wxWindows is a C++ framework providing GUI (Graphical User
Interface) and other facilities on more than one platform. Version 2 currently
-supports MS Windows (16-bit, Windows 95 and Windows NT), Unix with GTK+, Unix with Motif,
-and Mac. An OS/2 port is in progress.
+supports all desktop versions of MS Windows, Unix with GTK+, Unix with Motif,
+and MacOS. An OS/2 port is in progress.
wxWindows was originally developed at the Artificial Intelligence
Applications Institute, University of Edinburgh, for internal use,
-and was first made publicly available in 1993.
+and was first made publicly available in 1992.
Version 2 is a vastly improved version written and maintained by
-Julian Smart, Robert Roebling, Vadim Zeitlin and many others.
+Julian Smart, Robert Roebling, Vadim Zeitlin, Vaclav Slavik and many others.
-This manual discusses wxWindows in the context of multi-platform
-development.\helpignore{For more detail on the wxWindows version 2.0 API
-(Application Programming Interface) please refer to the separate
-wxWindows reference manual.}
+This manual contains a class reference and topic overviews.
+For a selection of wxWindows tutorials, please see the documentation page on the \urlref{wxWindows web site}{http://www.wxwindows.org}.
Please note that in the following, ``MS Windows" often refers to all
platforms related to Microsoft Windows, including 16-bit and 32-bit
\item support for a wide range of compilers.
\end{enumerate}
-Since wxWindows was started, several other free or almost-free GUI frameworks have
-emerged. However, none has the range of features, flexibility, documentation and the
-well-established development team that wxWindows has.
-
-As open source software, wxWindows has
-benefited from comments, ideas, bug fixes, enhancements and the sheer
-enthusiasm of users. This gives wxWindows a
-certain advantage over its commercial competitors (and over free libraries
-without an independent development team), plus a robustness against
-the transience of one individual or company. This openness and
-availability of source code is especially important when the future of
-thousands of lines of application code may depend upon the longevity of
-the underlying class library.
-
-Version 2 goes much further than previous versions in terms of generality and features,
-allowing applications to be produced
-that are often indistinguishable from those produced using single-platform
-toolkits such as Motif, GTK+ and MFC.
-
-The importance of using a platform-independent class library cannot be
-overstated, since GUI application development is very time-consuming,
-and sustained popularity of particular GUIs cannot be guaranteed.
-Code can very quickly become obsolete if it addresses the wrong
-platform or audience. wxWindows helps to insulate the programmer from
-these winds of change. Although wxWindows may not be suitable for
-every application (such as an OLE-intensive program), it provides access to most of the functionality a
-GUI program normally requires, plus many extras such as network programming,
-PostScript output, and HTML rendering; and it can of course be extended as needs dictate. As a bonus, it provides
-a far cleaner and easier programming interface than the native
-APIs. Programmers may find it worthwhile to use wxWindows even if they
-are developing on only one platform.
+Since wxWindows was started, several other free or almost-free
+GUI frameworks have emerged. However, none has the range of
+features, flexibility, documentation and the well-established
+development team that wxWindows has.
+
+As open source software, wxWindows has benefited from comments,
+ideas, bug fixes, enhancements and the sheer enthusiasm of
+users. This gives wxWindows a certain advantage over its
+commercial competitors (and over free libraries without an
+independent development team), plus a robustness against the
+transience of one individual or company. This openness and
+availability of source code is especially important when the
+future of thousands of lines of application code may depend upon
+the longevity of the underlying class library.
+
+Version 2 goes much further than previous versions in terms of
+generality and features, allowing applications to be produced
+that are often indistinguishable from those produced using
+single-platform toolkits such as Motif, GTK+ and MFC.
+
+The importance of using a platform-independent class library
+cannot be overstated, since GUI application development is very
+time-consuming, and sustained popularity of particular GUIs
+cannot be guaranteed. Code can very quickly become obsolete if
+it addresses the wrong platform or audience. wxWindows helps to
+insulate the programmer from these winds of change. Although
+wxWindows may not be suitable for every application (such as an
+OLE-intensive program), it provides access to most of the
+functionality a GUI program normally requires, plus many extras
+such as network programming, PostScript output, and HTML
+rendering; and it can of course be extended as needs dictate.
+As a bonus, it provides a far cleaner and easier programming
+interface than the native APIs. Programmers may find it
+worthwhile to use wxWindows even if they are developing on only
+one platform.
It is impossible to sum up the functionality of wxWindows in a few paragraphs, but
here are some of the benefits:
\item Simple-to-use, object-oriented API.
\item Flexible event system.
\item Graphics calls include lines, rounded rectangles, splines, polylines, etc.
-\item Constraint-based and sizer-based layouting.
+\item Constraint-based and sizer-based layouts.
\item Print/preview and document/view architectures.
\item Toolbar, notebook, tree control, advanced list control classes.
\item PostScript generation under Unix, normal MS Windows printing on the PC.
\item Ready-to-use HTML window (supporting a subset of HTML).
\item Dialog Editor for building dialogs.
\item Network support via a family of socket and protocol classes.
-\item Support for platform independent image procesing.
+\item Support for platform independent image processing.
\item Built-in support for many file formats (BMP, PNG, JPEG, GIF, XPM, PNM, PCX).
\end{itemize}
-\section{Changes from version 1.xx}\label{versionchanges}
-
-These are a few of the major differences between versions 1.xx and 2.0.
-
-Removals:
-
-\begin{itemize}\itemsep=0pt
-\item XView is no longer supported;
-\item all controls (panel items) no longer have labels attached to them;
-\item wxForm has been removed;
-\item wxCanvasDC, wxPanelDC removed (replaced by wxClientDC, wxWindowDC, wxPaintDC which
-can be used for any window);
-\item wxMultiText, wxTextWindow, wxText removed and replaced by wxTextCtrl;
-\item classes no longer divided into generic and platform-specific parts, for efficiency.
-\end{itemize}
-
-Additions and changes:
-
-\begin{itemize}\itemsep=0pt
-\item class hierarchy changed, and restrictions about subwindow nesting lifted;
-\item header files reorganised to conform to normal C++ standards;
-\item classes less dependent on each another, to reduce executable size;
-\item wxString used instead of char* wherever possible;
-\item the number of separate but mandatory utilities reduced;
-\item the event system has been overhauled, with
-virtual functions and callbacks being replaced with MFC-like event tables;
-\item new controls, such as wxTreeCtrl, wxListCtrl, wxSpinButton;
-\item less inconsistency about what events can be handled, so for example
-mouse clicks or key presses on controls can now be intercepted;
-\item the status bar is now a separate class, wxStatusBar, and is
-implemented in generic wxWindows code;
-\item some renaming of controls for greater consistency;
-\item wxBitmap has the notion of bitmap handlers to allow for extension to new formats
-without ifdefing;
-\item new dialogs: wxPageSetupDialog, wxFileDialog, wxDirDialog,
-wxMessageDialog, wxSingleChoiceDialog, wxTextEntryDialog;
-\item GDI objects are reference-counted and are now passed to most functions
-by reference, making memory management far easier;
-\item wxSystemSettings class allows querying for various system-wide properties
-such as dialog font, colours, user interface element sizes, and so on;
-\item better platform look and feel conformance;
-\item toolbar functionality now separated out into a family of classes with the
-same API;
-\item device contexts are no longer accessed using wxWindow::GetDC - they are created
-temporarily with the window as an argument;
-\item events from sliders and scrollbars can be handled more flexibly;
-\item the handling of window close events has been changed in line with the new
-event system;
-\item the concept of {\it validator} has been added to allow much easier coding of
-the relationship between controls and application data;
-\item the documentation has been revised, with more cross-referencing.
-\end{itemize}
-
-Platform-specific changes:
-
-\begin{itemize}\itemsep=0pt
-\item The Windows header file (windows.h) is no longer included by wxWindows headers;
-\item wx.dll supported under Visual C++;
-\item the full range of Windows 95 window decorations are supported, such as modal frame
-borders;
-\item MDI classes brought out of wxFrame into separate classes, and made more flexible.
-\end{itemize}
-
-
+\begin{comment}
\section{Changes from version 2.0}\label{versionchanges20}
These are a few of the differences between versions 2.0 and 2.2.
\item Many optical improvements to GTK port.
\item Support for menu accelerators in GTK port.
\item Enhanced and improved support for scrolling, including child windows.
-\item Complete rewrite of clipboard and drag'n'drop classes.
+\item Complete rewrite of clipboard and drag and drop classes.
\item Improved support for ODBC databases.
\item Improved tab traversal in dialogs.
\end{itemize}
-
+\end{comment}
\section{wxWindows requirements}\label{requirements}
-To make use of wxWindows, you currently need one or both of the
-following setups.
+To make use of wxWindows, you currently need one of the following setups.
-(a) PC:
+(a) MS-Windows:
\begin{enumerate}\itemsep=0pt
\item A 486 or higher PC running MS Windows.
\begin{enumerate}\itemsep=0pt
\item Almost any C++ compiler, including GNU C++ (EGCS 1.1.1 or above).
-\item Almost any Unix workstation, and one of: GTK+ 1.2, Motif 1.2 or higher, Lesstif.
+\item Almost any Unix workstation, and one of: GTK+ 1.2, GTK+ 2.0, Motif 1.2 or higher, Lesstif.
+\item At least 60 MB of disk space.
+\end{enumerate}
+
+(c) Mac OS/Mac OS X:
+
+\begin{enumerate}\itemsep=0pt
+\item A PowerPC Mac running Mac OS 8.6/9.x (eg. Classic) or Mac OS X 10.x.
+\item CodeWarrior 5.3, 6 or 7 for Classic Mac OS.
+\item The Apple Developer Tools (eg. GNU C++) or CodeWarrior 7 for Mac OS X.
\item At least 60 MB of disk space.
\end{enumerate}
\section{Availability and location of wxWindows}
\winhelponly{wxWindows is available by anonymous FTP and World Wide Web
-from ftp://www.remstar.com/pub/wxwin and/or http://www.wxwindows.org.}
+from ftp://biolpc22.york.ac.uk/pub and/or http://www.wxwindows.org.}
\winhelpignore{wxWindows is available by anonymous FTP and World Wide Web
-from \urlref{ftp://www.remstar.com/pub/wxwin}{ftp://www.remstar.com/pub/wxwin}
+from \urlref{ftp://biolpc22.york.ac.uk/pub}{ftp://biolpc22.york.ac.uk/pub}
and/or \urlref{http://www.wxwindows.org}{http://www.wxwindows.org}.}
-You can also buy a CD-ROM using the form on the Web site, or by contacting:
-
-Julian Smart\\
-12 North Street West\\
-Uppingham\\
-Rutland\\
-LE15 9SG\\
-julian.smart@ukonline.co.uk
+You can also buy a CD-ROM using the form on the Web site.
-\section{Acknowledgments}
+\section{Acknowledgements}
Thanks are due to AIAI for being willing to release the original version of
wxWindows into the public domain, and to our patient partners.
\section{Architecture dependency}
A problem which sometimes arises from writing multi-platform programs is that
-the basic C types are not defiend the same on all platforms. This holds true
+the basic C types are not defined the same on all platforms. This holds true
for both the length in bits of the standard types (such as int and long) as
well as their byte order, which might be little endian (typically
on Intel computers) or big endian (typically on some Unix workstations). wxWindows
as well).
The macros handling bit-swapping with respect to the applications endianness
-are described in the \helpref{Macros}{macros} section.
+are described in the \helpref{Byte order macros}{byteordermacros} section.
\section{Conditional compilation}
Some compilers (e.g. the native IRIX cc) define NULL to be 0L so that
no conversion to pointers is allowed. Because of that, all these
-occurences of NULL in the GTK port use an explicit conversion such
+occurrences of NULL in the GTK port use an explicit conversion such
as
{\small
compilation that under Unix, includes a minimal set of headers;
and when using Visual C++, includes {\tt wx.h}. This should help provide
the optimal compilation for each compiler, although it is
-biassed towards the precompiled headers facility available
+biased towards the precompiled headers facility available
in Microsoft C++.
\section{File handling}
See also the File Functions section of the reference manual for
descriptions of miscellaneous file handling functions.
-\begin{comment}
-\chapter{Utilities supplied with wxWindows}\label{utilities}
+\chapter{Utilities and libraries supplied with wxWindows}\label{utilities}
\setheader{{\it CHAPTER \thechapter}}{}{}{}{}{{\it CHAPTER \thechapter}}%
\setfooter{\thepage}{}{}{}{}{\thepage}%
-A number of `extras' are supplied with wxWindows, to complement
-the GUI functionality in the main class library. These are found
-below the utils directory and usually have their own source, library
-and documentation directories. For other user-contributed packages,
-see the directory ftp://www.remstar.com/pub/wxwin/contrib, which is
-more easily accessed via the Contributions page on the Web site.
-
-\section{wxHelp}\label{wxhelp}
-
-wxHelp is a stand-alone program, written using wxWindows,
-for displaying hypertext help. It is necessary since not all target
-systems (notably X) supply an adequate
-standard for on-line help. wxHelp is modelled on the MS Windows help
-system, with contents, search and browse buttons, but does not reformat
-text to suit the size of window, as WinHelp does, and its input files
-are uncompressed ASCII with some embedded font commands and an .xlp
-extension. Most wxWindows documentation (user manuals and class
-references) is supplied in wxHelp format, and also in Windows Help
-format. The wxWindows 2.0 project will presently use an HTML widget
-in a new and improved wxHelp implementation, under X.
-
-Note that an application can be programmed to use Windows Help under
-MS Windows, and wxHelp under X. An alternative help viewer under X is
-Mosaic, a World Wide Web viewer that uses HTML as its native hypertext
-format. However, this is not currently integrated with wxWindows
-applications.
-
-wxHelp works in two modes---edit and end-user. In edit mode, an ASCII
-file may be marked up with different fonts and colours, and divided into
-sections. In end-user mode, no editing is possible, and the user browses
-principally by clicking on highlighted blocks.
-
-When an application invokes wxHelp, subsequent sections, blocks or
-files may be viewed using the same instance of wxHelp since the two
-programs are linked using wxWindows interprocess communication
-facilities. When the application exits, that application's instance of
-wxHelp may be made to exit also. See the {\bf wxHelpControllerBase} entry in the
-reference section for how an application controls wxHelp.
-
-\section{Tex2RTF}\label{textortf}
-
-Supplied with wxWindows is a utility called Tex2RTF for converting\rtfsp
-\LaTeX\ manuals to the following formats:
-
-\begin{description}
-\item[wxHelp]
-wxWindows help system format (XLP).
-\item[Linear RTF]
-Rich Text Format suitable for importing into a word processor.
-\item[Windows Help RTF]
-Rich Text Format suitable for compiling into a WinHelp HLP file with the
-help compiler.
-\item[HTML]
-HTML is the native format for Mosaic, the main hypertext viewer for
-the World Wide Web. Since it is freely available it is a good candidate
-for being the wxWindows help system under X, as an alternative to wxHelp.
-\end{description}
-
-Tex2RTF is used for the wxWindows manuals and can be used independently
-by authors wishing to create on-line and printed manuals from the same\rtfsp
-\LaTeX\ source. Please see the separate documentation for Tex2RTF.
-
-\section{wxTreeLayout}
-
-This is a simple class library for drawing trees in a reasonably pretty
-fashion. It provides only minimal default drawing capabilities, since
-the algorithm is meant to be used for implementing custom tree-based
-tools.
-
-Directed graphs may also be drawn using this library, if cycles are
-removed before the nodes and arcs are passed to the algorithm.
+In addition to the core wxWindows library, a number of further
+libraries and utilities are supplied with each distribution.
-Tree displays are used in many applications: directory browsers,
-hypertext systems, class browsers, and decision trees are a few
-possibilities.
+Some are under the 'contrib' hierarchy which mirrors the
+structure of the main wxWindows hierarchy. See also the 'utils'
+hierarchy. The first place to look for documentation about
+these tools and libraries is under the wxWindows 'docs' hierarchy,
+for example {\tt docs/htmlhelp/fl.chm}.
-See the separate manual and the directory utils/wxtree.
+For other user-contributed packages, please see the Contributions page
+on the \urlref{wxWindows Web site}{http://www.wxwindows.org}.
-\section{wxGraphLayout}
-
-The wxGraphLayout class is based on a tool called `graphplace' by Dr.
-Jos T.J. van Eijndhoven of Eindhoven University of Technology. Given a
-(possibly cyclic) directed graph, it does its best to lay out the nodes
-in a sensible manner. There are many applications (such as diagramming)
-where it is required to display a graph with no human intervention. Even
-if manual repositioning is later required, this algorithm can make a good
-first attempt.
-
-See the separate manual and the directory utils/wxgraph.
-
-\section{Colours}\label{coloursampler}
-
-A colour sampler for viewing colours and their names on each
-platform.
+\begin{description}\itemsep=0pt
+\item[{\bf Helpview}]
+Helpview is a program for displaying wxWindows HTML
+Help files. In many cases, you may wish to use the wxWindows HTML
+Help classes from within your application, but this provides a
+handy stand-alone viewer. See \helpref{wxHTML Notes}{wxhtml} for more details.
+You can find it in {\tt samples/html/helpview}.
+\item[{\bf Tex2RTF}]
+Supplied with wxWindows is a utility called Tex2RTF for converting\rtfsp
+\LaTeX\ manuals HTML, MS HTML Help, wxHTML Help, RTF, and Windows
+Help RTF formats. Tex2RTF is used for the wxWindows manuals and can be used independently
+by authors wishing to create on-line and printed manuals from the same\rtfsp
+\LaTeX\ source. Please see the separate documentation for Tex2RTF.
+You can find it under {\tt utils/tex2rtf}.
+
+\item[{\bf Helpgen}]
+Helpgen takes C++ header files and generates a Tex2RTF-compatible
+documentation file for each class it finds, using comments as appropriate.
+This is a good way to start a reference for a set of classes.
+
+%\item[{\bf Dialog Editor}]
+%Dialog Editor allows interactive construction of dialogs using
+%absolute positioning, producing WXR output files. This tool is generally deprecated
+%in favour of sizer-based tools. You can find Dialog Editor
+%in {\tt utils/dialoged}.
%
-\chapter{Tutorial}\label{tutorial}
-\setheader{{\it CHAPTER \thechapter}}{}{}{}{}{{\it CHAPTER \thechapter}}%
-\setfooter{\thepage}{}{}{}{}{\thepage}%
-
-To be written.
-\end{comment}
+\item[{\bf XRC resource system}]
+This is the sizer-aware resource system, and uses
+XML-based resource specifications that can be generated by tools
+such as \urlref{wxDesigner}{http://www.roebling.de} and XRC's own wxrcedit.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/xrc}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/xrc}, {\tt contrib/samples/xrc}, and {\tt contrib/utils/wxrcedit}.
+For more information, see the \helpref{XML-based resource system overview}{xrcoverview}.
+
+\item[{\bf Object Graphics Library}]
+OGL defines an API for applications that need to display objects connected by lines.
+The objects can be moved around and interacted with.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/ogl}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/ogl}, and {\tt contrib/samples/ogl}.
+
+\item[{\bf Frame Layout library}]
+FL provides sophisticated pane dragging and docking facilities.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/fl}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/fl}, and {\tt contrib/samples/fl}.
+
+\item[{\bf Gizmos library}]
+Gizmos is a collection of useful widgets and other classes. Classes include wxLEDNumberCtrl,
+wxEditableListBox, wxMultiCellCanvas.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/fl}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/fl}, and {\tt contrib/samples/fl}.
+
+\item[{\bf Net library}]
+Net is a collection of very simple mail and web related classes. Currently
+there is only wxEmail, which makes it easy to send email messages via MAPI on Windows or sendmail on Unix.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/net} and {\tt contrib/include/wx/net}.
+
+\item[{\bf Animate library}]
+Animate allows you to load animated GIFs and play them on a window. The library can be extended
+to use other animation formats.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/animate}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/animate}, and {\tt contrib/samples/animate}.
+
+\item[{\bf Canvas library}]
+Canvas supports high-level, double-buffered drawing operations with transformations.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/canvas}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/canvas}, and {\tt contrib/samples/canvas}.
+
+\item[{\bf MMedia library}]
+Mmedia supports a variety of multimedia functionality. The status of this library is currently unclear.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/mmedia}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/mmedia}, and {\tt contrib/samples/mmedia}.
+
+\item[{\bf Styled Text Control library}]
+STC is a wrapper around Scintilla, a syntax-highlighting text editor.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/stc}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/stc}, and {\tt contrib/samples/stc}.
+
+\item[{\bf Plot}]
+Plot is a simple curve plotting library.
+You can find this in {\tt contrib/src/plot}, {\tt contrib/include/wx/plot}, and {\tt contrib/samples/plot}.
+\end{description}
\chapter{Programming strategies}\label{strategies}
\setheader{{\it CHAPTER \thechapter}}{}{}{}{}{{\it CHAPTER \thechapter}}%
\subsection{Use wxString in preference to character arrays}
Using wxString can be much safer and more convenient than using char *.
-Again, I haven't practised what I'm preaching, but I'm now trying to use
+Again, I haven't practiced what I'm preaching, but I'm now trying to use
wxString wherever possible. You can reduce the possibility of memory
-leaks substantially, and it's much more convenient to use the overloaded
+leaks substantially, and it is much more convenient to use the overloaded
operators than functions such as strcmp. wxString won't add a significant
overhead to your program; the overhead is compensated for by easier
manipulation (which means less code).
\subsection{Use wxWindows resource files}
-Use .wrc (wxWindows resource files) where possible, because they can be easily changed
-independently of source code. Bitmap resources can be set up to load different
-kinds of bitmap depending on platform (see the section on resource files).
+Use .xrc (wxWindows resource files) where possible, because they can be easily changed
+independently of source code.
\section{Strategies for debugging}\label{debugstrategies}
\subsection{Positive thinking}
-It's common to blow up the problem in one's imagination, so that it seems to threaten
+It is common to blow up the problem in one's imagination, so that it seems to threaten
weeks, months or even years of work. The problem you face may seem insurmountable:
but almost never is. Once you have been programming for some time, you will be able
to remember similar incidents that threw you into the depths of despair. But
\subsection{Use a debugger}
-This sounds like facetious advice, but it's surprising how often people
-don't use a debugger. Often it's an overhead to install or learn how to
+This sounds like facetious advice, but it is surprising how often people
+don't use a debugger. Often it is an overhead to install or learn how to
use a debugger, but it really is essential for anything but the most
trivial programs.
\subsection{Check Windows debug messages}
-Under Windows, it's worth running your program with
+Under Windows, it is worth running your program with
\urlref{DbgView}{http://www.sysinternals.com} running or
-some other program that shows Windows-generated debug messages. It's
-possible it'll show invalid handles being used. You may have fun seeing
+some other program that shows Windows-generated debug messages. It is
+possible it will show invalid handles being used. You may have fun seeing
what commercial programs cause these normally hidden errors! Microsoft
recommend using the debugging version of Windows, which shows up even
-more problems. However, I doubt it's worth the hassle for most
+more problems. However, I doubt it is worth the hassle for most
applications. wxWindows is designed to minimize the possibility of such
errors, but they can still happen occasionally, slipping through unnoticed
because they are not severe enough to cause a crash.
projects / wxWidgets.git / blobdiff