docs/publicity/announce.txt

   1 Announcing wxWidgets 2.6.1: a cross-platform GUI toolkit
   2 ----------------------------------------------------------------
   3
   4 June 5th, 2005 -- the wxWidgets team is pleased to announce
   5 a new official release of the mature cross-platform C++
   6 application framework.
   7
   8 The following platforms are supported:
   9
  10 - Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP
  11 - Windows CE, including Pocket PC 2003 and Smartphone 2003
  12 - Linux/Unix/VMS with GTK+ 1.x and 2.0
  13 - Linux/Unix with X11 (beta)
  14 - Linux/Unix with Motif/Lesstif
  15 - Mac OS 9.x and 10.2 and above using Carbon
  16 - Mac OS 10.x using Cocoa (beta)
  17 - OS/2 (beta)
  18 - MGL for Linux and DOS
  19 - Palm OS (alpha)
  20
  21 A non-GUI subset of wxWidgets called wxBase is also supported
  22 on most of these platforms.
  23
  24 To get wxWidgets, go to the Download page at:
  25
  26   http://www.wxwidgets.org
  27
  28 Since 2.4.2, we have added support for Windows Mobile devices,
  29 enhanced GTK+ 2 support, radically overhauled the Mac OS X port,
  30 replaced the build system with Bakefile, added better
  31 integration with STL, and added a CppUnit-based test suite.
  32 Other changes include sizer improvements, new Gnome printing
  33 features, ODBC enhancements such as BLOB support and Unicode
  34 support on Windows, wxTaskBarIcon support on Mac OS X and Linux
  35 as well as Windows, top-level windows can have arbitrary shapes,
  36 images can have alpha channels, plus many API enhancements and
  37 bug fixes to existing classes. New classes include
  38 wxVScrolledWindow, wxVListBox, wxHtmlListbox,
  39 wxPropertySheetDialog, wxGridBagSizer, wxMediaCtrl,
  40 wxDatePickerCtrl, wxArchiveInputStream/wxArchiveOutputStream
  41 (including zip archive read/write support), wxListbook,
  42 wxChoicebook, wxDebugReport, and more.
  43
  44 *** About wxWidgets
  45
  46 wxWidgets is a comprehensive open-source, multi-platform C++ GUI
  47 framework, that can be used to build commercial and free
  48 software. First released in 1992 under the name wxWindows, it's
  49 increasingly used by organisations and individuals all over the
  50 world due to its winning combination of sophistication, wide
  51 platform coverage, ease of use, unrestrictive licence and
  52 vibrant user community.
  53
  54 For most ports, wxWidgets adopts the native look and feel of
  55 each platform since it uses the native widget sets. There is also
  56 a generic widget set, used for example by the wxX11 port - no
  57 other widget set is required, giving the potential for embedded
  58 use.
  59
  60 An extraordinary range of classes is provided - but don't be put
  61 off by this because most people find wxWidgets easier to learn
  62 and use than MFC and other frameworks.
  63
  64 As well as comprehensive support for the usual widgets, advanced
  65 features include: HTML viewing/printing, wxImage class providing
  66 handlers for reading and writing many image types, resizeable panels
  67 and dialogs on all platforms, document/view, OpenGL support,
  68 HTML-based and context-sensitive help, wizards, drag and drop,
  69 a grid class, ODBC support, threads, sockets, container classes,
  70 a styled text control, and much more. A 2,000-page reference manual
  71 is provided in HTML, MS HTML Help, WinHelp, wxWidgets Help and PDF
  72 formats, and there are over eighty samples and demos.
  73
  74 If you're an MFC user, you'll find many wxWidgets concepts
  75 reassuringly familiar, while often clearer and more consistent.
  76 If you're not, you should still find it intuitive from the start.
  77
  78 wxWidgets bindings for several other languages are available,
  79 including Python, Perl, Basic, Lua, JavaScript and Eiffel.
  80
  81 If you're considering wxWidgets, do check out some of these links:
  82
  83     http://www.wxwidgets.org/feedback.htm ; Comments from users
  84     http://www.wxwidgets.org/screensh.htm ; Screenshots
  85     http://www.wxwidgets.org/users.htm    ; A list of some of our
  86                                           ; users
  87
  88 Have fun!
  89
  90 The wxWidgets team
  91