wxPython README
---------------
-Introduction
-------------
-The code in this subtree is a Python Extension Module that enables the
-use of wxWindows from the Python language. So what is Python? Go to
-http://www.python.org to learn more but in a nutshell, it's an
-extremly cool object oriented language. It's easier than Perl and
-nearly as powerful. It runs on more platforms than Java, and by some
-reports, is even faster than Java with a JIT compiler!
-
-So why would you want to use wxPython over just C++ and wxWindows?
-Personally I prefer using Python for everything. I only use C++ when
-I absolutly have to eek more performance out of an algorithm, and even
-then I ususally code it as an extension module and leave the majority
-of the program in Python. Another good thing to use wxPython for is
-quick prototyping of your wxWindows apps. With C++ you have to
-continuously go though the edit-compile-link-run cycle, which can be
-quite time comsuming. With Python it is only an edit-run cycle. You
-can easily build an application in a few hours with Python that would
-normally take a few days with C++. Converting a wxPython app to a
-C++/wxWindows app should be a straight forward task.
-
-This extension module attempts to mirror the class heiarchy of
-wxWindows as closely as possble. This means that there is a wxFrame
-class in wxPython that looks, smells, tastes and acts almost the same
-as the wxFrame class in the C++ version. Unfortunatly, I wasn't able
-to match things exactly because of differences in the languages, but
-the differences should be easy to absorb because they are natural to
-Python. For example, some methods that return mutliple values via
-argument pointers in C++ will return a tuple of values in Python.
-These differences have not been documented yet so if something isn't
-working the same as described in the wxWindows documents the best
-thing to do is to scan through the wxPython sources, especially the .i
-files, as that is where the interfaces for wxPython are defined.
-
-I have reports of successfully embedding wxPython within a wxWindows
-C++ app on GTK. It hasn't yet been attempted on MSW (to my knowledge)
-so I don't know how successful such an attempt would be. However it
-is certainly possible.
+Welcome to the wonderful world of wxPython!
+
+Once you have installed the wxPython extension module, you can try it
+out by going to the [install dir]\wxPython\demo directory and typing:
+
+ python demo.py
+
+There are also some other sample files there for you to play with and
+learn from.
+
+If you selected to install the documentation then point your browser
+to [install dir]\wxPython\docs\index.htm and you will then be looking
+at the docs for wxWindows. For the most part you can use the C++ docs
+as most classes and methods are used identically. Where there are
+differences they are documented with a "wxPython Note."
+
+On Win32 systems the binary self-installer creates a program group on
+the Start Menu that contains a link to running the demo and a link to
+the help file. To help you save disk space I'm now using Microsoft's
+HTML Help format. If your system doesn't know what to do with the help
+file, you can install the HTML Help Viewer as part of IE 4+, NT
+Service Pack 4+, or the HTML Workshop at
+
+http://msdn.microsoft.com/workshop/author/htmlhelp/download.asp.
wxpython-users@starship.python.net
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+
+What's new in 2.1.4
+--------------------
+
+Much more support for event-less callbacks and add-on modules.
+
+Created add-on module with wxOGL classes.
+
+Added wxWindow.GetChildren(). Be careful of this. It returns a *copy*
+of the list of the window's children. While you are using the list if
+anything changes in the real list (a child is deleted, etc.) then the
+list you are holding will suddenly have window references to garbage
+memory and your app will likely crash. But if you are careful it works
+great!
+
+Added a bunch of new and missing methods to wxTreeCrtl. The
+SortChildren method is now supported, but currently only for the
+default sort order.
+
+Added typemaps for wxSize, wxPoint, wxRealPoint, and wxRect that allow
+either the actual objects or Python sequence values to be used. For
+example, the following are equivallent:
+
+ win = wxWindow(parent, size = wxSize(100, 100))
+ win = wxWindow(parent, size = (100, 100))
+
+Super-charged the wxHtml module. You can now create your own tag
+handlers and also have access to the parser and cell classes. There
+is a tag handler in the library at wxPython.lib.wxpTag that
+understands the WXP tag and is able to place wxPython windows on HTML
+pages. See the demo for an example.
+
+A bunch of the methods of wxMenuBar were previously ifdef'd out for
+wxGTK. Added them back in since the methods exist now.
+
+Wrapped the wxHtmlHelpController and related classes.
+
+Wrapped the C++ versions of wxSizer and firends. The Python-only
+versions are still in the library, but depreciated. (You will get a
+warning message if you try to use them, but the warning can be
+disabled.) The usage of the C++ versions is slightly different, and
+the functionality of wxBorderSizer is now part of wxBoxSizer. I have
+added a few methods to wxSizer to try and make the transition as
+smooth as possible, I combined all Add methods into a single method
+that handles all cases, added an AddMany method, etc. One step I did
+not take was to make the default value of flag in the Add method be
+wxGROW. This would have made it more backward compatible, but less
+portable to and from wxWin C++ code. Please see the docs and demo for
+further details.
+
+Added wxPyEvent and wxPyCommandEvent classes, derived from wxEvent and
+wxCommandEvent. Each of them has SetPyData and GetPyData methods that
+accept or return a single Python object. You can use these classes
+directly or derive from them to create your own types of event objects
+that can pass through the wxWindows event system without loosing their
+Python parts (as long as they are stored with SetPyData.) Stay tuned
+for more info and examples in future releases.
+
+Added wxPython.lib.grids as an example of how to derive a new sizer
+from the C++ sizers. In this module you will find wxGridSizer and
+wxFlexGridSizer. wxGridSizer arrainges its items in a grid in which
+all the widths and heights are the same. wxFlexgridSizer allows
+different widths and heights, and you can also specify rows and/or
+columns that are growable. See the demo for a couple examples for how
+to use them.
+
+Added the wxValidator class, and created a class named wxPyValidator
+that should be used for the base class of any Python validators. See
+the demo for an example. Please not that you MUST implement a Clone
+method in your validator classes because of the way some things work
+in the underlying C++ library. I did not add wxTextValidator because
+of some issues of how it transfers data to and from a wxString, which
+in wxPython is automatically translated to and from Python strings, so
+there would never be a concrete wxString that would hang around long
+enough for the validator to do its job. On the other hand, it should
+be real easy to duplicate the functionality of wxTextValidator in a
+pure Python class derived from wxPyValidator.
+
+I've finally added a feature that has been on my list for close to two
+years! Ever wondered what that zero is for when you create your app
+object? Well now you can leave it out or explicitly set it to a true
+value. This value now controls what is to be done with sys.stdout and
+sys.stderr. A false value leaves them alone, and a true value sets
+them to an instance of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow. (On windows the
+default is true, on other platforms the default is false.) This class
+creates a frame containing a wxTextCtrl as soon as anything is written
+to sys.stdout or sys.stderr. If you close the window it will come
+back again the next time something is written. (You can call
+app.RestoreStdio to turn this off.) If you would rather that the stdio be
+redirected to a file, you can provide a second parameter to your app
+object's constructor that is a filename. If you want to use your own
+class instead of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow you can either implement
+RedirectStdio() in you app class or change the value of
+wxApp.outputWindowClass like this:
+
+ class MyApp(wxApp):
+ outputWindowClass = MyClass
+
+ def OnInit(self):
+ frame = MyFrame()
+ self.SetTopWindow(frame)
+ return true
+
+Please see the implementation of wxPyOnDemandOutputWindow and wxApp in
+wx.py for more details. A few words of caution: if you are running
+your app in a debugger, changing sys.stdout and sys.stderr is likely
+to really screw things up.
+
+
+
+What's new in 2.1b3
+--------------------
+
+This release is syncronized with release 2.1 snapshot 9 of wxWindows.
+
+Switched to using SWIG from CVS (see http://swig.cs.uchicago.edu/cvs.html)
+for some of the new features and such. Also they have encorporated my
+patches so there is really no reason to stick with the current (very
+old) release... This version of SWIG gives the following new
+features:
+
+ 1. Keyword arguments. You no longer have to specify all the
+ parameters with defaults to a method just to specify a
+ non-default value on the end. You can now do this instead:
+
+ win = wxWindow(parent, -1, style = mystyle)
+
+ 2. There is now an an equivalence between Python's None and C++'s
+ NULL. This means that any methods that might return NULL will
+ now return None and you can use none where wxWindows might be
+ expecting NULL. This makes things much more snake-ish.
+
+
+There is a new build system based on a new Python program instead of
+raw makefiles. Now wxPython builds are virtually the same on MSW or
+Unix systems. See the end of this file for new build instructions and
+see distrib/build.py for more details.
+
+wxDC.Bilt now includes the useMask parameter, and has been split into
+two different versions. wxDC.BlitXY is like what was there before and
+takes raw coordinants and sizes, and the new wxDC.Blit is for the new
+interface using wxPoints and a wxSize.
+
+
+
+
+
+What's new in 2.1b2
+--------------------
+
+Added the missing wxWindow.GetUpdateRegion() method.
+
+Made a new change in SWIG (update your patches everybody) that
+provides a fix for global shadow objects that get an exception in
+their __del__ when their extension module has already been deleted.
+It was only a 1 line change in .../SWIG/Modules/pycpp.cxx at about
+line 496 if you want to do it by hand.
+
+It is now possible to run through MainLoop more than once in any one
+process. The cleanup that used to happen as MainLoop completed (and
+prevented it from running again) has been delayed until the wxc module
+is being unloaded by Python.
+
+I fixed a bunch of stuff in the C++ version of wxGrid so it wouldn't
+make wxPython look bad.
+
+wxWindow.PopupMenu() now takes a wxPoint instead of x,y. Added
+wxWindow.PopupMenuXY to be consistent with some other methods.
+
+Added wxGrid.SetEditInPlace and wxGrid.GetEditInPlace.
+
+You can now provide your own app.MainLoop method. See
+wxPython/demo/demoMainLoop.py for an example and some explaination.
+
+Got the in-place-edit for the wxTreeCtrl fixed and added some demo
+code to show how to use it.
+
+Put the wxIcon constructor back in for GTK as it now has one that
+matches MSW's.
+
+Added wxGrid.GetCells
+
+Added wxSystemSettings static methods as functions with names like
+wxSystemSettings_GetSystemColour.
+
+Removed wxPyMenu since using menu callbacks have been depreciated in
+wxWindows. Use wxMenu and events instead.
+
+Added alternate wxBitmap constructor (for MSW only) as
+ wxBitmapFromData(data, type, width, height, depth = 1)
+
+Added a helper function named wxPyTypeCast that can convert shadow
+objects of one type into shadow objects of another type. (Like doing
+a down-cast.) See the implementation in wx.py for some docs.
+
+Fixed wxImage GetData and SetData to properly use String objects for
+data transfer.
+
+Added access methods to wxGridEvent.
+
+New Makefile/Setup files supporting multiple dynamic extension modules
+for unix systems.
+
+Fixes for the wxGLCanvas demo to work around a strange bug in gtk.
+
+SWIG support routines now compiled separately instead of being bundled
+in wx.cpp.
+
+
+
+What's new in 2.1b1
+--------------------
+Fixed wxComboBox.SetSelection so that it actually sets the selected
+item. (Actually just removed it from wxPython and let it default to
+wxChoice.SetSelection which was already doing the right thing.)
+
+Added the Printing Framework.
+
+Switched back to using the wxWindows DLL for the pre-built Win32
+version. The problem was needing to reinitialize static class info
+data after loading each extension module.
+
+Lots of little tweaks and additions to reflect changes to various
+wxWindows classes.
+
+Fixed a bug with attaching objects to tree items. Actually was a
+symptom of a larger problem with not obtaining the interpreter lock
+when doing any Py_DECREFs.
+
+wxSizer and friends. Sizers are layout tools that manage a colection
+of windows and sizers. Different types of sizers apply different
+types of layout algorithms. You saw it here first! These classes are
+not even in the wxWindows C++ library yet!
+
+
+
+What's new in 2.0b9
+-------------------
+Bug fix for ListCtrl in test4.py (Was a missing file... DSM!)
+
+Bug fix for occassional GPF on Win32 systems upon termination of a
+wxPython application.
+
+Added wxListBox.GetSelections returning selections as a Tuple.
+
+Added a wxTreeItemData that is able to hold any Python object and be
+associated with items in a wxTreeCtrl. Added test pytree.py to show
+this feature off.
+
+Added wxSafeYield function.
+
+OpenGL Canvas can be optionally compiled in to wxPython.
+
+Awesome new Demo Framework for showing off wxPython and for learning
+how it all works.
+
+The pre-built Win32 version is no longer distributing the wxWindows
+DLL. It is statically linked with the wxWindows library instead.
+
+Added a couple missing items from the docs.
+
+Added wxImage, wxImageHandler, wxPNGHandler, wxJPEGHandler,
+wxGIFHandler and wxBMPHandler.
+
+Added new methods to wxTextCtrl.
+
+Fixed some problems with how SWIG was wrapping some wxTreeCtrl
+methods.
+
+
+
+What's new in 2.0b8
+-------------------
+Support for using Python threads in wxPython apps.
+
+Several missing methods from various classes.
+
+Various bug fixes.
+
+
+
+What's new in 2.0b7
+-------------------
+Added DLG_PNT and DLG_SZE convienience methods to wxWindow class.
+
+Added missing constructor and other methods for wxMenuItem.
+
+
+
+What's new in 2.0b6
+-------------------
+Just a quickie update to fix the self-installer to be compatible with
+Python 1.5.2b2's Registry settings.
+
What's new in 2.0b5
-------------------
I have finally started documenting wxPython. There are several pages
in the wxWindows documentation tree specifically about wxPython, and I
-have added notes within the class references about where wxPython
+have added notes within the class references about where and how wxPython
diverges from wxWindows.
-[[ What else have I done??? ]]
+Added wxWindow_FromHWND(hWnd) for wxMSW to construct a wxWindow from a
+window handle. If you can get the window handle into the python code,
+it should just work... More news on this later.
+
+Added wxImageList, wxToolTip.
+
+Re-enabled wxConfig.DeleteAll() since it is reportedly fixed for the
+wxRegConfig class.
As usual, some bug fixes, tweaks, etc.
DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
-
The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
must have been a different issue all along...
3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------
+
Build Instructions
generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
-generation. If you want to playaround with this the patches are in
-wxPython/SWIG.patches and they should be applied to the 1.1p5 version
-of SWIG. These new patches are documented at
-http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/python/#swig, and they should
-also end up in the 1.2 version of SWIG.
+generation. If you want to play around with this you will need to get
+a recent version of SWIG from their CVS or from a daily build. See
+http://www.swig.org/ for details.
wxPython is organized as a Python package. This means that the
directory containing the results of the build process should be a
subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH. (And preferably should
be named wxPython.) You can control where the build process will dump
-wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR makefile variable. The default is
-$(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython, where this README.txt is located. If you
-leave it here then you should add $(WXWIN)/utils to your PYTHONPATH.
-However, you may prefer to use something that is already on your
-PYTHONPATH, such as the site-packages directory on Unix systems.
-
-
-Win32
------
-
-1. Build wxWindows with wxUSE_RESOURCE_LOADING_IN_MSW set to 1 in
-include/wx/msw/setup.h so icons can be loaded dynamically. While
-there, make sure wxUSE_OWNER_DRAWN is also set to 1.
+wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR variable for the build utility, (see
+below.)
-2. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
-3. Edit makefile.nt and specify where your python installation is at.
-You may also want to fiddle with the TARGETDIR variable as described
-above.
+1. Build wxWindows as described in its BuildCVS.txt file. For *nix
+ systems I run configure with these flags:
-4. Run nmake -f makefile.nt
+ --with-gtk
+ --with-libjpeg
+ --without-odbc
+ --enable-unicode=no
+ --enable-threads=yes
+ --enable-socket=yes
+ --enable-static=no
+ --enable-shared=yes
+ --disable-std_iostreams
-5. If it builds successfully, congratulations! Move on to the next
-step. If not then you can try mailing me for help. Also, I will
-always have a pre-built win32 version of this extension module at
-http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/python.
+ You can use whatever flags you want, but I know these work.
-6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
+ For Win32 systems I use Visual C++ 6.0, but 5.0 should work. The
+ build utility currently does not support any other win32 compilers.
-7. Try executing the test programs. Note that some of these print
-diagnositc or test info to standard output, so they will require the
-console version of python. For example:
+2. At this point you may want to make an alias or symlink, script,
+ batch file, whatever on the PATH that invokes
+ $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py to help simplify matters
+ somewhat. For example, on my win32 system I have a file named
+ build.bat in a directory on the PATH that contains:
- python test1.py
+ python $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/distrib/build.py %1 %2 %3 %4 %5 %6
-To run them without requiring a console, you can use the pythonw.exe
-version of Python either from the command line or from a shortcut.
+3. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
+4. Type "build -b" to build wxPython and "build -i" to install it.
-Unix
-----
+ The build.py script actually generates a Makefile based on what it
+ finds on your system and information found in the build.cfg file.
+ If you have troubles building or you want it built or installed in
+ a different way, take a look at the docstring in build.py. You may
+ be able to override configuration options in a file named
+ build.local.
-1. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
+5. To build and install the add-on modules, change to the appropriate
+ directory under $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/modules and run the build
+ utility again.
-2. Edit Setup.in and ensure that the flags, directories, and toolkit
-options are correct. See the above commentary about TARGETDIR. There
-are a few sample Setup.in.[platform] files provided.
+6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/demo directory.
-3. Run this command to generate a makefile:
+7. Try executing the demo program. For example:
- make -f Makefile.pre.in boot
+ python demo.py
-4. Run these commands to build and then install the wxPython extension
-module:
+To run it without requiring a console on win32, you can use the
+pythonw.exe version of Python either from the command line or from a
+shortcut.
- make
- make install
-5. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
-
-6. Try executing the test programs. For example:
-
- python test1.py
+----------------
+Robin Dunn
+robin@alldunn.com
-------------------------
-10/20/1998
-Robin Dunn
-robin@alldunn.com
projects / wxWidgets.git / blobdiff