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 This release is syncronized with release 2.1 snapshot 9 of wxWindows.
  52
  53 Switched to using SWIG from CVS (see http://swig.cs.uchicago.edu/cvs.html)
  54 for some of the new features and such.  Also they have encorporated my
  55 patches so there is really no reason to stick with the current (very
  56 old) release...  This version of SWIG gives the following new
  57 features:
  58
  59     1. Keyword arguments.  You no longer have to specify all the
  60        parameters with defaults to a method just to specify a
  61        non-default value on the end.  You can now do this instead:
  62
  63           win = wxWindow(parent, -1, style = mystyle)
  64
  65     2. There is now an an equivalence between Python's None and C++'s
  66        NULL.  This means that any methods that might return NULL will
  67        now return None and you can use none where wxWindows might be
  68        expecting NULL.  This makes things much more snake-ish.
  69
  70
  71 There is a new build system based on a new Python program instead of
  72 raw makefiles.  Now wxPython builds are virtually the same on MSW or
  73 Unix systems.  See the end of this file for new build instructions and
  74 see distrib/build.py for more details.
  75
  76 wxDC.Bilt now includes the useMask parameter, and has been split into
  77 two different versions.  wxDC.BlitXY is like what was there before and
  78 takes raw coordinants and sizes, and the new wxDC.Blit is for the new
  79 interface using wxPoints and a wxSize.
  80
  81
  82
  83
  84
  85 What's new in 2.1b2
  86 --------------------
  87
  88 Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
  89
  90 Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
  91 provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
  92 their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
  93 It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
  94 line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
  95
  96 It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
  97 process.  The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
  98 prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
  99 is being unloaded by Python.
 100
 101 I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
 102 make wxPython look bad.
 103
 104 wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of  x,y.  Added
 105 wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
 106
 107 Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
 108
 109 You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method.  See
 110 wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
 111
 112 Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
 113 code to show how to use it.
 114
 115 Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
 116 matches MSW's.
 117
 118 Added wxGrid.GetCells
 119
 120 Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
 121 wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
 122
 123 Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
 124 wxWindows.  Use wxMenu and events instead.
 125
 126 Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
 127       wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
 128
 129 Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
 130 objects of one type into shadow objects of another type.  (Like doing
 131 a down-cast.)  See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
 132
 133 Fixed wxImage GetData and SetData to properly use String objects for
 134 data transfer.
 135
 136 Added access methods to wxGridEvent.
 137
 138 New Makefile/Setup files supporting multiple dynamic extension modules
 139 for unix systems.
 140
 141 Fixes for the wxGLCanvas demo to work around a strange bug in gtk.
 142
 143 SWIG support routines now compiled separately instead of being bundled
 144 in wx.cpp.
 145
 146
 147
 148
 149
 150 What's new in 2.1b1
 151 --------------------
 152 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
 153 item.  (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
 154 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
 155
 156 Added the Printing Framework.
 157
 158 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
 159 version.  The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
 160 data after loading each extension module.
 161
 162 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
 163 wxWindows classes.
 164
 165 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items.  Actually was a
 166 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
 167 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
 168
 169 wxSizer and friends.  Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
 170 of windows and sizers.  Different types of sizers apply different
 171 types of layout algorithms.  You saw it here first!  These classes are
 172 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
 173
 174
 175
 176 What's new in 2.0b9
 177 -------------------
 178 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file...  DSM!)
 179
 180 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
 181 wxPython application.
 182
 183 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
 184
 185 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
 186 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl.  Added test pytree.py to show
 187 this feature off.
 188
 189 Added wxSafeYield function.
 190
 191 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
 192
 193 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
 194 how it all works.
 195
 196 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
 197 DLL.  It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
 198
 199 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
 200
 201 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
 202 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
 203
 204 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
 205
 206 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
 207 methods.
 208
 209
 210
 211 What's new in 2.0b8
 212 -------------------
 213 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
 214
 215 Several missing methods from various classes.
 216
 217 Various bug fixes.
 218
 219
 220
 221 What's new in 2.0b7
 222 -------------------
 223 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
 224
 225 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
 226
 227
 228
 229 What's new in 2.0b6
 230 -------------------
 231 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
 232 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
 233
 234
 235 What's new in 2.0b5
 236 -------------------
 237 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed.  I did this to
 238 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
 239 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
 240 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
 241 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
 242
 243 I have finally started documenting wxPython.  There are several pages
 244 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
 245 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
 246 diverges from wxWindows.
 247
 248 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
 249 window handle.  If you can get the window handle into the python code,
 250 it should just work...  More news on this later.
 251
 252 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
 253
 254 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
 255 wxRegConfig class.
 256
 257 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
 258
 259
 260
 261 What's new in 0.5.3
 262 -------------------
 263 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
 264
 265 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
 266 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
 267
 268
 269
 270 What's new in 0.5.0
 271 -------------------
 272 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
 273 wxPython.wx import *"  This is for people who are worried about
 274 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
 275 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
 276
 277 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
 278
 279 Made the events work for wxGrid.
 280
 281 Added wxConfig.
 282
 283 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
 284
 285 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
 286 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
 287
 288 Other assorted fixes and additions.
 289
 290
 291
 292
 293 What's new in 0.4.2
 294 -------------------
 295
 296 wxPython on wxGTK works!!!  Both dynamic and static on Linux and
 297 static on Solaris have been tested.  Many thanks go to Harm
 298 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
 299 down a nasty DECREF bug.  Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
 300 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
 301 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
 302
 303 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
 304 must have been a different issue all along...
 305
 306
 307
 308 What's New in 0.4
 309 -----------------
 310
 311 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility.  It is partially working.  On a
 312 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
 313 linked with the Python interpreter.  When built as a dyamically loaded
 314 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
 315 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
 316 version segfault shortly after starting up.
 317
 318 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
 319
 320 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
 321
 322 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 323
 324
 325
 326 Build Instructions
 327 ------------------
 328 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
 329 extension module.  This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
 330 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
 331 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
 332 me.  You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
 333 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
 334
 335 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
 336 generation.  If you want to play around with this you will need to get
 337 a recent version of SWIG from their CVS or from a daily build.  See
 338 http://www.swig.org/ for details.
 339
 340 wxPython is organized as a Python package.  This means that the
 341 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
 342 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH.  (And preferably should
 343 be named wxPython.)  You can control where the build process will dump
 344 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR variable for the build utility, (see
 345 below.)
 346
 347
 348 1. Build wxWindows as described in its BuildCVS.txt file.  For *nix
 349    systems I run configure with these flags:
 350
 351                 --with-gtk
 352                 --with-libjpeg
 353                 --without-odbc
 354                 --enable-unicode=no
 355                 --enable-threads=yes
 356                 --enable-socket=yes
 357                 --enable-static=no
 358                 --enable-shared=yes
 359                 --disable-std_iostreams
 360
 361    You can use whatever flags you want, but I know these work.
 362
 363    For Win32 systems I use Visual C++ 6.0, but 5.0 should work.  The
 364    build utility currently does not support any other win32 compilers.
 365
 366 2. At this point you may want to make an alias or symlink, script,
 367    batch file, whatever on the PATH that invokes
 368    $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py to help simplify matters
 369    somewhat.  For example, on my win32 system I have a file named
 370    build.bat in a directory on the PATH that contains:
 371
 372    python $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6
 373
 374
 375 3. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 376
 377 4. Type "build -b" to build wxPython and "build -i" to install it.
 378
 379    The build.py script actually generates a Makefile based on what it
 380    finds on your system and information found in the build.cfg file.
 381    If you have troubles building or you want it built or installed in
 382    a different way, take a look at the docstring in build.py.  You may
 383    be able to override configuration options in a file named
 384    build.local.
 385
 386 5. To build and install the add-on modules, change to the appropriate
 387    directory under $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/modules and run the build
 388    utility again.
 389
 390 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 391
 392 7. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 393
 394     python demo.py
 395
 396 To run it without requiring a console on win32, you can use the
 397 pythonw.exe version of Python either from the command line or from a
 398 shortcut.
 399
 400
 401
 402 ----------------
 403 Robin Dunn
 404 robin@alldunn.com
 405
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