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<h2 id="portability-and-deployment">Portability and deployment</h2> <p>wxWidgets covers systems such as <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Microsoft Windows</a>, <a href="/facts/Mac_OS/EkobAhow">Mac OS</a> (<a href="/facts/Carbon_(API)/KAIwFWI2">Carbon</a> and <a href="/facts/Cocoa_(API)/p10p5aFI">Cocoa</a>), <a href="/facts/IOS/mK5cggH5">iOS</a> (<a href="/facts/Cocoa_Touch/GUGI8gsU">Cocoa Touch</a>), <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a>/<a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a> (<a href="/facts/X11/ac2vRIQL">X11</a>, <a href="/facts/Motif_(software)/zEwd49VX">Motif</a>, and <a href="/facts/GTK/oLpVm9pp">GTK</a>), <a href="/facts/OpenVMS/rAnHAgpD">OpenVMS</a>, <a href="/facts/OS/2/uVBl6ItP">OS/2</a> and <a href="/facts/AmigaOS/1E2k1fuN">AmigaOS</a>. A version for <a href="/facts/Embedded_system/a4muX1wU">embedded systems</a> is under development.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> </p><p>wxWidgets is used across various industry sectors, most notably by <a href="/facts/Xerox/qyxVVqaa">Xerox</a>, <a href="/facts/Advanced_Micro_Devices/CB1G7QTb">Advanced Micro Devices</a> (AMD), <a href="/facts/Lockheed_Martin/URp9BQpA">Lockheed Martin</a>, <a href="/facts/NASA/TIMCV0yV">NASA</a> and the <a href="/facts/Center_for_Naval_Analyses/8LGNnUFD">Center for Naval Analyses</a>. It is also used in the public sector and education by, for example, <a href="/facts/Dartmouth_Medical_School/IzKtJ6Rr">Dartmouth Medical School</a>, <a href="/facts/National_Human_Genome_Research_Institute/t007yxfS">National Human Genome Research Institute</a>, <a href="/facts/National_Center_for_Biotechnology_Information/6Xj5wCbu">National Center for Biotechnology Information</a>, and many others.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> wxWidgets is used in many open source projects,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> and by individual developers. </p> <h2 id="history">History</h2> <p>wxWidgets (initially wxWindows; "w" is for <a href="/facts/Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a>, and "x" is for <a href="/facts/X_Window_System/ac2vRIQL">X Window System</a>)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> was started in 1992 by Julian Smart at the <a href="/facts/University_of_Edinburgh/L69HscH9">University of Edinburgh</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> He attained an honours degree in <a href="/facts/Computational_science/PnVD19hw">Computational science</a> from the <a href="/facts/University_of_St_Andrews/IwXjmljw">University of St Andrews</a> in 1986, and is still a core developer.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>On 20 February 2004, the developers of wxWindows announced that the project was changing its name to <i>wxWidgets</i>, as a result of <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a> requesting Julian Smart to respect Microsoft's <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a> <a href="/facts/Trademark/B23H8IS0">trademark</a> of the term <i>Windows</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p><p>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. </p><p>wxWidgets has participated in the <a href="/facts/Google_Summer_of_Code/M8rDIn6W">Google Summer of Code</a> since 2006.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="license">License</h2> <p>wxWidgets is distributed under a custom made <i>wxWindows Licence</i>, similar to the <a href="/facts/GNU_Lesser_General_Public_License/AXwkz9x3">GNU Lesser General Public License</a> (LGPL), with an exception stating that derived works in <a href="/facts/Binary_file/ysttM8hh">binary form</a> may be distributed on the user's own terms.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> This <a href="/facts/Software_license/7enfIqhL">license</a> is a <a href="/facts/Free_software_license/BACv1rju">free software license</a> approved by the FSF,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> making wxWidgets <a href="/facts/Free_software/IaoVtJXn">free software</a>. It has been approved by the <a href="/facts/Open_Source_Initiative/sJtjc2EF">Open Source Initiative</a> (OSI).<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="official-support">Official support</h2> <h3>Supported platforms</h3> <p>wxWidgets is supported on the following platforms:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a> </p> <ul><li>Windows – wxMSW (64-bits Windows XP up to Windows 11 and 32-bits Windows 3.11 for Workgroups (with Win32s extension) up to Windows 11)</li> <li>Linux/Unix – <a href="/facts/WxGTK/GL1bPc03">wxGTK</a>, wxX11, wxMotif</li> <li>Mac OS – wxMac (<a href="/facts/Mac_OS_X_10.3/lDrnzKAe">Mac OS X 10.3</a> using Carbon, <a href="/facts/Mac_OS_X_10.5/UmXw4H5x">Mac OS X 10.5</a> using Cocoa), wxOSX/Cocoa (32/64-bits <a href="/facts/Mac_OS_X_10.7/CHyxXg8X">Mac OS X 10.7</a> or later)</li> <li>OS/2 – wxOS2, wxPM, wxWidgets for GTK or Motif can be compiled on OS/2</li> <li>Embedded platforms – wxEmbedded<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18"><sup>18</sup></a></li></ul> <h4>External ports</h4> <ul><li>Amiga – wxWidgets-AOS: AmigaOS port (Work In Progress)<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19"><sup>19</sup></a></li></ul> <h3>Supported compilers</h3> <p>wxWidgets is officially confirmed to work properly with the following compilers:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20"><sup>20</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21"><sup>21</sup></a> </p> <table><tbody><tr><th>Toolkit</th><th>Compiler</th><th>Version</th></tr><tr><th rowspan="8" scope="row">wxMSW</th><td>Microsoft Visual Studio – Visual C++</td><td>5.0+</td></tr><tr><td><a href="/facts/Borland_C%2B%2B/H4ojX2up">Borland C++</a> (dropped in 3.1.5)</td><td>5.5+</td></tr><tr><td>C++Builder</td><td>2006+</td></tr><tr><td>Watcom C++, OpenWatcom</td><td>10.6+</td></tr><tr><td>CodeWarrior</td><td>7+</td></tr><tr><td>Cygwin</td><td>1.5+</td></tr><tr><td>MinGW</td><td>2.0+</td></tr><tr><td>Digital Mars C/C++ compiler</td><td>8.40+</td></tr><tr><th rowspan="6" scope="row">wxGTK</th><td>g++</td><td>2.95+</td></tr><tr><td>Clang++</td><td>3.3+</td></tr><tr><td>Intel C++ Compiler</td><td>9.1+</td></tr><tr><td>Sun Studio C/C++</td><td>5.9</td></tr><tr><td>HP aC++</td><td>3.8</td></tr><tr><td>IBM XL C/C++</td><td>8.0</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="programming-language-bindings">Programming language bindings</h2> <p class="note">For a more comprehensive list, see <a href="/facts/List_of_language_bindings_for_wxWidgets/llFGhX9r">List of language bindings for wxWidgets</a>.</p> <p>The wxWidgets <a href="/facts/Library_(computing)/xRzL3P7q">library</a> is implemented in <a href="/facts/C%2B%2B/Et0F2qn9">C++</a>, with <a href="/facts/Language_binding/V5HW4Wr4">bindings</a> available for many commonly used <a href="/facts/Programming_language/cWTYbgWa">programming languages</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22"><sup>22</sup></a> </p><p>wxWidgets is best described as a <a href="/facts/Native_mode/yNez4jAK">native mode</a> 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 <a href="/facts/Swing_(Java)/xFbyDcjS">Swing</a> (for Java), as well as offering performance and other benefits.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23"><sup>23</sup></a> </p><p>The toolkit is also not restricted to GUI development, having an <a href="/facts/Inter-process_communication/cIQYyT6y">inter-process communication</a> layer, <a href="/facts/Internet_socket/r1ldfkb5">socket</a> networking functionality, and more. </p> <h2 id="rad-tools-and-ides-for-wxwidgets">RAD tools and IDEs for wxWidgets</h2> <p>There are many <a href="/facts/Rapid_Application_Development/LX6JuaE4">Rapid Application Development</a> (RAD) and <a href="/facts/Integrated_Development_Environment/jbEINSQf">Integrated Development Environment</a> (IDE) tools available. Notable tools include:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24"><sup>24</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25"><sup>25</sup></a> </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Code::Blocks/RmzjVnsX">Code::Blocks</a> (via wxSmith plugin)</li> <li><a href="/facts/CodeLite/XsVBvyBG">CodeLite</a> (via wxCrafter plugin)</li> <li><a href="/facts/WxFormBuilder/4Nh41xRW">wxFormBuilder</a></li></ul> <h2 id="applications-built-using-wxwidgets">Applications built using wxWidgets</h2> <p class="note">See also: Category:Software that uses wxWidgets</p> <p>Notable applications that use wxWidgets: </p> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/0_A.D._(video_game)/b3cjV9js">0 A.D.</a></i> – a <a href="/facts/Free_and_open-source_software/1cHtjLCB">FOSS</a> video game similar to <i><a href="/facts/Age_of_Empires_(series)/kUver7uw">Age of Empires</a></i></li> <li><a href="/facts/Amaya_(web_editor)/uBBEQvSF">Amaya</a> – web authoring tool</li> <li><a href="/facts/AMule/2mKz08S0">aMule</a> – peer-to-peer file sharing application</li> <li><a href="/facts/ActivePresenter/19bKjvVQ">ActivePresenter</a> – screen recorder, video editor & e-learning application</li> <li><a href="/facts/Audacity_(audio_editor)/QadSg3NH">Audacity</a> – cross-platform sound editor</li> <li><a href="/facts/BitTorrent_(software)/areLVdTL">BitTorrent</a> – peer-to-peer file sharing application</li> <li><a href="/facts/Berkeley_Open_Infrastructure_for_Network_Computing/RPaqqojG">Berkeley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing</a> – an <a href="/facts/Open-source_model/uDWVYJ4V">open-source</a> <a href="/facts/Middleware_(distributed_applications)/3sS5aCRD">middleware</a> system</li> <li><a href="/facts/Code::Blocks/RmzjVnsX">Code::Blocks</a> – C/C++ IDE</li> <li><a href="/facts/CodeLite/XsVBvyBG">CodeLite</a> – simple C++ Editor (Collection of free Tools, implemented by plugins)</li> <li><a href="/facts/FileZilla/JeVtCxfg">FileZilla</a> – FTP client</li> <li><a href="/facts/FreeFileSync/1Gdh2vRB">FreeFileSync</a> – a free and open-source file synchronization software</li> <li><a href="/facts/GrandOrgue/2LvBMJLa">GrandOrgue</a> – virtual pipe organ simulator</li> <li><a href="/facts/Guayadeque_Music_Player/kb33NzBz">Guayadeque Music Player</a> – a music player with database</li> <li><a href="/facts/Hollywood_(programming_language)/64vmKRpe">Hollywood</a> – uses wxWidgets in its RapaGUI plugin</li> <li><a href="/facts/KiCad/x1TH8QCs">KiCad</a> – a free software suite for electronic design automation (EDA)</li> <li><a href="/facts/RapidSVN/bAnt9bTL">RapidSVN</a> – Subversion client</li> <li><a href="/facts/TortoiseCVS/SKfRr80B">TortoiseCVS</a> – CVS client</li></ul> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul> <li>Free and open-source software portal</li></ul> <ul><li><a href="/facts/FLTK/a9R0RuQI">FLTK</a> – a light, cross platform, non-native widget toolkit</li> <li><a href="/facts/FOX_toolkit/MnFjp0JB">FOX toolkit</a> – a fast, open source, cross-platform widget toolkit</li> <li><a href="/facts/GTK/oLpVm9pp">GTK</a> – the GIMP toolkit, a widget toolkit used by <a href="/facts/GNOME/EFMNBmpR">GNOME</a> applications</li> <li><a href="/facts/Gtkmm/nIvHSgjT">gtkmm</a> – C++ version of GTK</li> <li><a href="/facts/Juce/lte6rvPS">Juce</a> – an extensive cross-platform widget toolkit</li> <li><a href="/facts/IUP_(software)/hSN0nMeW">IUP</a> – a multi-platform toolkit for building native graphical user interfaces</li> <li><a href="/facts/Qt_(toolkit)/gVhwlQnJ">Qt (toolkit)</a> – an application framework used by <a href="/facts/KDE/PCh32IWA">KDE</a> applications</li> <li><a href="/facts/Ultimate%2B%2B/utIuUMCI">U++</a> – a C++ cross-platform development framework</li> <li><a href="/facts/Widget_toolkit/v8wM8wwy">Widget toolkit</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/List_of_widget_toolkits/7Hoc02Lz">List of widget toolkits</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> <ul><li>Smart, Julian; Hock, Kevin; Csomor, Stefan (5 August 2005), <a href="http://www.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/detail.asp?item=100000000072372"><i>Cross-Platform GUI Programming with wxWidgets</i></a>, <a href="/facts/Prentice_Hall/bynWAuat">Prentice Hall</a>, <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-0-13-147381-2</li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to wxWidgets. <ul><li><a href="https://www.wxwidgets.org/">Official website</a> </li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"About Who uses wxWidgets?". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2011-04-12. <a href="https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/whouses.htm" target="_blank">https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/whouses.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"About the wxWidgets Project". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2010-01-02. <a href="https://wxwidgets.org/about/" target="_blank">https://wxwidgets.org/about/</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>""License" page on website". 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. <a href="https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/licence/" target="_blank">https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/licence/</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"wxEmbedded | embedded cross platform GUI library homepage". www.wxembedded.com. <a href="http://www.wxembedded.com/" target="_blank">http://www.wxembedded.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"About Who uses wxWidgets?". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2011-04-12. <a href="https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/whouses.htm" target="_blank">https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/whouses.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"List of open source applications that uses wxWidgets". SourceForge.net. Retrieved 2011-04-22. <a href="http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/?&fq%5B%5D=trove%3A481" target="_blank">http://sourceforge.net/softwaremap/?&fq%5B%5D=trove%3A481</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"History - wxWidgets". www.wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2023-03-31. <a href="https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/history/" target="_blank">https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/history/</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"About the wxWidgets Project". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2010-01-02. <a href="https://wxwidgets.org/about/" target="_blank">https://wxwidgets.org/about/</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"About Julian Smart, www.anthemion.co.uk". anthemion.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-06-08. <a href="http://www.anthemion.co.uk/julian.htm" target="_blank">http://www.anthemion.co.uk/julian.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Smart, Julian; Dunn, Robin (August 2004). "Name change". Sourceforge.net. Retrieved 2007-04-23. <a href="https://wxwidgets.org/about/name.htm" target="_blank">https://wxwidgets.org/about/name.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Smart, Julian (2006-10-10). "Google Summer of Code 2006: wxWidgets projects summary". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2011-04-11. <a href="https://wxwidgets.blogspot.com/2006/10/google-summer-of-code-2006-wxwidgets.html" target="_blank">https://wxwidgets.blogspot.com/2006/10/google-summer-of-code-2006-wxwidgets.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>"Google Summer of Code 2006". Retrieved 2011-04-11. <a href="https://code.google.com/intl/pl/soc/2006/wxwidgets/about.html" target="_blank">https://code.google.com/intl/pl/soc/2006/wxwidgets/about.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>""License" page on website". 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. <a href="https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/licence/" target="_blank">https://www.wxwidgets.org/about/licence/</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Various Licenses and Comments about Them – GNU Project - Free Software Foundation". <a href="https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#Wx" target="_blank">https://www.gnu.org/licenses/license-list.html#Wx</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>"Open Source Initiative OSI – The wxWindows Library Licence:Licensing". Open Source Initiative. Retrieved 2011-04-28. <a href="http://www.opensource.org/licenses/wxwindows.php" target="_blank">http://www.opensource.org/licenses/wxwindows.php</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>"wxWidgets: Introduction". docs.wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2016-01-14. <a href="https://docs.wxwidgets.org/trunk/page_introduction.html" target="_blank">https://docs.wxwidgets.org/trunk/page_introduction.html</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"wxWidgets: Platform Details". docs.wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2016-01-14. <a href="https://docs.wxwidgets.org/trunk/page_port.html" target="_blank">https://docs.wxwidgets.org/trunk/page_port.html</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:18"><p>"wxEmbedded | embedded cross platform GUI library homepage". www.wxembedded.com. <a href="http://www.wxembedded.com/" target="_blank">http://www.wxembedded.com/</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:19"><p>"wxWidgets-AOS: AmigaOS port". Retrieved 2011-04-24. <a href="https://sourceforge.net/projects/wxwidget-aos/" target="_blank">https://sourceforge.net/projects/wxwidget-aos/</a> <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:20"><p>"Supported Platforms". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2011-04-24. <a href="https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Supported_Platforms" target="_blank">https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Supported_Platforms</a> <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:21"><p>"Development: Supported Classes - WxWiki". wiki.wxwidgets.org. <a href="https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Development:_Supported_Classes" target="_blank">https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Development:_Supported_Classes</a> <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:22"><p>"wxWidgets General Information". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2015-08-01. <a href="https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/General_Information" target="_blank">https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/General_Information</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:23"><p>"WxWidgets Compared To Other Toolkits". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2010-01-02. <a href="https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/WxWidgets_Compared_To_Other_Toolkits" target="_blank">https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/WxWidgets_Compared_To_Other_Toolkits</a> <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:24"><p>"Tools for wxWidgets". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2011-04-12. <a href="https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Tools" target="_blank">https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/Tools</a> <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:25"><p>"List of Integrated Development Environments". wxwidgets.org. Retrieved 2011-04-12. <a href="https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/List_of_Integrated_Development_Environments" target="_blank">https://wiki.wxwidgets.org/List_of_Integrated_Development_Environments</a> <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>