Wx::WidgetMaker 0.11

Wx::WidgetMaker is a CGI.pm-like library for wxPerl.

SYNOPSIS

use Wx::WidgetMaker;

$dialog = Wx::Dialog->new(...);
$q = Wx::WidgetMaker->new(-parent => $dialog);

# The dialog "page"
$pagesizer = Wx::BoxSizer->new(wxVERTICAL);

# A "row" in the page
$rowsizer = Wx::BoxSizer->new(wxHORIZONTAL);

# "print" a control to a row
$ctrl = $q->h1(H1 text);
$q->print($ctrl, $rowsizer);

# Add the row to the page
$q->print($rowsizer, $pagesizer);

# A new row
$rowsizer = Wx::BoxSizer->new(wxHORIZONTAL);

# print a label and textfield in an array
$ctrl2 = $q->password_field(
-name => password,
-default => blue,
-size => 50, # window width, not number of chars
-maxlength => 30,
);
$q->print([$q->print(Password: ), $ctrl2], $rowsizer);

# Add the row to the page
$q->print($rowsizer, $pagesizer);

# Add some buttons
$rowsizer = Wx::BoxSizer->new(wxHORIZONTAL);

$okbutton = $q->submit(ok, OK, wxID_OK);
$cancelbutton = $q->submit(cancel, Cancel, wxID_CANCEL);
$q->print([$okbutton, $cancelbutton], $rowsizer);

$q->print($rowsizer, $pagesizer);

# Put widgets in the dialog as normal
$dialog->SetAutoLayout(1);
$dialog->SetSizer($pagesizer);
$pagesizer->Fit($dialog);

# Get dialog data
if ($dialog->ShowModal() == wxID_OK) {
$password = $q->param(password);
}
$dialog->Destroy();

When starting to learn wxPerl, it can be frustrating trying to figure out which widgets handle what functionality. If youve ever done CGI development, you soon realize why its not a bad idea to leverage the web browser as a graphical user interface: it can be complicated to implement functionality that you take for granted as an HTML/CGI developer.

This module tries to make implementing wxPerl dialogs friendlier to a Perl CGI programmer by using an API similar to CGI.pm. (Specifically, it supports what I consider to be a useful/relevant subset of CGI.pms :standard export tags.) It tries to adhere as faithfully as reasonable to the CGI API where applicable, and otherwise to try to do something intuitive.

Every form-related method (popup_menu, textfield, etc.) requires a -name parameter. It serves the same purpose as in CGI.pm. The values the user has entered/selected on the form are accessible through $q->param(somename) where somename was given as a -name argument.