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docs/tech/tn0008.htm
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<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<TITLE>How to learn wxWindows programming</TITLE>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY BGCOLOR=#FFFFFF TEXT=#000000 LINK=#FF0000 VLINK=#000000>
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<font face="Arial, Lucida Sans, Helvetica">
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<a name="top"></a>
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<table align=center width=100% border=4 cellpadding=5 cellspacing=0>
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<tr>
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<td bgcolor="#660000" align=left colspan=2>
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<font size=+1 face="Arial, Lucida Sans, Helvetica" color="#FFFFFF">
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How to learn wxWindows programming
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</font>
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</td>
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</tr>
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</table>
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<P>
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The following is a response by Edward Ream to a common question,
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"What's the best way to learn wxWindows [and C++]?".<P>
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Date: Sun, 04 Jun 2000 14:37:06 -0500<BR>
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From: "Edward K. Ream" <edream@tds.net> <BR>
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To: wx-users@wxwindows.org<BR>
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Subject: Re: [wx-users] How to learn using wx-windows <BR>
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Reply-To: wx-users@wxwindows.org<P>
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> Reading the Linux Journal article on wxpython, and having used wxclips<BR>
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> I got interested in wxwindows as a development interface. However, the<BR>
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> programming experience I got is old, and from a former generation (For-<BR>
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> tran). I'd like to refresh my experience and start in C++. Will<BR>
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> wx-windows be a very high step to take?<P>
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I'm new to wxWindows myself, but I'd like to answer this question
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anyway. In the past two years I've learned two similar frameworks
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(Apple's Yellow Box, aka NextStep/OpenStep and Borland's C++
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Builder/Delphi) and last year I became a C++ enthusiast after 20 years
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of using C.<P>
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<B>About C++.</B><P>
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The major Aha for me was that the complexity of C++ doesn't matter in
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practice. What _does_ matter is that C++ allows you to do simple things
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simply, more simply than C. With a system like wxWindows you will be
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creating objects and then using those objects to call methods. So don't
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be afraid of C++: you'll only be using the easy tip of the
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iceberg.<P>
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Besides the C++ Programming Language, by Bjarne Stroustrup, the
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"official" guide to C++, I highly recommend Inside the C++ Object Model,
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by Stanley B. Lippman. (Lipmann was one of the C++ honchos at Bell
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Labs.) This book will tell you what _not_ to do, as well as why
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everything in C++ is as it is. If you are confused by anything in C++,
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Lippman's book is the cure.<P>
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<B>About applications frameworks.</B><P>
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Application frameworks such as wxWindows are organized around a set of
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cooperating classes. Take a look at the main application class, wxApp,
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some frame and panel classes, graphics classes, menu classes, control
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classes, etc. In general, to do anything in a framework involves
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creating an object of the specified type, then doing something with that
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object.<P>
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For example, suppose you want to create a menu bar. A menu bar is
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composed of a single menu bar object of type(class) wxMenuBar that
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contains menu objects of type wxMenu. Each menu object contains menu
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item objects of type wxMenuItem. So you create the menu bar object,
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then create all the menu objects (creating the menu item objects along
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the way) and finally "attach" the menu objects to the menu bar object
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using a call to the wxMenuBar::Append method.<P>
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As an overview I would look at the "Alphabetical class reference"
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section of the reference manual. I find the HTML version to be the
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easiest to use: you can browse very quickly through it. Here's how to
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read this (very large) reference:<P>
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<ol>
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<li>Get an overview of the kinds of classes involved. The class names
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will tell you a lot about what each class does. Open some of the
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classes, in particular, wxApp (the main application object), wxFrame,
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wxControl (the base class for all controls) and one or two controls,
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like wxButton.
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<li>When scanning a class for the first several times, read the
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introductory remarks and quickly scan the list of methods of the class
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to get a general idea about what kinds of operations can be done to
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objects of the class. You are not looking for detail at this stage,
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just for the big picture. In particular, what classes exist and how do
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they work together.
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<li>Pay particular attention to the classes from which a class is
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derived. For example, a button (an object of type wxButton) is derived
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from the wxControl, wxWindow, wxEvtHandler and wxObject classes. What
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does this mean? It means that a button _is_ a control, and a button
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_is_ a window, and a button _is_ an event handler and a button _is_ an
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object. So you must understand the parent classes of an object to
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understand the object itself.
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For example, if b is a button you can invoke b.m for any of method m of
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the wxControl, wxWindow, wxEvtHandler or wxObject classes. You are not
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limited to just the methods of wxButton! This is one of the keys of
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object oriented programming.
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</ol>
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Some other tips:<P>
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Read some sample code. You will find that almost none of the C++
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language is actually being used; it's just endlessly creating objects
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and then calling methods using those objects.<P>
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Learn as much as you can about the String class; after using a good
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String class you'll never want to use C's string functions again.
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wxWindows contains other nifty utilty classes as well.<P>
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The application class, wxApp, contains the main event loop. Learn about
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event handling and event tables (reading sample code will help). Almost
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everything in this kind of application framework happens as the result
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of an event and your app is essentially doing nothing but responding to
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events. Having the event loop written for you is a major, major
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benefit.<P>
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I hope this helps. Perhaps we can work together in learning about
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wxWindows. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have. If
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I've made any blunders in this posting I hope the wxWindows experts will
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correct me gently.<P>
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Edward<BR>
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--------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>
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Edward K. Ream email: edream@tds.net<BR>
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Leo: Literate Editor with Outlines<BR>
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Leo: http://personalpages.tds.net/~edream/front.html<BR>
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--------------------------------------------------------------------<P>
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</font>
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</body>
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</html>
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