============================
-wxPython 2.5 Migration Guide
+wxPython 2.6 Migration Guide
============================
This document will help explain some of the major changes in wxPython
-2.5 since the 2.4 series and let you know what you need to do to adapt
+2.6 since the 2.4 series and let you know what you need to do to adapt
your programs to those changes. Be sure to also check in the CHANGES_
file like usual to see info about the not so major changes and other
things that have been added to wxPython.
operation unless you first have created an app object, (even on
Windows where most anything was possible before.)
-**[Changed in 2.5.2.0]** All the Window and GDI (pen, bitmap, etc.)
-classes and also many toplevel functions will now check that a wx.App
-object has already been created and will raise a wx.PyNoAppError
-exception if not.
+**[Changed in 2.5.2.x]** All the Window and GDI (pen, bitmap, etc.)
+class constructors and also many toplevel functions and static methods
+will now check that a wx.App object has already been created and will
+raise a wx.PyNoAppError exception if not.
+
The second parameter is an integer in [0, 1, 2] that specifies the
number of IDs that are needed to be passed to Connect.
-**[Changed in 2.5.2.0]** There is also an Unbind method added to
+**[Changed in 2.5.2.x]** There is also an Unbind method added to
wx.EvtHandler that can be used to disconenct event handlers. It looks
like this::
New wx.DC Methods
-----------------
-**[Changed in 2.5.2.0]** In wxPython 2.5.1.5 there was a new
+**[Changed in 2.5.2.x]** In wxPython 2.5.1.5 there was a new
implementation of the wx.DC Draw and other methods that broke
backwards compatibility in the name of consistency. That change has
been reverted and the wx.DC Draw methods with 2.4 compatible
wxPython's setup.py script now expects to use existing libraries for
the contribs (gizmos, stc, xrc, etc.) rather than building local
copies of them. If you build your own copies of wxPython please be
-aware that you now need to also build the ogl, stc, xrc, and gizmos
-libraries in addition to the main wx lib.
+aware that you now need to also build the stc, xrc, animate and gizmos
+libraries in addition to the main wx lib.
The wxPython.h and other header files are now in
.../wxPython/include/wx/wxPython instead of in wxPython/src. You
------
The hack allowing the old "option" keyword parameter has been removed.
-If you use keyword args with w.xSizer Add, Insert, or Prepend methods
+If you use keyword args with wx.Sizer Add, Insert, or Prepend methods
then you will need to use the ``proportion`` name instead of
``option``. (The ``proportion`` keyword was also allowed in 2.4.2.4.)
You should not use AddWindow, AddSizer, AddSpacer (and similar for
Insert, Prepend, and etc.) methods any longer. Just use Add and the
-wrappers will figure out what to do. **[Changed in 2.5.2.0]**
-AddWindow, AddSize, AddSpacer and etc. will now issue a
-DeprecationWarning.
-
-**[Changed in 2.5.2.0]** wx.ADJUST_MINSIZE is now the default
-behaviour for window items in sizers. This means that the item's
-GetMinSize and/or GetBestSize will be called when calculating layout
-and the return value from that will be used for the minimum size used
-by the sizer. The wx.FIXED_MINSIZE flag was added that will cause the
-sizer to use the old behaviour in that it will *not* call the window's
-methods to determine the new best size, instead the minsize that the
-window had when added to the sizer (or the size the window was created
-with) will always be used.
-
-Related to the above, when controls and some other window types are
-created either the size passed to the constructor, or their "best
-size" if an explicit size was not passed in, is set as the window's
-minimal size. For non top-level windows that hasn't meant much in the
-past, but now the sizers are sensitive to the window's minimal size.
-The key point to understand here is that it is no longer the window's
-size it has when added to the sizer that matters, but its minimal
-size. So you might have some issues to iron out if you create a
-control without a size and then set its size to something before
-adding it to the sizer. Since it's minimal size is probably not the
-size you set then the sizer will appear to be misbehaving. The fix is
-to either set the size when calling the window's constructor, or to
-reset the min size by calling SetSizeHints. You can call SetSizeHints
-at anytime to change the minsize of a window, just call the sizer's
-Layout method to redistribute the controls as needed.
+wrappers will figure out what to do. **[Changed in 2.5.2.x]**
+AddWindow, AddSizer, AddSpacer and etc. will now issue a
+DeprecationWarning. **[Changed in 2.5.4.x]** These methods have now
+been undeprecated at the request of Riaan Booysen, the Boa Constructor
+team lead. They are now just simple compatibility aliases for Add,
+and etc.
+
+**[Changed in 2.5.2.x]** The Sizers have had some fundamental internal
+changes in the 2.5.2.x release intended to make them do more of the
+"Right Thing" but also be as backwards compatible as possible.
+First a bit about how things used to work:
+
+ * The size that a window had when Add()ed to the sizer was assumed
+ to be its minimal size, and that size would always be used by
+ default when calculating layout size and positions, and the
+ sizer itself would keep track of that minimal size.
+
+ * If the window item was added with the ``wx.ADJUST_MINSIZE``
+ flag then when layout was calculated the item's ``GetBestSize``
+ would be used to reset the minimal size that the sizer used.
+
+The main thrust of the new Sizer changes was to make behavior like
+``wx.ADJUST_MINSIZE`` be the default, and also to push the tracking of
+the minimal size to the window itself (since it knows its own needs)
+instead of having the sizer take care of it. Consequently these
+changes were made:
+
+ * The ``wx.FIXED_MINSIZE`` flag was added to allow for the old
+ behavior. When this flag is used the size a window has when
+ added to the sizer will be treated as its minimal size and it
+ will not be readjusted on each layout.
+
+ * The min size stored in ``wx.Window`` and settable with
+ ``SetSizeHints`` or ``SetMinSize`` will by default be used by
+ the sizer (if it was set) as the minimal size of the sizer item.
+ If the min size was not set (or was only partially set) then the
+ window's best size is fetched and it is used instead of (or
+ blended with) the min size. ``wx.Window.GetBestFittingSize``
+ was added to facilitate getting the size to be used by the
+ sizers.
+
+ * The best size of a window is cached so it doesn't need to
+ recaculated on every layout. ``wx.Window.InvalidateBestSize``
+ was added and should be called (usually just internally in
+ control methods) whenever something is done that would make the
+ best size change.
+
+ * All wxControls were changed to set the minsize to what is passed
+ to the constructor or Create method, and also to set the real
+ size of the control to the blending of the min size and best
+ size. ``wx.Window.SetBestFittingSize`` was added to help with
+ this, although most controls don't need to call it directly
+ because it is called indirectly via the ``SetInitialSize``
+ called in the base classes.
+
+At this time, the only situation known not to work the same as before
+is the following::
+
+ win = SomeWidget(parent)
+ win.SetSize(SomeNonDefaultSize)
+ sizer.Add(win)
+
+In this case the old code would have used the new size as the minimum,
+but now the sizer will use the default size as the minimum rather than
+the size set later. It is an easy fix though, just move the
+specification of the size to the constructor (assuming that SomeWidget
+will set its minsize there like the rest of the controls do) or call
+``SetMinSize`` instead of ``SetSize``.
+
+In order to fit well with this new scheme of things, all wxControls or
+custom controls should do the following things. (Depending on how
+they are used you may also want to do the same thing for non-control
+custom windows.)
+
+ * Either override or inherit a meaningful ``DoGetBestSize`` method
+ that calculates whatever size is "best" for the control. Once
+ that size is calculated then there should normally be a call to
+ ``CacheBestSize`` to save it for later use, unless for some
+ reason you want the best size to be recalculated on every
+ layout.
+
+ Note: In order to successfully override ``DoGetBestSize`` in
+ Python the class needs to be derived from ``wx.PyWindow``,
+ ``wx.PyControl``, or etc. If your class instead derives from
+ one of the standard wx classes then just be sure that the min
+ size gets explicitly set to what would have been the best size
+ and things should work properly in almost all situations.
+
+ * Any method that changes the attributes of the control such that
+ the best size will change should call ``InvalidateBestSize`` so
+ it will be recalculated the next time it is needed.
+
+ * The control's constructor and/or Create method should ensure
+ that the minsize is set to the size passed in, and that the
+ control is sized to a blending of the min size and best size.
+ This can be done by calling ``SetBestFittingSize``.
+
+PNG Images
+----------
+
+Prior to 2.5 the PNG image handler would convert all alpha channel
+information to a mask when the image was loaded. Pixels that were
+more than halfway transparent would be made fully transparent by the
+mask and the rest would be made fully opaque.
+
+In 2.5 the image handler has been updated to preserve the alpha
+channel and will now only create a mask when all the pixels in the
+image are either fully transparent or fully opaque. In addition, the
+wx.DC.DrawBitmap and wx.DC.Blit methods are able to correctly blend
+the pixels in the image with partially transparent alpha values.
+
+If you are using a PNG with an alpha channel but you need to have a
+wx.Mask like you automatically got in 2.4 then you can do one of the
+following:
+
+ * Edit the image and make all the partially transparent pixels be
+ fully transparent.
+
+ * Use a different image type.
+
+ * Set a mask based on colour after you load the image.
+
+
+
OGL is dead! LONG LIVE OGL!
---------------------------
-**[Changed in 2.5.2.0]**
+**[Changed in 2.5.2.x]**
+
+The wx.ogl module was deprecated in version 2.5.2 in favor of the new
+Python port of the OGL library located at wx.lib.ogl contributed by
+Pierre Hjälm. Starting in version 2.5.5 the old ogl is no longer
+being built in the distributed binaries, however the source code is
+still in the source tree so people can built it themselves if desired.
-The wx.ogl module has been deprecated in favor of the new Python port
-of the OGL library located at wx.lib.ogl contributed by Pierre Hjälm.
-This will hopefully greatly extend the life of OGL within wxPython by
-making it more easily maintainable and less prone to getting rusty as
-there seems to be less and less interest in maintaining the C++
-version.
+The reason this changes was done was to greatly extend the life of OGL
+within wxPython by making it more easily maintainable and less prone
+to getting rusty as there seems to be less and less interest in
+maintaining the C++ version.
There are only a few known compatibility issues at this time. First
-is the location of OGL. The deprecated version is located in the
+is the location of OGL. The old version was located in the
wx.ogl module, and the new version is in the wx.lib.ogl package. So
this just means that to start using the new version you need to adjust
your imports. So if your code currently has something like this::
the "internal" module names have changed, but you shouldn't have been
using them anyway so it shouldn't bother you. ;-) In case you were
erroneously using them in 2.4, here are the internal extension modules
-no longer exist:
+that no longer exist:
* clip_dnd
* cmndlgs
+wx.TaskBarIcon
+--------------
+
+**[Changed in 2.5.3.x]**
+
+wx.TaskbarIcon now works on all three platforms, although for wxGTK it
+depends on support from the Window Manager. On OS X the icon replaces
+the application's icon on the dock and when you right click on it the
+app's default popup menu is merged with the wx.TaskBarIcon's menu.
+Because of how it is implemented on the Mac using the Dock most of the
+TaskBarIcon events will _not_ be emitted on that platform, but since
+98% of the time you simply want to display an icon and have a popup
+menu it shouldn't be much of a problem. You can still use the other
+events on the other platforms, you'll just want to be sure that you
+can do everything you want via the menu too.
+
+Since popping up a menu is the most common thing to do with a
+TaskBarIcon the class has some new built in functionality to
+facilitate that. To use the TaskBarIcon in this new way, simply
+derive a new class from TaskBarIcon and implement a CreatePopupMenu
+method that creates and returns the menu. That's all there is to it,
+besides binding event handlers for the menu items of course. Take a
+look at the DemoTaskBarIcon class in the demo/Main.py module for an
+example.
+
+**NOTE**: Unfortunately due to being able to support virtualizing
+CreatePopupMenu the C++ TaskBarIcon instance now holds a reference to
+the Python instance, and so you will need to explicitly Destroy() your
+TaskBarIcon instance when you are done with it. (Like you do with
+wx.Dialogs.) If you don't destroy it then wxWidgets will assume that
+you want the app to keep running with just the icon in the task bar
+and the MainLoop will not exit.
+
+
+
+Version Number Change
+---------------------
+
+**[Changed in 2.5.3.x]**
+
+Starting with 2.5.3.0 the Unicode versions of wxPython will no longer
+have a 'u' appended to the fourth component of the version number.
+Please check for the presence of "unicode" in the `wx.PlatformInfo`
+tuple instead. (This tuple of strings has been available since the
+first 2.5 version.) For example::
+
+ if "unicode" in wx.PlatformInfo:
+ # do whatever
+ ...
+
-Other Stuff
------------
+
+
+Multi-Version Installs
+----------------------
+
+**[Changed in 2.5.3.x]**
+
+Starting with 2.5.3.0 the wx and wxPython package directories will be
+installed in a subdirectory of the site-packages directory, instead of
+directly in site-packages. This is done to help facilitate having
+multiple versions of wxPython installed side-by-side. Why would you
+want to do this? One possible scenario is you have an app that
+requires wxPython 2.4 but you want to use the newest 2.5 to do your
+own development with. Or perhaps you want to be able to test your app
+with several different versions of wxPython to ensure compatibility.
+Before everyone panics, rest asured that if you only install one
+version of wxPython then you should notice no difference in how things
+work.
+
+In addition to installing wxPython into a "versioned" subdirectory of
+site-packages, a file named `wx.pth` is optionally installed that will
+contain the name of the versioned subdirectory. This will cause that
+subdirectory to be automatically added to the sys.path and so doing an
+"import wx" will find the package in the subdirectory like it would
+have if it was still located directly in site-packages. I say
+"optionally" above because that is how you can control which install
+of wxPython is the default one. Which ever version installs the
+wx.pth file will be the one that is imported with a plain "import wx"
+statement. Of course you can always manipulate that by editing the
+wx.pth file, or by setting PYTHONPATH in the environment, or by the
+method described in the next paragraph.
+
+Finally, a new module named wxversion.py is installed to the
+site-packages directory. It can be used to manipulate the sys.path at
+runtime so your applications can select which version of wxPython they
+would like to to have imported. You use it like this::
+
+ import wxversion
+ wxversion.select("2.4")
+ import wx
+
+Then even though a 2.5 version of wxPython may be the default the
+application that does the above the first time that wx is imported
+will actually get a 2.4 version. **NOTE:** There isn't actually a 2.4
+version of wxPython that supports this, but there will be.
+
+Please see this wiki page for more details, HowTo's and FAQ's:
+http://wiki.wxpython.org/index.cgi/MultiVersionInstalls
+
+
+
+
+Miscellaneous Stuff
+-------------------
wxPyDefaultPosition and wxPyDefaultSize are gone. Use the
wxDefaultPosition and wxDefaultSize objects instead.
The wxWave class has been renamed to wxSound, and now has a slightly
different API.
-wx.TaskbarIcon works on wxGTK-based platforms (for some window
-managers,) however you have to manage it a little bit more than you
-did before. Basically, the app will treat it like a top-level frame
-in that if the wx.TaskBarIcon still exists when all the frames are
-closed then the app will still not exit. You need to ensure that the
-wx.TaskBarIcon is destroyed when your last Frame is closed. For
-wxPython apps it is usually enough if your main frame object holds the
-only reference to the wx.TaskBarIcon, then when the frame is closed
-Python reference counting takes care of the rest.
-
Before Python 2.3 it was possible to pass a floating point object as a
parameter to a function that expected an integer, and the
PyArg_ParseTuple family of functions would automatically convert to
convert itself to one. A similar conversion fragment is in place for
parameters that expect floating point values.
-**[Changed in 2.5.2.0]** The MaskedEditCtrl modules have been moved
+**[Changed in 2.5.2.x]** The MaskedEditCtrl modules have been moved
to their own sub-package, wx.lib.masked. See the docstrings and demo
for changes in capabilities, usage, etc.
-**[Changed in 2.5.2.0]** wx.MaskColour constructor has been deprecated
+**[Changed in 2.5.2.x]** wx.MaskColour constructor has been deprecated
and will raise a DeprecationWarning if used. The main wx.Mask
constructor has been modified to be compatible with wx.MaskColour so
you should use it instead.
+
+**[Changed in 2.5.2.x]** In wx.TextCtrls that have the
+wx.TE_PROCESS_TAB style the TAB key will be treated like an ordinary
+character and will not cause any tab traversal navigation at all. If
+you use this style but would still like to have the normal tab
+traversal take place then you should send your own
+wx.NavigationKeyEvent from the wx.EVT_KEY_DOWN handler. There is a
+new Navigate method in the wx.Window class to help send the event and
+it is used something like this::
+
+ flags = wx.NavigationKeyEvent.IsForward
+ if event.ShiftDown():
+ flags = wx.NavigationKeyEvent.IsBackward
+ if event.ControlDown():
+ flags |= wx.NavigationKeyEvent.WinChange
+ self.Navigate(flags)
+
+