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  15 wxWindows 2 for Windows FAQ
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  21 <P>
  22
  23 See also <a href="faq.htm">top-level FAQ page</a>.
  24 <hr>
  25
  26 <h3>Which Windows platforms are supported?</h3>
  27
  28 wxWindows can be used to develop and deliver applications on Windows 3.1, Win32s,
  29 Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows NT. A Windows CE version is being looked into (see below).<P>
  30
  31 wxWindows 2 is designed to make use of WIN32 features and controls. However, unlike Microsoft,
  32 we have not forgotten users of 16-bit Windows. Most features
  33 work under Windows 3.1, including wxTreeCtrl and wxListCtrl using the generic implementation.
  34 However, don't expect very Windows-specific classes to work, such as wxTaskBarIcon. The wxRegConfig
  35 class doesn't work either because the Windows 3.1 registry is very simplistic. Check out the 16-bit
  36 makefiles to see what other files have been left out.
  37 <P>
  38 16-bit compilation is supported under Visual C++ 1.5, and Borland BC++ 4 to 5.
  39 <P>
  40
  41 wxWindows 2 for Windows will also compile on Unix with gcc using TWIN32 from <a href="http://www.willows.com" target=_top>Willows</a>,
  42 although TWIN32 is still in a preliminary state. The resulting executables are
  43 Unix binaries that work with the TWIN32 Windows API emulator.<P>
  44
  45 You can also compile wxWindows 2 for Windows on Unix with Cygwin or Mingw32, resulting
  46 in executables that will run on Windows. So in theory you could write your applications
  47 using wxGTK or wxMotif, then check/debug your wxWindows for Windows
  48 programs with TWIN32, and finally produce an ix86 Windows executable using Cygwin/Mingw32,
  49 without ever needing a copy of Microsoft Windows. See the Technical Note on the Web site detailing cross-compilation.<P>
  50
  51 <h3>What about Windows CE?</h3>
  52
  53 This is under consideration, though we need to get wxWindows Unicode-aware first.
  54 There are other interesting issues, such as how to combine the menubar and toolbar APIs
  55 as Windows CE requires. But there's no doubt that it will be possible, albeit
  56 by mostly cutting down wxWindows 2 API functionality, and adding a few classes here
  57 and there. Since wxWindows for 2 produces small binaries (less than 300K for
  58 the statically-linked 'minimal' sample), shoehorning wxWindows 2 into a Windows CE device's limited
  59 storage should not be a problem.<P>
  60
  61 <h3>What compilers are supported?</h3>
  62
  63 Please see the wxWindows 2 for Windows install.txt file for up-to-date information, but
  64 currently the following are known to work:<P>
  65
  66 <ul>
  67 <li>Visual C++ 1.5, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0
  68 <li>Borland C++ 4.5, 5.0
  69 <li>Borland C++Builder 1.0, 3.0
  70 <li>Watcom C++ 10.6 (WIN32)
  71 <li>Cygwin b20
  72 <li>Mingw32
  73 <li>MetroWerks CodeWarrior 4
  74 </ul>
  75 <P>
  76
  77 There is a linking problem with Symantec C++ which I hope someone can help solve.
  78 <P>
  79
  80 <h3>Which is the best compiler to use with wxWindows 2?</h3>
  81
  82 It's partly a matter of taste, but I (JACS) prefer Visual C++ since the debugger is very
  83 good, it's very stable, the documentation is extensive, and it generates small executables.
  84 Since project files are plain text, it's easy for me to generate appropriate project files
  85 for wxWindows samples.<P>
  86
  87 Borland C++ is fine - and very fast - but it's hard (impossible?) to use the debugger without using project files, and
  88 the debugger is nowhere near up to VC++'s quality. The IDE isn't great.<P>
  89
  90 C++Builder's power isn't really used with wxWindows since it needs integration with its
  91 own class library (VCL). For wxWindows, I've only used it with makefiles, in which case
  92 it's almost identical to BC++ 5.0 (the same makefiles can be used).<P>
  93
  94 You can't beat Cygwin's price (free), and you can debug adequately using gdb. However, it's
  95 quite slow to compile since it does not use precompiled headers.<P>
  96
  97 CodeWarrior is cross-platform - you can debug and generate Windows executables from a Mac, but not
  98 the other way around I think - but the IDE is, to my mind, a bit primitive.<P>
  99
 100 Watcom C++ is a little slow and the debugger is not really up to today's standards.<P>
 101
 102 <h3>Is Unicode supported?</h3>
 103
 104 No, although there are other internationalisation features.<P>
 105
 106 However, the issues surrounding Unicode support have been looked into so we know
 107 what we need to do, and have some header files ready to use containing appropriate
 108 type definitions. Just about every file in wxWindows will need changes, due to the
 109 pervasive nature of characters and character arrays. Unicode support is needed
 110 for the port to Windows CE (see above).<P>
 111
 112 <h3>Can you compile wxWindows 2 as a DLL?</h3>
 113
 114 Yes (using the Visual C++ makefile), but be aware that distributing DLLs is a thorny issue
 115 and you may be better off compiling statically-linked applications, unless you're
 116 delivering a suite of separate programs, or you're compiling a lot of wxWindows applications
 117 and have limited hard disk space.<P>
 118
 119 With a DLL approach, and with different versions and configurations of wxWindows
 120 needing to be catered for, the end user may end up with a host of large DLLs in his or her Windows system directory,
 121 negating the point of using DLLs. Of course, this is not a problem just associated with
 122 wxWindows!
 123 <P>
 124
 125
 126 <H3>Will wxWindows be compatible with MFC?</H3>
 127
 128 There is a sample which demonstrates MFC and wxWindows code co-existing in the same
 129 application. However, don't expect to be able to enable wxWindows windows with OLE-2
 130 functionality using MFC.<P>
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