View source for WxWidgets

{{Short description|Widget toolkit}}
{{Primary sources|date=June 2011}}
{{lowercase title|title=wxWidgets}}
{{Infobox software
| name = wxWidgets
| logo = wxWidgets.svg
| logo size = 128px
| screenshot = 
| caption = 
| collapsible = yes
| author = Julian Smart<ref name=wxabout>{{cite web
 | url        = https://wxwidgets.org/about/
 | title      = About the wxWidgets Project
 | publisher  = wxwidgets.org
 | access-date = 2010-01-02}}</ref><ref name=aboutjs>{{cite web
 | url        = http://www.anthemion.co.uk/julian.htm
 | title      = About Julian Smart, www.anthemion.co.uk
 | publisher  = anthemion.co.uk
 | access-date = 2009-06-08}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 | url        = http://www.bookfayre.cz/books/name/julian_smart.2247651.html.cs
 | title      = Julian Smart
 | publisher  = bookfayre.cz
 | access-date = 2009-06-08}}</ref>
| developer = Various developers and contributors<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wxwidgets.org/about/team/|title=The Team - wxWidgets|website=wxwidgets.org}}</ref>
| released = {{start date and age|1992}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/history/|title=History - wxWidgets|website=www.wxwidgets.org}}</ref>
| discontinued = 
| latest_stable_version = <!-- Information about the latest stable version is maintained in [[Template:Latest stable software release/wxWidgets]] -->
| latest_stable_date =
| programming_language = [[C++]]
| operating_system = [[Cross-platform]]
| platform = 
| size = 
| language = 
| genre = Development [[library (computing)|library]]
| license = [[#License|wxWidgets Licence]]
| website = {{URL|https://wxwidgets.org}}
}}
'''wxWidgets''' (formerly '''wxWindows''') is a [[widget toolkit]] and tools library for creating [[graphical user interface]]s (GUIs) for [[cross-platform]] applications. wxWidgets enables a program's GUI code to compile and run on several computer platforms with no significant [[source code|code]] changes. A wide choice of [[compiler]]s and other tools to use with wxWidgets facilitates development of sophisticated applications.<ref name="users"/> wxWidgets supports a comprehensive range of popular [[operating system]]s and graphical libraries, both [[Proprietary software|proprietary]] and [[Free software|free]].

The project was started under the name wxWindows in 1992 by Julian Smart at the [[University of Edinburgh]].<ref name=wxabout /> The project was renamed wxWidgets in 2004 in response to a trademark claim by [[Microsoft]] [[United Kingdom|UK]].

It is [[free software|free]] and [[open source software]], distributed under the terms of the [[#License|wxWidgets Licence]], which satisfies those who wish to produce for [[GNU General Public License|GPL]] and [[proprietary software]].<ref name="license"/>

==Portability and deployment==
wxWidgets covers systems such as [[Microsoft Windows]], [[macOS]] ([[Carbon (API)|Carbon]] and [[Cocoa (API)|Cocoa]]), [[iOS]] ([[Cocoa Touch]]), [[Linux]]/[[Unix]] ([[X11]], [[Motif (software)|Motif]], and [[GTK]]), [[OpenVMS]], [[OS/2]] and [[AmigaOS]]. A version for [[embedded system]]s is under development.<ref name="wxEmbedded">{{Cite web|url=http://www.wxembedded.com/|title=wxEmbedded &#124; embedded cross platform GUI library homepage|website=www.wxembedded.com}}</ref>

wxWidgets is used across various industry sectors, most notably by [[Xerox]], [[Advanced Micro Devices]] (AMD), [[Lockheed Martin]], [[NASA]] and the [[Center for Naval Analyses]]. It is also used in the public sector and education by, for example, [[Dartmouth Medical School]], [[National Human Genome Research Institute]], [[National Center for Biotechnology Information]], and many others.<ref name="users">{{cite web|title=About Who uses wxWidgets?|url=https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/whouses.htm|publisher=wxwidgets.org|access-date=2011-04-12}}</ref> wxWidgets is used in many open source projects,<ref>{{cite web|title=List of open source applications that uses wxWidgets|url=https://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/?&fq%5B%5D=trove%3A481|publisher=SourceForge.net|access-date=2011-04-22}}</ref> and by individual developers.

==History==
wxWidgets (initially wxWindows; "w" is for [[Windows]], and "x" is for [[X Window System]])<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/history/|title=History - wxWidgets|website=www.wxwidgets.org|access-date=2023-03-31}}</ref> was started in 1992 by Julian Smart at the [[University of Edinburgh]].<ref name=wxabout /> He attained an honours degree in [[Computational science]] from the [[University of St Andrews]] in 1986, and is still a core developer.<ref name=aboutjs />

On 20 February 2004, the developers of wxWindows announced that the project was changing its name to ''wxWidgets'', as a result of [[Microsoft]] requesting Julian Smart to respect Microsoft's [[United Kingdom]] [[trademark]] of the term ''Windows''.<ref name="wxWindows to wxWidgets">{{cite web |last1=Smart |first1=Julian |last2=Dunn |first2=Robin |date=August 2004 |title=Name change |url=https://wxwidgets.org/about/name.htm |access-date=2007-04-23 |publisher=Sourceforge.net}}</ref>

Major release versions were 2.4 on 6 January 2003, 2.6 on 21 April 2005 and 2.8.0 on 14 December 2006. Version 3.0 was released on 11 November 2013.<!-- Earlier versions not listed on SourceForge.net -->

wxWidgets has participated in the [[Google Summer of Code]] since 2006.<ref>{{cite web|last=Smart|first=Julian|title=Google Summer of Code 2006: wxWidgets projects summary|url=https://wxwidgets.blogspot.com/2006/10/google-summer-of-code-2006-wxwidgets.html|publisher=wxwidgets.org|access-date=2011-04-11|date=2006-10-10}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Google Summer of Code 2006|url=https://code.google.com/intl/pl/soc/2006/wxwidgets/about.html|access-date=2011-04-11}}</ref><!--________________________________________wxWindows 1________________________________________-->
<!--________________________________________wxWidgets 2________________________________________-->
<!--________________________________________wxWidgets 3________________________________________-->
<!--________________________________________Future versions________________________________________-->==License==
{{Infobox software license
| name            = wxWindows Licence
| image           = 
| caption         = 
| author          = 
| version         = 
| copyright       = 
| date            = 
| OSI approved    = Yes
| Debian approved = Yes
| Free Software   = Yes
| GPL compatible  = Yes
| copyleft        = Yes
| copyfree        = No
| linking         = Yes
}}

wxWidgets is distributed under a custom made ''wxWindows Licence'', similar to the [[GNU Lesser General Public License]] (LGPL), with an exception stating that derived works in [[binary file|binary form]] may be distributed on the user's own terms.<ref name="license">{{cite web | url = https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/licence/ |title = "License" page on website | quote = The wxWindows Licence is essentially the LGPL, with an exception stating that derived works in binary form may be distributed on the user's own terms. }}</ref> This [[software license|license]] is a [[free software license]] approved by the FSF,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#Wx|title=Various Licenses and Comments about Them – GNU Project - Free Software Foundation}}</ref> making wxWidgets [[free software]]. It has been approved by the [[Open Source Initiative]] (OSI).<ref>{{cite web|title=Open Source Initiative OSI – The wxWindows Library Licence:Licensing|url=https://www.opensource.org/licenses/wxwindows.php|publisher=Open Source Initiative|access-date=2011-04-28}}</ref>

==Official support==

===Supported platforms===
wxWidgets is supported on the following platforms:<ref>{{Cite web|title = wxWidgets: Introduction|url = https://docs.wxwidgets.org/trunk/page_introduction.html|website = docs.wxwidgets.org|access-date = 2016-01-14}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = wxWidgets: Platform Details|url = https://docs.wxwidgets.org/trunk/page_port.html|website = docs.wxwidgets.org|access-date = 2016-01-14}}</ref>
* '''Windows''' – {{Not a typo|wxMSW}} (64-bits Windows XP up to Windows 11 and 32-bits Windows 3.11 for Workgroups (with Win32s extension) up to Windows 11)
* '''Linux/Unix''' – [[wxGTK]], wxX11, wxMotif
* '''[[macOS]]''' – wxMac ([[Mac OS X 10.3]] using Carbon, [[Mac OS X 10.5]] using Cocoa), {{Not a typo|wxOSX/Cocoa}} (32/64-bits [[Mac OS X 10.7]] or later)
* '''OS/2''' – wxOS2, {{Not a typo|wxPM}}, wxWidgets for GTK or Motif can be compiled on OS/2
* '''Embedded platforms''' – wxEmbedded<ref name="wxEmbedded"/>

====External ports====
* '''Amiga''' – wxWidgets-AOS: AmigaOS port (Work In Progress)<ref>{{cite web|title=wxWidgets-AOS: AmigaOS port|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/wxwidget-aos/|access-date=2011-04-24}}</ref>

===Supported compilers===
wxWidgets is officially confirmed to work properly with the following compilers:<ref>{{cite web|title=Supported Platforms|url=https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Supported_Platforms|publisher=wxwidgets.org|access-date=2011-04-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Development:_Supported_Classes|title=Development: Supported Classes - WxWiki|website=wiki.wxwidgets.org}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 85%; width: auto;"
|-
! Toolkit
! Compiler
! Version
|-
! rowspan=8 scope="row" | wxMSW
| Microsoft Visual Studio – Visual C++
| 5.0+
|-
| [[Borland C++]] (dropped in 3.1.5)
| 5.5+
|-
| C++Builder
| 2006+
|-
| Watcom C++, OpenWatcom
| 10.6+
|-
| CodeWarrior
| 7+
|-
| Cygwin
| 1.5+
|-
| MinGW
| 2.0+
|-
| Digital Mars C/C++ compiler
| 8.40+
|-
! rowspan=6 scope="row" | wxGTK
| g++
| 2.95+
|-
| Clang++
| 3.3+
|-
| Intel C++ Compiler
| 9.1+
|-
| Sun Studio C/C++
| 5.9
|-
| HP aC++
| 3.8
|-
| IBM XL C/C++
| 8.0
|}

== Programming language bindings ==
{{Main list|List of language bindings for wxWidgets}}

[[File:WxPython-logo.png|thumb|right|150px|[[wxPython]] logo]]

The wxWidgets [[Library (computing)|library]] is implemented in [[C++]], with [[Language binding|bindings]] available for many commonly used [[programming language]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title = wxWidgets General Information |url = https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/General_Information |website = wxwidgets.org |access-date = 2015-08-01 }}</ref>

wxWidgets is best described as a [[native mode]] toolkit as it provides a thin abstraction to a platform's native widgets, contrary to emulating the display of widgets using graphic primitives. Calling a native widget on the target platform results in a more native looking interface than toolkits such as [[Swing (Java)|Swing]] (for Java), as well as offering performance and other benefits.<ref>{{cite web |url = https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/WxWidgets_Compared_To_Other_Toolkits |title = WxWidgets Compared To Other Toolkits |website = wxwidgets.org |access-date = 2010-01-02 }}</ref>

The toolkit is also not restricted to GUI development, having an [[inter-process communication]] layer, [[internet socket|socket]] networking functionality, and more.

==RAD tools and IDEs for wxWidgets==
[[File:Codelite2.0-Screenshot.png|thumb|right|215px|[[CodeLite]] under Windows XP]]
[[File:Cbmain.png|thumb|right|215px|[[Code::Blocks]] running under [[Ubuntu (operating system)|Ubuntu]]]]

There are many [[Rapid Application Development]] (RAD) and [[Integrated Development Environment]] (IDE) tools available. Notable tools include:<ref>{{cite web|title=Tools for wxWidgets|url=https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Tools|publisher=wxwidgets.org|access-date=2011-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=List of Integrated Development Environments|url=https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/List_of_Integrated_Development_Environments|publisher=wxwidgets.org|access-date=2011-04-12}}</ref>
* [[Code::Blocks]] (via wxSmith plugin)
* [[CodeLite]] (via wxCrafter plugin)
* [[wxFormBuilder]]

==Applications built using wxWidgets==
[[File:Amaya inuse.png|thumb|right|215px|[[Amaya (web editor)|Amaya]] under Windows 7]]

{{See also|Category:Software that uses wxWidgets}}

Notable applications that use wxWidgets:
* ''[[0 A.D. (video game)|0 A.D.]]'' – a [[Free and open-source software|FOSS]] video game similar to ''[[Age of Empires (series)|Age of Empires]]''
* [[Amaya (web editor)|Amaya]] – web authoring tool
* [[aMule]] – peer-to-peer file sharing application
* [[ActivePresenter]] – screen recorder, video editor & e-learning application
* [[Audacity (audio editor)|Audacity]] – cross-platform sound editor
* [[BitTorrent (software)|BitTorrent]] – peer-to-peer file sharing application
*[[Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing]] – an [[Open-source model|open-source]] [[Middleware (distributed applications)|middleware]] system
* [[Code::Blocks]] – C/C++ IDE
* [[CodeLite]] – simple C++ Editor (Collection of free Tools, implemented by plugins)
* [[FileZilla]] – FTP client
* [[FreeFileSync]] – a free and open-source file synchronization software
* [[GrandOrgue]] – virtual pipe organ simulator
* [[Guayadeque Music Player]] – a music player with database
* [[Hollywood (programming language)|Hollywood]] – uses wxWidgets in its RapaGUI plugin
* [[KiCad]] – a free software suite for electronic design automation (EDA)
* [[RapidSVN]] – Subversion client
* [[TortoiseCVS]] – CVS client

==See also==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}
* [[FLTK]] – a light, cross platform, non-native widget toolkit
* [[FOX toolkit]] – a fast, open source, cross-platform widget toolkit
* [[GTK]] – the GIMP toolkit, a widget toolkit used by [[GNOME]] applications
* [[gtkmm]] – C++ version of GTK
* [[Juce]] – an extensive cross-platform widget toolkit
* [[IUP (software)|IUP]] – a multi-platform toolkit for building native graphical user interfaces
* [[Qt (toolkit)]] – an application framework used by [[KDE]] applications
* [[Ultimate++|U++]] – a C++ cross-platform development framework
* [[Widget toolkit]]
* [[List of widget toolkits]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{Citation
 | last1     = Smart
 | first1    = Julian
 | last2     = Hock
 | first2    = Kevin
 | last3     = Csomor
 | first3    = Stefan
 | title     = Cross-Platform GUI Programming with wxWidgets
 | isbn      = 978-0-13-147381-2
 | url       = http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/detail.asp?item=100000000072372
 | date      = 5 August 2005
 | publisher = [[Prentice Hall]]}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|WxWidgets|lcfirst=yes}}
* {{Official website}}
{{wxWidgets}}
{{Widget toolkits}}
{{GUI builders}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wxwidgets}}
[[Category:WxWidgets| ]]
[[Category:1992 software]]
[[Category:C++ libraries]]
[[Category:Cross-platform software]]
[[Category:Free computer libraries]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C++]]
[[Category:Widget toolkits]]
[[Category:X-based libraries]]