C

Cross-Platform GUI Programming with wxWidgets (Bruce Perens Open Source)

Format: Paperback
Author: Julian Smart
ReleaseDate: 26 July, 2005
Publisher: Prentice Hall PTR
Rating:

Lacks flow and some details
Then we go in a direction I find illogical: (3) Event Handling, (4) Window Basics, (5) Drawing and Printing, (6) Handling Input, and (7) Window Layout Using Sizers. Looking at the Table of Contents we find a good start: (1) Introduction, and (2) Getting Started. I believe that a better order would have been (4), (7), (3), (6), (5).

Due to the libraries use of MACROs (which are not well described within the text), many other issues arise. One of which is variable visibility. C/C++ scope is simple, but due to wxWidget's use of MACROs the accessing of variables can become difficult. There is a validation class which has only two type of validators, one for text and a generic one which does no validating at all. Those validators can also handle data transfer, but the transfer happens on an "OK" event back to the widget which is being destroyed. Useful?

Otherwise a decent introduction to the language and its promises. Good luck with more support from on-line documents and the mailing list! I have not found the answers/support that I seek.

Great way to get started with wxWidgets
It covers a lot of the major aspects one would need to develop professional cross-platform applications with wxWidgets. I found this book to be very usefull in guiding me into developing with wxWidgets.

I don't have many complaints as far as how the book was authored or put together, but I will admit i've experienced better readings in my day. I'm giving it a 4 star rating because I think wxWidgets is a open-source cross-platform framework at its best, overall the documentation and support is great.

So if you're considering learning wxWidgets this is the definately worth the money to get you on your way.

A great kick-start
It clearly explains each part of the library, from the windowing system right down to the threading and socket layers. For someone first learning wxWidgets, this book is an excellent starting point. In addition, the numerous examples allow the programmer to quicky get up to speed on the concepts presented in each section. The book's only weakness is that it is not a comprehensive reference guide, and must be supplemented by the online help files during everyday programming. For someone just starting out or needing a refresher course on the capabilities of wxWidgets, this is an excellent book.