wxWidgets/wxPython/demo/data/wxPackage.html
2003-07-02 23:13:10 +00:00

291 lines
13 KiB
HTML

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="iso-8859-1" ?>
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
<meta name="generator" content="Docutils 0.2.8: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/" />
<title>The wxPython wx Package</title>
<meta name="author" content="Patrick K. O'Brien" />
<meta name="organization" content="Orbtech" />
<meta name="date" content="2003-05-08" />
<link rel="stylesheet" href="default.css" type="text/css" />
</head>
<body>
<div class="document" id="the-wxpython-wx-package">
<h1 class="title">The wxPython wx Package</h1>
<h2 class="subtitle" id="or-how-to-survive-the-new-wx-namespace-changes">Or, how to survive the new wx namespace changes.</h2>
<table class="docinfo" frame="void" rules="none">
<col class="docinfo-name" />
<col class="docinfo-content" />
<tbody valign="top">
<tr><th class="docinfo-name">Author:</th>
<td>Patrick K. O'Brien</td></tr>
<tr><th class="docinfo-name">Contact:</th>
<td><a class="first last reference" href="mailto:pobrien&#64;orbtech.com">pobrien&#64;orbtech.com</a></td></tr>
<tr><th class="docinfo-name">Organization:</th>
<td><a class="first last reference" href="http://www.orbtech.com/">Orbtech</a></td></tr>
<tr><th class="docinfo-name">Date:</th>
<td>2003-05-08</td></tr>
<tr><th class="docinfo-name">Revision:</th>
<td>1.1.2.4</td></tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<div class="contents topic" id="contents">
<p class="topic-title"><a name="contents">Contents</a></p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><a class="reference" href="#introduction" id="id1" name="id1">Introduction</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#why-change-anything" id="id2" name="id2">Why change anything?</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#what-does-the-new-wx-package-do" id="id3" name="id3">What does the new wx package do?</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#will-any-of-this-effect-my-existing-code" id="id4" name="id4">Will any of this effect my existing code?</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#how-does-the-new-wx-package-work" id="id5" name="id5">How does the new wx package work?</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#what-about-all-the-other-modules-like-grid-html-and-stc" id="id6" name="id6">What about all the other modules, like grid, html, and stc?</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#how-do-i-use-this-new-wx-package" id="id7" name="id7">How do I use this new wx package?</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#what-are-the-issues-with-converting-old-code-to-use-the-new-wx-package" id="id8" name="id8">What are the issues with converting old code to use the new wx package?</a></li>
<li><a class="reference" href="#where-can-i-find-example-programs-using-the-new-wx-syntax" id="id9" name="id9">Where can I find example programs using the new wx syntax?</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="section" id="introduction">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id1" name="introduction">Introduction</a></h1>
<p>Big things sometimes come in small packages. This is certainly true
of the new wx package, which is being introduced in wxPython 2.4.1 as
a way to allow the &quot;wx&quot; prefix to be dropped from the names of all
wxPython classes, functions, and constants. This document should
answer all the questions you might have concerning the new wx package.
If not, feel free to contact the author. I hope you like the new wx
package as much as I do.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="why-change-anything">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id2" name="why-change-anything">Why change anything?</a></h1>
<p>This change is being made for a couple of reasons. The first reason
is to discourage the use of <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">import</span> <span class="pre">*</span></tt>, which is a dangerous
technique that can create name conflicts and bloated namespaces.</p>
<p>The second reason is to remove what some perceive to be a &quot;wart.&quot; For
example, the following code is rather ugly in that the &quot;wx&quot; prefix on
the wxFrame class name is no longer useful when you're using the wx
module prefix:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
from wxPython import wx
class Frame(wx.wxFrame)
</pre>
<p>The new wx package allows you to write code like this, instead:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
import wx
class Frame(wx.Frame)
</pre>
<p>The third reason is that the wxWindows project intends to do the same
thing (implement a new wx namespace and drop the &quot;wx&quot; prefix) and we
want wxPython to lead the way.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="what-does-the-new-wx-package-do">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id3" name="what-does-the-new-wx-package-do">What does the new wx package do?</a></h1>
<p>As a way of getting to this new syntax as quickly as possible, the
code in this new wx package was created. What it does is alter the
existing wx namespace dynamically. By making the changes on-the-fly
at runtime, we can try out the new syntax before any permanent changes
are made to the underlying class library. The downside of making
these changes at runtime is that there is a slight delay when you
<tt class="literal"><span class="pre">import</span> <span class="pre">wx</span></tt>; the upside is that you can start using the new syntax
now.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="will-any-of-this-effect-my-existing-code">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id4" name="will-any-of-this-effect-my-existing-code">Will any of this effect my existing code?</a></h1>
<p>No. Your existing code will continue to work and be supported for
some time. It will be up to you to decide when to switch to the new
syntax. But all new documentation and code examples will use the new
syntax. So don't wait too long. You wouldn't want anyone calling you
old-fashioned, would you?</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="how-does-the-new-wx-package-work">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id5" name="how-does-the-new-wx-package-work">How does the new wx package work?</a></h1>
<p>It's pretty simple, and pretty clever. The wx directory contains an
<tt class="literal"><span class="pre">__init__.py</span></tt> file, making it a Python package. (In contrast, the
old wxPython.wx module is a module, not a package.) When you <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">import</span>
<span class="pre">wx</span></tt> the code in the <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">__init__.py</span></tt> file is executed, and that's
where all the magic takes place. Let's take a look at the code inside
the <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">__init__.py</span></tt> file:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
&quot;&quot;&quot;wx package
Provides a way to drop the wx prefix from wxPython objects.&quot;&quot;&quot;
__author__ = &quot;Patrick K. O'Brien &lt;pobrien&#64;orbtech.com&gt;&quot;
__cvsid__ = &quot;$Id$&quot;
__revision__ = &quot;$Revision$&quot;[11:-2]
from wxPython import wx
import types
d_new = globals()
d_old = wx.__dict__
for old, obj in d_old.items():
if type(obj) is types.ModuleType or old.startswith('_'):
# Skip modules and private names.
continue
new = old
if old.startswith('EVT_'):
# Leave name unmodified; add to the new wx namespace.
d_new[new] = obj
elif old.startswith('wxEVT_'):
# Leave name unmodified; add to the new wx namespace.
d_new[new] = obj
else:
if old.startswith('wx'):
# Remove the 'wx' prefix.
new = old[2:]
# Add to the new wx package namespace.
d_new[new] = obj
del d_new
del d_old
del new
del obj
del old
del types
del wx
</pre>
<p>Namespaces in Python are implemented as dictionaries. The dictionary
used to create the wx package's namespace is accessible using the
<tt class="literal"><span class="pre">globals()</span></tt> function. The dictionary used to create the old
wxPython.wx module's namespace is <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">wx.__dict__</span></tt>. Once we have these
two dictionaries, it's a simple matter of iterating through one,
changing the names, adding the renamed object to the other dictionary,
and cleaning up a few local variables and imported modules. Voila!</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="what-about-all-the-other-modules-like-grid-html-and-stc">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id6" name="what-about-all-the-other-modules-like-grid-html-and-stc">What about all the other modules, like grid, html, and stc?</a></h1>
<p>There's more to wxPython than just the wx namespace. And we've got
those extra modules covered as well. For each of those modules (as
well as the lib package) we've got matching modules in the new wx
package. Let's take a look at a few of them.</p>
<p>Here is <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">html.py</span></tt>:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
&quot;&quot;&quot;Provides a way to drop the wx prefix from wxPython objects.&quot;&quot;&quot;
__author__ = &quot;Patrick K. O'Brien &lt;pobrien&#64;orbtech.com&gt;&quot;
__cvsid__ = &quot;$Id$&quot;
__revision__ = &quot;$Revision$&quot;[11:-2]
import wx
from wx import prefix
from wxPython import html
prefix.rename(d_new=globals(), d_old=html.__dict__)
del html
del prefix
del wx
</pre>
<p>And here is <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">lib/dialogs.py</span></tt>:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
&quot;&quot;&quot;Provides a way to drop the wx prefix from wxPython objects.&quot;&quot;&quot;
__author__ = &quot;Patrick K. O'Brien &lt;pobrien&#64;orbtech.com&gt;&quot;
__cvsid__ = &quot;$Id$&quot;
__revision__ = &quot;$Revision$&quot;[11:-2]
import wx
from wx import prefix
from wxPython.lib import dialogs
prefix.rename(d_new=globals(), d_old=dialogs.__dict__)
del dialogs
del prefix
del wx
</pre>
<p>As you can see, they both rely on the <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">prefix.rename()</span></tt> function
defined in <tt class="literal"><span class="pre">prefix.py</span></tt>:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
&quot;&quot;&quot;Renaming utility.
Provides a way to drop the wx prefix from wxPython objects.&quot;&quot;&quot;
__author__ = &quot;Patrick K. O'Brien &lt;pobrien&#64;orbtech.com&gt;&quot;
__cvsid__ = &quot;$Id$&quot;
__revision__ = &quot;$Revision$&quot;[11:-2]
import types
def rename(d_new, d_old):
for old, obj in d_old.items():
if type(obj) is types.ModuleType or old.startswith('_'):
# Skip modules and private names.
continue
## mod = d_old['__name__']
## if hasattr(obj, '__module__') and not obj.__module__.startswith(mod):
## # Skip objects imported from other modules, except those
## # related to the current module, such as stc_.
## continue
new = old
if old.startswith('EVT_') or old.startswith('wxEVT_'):
# Leave these names unmodified.
pass
elif old.startswith('wx'):
new = old[2:]
if new:
d_new[new] = d_old[old]
</pre>
<p>Again, the technique is very similar to the one used by the wx
package.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="how-do-i-use-this-new-wx-package">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id7" name="how-do-i-use-this-new-wx-package">How do I use this new wx package?</a></h1>
<p>The wx package is automatically created when you install wxPython
version 2.4.1 or higher. So all you have to do is:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
import wx
</pre>
</div>
<div class="section" id="what-are-the-issues-with-converting-old-code-to-use-the-new-wx-package">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id8" name="what-are-the-issues-with-converting-old-code-to-use-the-new-wx-package">What are the issues with converting old code to use the new wx package?</a></h1>
<p>Obviously, you need to change your import statements from:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
from wxPython import wx
</pre>
<p>or:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
from wxPython.wx import *
</pre>
<p>to:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
import wx
</pre>
<p>Then you need to refer to wx attributes without a &quot;wx&quot; prefix, such
as:</p>
<pre class="literal-block">
class MyFrame(wx.Frame):
</pre>
<p>In most cases, existing code can be modified with a simple search and
replace.</p>
<p>One extra issue you might run into when converting existing code is
that the wx.__version__ attribute is no longer available, since the
new wx namespace doesn't include any private attributes from the old
wxPython.wx namespace. The solution is to use the wx.VERSION_STRING
attribute, which was introduced in wxPython 2.4.1.</p>
</div>
<div class="section" id="where-can-i-find-example-programs-using-the-new-wx-syntax">
<h1><a class="toc-backref" href="#id9" name="where-can-i-find-example-programs-using-the-new-wx-syntax">Where can I find example programs using the new wx syntax?</a></h1>
<p>Example programs are included in the wxPython/samples/wx_examples
directory, and are documented in the <a class="reference" href="wxPythonExamples.html">wxPythonExamples</a> documentation
file. Also, all the code in the py package uses the new wx syntax.
You can learn more about these in the <a class="reference" href="PyManual.html">PyManual</a>.</p>
</div>
</div>
<hr class="footer"/>
<div class="footer">
<a class="reference" href="wxPackage.txt">View document source</a>.
Generated on: 2003-06-04 18:07 UTC.
Generated by <a class="reference" href="http://docutils.sourceforge.net/">Docutils</a> from <a class="reference" href="http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html">reStructuredText</a> source.
</div>
</body>
</html>