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 2.1.12
  49 --------------------
  50 Updated wxMVCTree and added a demo for it, also fixed layout on GTK
  51 and some flicker problems.
  52
  53 Added a wrapper class for the Visualization ToolKit (or VTK) in the
  54 wxPython.lib.vtk module.  (http://www.kitware.com/)
  55
  56 Fixed wxTreeCtrl.SetItemImage and GetItemImage to recognise the new
  57 "which" parameter.
  58
  59 Added wxPython.lib.spashscreen from Mike Fletcher.
  60
  61 Added wxPython.lib.filebrowsebutton also from Mike Fletcher.
  62
  63
  64
  65
  66 What's new in 2.1.11
  67 --------------------
  68 Skipped a few version numbers so wxMSW, wxGTK and wxPython are all
  69 syncronized.
  70
  71 wxImage.SetData now makes a copy of the image data before giving it to
  72 wxImage.  I mistakenly thought that wxImage would copy the data
  73 itself.
  74
  75 Fixed wxMSW's notebook so the pages get their size set as they are
  76 being added.  This should remove the need for our
  77 wxNotebook.ResizeChildren hack.
  78
  79 wxPanels now support AutoLayout, and wxNotebooks and wxSplitterWindows
  80 no longer tell their children to Layout() themselves.  This will
  81 probably only effect you if you have a wxWindow with AutoLayout inside
  82 a notebook or splitter.  If so, either change it to a wxPanel or add
  83 an EVT_SIZE handler that calls Layout().
  84
  85 Fixed deadlock problem that happened when using threads.
  86
  87 Added new HTML printing classes.
  88
  89 Added wxWindow.GetHandle
  90
  91 Apparently wxMouseEvent.Position has been depreciated in wxWindows as
  92 it is no longer available by default.  You can use GetPositionTuple
  93 (returning a tuple with x,y) instead, or GetPosition (returning a
  94 wxPoint.)
  95
  96 Added wxPostEvent function that allows events to be posted and then
  97 processed later.  This is a thread-safe way to interact with the GUI
  98 thread from other threads.
  99
 100 Added Clipboard and Drag-and-Drop classes.
 101
 102 Added wxFontEnumerator.
 103
 104 Many updates to wxMenu, wxMenuBar.
 105
 106 wxPyEvent and wxPyCommandEvent derived classes now give you the actual
 107 Python object in the event handler instead of a new shadow.
 108
 109 Added a Calendar widget from Lorne White to the library.
 110
 111 Made some fixes to the wxFloatbar.  It still has some troubles on
 112 wxGTK...
 113
 114 Added an MVC tree control from Bryn Keller to the library.
 115
 116
 117
 118
 119 What's new in 2.1.5
 120 -------------------
 121 This is a quick bug-fix release to take care of a few nasties that
 122 crept in at the last minute before 2.1.4 was called done.  No new
 123 major features.
 124
 125
 126
 127 What's new in 2.1.4
 128 --------------------
 129
 130 This release is NOT syncronized with a snapshot release of wxGTK or
 131 wxMSW.  For MSW this isn't much of a problem since you can get the
 132 binaries from the web site.  For other platforms you'll have to build
 133 wxGTK from CVS.  (See http://web.ukonline.co.uk/julian.smart/wxwin/cvs.htm)
 134 To get the same set of sources from CVS that I used, checkout using
 135 the wxPy-2-1-4 tag.
 136
 137 Now back to what's new...
 138
 139 Much more support for event-less callbacks and add-on modules.
 140
 141 Created add-on module with wxOGL classes.
 142
 143 Added wxWindow.GetChildren().  Be careful of this.  It returns a *copy*
 144 of the list of the window's children.  While you are using the list if
 145 anything changes in the real list (a child is deleted, etc.) then the
 146 list you are holding will suddenly have window references to garbage
 147 memory and your app will likely crash.  But if you are careful it works
 148 great!
 149
 150 Added a bunch of new and missing methods to wxTreeCrtl.  The
 151 SortChildren method is now supported, but currently only for the
 152 default sort order.
 153
 154 Added typemaps for wxSize, wxPoint, wxRealPoint, and wxRect that allow
 155 either the actual objects or Python sequence values to be used.  For
 156 example, the following are equivallent:
 157
 158     win = wxWindow(parent, size = wxSize(100, 100))
 159     win = wxWindow(parent, size = (100, 100))
 160
 161 Super-charged the wxHtml module.  You can now create your own tag
 162 handlers and also have access to the parser and cell classes.  There
 163 is a tag handler in the library at wxPython.lib.wxpTag that
 164 understands the WXP tag and is able to place wxPython windows on HTML
 165 pages.  See the demo for an example.
 166
 167 A bunch of the methods of wxMenuBar were previously ifdef'd out for
 168 wxGTK.  Added them back in since the methods exist now.
 169
 170 Wrapped the wxHtmlHelpController and related classes.
 171
 172 Wrapped the C++ versions of wxSizer and friends.  The Python-only
 173 versions are still in the library, but depreciated.  (You will get a
 174 warning message if you try to use them, but the warning can be
 175 disabled.) The usage of the C++ versions is slightly different, and
 176 the functionality of wxBorderSizer is now part of wxBoxSizer.  I have
 177 added a few methods to wxSizer to try and make the transition as
 178 smooth as possible, I combined all Add methods into a single method
 179 that handles all cases, added an AddMany method, etc.  One step I did
 180 not take was to make the default value of flag in the Add method be
 181 wxGROW.  This would have made it more backward compatible, but less
 182 portable to and from wxWin C++ code.  Please see the docs and demo for
 183 further details.
 184
 185 Added wxPyEvent and wxPyCommandEvent classes, derived from wxEvent and
 186 wxCommandEvent.  Each of them has SetPyData and GetPyData methods that
 187 accept or return a single Python object.  You can use these classes
 188 directly or derive from them to create your own types of event objects
 189 that can pass through the wxWindows event system without loosing their
 190 Python parts (as long as they are stored with SetPyData.)  Stay tuned
 191 for more info and examples in future releases.
 192
 193 Added wxPython.lib.grids as an example of how to derive a new sizer
 194 from the C++ sizers.  In this module you will find wxGridSizer and
 195 wxFlexGridSizer.  wxGridSizer arrainges its items in a grid in which
 196 all the widths and heights are the same.  wxFlexgridSizer allows
 197 different widths and heights, and you can also specify rows and/or
 198 columns that are growable.  See the demo for a couple examples for how
 199 to use them.
 200
 201 Added the wxValidator class, and created a class named wxPyValidator
 202 that should be used for the base class of any Python validators.  See
 203 the demo for an example.  Please note that you MUST implement a Clone
 204 method in your validator classes because of the way some things work
 205 in the underlying C++ library.  I did not add wxTextValidator because
 206 of some issues of how it transfers data to and from a wxString, which
 207 in wxPython is automatically translated to and from Python strings, so
 208 there would never be a concrete wxString that would hang around long
 209 enough for the validator to do its job.  On the other hand, it should
 210 be real easy to duplicate the functionality of wxTextValidator in a
 211 pure Python class derived from wxPyValidator.
 212
 213 I've finally added a feature that has been on my list for close to two
 214 years!  Ever wondered what that zero is for when you create your app
 215 object?  Well now you can leave it out or explicitly set it to a true
 216 value.  This value now controls what is to be done with sys.stdout and
 217 sys.stderr.  A false value leaves them alone, and a true value sets
 218 them to an instance of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow.  (On windows the
 219 default is true, on unix platforms the default is false.)  This class
 220 creates a frame containing a wxTextCtrl as soon as anything is written
 221 to sys.stdout or sys.stderr.  If you close the window it will come
 222 back again the next time something is written.  (You can call
 223 app.RestoreStdio to turn this off.)  If you would rather that the stdio be
 224 redirected to a file, you can provide a second parameter to your app
 225 object's constructor that is a filename.  If you want to use your own
 226 class instead of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow you can either implement
 227 RedirectStdio() in you app class or change the value of
 228 wxApp.outputWindowClass like this:
 229
 230     class MyApp(wxApp):
 231         outputWindowClass = MyClass
 232
 233         def OnInit(self):
 234             frame = MyFrame()
 235             self.SetTopWindow(frame)
 236             return true
 237
 238 Please see the implementation of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow and wxApp in
 239 wx.py for more details.  A few words of caution:  if you are running
 240 your app in a debugger, changing sys.stdout and sys.stderr is likely
 241 to really screw things up.
 242
 243 Added wxCaret.  Unfortunately it's author has still not documented it
 244 in the wxWindows docs...
 245
 246 Some new 3rd party contributions in wxPython.lib.  PyShell, in
 247 shell.py is an interesting implementaion of an interactive Python
 248 shell in wxWindows.  floatbar.py has a class derived from wxToolBar
 249 that can sense mouse drags and then reparent itself into another
 250 frame. Moving the new frame close to where it came from puts the tool
 251 bar back into the original parent.  (Unfortunately there is currently
 252 a bug in wxGTK's wxFrame.SetToolBar so the FloatBar has some
 253 problems...)
 254
 255
 256
 257
 258 What's new in 2.1b3
 259 --------------------
 260
 261 This release is syncronized with release 2.1 snapshot 9 of wxWindows.
 262
 263 Switched to using SWIG from CVS (see http://swig.cs.uchicago.edu/cvs.html)
 264 for some of the new features and such.  Also they have encorporated my
 265 patches so there is really no reason to stick with the current (very
 266 old) release...  This version of SWIG gives the following new
 267 features:
 268
 269     1. Keyword arguments.  You no longer have to specify all the
 270        parameters with defaults to a method just to specify a
 271        non-default value on the end.  You can now do this instead:
 272
 273           win = wxWindow(parent, -1, style = mystyle)
 274
 275     2. There is now an an equivalence between Python's None and C++'s
 276        NULL.  This means that any methods that might return NULL will
 277        now return None and you can use none where wxWindows might be
 278        expecting NULL.  This makes things much more snake-ish.
 279
 280
 281 There is a new build system based on a new Python program instead of
 282 raw makefiles.  Now wxPython builds are virtually the same on MSW or
 283 Unix systems.  See the end of this file for new build instructions and
 284 see distrib/build.py for more details.
 285
 286 wxDC.Bilt now includes the useMask parameter, and has been split into
 287 two different versions.  wxDC.BlitXY is like what was there before and
 288 takes raw coordinants and sizes, and the new wxDC.Blit is for the new
 289 interface using wxPoints and a wxSize.
 290
 291
 292
 293
 294
 295 What's new in 2.1b2
 296 --------------------
 297
 298 Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
 299
 300 Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
 301 provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
 302 their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
 303 It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
 304 line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
 305
 306 It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
 307 process.  The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
 308 prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
 309 is being unloaded by Python.
 310
 311 I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
 312 make wxPython look bad.
 313
 314 wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of  x,y.  Added
 315 wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
 316
 317 Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
 318
 319 You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method.  See
 320 wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
 321
 322 Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
 323 code to show how to use it.
 324
 325 Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
 326 matches MSW's.
 327
 328 Added wxGrid.GetCells
 329
 330 Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
 331 wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
 332
 333 Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
 334 wxWindows.  Use wxMenu and events instead.
 335
 336 Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
 337       wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
 338
 339 Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
 340 objects of one type into shadow objects of another type.  (Like doing
 341 a down-cast.)  See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
 342
 343 Fixed wxImage GetData and SetData to properly use String objects for
 344 data transfer.
 345
 346 Added access methods to wxGridEvent.
 347
 348 New Makefile/Setup files supporting multiple dynamic extension modules
 349 for unix systems.
 350
 351 Fixes for the wxGLCanvas demo to work around a strange bug in gtk.
 352
 353 SWIG support routines now compiled separately instead of being bundled
 354 in wx.cpp.
 355
 356
 357
 358
 359
 360 What's new in 2.1b1
 361 --------------------
 362 Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
 363 item.  (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
 364 wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
 365
 366 Added the Printing Framework.
 367
 368 Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
 369 version.  The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
 370 data after loading each extension module.
 371
 372 Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
 373 wxWindows classes.
 374
 375 Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items.  Actually was a
 376 symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
 377 when doing any Py_DECREFs.
 378
 379 wxSizer and friends.  Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
 380 of windows and sizers.  Different types of sizers apply different
 381 types of layout algorithms.  You saw it here first!  These classes are
 382 not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
 383
 384
 385
 386 What's new in 2.0b9
 387 -------------------
 388 Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file...  DSM!)
 389
 390 Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
 391 wxPython application.
 392
 393 Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
 394
 395 Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
 396 associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl.  Added test pytree.py to show
 397 this feature off.
 398
 399 Added wxSafeYield function.
 400
 401 OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
 402
 403 Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
 404 how it all works.
 405
 406 The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
 407 DLL.  It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
 408
 409 Added a couple missing items from the docs.
 410
 411 Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
 412 wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
 413
 414 Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
 415
 416 Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
 417 methods.
 418
 419
 420
 421 What's new in 2.0b8
 422 -------------------
 423 Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
 424
 425 Several missing methods from various classes.
 426
 427 Various bug fixes.
 428
 429
 430
 431 What's new in 2.0b7
 432 -------------------
 433 Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
 434
 435 Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
 436
 437
 438
 439 What's new in 2.0b6
 440 -------------------
 441 Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
 442 Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
 443
 444
 445 What's new in 2.0b5
 446 -------------------
 447 Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed.  I did this to
 448 reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
 449 wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
 450 wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
 451 with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
 452
 453 I have finally started documenting wxPython.  There are several pages
 454 in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
 455 have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
 456 diverges from wxWindows.
 457
 458 Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
 459 window handle.  If you can get the window handle into the python code,
 460 it should just work...  More news on this later.
 461
 462 Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
 463
 464 Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
 465 wxRegConfig class.
 466
 467 As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
 468
 469
 470
 471 What's new in 0.5.3
 472 -------------------
 473 Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
 474
 475 Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
 476 compatibility with the current wxWindows.
 477
 478
 479
 480 What's new in 0.5.0
 481 -------------------
 482 Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
 483 wxPython.wx import *"  This is for people who are worried about
 484 namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
 485 prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
 486
 487 Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
 488
 489 Made the events work for wxGrid.
 490
 491 Added wxConfig.
 492
 493 Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
 494
 495 Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
 496 objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
 497
 498 Other assorted fixes and additions.
 499
 500
 501
 502
 503 What's new in 0.4.2
 504 -------------------
 505
 506 wxPython on wxGTK works!!!  Both dynamic and static on Linux and
 507 static on Solaris have been tested.  Many thanks go to Harm
 508 <H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
 509 down a nasty DECREF bug.  Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
 510 DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
 511 because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
 512
 513 The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
 514 must have been a different issue all along...
 515
 516
 517
 518 What's New in 0.4
 519 -----------------
 520
 521 1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility.  It is partially working.  On a
 522 Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
 523 linked with the Python interpreter.  When built as a dyamically loaded
 524 extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
 525 And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
 526 version segfault shortly after starting up.
 527
 528 2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
 529
 530 3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
 531
 532 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 533
 534
 535
 536
 537 ----------------
 538 Robin Dunn
 539 robin@alldunn.com
 540
 541
 542
 543
 544
 545
 546