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 http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/download.asp.
  27
  28
  29
  30 Getting Help
  31 ------------
  32
  33 Since wxPython is a blending of multiple technologies, help comes from
  34 multiple sources.  See the http://alldunn.com/wxPython for details on
  35 various sources of help, but probably the best source is the
  36 wxPython-users mail list.  You can view the archive or subscribe by
  37 going to
  38
  39        http://starship.python.net/mailman/listinfo/wxpython-users
  40
  41 Or you can send mail directly to the list using this address:
  42
  43        wxpython-users@starship.python.net
  44
  45 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
  46
  47
  48 What's new in 2.1b1
  49 --------------------
  50 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
  51 item.  (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
  52 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
  53
  54 Added the Printing Framework.
  55
  56 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
  57 version.  The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
  58 data after loading each extension module.
  59
  60 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
  61 wxWindows classes.
  62
  63 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items.  Actually was a
  64 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
  65 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
  66
  67 wxSizer and friends.  Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
  68 of windows and sizers.  Different types of sizers apply different
  69 types of layout algorithms.  You saw it here first!  These classes are
  70 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
  71
  72
  73
  74 What's new in 2.0b9
  75 -------------------
  76 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file...  DSM!)
  77
  78 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
  79 wxPython application.
  80
  81 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
  82
  83 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
  84 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl.  Added test pytree.py to show
  85 this feature off.
  86
  87 Added wxSafeYield function.
  88
  89 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
  90
  91 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
  92 how it all works.
  93
  94 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
  95 DLL.  It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
  96
  97 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
  98
  99 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
 100 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
 101
 102 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
 103
 104 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
 105 methods.
 106
 107
 108
 109 What's new in 2.0b8
 110 -------------------
 111 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
 112
 113 Several missing methods from various classes.
 114
 115 Various bug fixes.
 116
 117
 118
 119 What's new in 2.0b7
 120 -------------------
 121 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
 122
 123 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
 124
 125
 126
 127 What's new in 2.0b6
 128 -------------------
 129 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
 130 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
 131
 132
 133 What's new in 2.0b5
 134 -------------------
 135 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed.  I did this to
 136 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
 137 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
 138 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
 139 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
 140
 141 I have finally started documenting wxPython.  There are several pages
 142 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
 143 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
 144 diverges from wxWindows.
 145
 146 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
 147 window handle.  If you can get the window handle into the python code,
 148 it should just work...  More news on this later.
 149
 150 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
 151
 152 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
 153 wxRegConfig class.
 154
 155 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
 156
 157
 158
 159 What's new in 0.5.3
 160 -------------------
 161 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
 162
 163 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
 164 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
 165
 166
 167
 168 What's new in 0.5.0
 169 -------------------
 170 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
 171 wxPython.wx import *"  This is for people who are worried about
 172 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
 173 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
 174
 175 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
 176
 177 Made the events work for wxGrid.
 178
 179 Added wxConfig.
 180
 181 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
 182
 183 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
 184 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
 185
 186 Other assorted fixes and additions.
 187
 188
 189
 190
 191 What's new in 0.4.2
 192 -------------------
 193
 194 wxPython on wxGTK works!!!  Both dynamic and static on Linux and
 195 static on Solaris have been tested.  Many thanks go to Harm
 196 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
 197 down a nasty DECREF bug.  Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
 198 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
 199 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
 200
 201 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
 202 must have been a different issue all along...
 203
 204
 205
 206 What's New in 0.4
 207 -----------------
 208
 209 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility.  It is partially working.  On a
 210 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
 211 linked with the Python interpreter.  When built as a dyamically loaded
 212 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
 213 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
 214 version segfault shortly after starting up.
 215
 216 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
 217
 218 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
 219
 220 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 221
 222
 223
 224 Build Instructions
 225 ------------------
 226 I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
 227 extension module.  This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
 228 amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
 229 SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
 230 me.  You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
 231 generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
 232
 233 I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
 234 generation.  If you want to playaround with this the patches are in
 235 wxPython/SWIG.patches and they should be applied to the 1.1p5 version
 236 of SWIG.  These new patches are documented at
 237 http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/#swig, and they should also
 238 end up in the 1.2 version of SWIG.
 239
 240 wxPython is organized as a Python package.  This means that the
 241 directory containing the results of the build process should be a
 242 subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH.  (And preferably should
 243 be named wxPython.)  You can control where the build process will dump
 244 wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR makefile variable.  The default is
 245 $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython, where this README.txt is located.  If you
 246 leave it here then you should add $(WXWIN)/utils to your PYTHONPATH.
 247 However, you may prefer to use something that is already on your
 248 PYTHONPATH, such as the site-packages directory on Unix systems.
 249
 250
 251 Win32
 252 -----
 253
 254 1. Build wxWindows with wxUSE_RESOURCE_LOADING_IN_MSW set to 1 in
 255 include/wx/msw/setup.h so icons can be loaded dynamically.  While
 256 there, make sure wxUSE_OWNER_DRAWN is also set to 1.
 257
 258 2. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 259
 260 3. Edit makefile.vc and specify where your python installation is at.
 261 You may also want to fiddle with the TARGETDIR variable as described
 262 above.
 263
 264 4. Run nmake -f makefile.vc
 265
 266 5. If it builds successfully, congratulations!  Move on to the next
 267 step.  If not then you can try mailing me for help.  Also, I will
 268 always have a pre-built win32 version of this extension module at
 269 http://alldunn.com/wxPython/.
 270
 271 6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 272
 273 7. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 274
 275     python demo.py
 276
 277 To run it without requiring a console, you can use the pythonw.exe
 278 version of Python either from the command line or from a shortcut.
 279
 280
 281
 282 Unix
 283 ----
 284 0. I configure wxWindows like this, YMMV:
 285
 286 ./configure  --with-gtk --without-shared --with-threads --without-unicode --with-libjpeg
 287
 288
 289 1. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
 290
 291 2. Edit Setup.in and ensure that the flags, directories, and toolkit
 292 options are correct.  See the above commentary about TARGETDIR.  There
 293 are a few sample Setup.in.[platform] files provided.
 294
 295 3. Run this command to generate a makefile:
 296
 297     make -f Makefile.pre.in boot
 298
 299 4. Run these commands to build and then install the wxPython extension
 300 module:
 301
 302     make
 303     make install
 304
 305
 306 5. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
 307
 308 6. Try executing the demo program.  For example:
 309
 310     python demo.py
 311
 312 ----------------
 313 Robin Dunn
 314 robin@alldunn.com
 315
 316
 317