X-Git-Url: https://git.saurik.com/wxWidgets.git/blobdiff_plain/1cb148413195c3256afe854236739d8f90999e55..80a779275ae04443c568dca919adb26cf6f5002c:/docs/html/faqgen.htm diff --git a/docs/html/faqgen.htm b/docs/html/faqgen.htm index a0de58ca37..64144dcaac 100644 --- a/docs/html/faqgen.htm +++ b/docs/html/faqgen.htm @@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ -wxWindows 2 FAQ: General +wxWidgets FAQ: General @@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ -wxWindows 2 FAQ: General +wxWidgets FAQ: General @@ -25,63 +25,66 @@ See also top-level FAQ page.

List of questions in this category


-

What is wxWindows?

+

What is wxWidgets?

-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, +wxWidgets is a class library that allows you to compile graphical C++ programs on a range of +different platforms. wxWidgets 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 are several dialog editors to help build attractive dialogs and panels. Robert Roebling's wxDesigner -and Anthemion Software's DialogBlocks -are two commercial examples, but there are others: see the Useful Tools page.

+and Anthemion Software's DialogBlocks +are two commercial examples, but there are others: see the Useful Tools page.

-You don't have to use C++ to use wxWindows: there is a Python interface for wxWindows 2, +You don't have to use C++ to use wxWidgets: there is a Python interface for wxWidgets, and also a Perl interface.

-

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

+

Can I use wxWidgets 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 +you can distribute proprietary binaries without distributing any source code, and neither will wxWidgets 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 +The conditions for using wxWidgets 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 +wxWidgets 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?

+

Who uses wxWidgets?

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 +wxWidgets 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.

@@ -91,7 +94,7 @@ Our highest-profile user yet is industry veteran and Lotus Corp. founder Mitch K and his Open Source Applications Foundation.

-

What platforms are supported by wxWindows 2?

+

What platforms are supported by wxWidgets?

-

How does wxWindows 2 support platform-specific +

How does wxWidgets support platform-specific features?

This is a hotly-debated topic amongst the developers. My own philosophy -is to make wxWindows as platform-independent as possible, but allow in a +is to make wxWidgets as platform-independent as possible, but allow in a few classes (functions, window styles) that are platform-specific. For example, Windows metafiles and Windows 95 taskbar icons have their own classes on Windows, but nowhere else. Because these classes -are provided and are wxWindows-compatible, it doesn't take much +are provided and are wxWidgets-compatible, it doesn't take much coding effort for an application programmer to add support for some functionality that the user on a particular platform might otherwise miss. Also, some classes that started off as platform-specific, such @@ -120,29 +123,29 @@ as the MDI classes, have been emulated on other platforms. I can imagine that even wxTaskBarIcon may be implemented for Unix desktops one day.

-In other words, wxWindows is not a 'lowest common denominator' approach, +In other words, wxWidgets is not a 'lowest common denominator' approach, but it will still be possible to write portable programs using the core API. Forbidding some platform-specific classes would be a stupid approach that would alienate many potential users, and encourage -the perception that toolkits such as wxWindows are not up to the demands +the perception that toolkits such as wxWidgets are not up to the demands of today's sophisticated applications.

Currently resources such as bitmaps and icons are handled in a platform-specific way, but it is hoped to reduce this dependence in due course.

-Another reason why wxWindows 2 is not a 'lowest common denominator' toolkit is that +Another reason why wxWidgets is not a 'lowest common denominator' toolkit is that some functionality missing on some platform has been provided using generic, platform-independent code, such as the wxTreeCtrl and wxListCtrl classes.

-

Does wxWindows use STL? or the standard string class?

+

Does wxWidgets use STL? or the standard string class?

No. This is a much-discussed topic that has (many times) ended with the conclusion that it is in -wxWindows' best interests to avoid use of templates. Not all compilers can handle +wxWidgets' best interests to avoid use of templates. Not all compilers can handle templates adequately so it would dramatically reduce the number of compilers -and platforms that could be supported. It would also be undersirable to make -wxWindows dependent on another large library that may have to be downloaded and installed. +and platforms that could be supported. It would also be undesirable to make +wxWidgets dependent on another large library that may have to be downloaded and installed. In addition, use of templates can lead to executable bloat, which is something -wxWindows 2 is strenously trying to avoid.

+wxWidgets is strenuously trying to avoid.

The standard C++ string class is not used, again because it is not available to all compilers, and it is not necessarily a very efficient implementation. Also, we retain more flexibility @@ -150,7 +153,7 @@ by being able to modify our own string class. Some compatibility with the string has been built into wxString.

There is nothing to stop an application using templates or the string class for its own -purposes. With wxWindows debugging options on, you may find you get errors when including +purposes. With wxWidgets debugging options on, you may find you get errors when including STL headers. You can work around it either by switching off memory checking, or by adding this to a header before you include any STL files:

@@ -163,41 +166,41 @@ or by adding this to a header before you include any STL files:

-

Is there a rich edit/markup widget for wxWindows 2?

+

Is there a rich edit/markup widget for wxWidgets?

These are the possibilities so far:

-

How to use C++ exceptions with wxWindows?

+

How to use C++ exceptions with wxWidgets?

-wxWindows library itself is unfortunately not exception-safe (as its +wxWidgets library itself is unfortunately not exception-safe (as its initial version predates, by far, the addition of the exceptions to the C++ language). However you can still use the exceptions in your own code and use the other libraries using the exceptions for the error reporting together with -wxWindows. +wxWidgets.

There are a few issues to keep in mind, though: