wxwidgets terminal on the road

[<tim...@en...>]

Hi !

After a long week to dig into C++, wxwidgets, the C code of gnuplot,=20
threads, etc. , I am pleased to present a first screenshot of the=20
wxwidgets terminal in action :

http://tipote.free.fr/wxt.png

Today, the terminal has basic functionnality, as you can see : it can=20
draw lines, text, justify it. But an important work was needed to=20
achieve it :

* mix C and C++, with proper declarations of functions, and with the=20
help of Makefiles
* launch the terminal in a new thread, because every gui is based on an=20
event loop, which doesn't terminate until the window is closed
* cope with exotic wxwidgets functions to open windows without building=20
a whole app and its own main()...
* be able to communicate with the window in this separate thread
* handle properly thread creating on init, window closing on user's=20
call, window opening again later...

All of these is working nicely, and I really feel that such a terminal=20
can make gnuplot progress.

To resume :

- License issue : wxwidgets is LGPL, so it can be used without=20
restriction inside gnuplot

- Cross-platform : wxwidgets is ported to UNIX through GTK+, through=20
Windows with its native widgets, and even through MacOS (native too)...=20
All these targets would use the same code in gnuplot, and should have=20
identical behaviours !
(For example, there is a Thread class, which allows to use thread=20
without having to take care of the target.)

- All the advantages of a toolkit : it's easy to create toolbars, menus,=20
a statusbar, etc. We can imagine a terminal with its own printing=20
capabilities, (limited but direct) exporting capabilities, a toolbar=20
which makes the mouse mode clearer... I admit that it must not hide=20
gnuplot's own functionnality (printing is well done through the=20
postscript terminal, exporting with corresponding terminals), but I want=20
to try it to see if it can make gnuplot more flexible under special=20
usage (when it's driven by Octave or Maxima for example).

In the next days (weeks ?), I will probably finish implementing gnuplot=20
functionnalities. My base is the X11 terminal for mouse interactivity,=20
and the postscript terminal for rendering. Then it will be time to try=20
other ideas (toolbar ...).

And even if it never get finished or included anywhere, be sure that I=20
learn of things with such a project ! Thanks to the gnuplot authors and=20
to the current community.

Timoth=E9e Lecomte