607d79b82b
git-svn-id: https://svn.wxwidgets.org/svn/wx/wxWidgets/trunk@891 c3d73ce0-8a6f-49c7-b76d-6d57e0e08775
174 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
174 lines
6.4 KiB
Plaintext
wxPython README
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---------------
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Introduction
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------------
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The code in this subtree is a Python Extension Module that enables the
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use of wxWindows from the Python language. So what is Python? Go to
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http://www.python.org to learn more but in a nutshell, it's an
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extremly cool object oriented language. It's easier than Perl and
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nearly as powerful. It runs on more platforms than Java, and by some
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reports, is even faster than Java with a JIT compiler!
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So why would you want to use wxPython over just C++ and wxWindows?
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Personally I prefer using Python for everything. I only use C++ when
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I absolutly have to eek more performance out of an algorithm, and even
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then I ususally code it as an extension module and leave the majority
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of the program in Python. Another good thing to use wxPython for is
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quick prototyping of your wxWindows apps. With C++ you have to
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continuously go though the edit-compile-link-run cycle, which can be
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quite time comsuming. With Python it is only an edit-run cycle. You
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can easily build an application in a few hours with Python that would
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normally take a few days with C++. Converting a wxPython app to a
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C++/wxWindows app should be a straight forward task.
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This extension module attempts to mirror the class heiarchy of
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wxWindows as closely as possble. This means that there is a wxFrame
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class in wxPython that looks, smells, tastes and acts almost the same
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as the wxFrame class in the C++ version. Unfortunatly, I wasn't able
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to match things exactly because of differences in the languages, but
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the differences should be easy to absorb because they are natural to
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Python. For example, some methods that return mutliple values via
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argument pointers in C++ will return a tuple of values in Python.
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These differences have not been documented yet so if something isn't
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working the same as described in the wxWindows documents the best
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thing to do is to scan through the wxPython sources, especially the .i
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files, as that is where the interfaces for wxPython are defined.
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Currently this extension module is designed such that the entire
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application will be written in Python. I havn't tried it yet, but I
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am sure that attempting to embed wxPython in a C++ wxWindows
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application will cause problems. However there is a plan to support
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this in the future.
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What's new in 0.4.2
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-------------------
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wxPython on wxGTK works!!! Both dynamic and static on Linux and
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static on Solaris have been tested. Many thanks go to Harm
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<H.v.d.Heijden@phys.tue.nl> for his astute detective work on tracking
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down a nasty DECREF bug. Okay so I have to confess that it was just a
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DSM (Dumb Stupid Mistake) on my part but it was nasty none the less
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because the behavior was so different on different platforms.
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The dynamicly loaded module on Solaris is still segfaulting, so it
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must have been a different issue all along...
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What's New in 0.4
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-----------------
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1. Worked on wxGTK compatibility. It is partially working. On a
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Solaris/Sparc box wxPython is working but only when it is statically
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linked with the Python interpreter. When built as a dyamically loaded
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extension module, things start acting weirdly and it soon seg-faults.
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And on Linux both the statically linked and the dynamically linked
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version segfault shortly after starting up.
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2. Added Toolbar, StatusBar and SplitterWindow classes.
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3. Varioius bug fixes, enhancements, etc.
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Build Instructions
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------------------
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I used SWIG (http://www.swig.org) to create the source code for the
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extension module. This enabled me to only have to deal with a small
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amount of code and only have to bother with the exceptional issues.
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SWIG takes care of the rest and generates all the repetative code for
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me. You don't need SWIG to build the extension module as all the
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generated C++ code is included under the src directory.
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I added a few minor features to SWIG to control some of the code
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generation. If you want to playaround with this the patches are in
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wxPython/SWIG.patches and they should be applied to the 1.1p5 version
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of SWIG. These new patches are documented at
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http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/python/#swig, and they should
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also end up in the 1.2 version of SWIG.
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wxPython is organized as a Python package. This means that the
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directory containing the results of the build process should be a
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subdirectory of a directory on the PYTHONPATH. (And preferably should
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be named wxPython.) You can control where the build process will dump
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wxPython by setting the TARGETDIR makefile variable. The default is
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$(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython, where this README.txt is located. If you
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leave it here then you should add $(WXWIN)/utils to your PYTHONPATH.
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However, you may prefer to use something that is already on your
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PYTHONPATH, such as the site-packages directory on Unix systems.
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Win32
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-----
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1. Build wxWindows with wxUSE_RESOURCE_LOADING_IN_MSW set to 1 in
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include/wx/msw/setup.h so icons can be loaded dynamically. While
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there, make sure wxUSE_OWNER_DRAWN is also set to 1.
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2. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
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3. Edit makefile.nt and specify where your python installation is at.
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You may also want to fiddle with the TARGETDIR variable as described
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above.
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4. Run nmake -f makefile.nt
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5. If it builds successfully, congratulations! Move on to the next
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step. If not then you can try mailing me for help. Also, I will
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always have a pre-built win32 version of this extension module at
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http://starship.skyport.net/crew/robind/python.
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6. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
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7. Try executing the test programs. Note that some of these print
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diagnositc or test info to standard output, so they will require the
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console version of python. For example:
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python test1.py
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To run them without requiring a console, you can use the pythonw.exe
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version of Python either from the command line or from a shortcut.
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Unix
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----
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1. Change into the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/src directory.
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2. Edit Setup.in and ensure that the flags, directories, and toolkit
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options are correct. See the above commentary about TARGETDIR. There
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are a few sample Setup.in.[platform] files provided.
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3. Run this command to generate a makefile:
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make -f Makefile.pre.in boot
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4. Run these commands to build and then install the wxPython extension
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module:
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make
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make install
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5. Change to the $(WXWIN)/utils/wxPython/tests directory.
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6. Try executing the test programs. For example:
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python test1.py
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------------------------
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8/8/1998
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Robin Dunn
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robin@alldunn.com
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