wxWindows 2 FAQ: General

See also top-level FAQ page.


What is wxWindows?

wxWindows is a class library that allows you to compile graphical C++ programs on a range of different platforms. wxWindows defines a common API across platforms, but uses the native graphical user interface (GUI) on each platform, so your program will take on the native 'look and feel' that users are familiar with.

Although GUI applications are mostly built programmatically, there is a dialog editor to help build attractive dialogs and panels.

You don't have to use C++ to use wxWindows: wxWindows 1 has been interfaced to several interpreted languages, such as CLIPS, Python, Scheme, XLisp and Perl, and there is a Python interface for wxWindows 2.

Can I use wxWindows 2 for both proprietary (commercial) projects, and GPL'ed projects?

Yes. Please see the licence for details, but basically you can distribute proprietary binaries without distributing any source code, and neither will wxWindows conflict with GPL code you may be using or developing with it.

The conditions for using wxWindows 2 are the same whether you are a personal, academic or commercial developer.

Is there support?

No official support, but the mailing list is very helpful and some people say that wxWindows support is better than for much commercial software. The developers are keen to fix bugs as soon as possible, though obviously there are no guarantees.

Who uses wxWindows?

Many organisations - commercial, government, and academic - across the world. It's impossible to estimate the true number of users, since wxWindows is obtained by many different means, and we cannot monitor distribution. The mailing list contains around 300-400 entries which is quite large for a list of this type.