This section describes the status of the wxWidgets libraries in the ports tree and its integration with the ports system.
There are many versions of the wxWidgets libraries which conflict between them (install files under the same name). In the ports tree this problem has been solved by installing each version under a different name using version number suffixes.
The obvious disadvantage of this is that each application has to be modified to find the expected version. Fortunately, most of the applications call the wx-config script to determine the necessary compiler and linker flags. The script is named differently for every available version. Majority of applications respect an environment variable, or accept a configure argument, to specify which wx-config script to call. Otherwise they have to be patched.
To make your port use a specific version of wxWidgets there are two variables available for defining (if only one is defined the other will be set to a default value):
Table 6-24. Variables to select wxWidgets versions
| Variable | Description | Default value |
|---|---|---|
| USE_WX | List of versions the port can use | All available versions |
| USE_WX_NOT | List of versions the port can not use | None |
The following is a list of available wxWidgets versions and the corresponding ports in the tree:
Table 6-25. Available wxWidgets versions
| Version | Port |
|---|---|
| 2.4 | x11-toolkits/wxgtk24 |
| 2.6 | x11-toolkits/wxgtk26 |
| 2.8 | x11-toolkits/wxgtk28 |
Note: The versions starting from 2.5 also come in Unicode version and are installed by a slave port named like the normal one plus a -unicode suffix, but this can be handled with variables (see Section 6.18.4).
The variables in Table 6-24 can be set to one or more of the following combinations separated by spaces:
Table 6-26. wxWidgets version specifications
| Description | Example |
|---|---|
| Single version | 2.4 |
| Ascending range | 2.4+ |
| Descending range | 2.6- |
| Full range (must be ascending) | 2.4-2.6 |
There are also some variables to select the preferred versions from the available ones. They can be set to a list of versions, the first ones will have higher priority.
There are other applications that, while not being wxWidgets libraries, are related to them. These applications can be specified in the WX_COMPS variable. The following components are available:
Table 6-28. Available wxWidgets components
| Name | Description | Version restriction |
|---|---|---|
| wx | main library | none |
| contrib | contributed libraries | none |
| python | wxPython (Python bindings) | 2.4-2.6 |
| mozilla | wxMozilla | 2.4 |
| svg | wxSVG | 2.6 |
The dependency type can be selected for each component by adding a suffix separated by a semicolon. If not present then a default type will be used (see Table 6-30). The following types are available:
Table 6-29. Available wxWidgets dependency types
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| build | Component is required for building, equivalent to BUILD_DEPENDS |
| run | Component is required for running, equivalent to RUN_DEPENDS |
| lib | Component is required for building and running, equivalent to LIB_DEPENDS |
The default values for the components are detailed in the following table:
The wxWidgets library supports Unicode since version 2.5. In the ports tree both versions are available and can be selected with the following variables:
Table 6-31. Variables to select Unicode in wxWidgets versions
| Variable | Description | Designed for |
|---|---|---|
| WX_UNICODE | The port works only with the Unicode version | the port |
| WANT_UNICODE | The port works with both versions but prefers the Unicode one | the port |
| WITH_UNICODE | The port will use the Unicode version | the user |
| WITHOUT_UNICODE | The port will use the normal version if supported (when WX_UNICODE is not defined) | the user |
Warning: Do not use WX_UNICODE for ports that can use both Unicode and normal versions. If you want the port to use Unicode by default define WANT_UNICODE instead.
To detect an installed version you have to define WANT_WX. If you do not set it to a specific version then the components will have a version suffix. The HAVE_WX variable will be filled after detection.
Example 6-7. Detecting installed wxWidgets versions and components
The following fragment can be used in a port that uses wxWidgets if it is installed, or an option is selected.
WANT_WX= yes
.include <bsd.port.pre.mk>
.if defined(WITH_WX) || ${HAVE_WX:Mwx-2.4} != ""
USE_WX= 2.4
CONFIGURE_ARGS+=--enable-wx
.endif
The following fragment can be used in a port that enables wxPython support if it is installed or if an option is selected, in addition to wxWidgets, both version 2.6.
USE_WX= 2.6
WX_COMPS= wx
WANT_WX= 2.6
.include <bsd.port.pre.mk>
.if defined(WITH_WXPYTHON) || ${HAVE_WX:Mpython} != ""
WX_COMPS+= python
CONFIGURE_ARGS+=--enable-wxpython
.endif
The following variables are available in the port (after defining one from Table 6-24).
Table 6-32. Variables defined for ports that use wxWidgets
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| WX_CONFIG | The path to the wxWidgets wx-config script (with different name) |
| WXRC_CMD | The path to the wxWidgets wxrc program (with different name) |
| WX_VERSION | The wxWidgets version that is going to be used (e.g., 2.6) |
| WX_UNICODE | If not defined but Unicode is going to be used then it will be defined |
If you need to use the variables for running commands right after including bsd.port.pre.mk you need to define WX_PREMK.
Important: If you define WX_PREMK, then the version, dependencies, components and defined variables will not change if you modify the wxWidgets port variables after including bsd.port.pre.mk.
Example 6-8. Using wxWidgets variables in commands
The following fragment illustrates the use of WX_PREMK by running the wx-config script to obtain the full version string, assign it to a variable and pass it to the program.
USE_WX= 2.4
WX_PREMK= yes
.include <bsd.port.pre.mk>
.if exists(${WX_CONFIG})
VER_STR!= ${WX_CONFIG} --release
PLIST_SUB+= VERSION="${VER_STR}"
.endif
Note: The wxWidgets variables can be safely used in commands when they are inside targets without the need of WX_PREMK.
Some GNU configure scripts can not find wxWidgets with just the WX_CONFIG environment variable set, requiring additional arguments. The WX_CONF_ARGS variable can be used for provide them.