wxPython Phoenix Documentation

wx.lib.plot

wx.lib.plot is a lightweight plotting package designed for wxPython Phoenix. It is built upon wxPlotCanvas and is optimized for small footprint and fast plotting of large datasets.

Key Characteristics:

• Performance: Focused on speed when handling large data sets.
• Simplicity: Easier to integrate into wxPython applications compared to heavy-duty scientific libraries.
• Capabilities: Supports line graphs, scatter graphs, and simple bar graphs.
• Comparison: While not as feature-rich as SciPy's matplotlib (plt) or Chaco, it is significantly more resource-efficient for simple plotting tasks.

Authorship:

• Original authors: K. Hinsen, R. Srinivasan
• wxPython Port: Harm van der Heijden

PyCrust is an interactive Python environment written in Python. It is designed to be used as a standalone tool or integrated into other development environments and Python applications. It consists of three main components:

• PyShell: An interactive Python shell.
• PyFilling: An interactive namespace/object tree control.
• PyCrust: An integrated, split-window combination of PyShell and PyFilling.

In wxPython, wx.DataObject is the central class used for both clipboard operations and drag-and-drop transfers. Because both mechanisms use the same underlying logic, implementing support for one often provides support for the other.

wx.DataObject (and its derivatives) represents the data being transferred. It is considered a "smart" object because it:

• Knows which formats it supports (via GetFormatCount and GetAllFormats).
• Knows how to render itself in supported formats (via GetDataHere).
• Can receive values from external sources if it implements SetData.

A BookCtrl is used to display multiple pages of information, showing one page at a time. wxPython provides five variants depending on the desired navigation interface:

• wx.Choicebook: Navigation is controlled by a wx.Choice widget.
• wx.Listbook: Navigation is controlled by a wx.ListCtrl widget.
• wx.Notebook: Navigation uses a row of tabs.
• wx.Treebook: Navigation is controlled by a wx.TreeCtrl widget.
• wx.Toolbook: Navigation is controlled by a wx.ToolBar widget.

wxPython includes a verbatim copy of the PyPubSub project in the wx.lib.pubsub module for convenience. This allows wxPython users to use the publish-subscribe pattern without additional installations.

If you require a more up-to-date version than the one bundled with your wxPython distribution, you can install the standalone PyPubSub package or manually overwrite the contents of the wx/lib/pubsub directory with a version from the official SourceForge repository.

Use wx.Command as a base class to model application actions (e.g., menu item selections, toolbar button presses) as explicit objects. This approach centralizes functionality that would otherwise be scattered across various functions, making the application easier to maintain and allowing for features like Undo/Redo or macro recording.

To implement an action, you can either derive a new class for every specific command or use a single parameterized class that uses an integer or string command identifier.

The wx.richtext.RichTextCtrl uses a layered approach to determine the final visible style of text. The visible style is a dynamic combination of the following four notions:

1. Basic style: The fundamental style (e.g., default font). Set via SetBasicStyle. Changing this can affect all content using relative styles.
2. Paragraph style: Attributes applied to an entire paragraph (e.g., alignment, indentation). Set via SetStyleEx with the RICHTEXT_SETSTYLE_PARAGRAPHS_ONLY flag.
3. Character style: Attributes applied to specific characters or runs within a paragraph (e.g., bold, color). Set via SetStyle or SetStyleEx with the RICHTEXT_SETSTYLE_CHARACTERS_ONLY flag.
4. Default style: The style used for content that is subsequently typed or inserted. Set via SetDefaultStyle.

When working with 8-bit fonts, you may need to handle incompatible encodings or missing fonts across different platforms. wxPython provides two primary classes for this:

1. wx.FontEnumerator: Use this to enumerate all available encodings on the system and to find specific font face names that support a given encoding.
2. wx.FontMapper: Use this to resolve mapping issues where wx.FontEnumerator might fail (e.g., finding a KOI8 font on a Windows system). wx.FontMapper stores mappings between encodings and font face names in a wx.ConfigBase object. It can optionally ask the user for the correct mapping and remember the choice for future use.