docs/publicity/announce.txt

   1 Announcing wxWidgets 2.7.0: a cross-platform GUI toolkit
   2 ----------------------------------------------------------------
   3
   4 August 5th, 2006 -- the wxWidgets team is pleased to announce
   5 a new release of the mature cross-platform C++ application framework.
   6
   7 The following platforms are supported:
   8
   9 - Windows 95/98/ME, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP
  10 - Windows 64 on Itanium and x86-64 architectures
  11 - Windows CE, including Pocket PC 2003 and Smartphone 2003
  12 - Unix (Linux, *BSD, Solaris, AIX, HP-UX, IRIX, Tru64) and VMS with GTK+
  13 - Unix with X11 (beta)
  14 - Unix with Motif/Lesstif
  15 - Mac OS X using Carbon
  16 - Mac OS X using Cocoa (beta)
  17 - OS/2 (beta)
  18
  19 To get wxWidgets, please go to the Download page at:
  20
  21   http://www.wxwidgets.org/
  22
  23 This is the first version in the new 2.7 development series. Please
  24 notice that this series is called "development" and not "stable"
  25 solely because ABI or API compatibility is not assured between
  26 different 2.7.x series versions.  Rest assured however that these
  27 potentially incompatible changes are made in order to evolve the
  28 toolkit to the next ABI stable release series (2.8.x) and that
  29 normally efforts are made to preserve compilation compatibility, so
  30 often moving to a new development release just requires a full
  31 recompile of the application using wxWidgets.  There are currently no
  32 known issues with the stability of the programs using this version.
  33
  34 There have been many changes since the 2.6 series, please see the
  35 change log file included in the distribution for more details. The
  36 most significant additions to the GUI part of the libraries were:
  37
  38     - AUI (advanced user interface) library providing dockable
  39       windows and much more
  40     - richtext library implementing wxRichTextCtrl
  41     - New wxComboCtrl and wxOwnerDrawnComboBox controls
  42     - New wxTreebook book-like control
  43     - New wxColour/Dir/File/Font/PickerCtrls
  44     - wxHyperlinkCtrl control
  45
  46
  47 *** About wxWidgets
  48
  49 wxWidgets is a comprehensive open-source, multi-platform C++ GUI
  50 framework, that can be used to build commercial and free
  51 software. First released in 1992 under the name wxWindows, it's
  52 increasingly used by organisations and individuals all over the
  53 world due to its winning combination of sophistication, wide
  54 platform coverage, ease of use, unrestrictive licence and
  55 vibrant user community.
  56
  57 For most ports, wxWidgets adopts the native look and feel of
  58 each platform since it uses the native widget sets. There is also
  59 a generic widget set, used for example by the wxX11 port - no
  60 other widget set is required, giving the potential for embedded
  61 use.
  62
  63 An extraordinary range of classes is provided - but don't be put
  64 off by this because most people find wxWidgets easier to learn
  65 and use than MFC and other frameworks.
  66
  67 As well as comprehensive support for the usual widgets, advanced
  68 features include: HTML viewing/printing, wxImage class providing
  69 handlers for reading and writing many image types, resizable panels
  70 and dialogs on all platforms, document/view, OpenGL support,
  71 HTML-based and context-sensitive help, wizards, drag and drop,
  72 a grid class, ODBC support, threads, sockets, container classes,
  73 a styled text control, and much more. A 2,000-page reference manual
  74 is provided in HTML, MS HTML Help, WinHelp, wxWidgets Help and PDF
  75 formats, and there are over eighty samples and demos.
  76
  77 If you're an MFC user, you'll find many wxWidgets concepts
  78 reassuringly familiar, while often clearer and more consistent.
  79 If you're not, you should still find it intuitive from the start.
  80
  81 wxWidgets bindings for many other languages are available,
  82 including Python, Perl, Basic, Lua, JavaScript and Eiffel.
  83
  84 If you're considering wxWidgets, do check out some of these links:
  85
  86     http://www.wxwidgets.org/about/feedback.htm ; Comments from users
  87     http://www.wxwidgets.org/about/screensh.htm ; Screenshots
  88     http://www.wxwidgets.org/about/users.htm    ; Some of our users
  89
  90 Have fun!
  91
  92 The wxWidgets team
  93