d403febc27
Added gobs of stuff, see wxPython/README.txt for details git-svn-id: https://svn.wxwidgets.org/svn/wx/wxWidgets/trunk@2319 c3d73ce0-8a6f-49c7-b76d-6d57e0e08775
304 lines
9.8 KiB
Plaintext
304 lines
9.8 KiB
Plaintext
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Getting Help
|
|
------------
|
|
|
|
Since wxPython is a blending of multiple technologies, help comes from
|
|
multiple sources. See the http://alldunn.com/wxPython for details on
|
|
various sources of help, but probably the best source is the
|
|
wxPython-users mail list. You can view the archive or subscribe by
|
|
going to
|
|
|
|
http://starship.python.net/mailman/listinfo/wxpython-users
|
|
|
|
Or you can send mail directly to the list using this address:
|
|
|
|
wxpython-users@starship.python.net
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
-------------------
|
|
Well obviously the numbering scheme has changed. I did this to
|
|
reflect the fact that this truly is the second major revision of
|
|
wxPython, (well the third actually if you count the one I did for
|
|
wxWindows 1.68 and then threw away...) and also that it is associated
|
|
with the 2.0 version of wxWindows.
|
|
|
|
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
|
|
diverges from wxWindows.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's new in 0.5.3
|
|
-------------------
|
|
Added wxSashWindow, wxSashEvent, wxLayoutAlgorithm, etc.
|
|
|
|
Various cleanup, tweaks, minor additions, etc. to maintain
|
|
compatibility with the current wxWindows.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's new in 0.5.0
|
|
-------------------
|
|
Changed the import semantics from "from wxPython import *" to "from
|
|
wxPython.wx import *" This is for people who are worried about
|
|
namespace pollution, they can use "from wxPython import wx" and then
|
|
prefix all the wxPython identifiers with "wx."
|
|
|
|
Added wxTaskbarIcon for wxMSW.
|
|
|
|
Made the events work for wxGrid.
|
|
|
|
Added wxConfig.
|
|
|
|
Added wxMiniFrame for wxGTK.
|
|
|
|
Changed many of the args and return values that were pointers to gdi
|
|
objects to references to reflect changes in the wxWindows API.
|
|
|
|
Other assorted fixes and additions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's new in 0.4.2
|
|
-------------------
|
|
|
|
wxPython on wxGTK works!!! Both dynamic and static on Linux and
|
|
static on Solaris have been tested. Many thanks go to Harm
|
|
<H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
|
|
down a nasty DECREF bug. Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
|
|
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...
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
What's New in 0.4
|
|
-----------------
|
|
|
|
1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility. It is partially working. On a
|
|
Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
|
|
linked with the Python interpreter. When built as a dyamically loaded
|
|
extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
|
|
And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
|
|
version segfault shortly after starting up.
|
|
|
|
2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
|
|
|
|
3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Build Instructions
|
|
------------------
|
|
I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
|
|
extension module. This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
|
|
amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
|
|
SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
|
|
me. You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
2. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
|
|
|
|
3. Edit makefile.vc and specify where your python installation is at.
|
|
You may also want to fiddle with the TARGETDIR variable as described
|
|
above.
|
|
|
|
4. Run nmake -f makefile.vc
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
|
|
|
|
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:
|
|
|
|
python test1.py
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Unix
|
|
----
|
|
|
|
1. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
|
|
3. Run this command to generate a makefile:
|
|
|
|
make -f Makefile.pre.in boot
|
|
|
|
4. Run these commands to build and then install the wxPython extension
|
|
module:
|
|
|
|
make
|
|
make install
|
|
|
|
|
|
5. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
|
|
|
|
6. Try executing the test programs. For example:
|
|
|
|
python test1.py
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
------------------------
|
|
10/20/1998
|
|
|
|
Robin Dunn
|
|
robin@alldunn.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|