 118
 119
 120
 121
 122
 123 What's new in 2.1b1
 124 --------------------
 125 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
 126 item.  (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
 127 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
 128
 129 Added the Printing Framework.
 130
 131 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
 132 version.  The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
 133 data after loading each extension module.
 134
 135 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
 136 wxWindows classes.
 137
 138 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items.  Actually was a
 139 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
 140 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
 141
 142 wxSizer and friends.  Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
 143 of windows and sizers.  Different types of sizers apply different
 144 types of layout algorithms.  You saw it here first!  These classes are
 145 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
 146
 147
 148
 149 What's new in 2.0b9
 150 -------------------
 151 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file...  DSM!)
 152
 153 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
 154 wxPython application.
 155
 156 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
 157
 158 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
 159 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl.  Added test pytree.py to show
 160 this feature off.
 161
 162 Added wxSafeYield function.
 163
 164 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
 165
 166 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
 167 how it all works.
 168
 169 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
 170 DLL.  It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
 171
 172 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
 173
 174 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
 175 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
 176
 177 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
 178
 179 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
 180 methods.
 181
 182
 183
 184 What's new in 2.0b8
 185 -------------------
 186 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
 187
 188 Several missing methods from various classes.
 189
 190 Various bug fixes.
 191
 192
 193
 194 What's new in 2.0b7
 195 -------------------
 196 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
 197
 198 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
 199
 200
 201
 202 What's new in 2.0b6
 203 -------------------
 204 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
 205 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
 206
 207
 208 What's new in 2.0b5
 209 -------------------
 210 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed.  I did this to
 211 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
 212 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
 213 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
 214 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
 215
 216 I have finally started documenting wxPython.  There are several pages
 217 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
 218 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
 219 diverges from wxWindows.
 220
 221 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
 222 window handle.  If you can get the window handle into the python code,
 223 it should just work...  More news on this later.
 224
 225 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
 226
 227 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
 228 wxRegConfig class.
 229
 230 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
 231
 232
 233
 234 What's new in 0.5.3
 235 -------------------
 236 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
 237
 238 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
 239 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
 240
 241
 242
 243 What's new in 0.5.0
 244 -------------------
 245 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
 246 wxPython.wx import *"  This is for people who are worried about
 247 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
 248 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
 249
 250 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
 251
 252 Made the events work for wxGrid.
 253
 254 Added wxConfig.
 255
 256 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
 257
 258 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
 259 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
 260
 261 Other assorted fixes and additions.
 262
 263
 264
 265
 266 What's new in 0.4.2
 267 -------------------
 268
 269 wxPython on wxGTK works!!!  Both dynamic and static on Linux and
 270 static on Solaris have been tested.  Many thanks go to Harm
 271 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
 272 down a nasty DECREF bug.  Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
 273 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
 274 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
 275
 276 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
 277 must have been a different issue all along...
 278
 279
 280
 281 What's New in 0.4
 282 -----------------
 283
 284 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility.  It is partially working.  On a
 285 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
 286 linked with the Python interpreter.  When built as a dyamically loaded
 287 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
 288 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
 289 version segfault shortly after starting up.
 290
 291 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
 292
 293 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
 294
 295 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 296
 297
 298
 299 Build Instructions
 300 ------------------
 301 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
 302 extension module.  This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
 303 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
 304 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
 305 me.  You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
 306 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
 307
 308 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
 309 generation.  If you want to playaround with this the patches are in
 310 wxPython/SWIG.patches and they should be applied to the 1.1p5 version
 311 of SWIG.  These new patches are documented at
 312 http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/#swig, and they should also
 313 end up in the 1.2 version of SWIG.
 314
 315 wxPython is organized as a Python package.  This means that the
 316 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
 317 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH.  (And preferably should
 318 be named wxPython.)  You can control where the build process will dump
 319 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR makefile variable.  The default is
 320 $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython, where this README.txt is located.  If you
 321 leave it here then you should add $(WXWIN)/utils to your PYTHONPATH.
 322 However, you may prefer to use something that is already on your
 323 PYTHONPATH, such as the site-packages directory on Unix systems.
 324
 325
 326 Win32
 327 -----
 328
 329 1. Build wxWindows with wxUSE_RESOURCE_LOADING_IN_MSW set to 1 in
 330 include/wx/msw/setup.h so icons can be loaded dynamically.  While
 331 there, make sure wxUSE_OWNER_DRAWN is also set to 1.
 332
 333 2. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 334
 335 3. Edit makefile.vc and specify where your python installation is at.
 336 You may also want to fiddle with the TARGETDIR variable as described
 337 above.
 338
 339 4. Run nmake -f makefile.vc
 340
 341 5. If it builds successfully, congratulations!  Move on to the next
 342 step.  If not then you can try mailing me for help.  Also, I will
 343 always have a pre-built win32 version of this extension module at
 344 http://alldunn.com/wxPython/.
 345
 346 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 347
 348 7. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 349
 350     python demo.py
 351
 352 To run it without requiring a console, you can use the pythonw.exe
 353 version of Python either from the command line or from a shortcut.
 354
 355
 356
 357 Unix
 358 ----
 359 0. I configure wxWindows like this, YMMV:
 360
 361 ./configure  --with-gtk --disable-shared --enable-threads --disable-unicode
 362
 363 1. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 364
 365 2. Edit Setup.in and ensure that the flags, directories, and toolkit
 366 options are correct.  See the above commentary about TARGETDIR.  There
 367 are a few sample Setup.in.[platform] files provided.
 368
 369 3. Run this command to generate a makefile:
 370
 371     make -f Makefile.pre.in boot
 372
 373 4. Run these commands to build and then install the wxPython extension
 374 module:
 375
 376     make
 377     make install
 378
 379
 380 5. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 381
 382 6. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 383
 384     python demo.py
 385
 386 ----------------
 387 Robin Dunn
 388 robin@alldunn.com
 389
 390
 391