===== Announcing wxWindows 1.68E =====
===== A Free C++ GUI toolkit for Motif, Open Look, Windows 3.1, =====
===== Windows 95 and Windows NT =====
===== --o-- =====
===== http://web.ukonline.co.uk/julian.smart/wxwin =====
wxWindows is a C++ framework for developing multi-platform, graphical
applications from the same body of C++ code. Currently supporting
Motif, Open Look and MS Windows, a Mac port is under development.
A third-party port supports development using Xt.
Main features
+ Simple-to-use, object-oriented API
+ Graphics calls include splines, polylines, rounded rectangles, etc.
+ Simple programmatic panel/dialog item layout
+ Support for menu bars and status lines
+ Toolbar class
+ Pens, brushes, fonts, icons, cursors, bitmaps
+ Easy, object-oriented interprocess communication (DDE subset) under
MS Windows and UNIX
+ Encapsulated PostScript generation and MS Windows printing
+ Print/preview framework
+ Document/view/undo framework
+ Memory-checking and debugging features
+ ODBC subset support
+ Virtually automatic MDI support under MS Windows
+ Support for MS Windows printer and file selector common dialogs, with
equivalents for UNIX
+ Under MS Windows, support for copying metafiles to the clipboard
+ Programmatic form facility for building form-like screens fast,
with constraints on values
+ Applications can access MS Windows Help or wxHelp help system
+ All source, examples
+ Reference manual in PostScript, wxHelp, WinHelp, HTML, RTF forms
Additional features
+ Simple-to-use Windows program installation utility for delivering
your applications
+ wxCLIPS: an interface to NASA's CLIPS, for rapid GUI prototyping
and application extension
+ wxPython: an IDE for rapid object-oriented GUI development
+ Tex2RTF utility for maintaining online and printed manuals
+ Tree layout, graph layout, charting and grid classes
+ Contributed advanced editor/hypertext classes
+ Dialog Editor
Compilers supported
+ Most Windows compilers: MS Visual C++ 1.x/4.x/5.x,
Borland 3.1/4.x/5.x, Symantec C++, Watcom C++ (WIN32 only),
GNU-WIN32
+ Most UNIX compilers, including GCC
Platforms supported
+ All MS Windows variants
+ Most if not all UNIX variants, including Linux, Solaris 1.x,
Solaris 2.x, HP/UX, SGI IRIX, OSF/1, IBM AIX
+ VAX/VMS (partial support)
+ Mac (68K and PPC) port in progress, with alphas available
Weaknesses
To avoid disappointment, it should be pointed out that wxWindows may
not be suitable for everyone. It contains a few bugs and some ugly
code, unlike any commercial equivalent :-); it does not have the
slickness or coverage of a tool like Microsoft's MFC; and you may not
agree with the compromises made for portability. On the other hand,
it is in a state of continuous development and improvement.
Some changes may need to be made for specific platforms, although
most compilers and UNIXes are now catered for. And wxWindows does
produce large executables and increase compilation time, although
there are strategies for minimizing these problems, depending on
brand of compiler and operating system: see the FAQ.
Where to get it
wxWindows is currently available from the Artificial Intelligence
Applications Institute by anonymous FTP.
+ FTP to:
www.remstar.com/pub/wxwin
or one of the other ftp sites listed on the Mirrors page on the
Web site.
+ log on as `anonymous', and give your user ID as password
+ Change directory into /pub/packages/wxwin/1.67, (unix or mswin
subdirectories), change transmission method to binary, and
get wx167*.tar.gz (UNIX) and/or setup.* (PC)
+ Get install.txt.
+ For automated installation under UNIX, get wxinstal.
+ Get the WinHelp, PostScript or HTML documentation required
(the PC distribution contains the WinHelp files already).
+ Both archives contain the source code for both platforms.
Installation
See install.txt and the installation script wxinstal.
Note that the local HTML documentation can be accessed from
docs/html/index.htm.
Bugs and an exhortation
wxWindows, like most other software, has the occasional buglet
(bugs.txt contains a list of some of them). I would be grateful for
bug reports (even better, fixes) though I can't guarantee to integrate
them. Meanwhile, please do join the growing wxWindows community: it's
fun, and it's going places. The more contributors, the stronger
the chances that it will be the best toolkit of its type within
the next year or so.
wxWindows discussion forum
There are discussion and announcements mailing lists for users or
potential users of wxWindows. Please see the Web site for
up-to-date information about subscribing to these lists.
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THANK YOU, to everyone who has contributed code, suggestions
or moral support.
Julian Smart, November 1998
julian.smart@ukonline.co.uk
