Phoenix/packaging/ANNOUNCE.txt

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Announcing wxPython 4.1.1
=========================

PyPI:   https://pypi.org/project/wxPython/4.1.1
Extras: https://extras.wxPython.org/wxPython4/extras/
Pip:    ``pip install wxPython==4.1.1``

New and improved in this release:

* This should have been mentioned in the notes for the last release,
  but alas, it wandered away and got lost. wxWidgets is now validating
  the flags passed when adding items to a sizer, to ensure that they
  are the correct flags for the type of the sizer. If the given flags
  do not make sense, for example using horizontal alignment flags in a
  horizontal box sizer, then a wxAssertionError error is raised.

* Fixed missing binder for wxEVT_STC_AUTOCOMP_SELECTION_CHANGE. (#1613)

* DataViewModel.HasValue can be overridden and will inform the
  DataViewCtrl whether or not an item and column has data. If HasValue
  returns False, then GetValue for that item/col will not be called.
  This allows a distinction between a truly empty cell, and one that
  has a value even if it is an empty string. (#1600)

* Added flag that allows blocking of item dragging in the
  UltimateListControl class. (PR#1620)

* Add the column index to notification events in UltimateListControl
  (PR#1630)

* Added orientation parameter to UltimateListControl.GetScrollPos.
  (PR#1632)

* wx.lib.agw.aui.AuiNotebook RemovePage() now hides the removed page,
  so it needs to be shown again if it is reused in another place.
  (PR#1668)

* Fixed issue that could modify `bytes` objects under Python. (PR#1680)

* Added wx.lib.agw.aui.EVT_AUI_PANE_CLOSE event which is sent when a
  AUI (the agw version) Pane has been closed (after it has been
  closed, not when it is about to be closed, which is when
  EVT_AUI_PANE_CLOSE is sent.) (PR#1628)

* Exposed the wx.DC methods GetGraphicsContext and SetGraphicsContext.
  Depending on the platform and the type of the DC, there may be a
  wx.GraphicsContext used for the implementation of the DC. If so, the
  GetGraphicsContext method enables access to it. Be sure to check
  that the return value is not None before trying to use it.

* Simplified the implementation of the wx.App.InitLocale method. See the
  MigrationGuide for more information.

* Added wx.lib.agw.aui.AUI_DOCKART_HINT_WINDOW_BORDER_COLOUR constant
  so the hint window border color can be themed as well.

* The wx.lib.mixins.listCtrl.CheckListCtrlMixin is now obsolete
  because wx.ListCtrl has new functionality which does pretty much the
  same thing. In fact there is some overlap in method names which may
  trip up some use cases. It is advised to drop the use of
  CheckListCtrlMixin and just use the wx.ListBox functionality. You
  will need to call EnableCheckBoxes to turn it on, and you may need
  to change some event handlers or overloaded methods.

* wx.html2.WebView is now able to use Microsoft's Edge browser
  component as its backend renderer. This should improve the
  capabilities of the WebView widget on Windows, and be more
  consistent with the WebViews on the other platforms, compared to the
  original IE 11 backend. Using this backed requires that a new-ish
  version of the Edge browser is installed on the end user's computer.

* Added the wx.Image.ConvertToRegion method. This lets you create a
  wx.Region from an image and a specified color or the mask if the
  image has one. This was done to workaround a bug in wxMac, but it
  seems worthwhile enough to keep it around even after the bug was
  fixed.

* Added the missing context manager methods for wx.LogNull. (#1842)

* Refactored ScrolledThumbnail out of agw.ThumbnailCtrl so as to be
  usable outside of ThumbnailCtrl.




What is wxPython?
-----------------

wxPython is a cross-platform GUI toolkit for the Python programming
language.  It allows Python programmers to create programs with a
robust, highly functional graphical user interface, simply and
easily. It is implemented as a set of Python extension modules that
wrap the GUI components of the popular wxWidgets cross platform
library, which is written in C++. Supported platforms are Microsoft
Windows, Mac OS X and macOS, and Linux or other unix-like systems with
GTK2 or GTK3 libraries. In most cases the native widgets are used on
each platform to provide a 100% native look and feel for the
application.


What is wxPython Phoenix?
-------------------------

wxPython's Project Phoenix is a new from-the-ground-up implementation
of wxPython, created with the intent of making wxPython “better,
stronger, faster than he was before.” In other words, this new
implementation is focused on improving speed, maintainability and
extensibility of wxPython, as well as removing most of the cruft that
had accumulated over the long life of Classic wxPython.

The project has been in development off and on, mostly behind the
scenes, for many years. For the past few years automated snapshot
builds have been available for those adventurous enough to try it, and
many people eventually started using the snapshots in their projects,
even for production releases.  While there are still some things on
the periphery that need to be completed, the core of the new wxPython
extension modules which wrap the wxWidgets code has been stable for a
long time now.

Due to some things being cleaned up, reorganized, simplified and
dehackified wxPython Phoenix is not completely backwards compatible
with wxPython Classic.  This is intended. In general, however, the API
differences tend to be minor and some applications can use Phoenix
with slight, or even with no modifications.  In some other cases the
correct way to do things was also available in Classic and it's only
the wrong way that has been removed from Phoenix.  For more
information there is a Migration Guide document available at:
https://docs.wxpython.org/MigrationGuide.html

The new wxPython API reference documentation, including all
Python-specific additions and customizations, and docs for the wx.lib
package, is located at: https://docs.wxpython.org/