View Source: wxWidgets - Waikato Linux Users Group

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[wxWidgets | http://www.wxwidgets.org] is a cross platform [GUI] ToolKit.

This toolkit used to be called "wxWindows" -- it was renamed wxWidgets after MicrosoftCorporation "approached" them.

Its [API] design is similar to that of [MFC] but much more consistent. It also has its own classes for non-[GUI] stuff like networking, string handling, file manipulation, graphics processing, and printing, to name a few.  It is mainly used as a library with [C++], but has bindings to many other programming languages such as [Python], [Perl] and [Ruby]. It relies upon a system's "native" ToolKit, so it gives you the LookAndFeel of that platform. For example, on MicrosoftWindows it uses the MicrosoftWindows look, on Unix it can use [GTK], [Motif] or raw [X11] (for wxEmbedded), and so on for the Mac and hand-held wx ports. (You can probably even compile and link against the MicrosoftWindows port of [GTK]!)

wxPython is a very fast way of prototyping and developing graphical applications, if you are familar with [Python]. It is fairly easy to get the hang of the required coding style. The latest stable version (at the of writing) of [wxWidgets] (which also includes the [GTK], MicrosoftWindows, and Embedded ports) is 2.4.0, released in January 2003.

It is [Free] software. Its licence is essentially the [LGPL], with an exception stating that derived works in binary form may be distributed on the user's own terms. This is a solution that satisfies those who wish to produce [GPL]ed software using [wxWidgets] and also those producing proprietary software. RichardStallman has confirmed that the licence is [GPL] compatible.

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Last edited on Friday, June 17, 2005 11:42:27 pm by AristotlePagaltzis

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