Biplab May 25th, 2007
wxWidgets (wx) 2.8.4 has been released recently. Since Code::Blocks was switched to wx 2.8.x series wx-2.8.3 runtime dll was being used on Windows. But wx 2.8.3 had some serious issues which were crippling some of the features of Code::Blocks on Windows and as well as on Linux. Well let me explain them.
On Windows, the pop-up menu were not responding to clicks. This became an annoying issue for Code::Blocks as a major portion of pop-up menus were not working. This bug existed in wx-2.8.3 and has been fixed in wx-2.8.4.
So if you are facing such issue where the Pop-Up menus are not working, just upgrade to wx-2.8.4. A link to a new DLL is now available with the Nightly Build links. Please check the Code::Blocks forum for the link.
On Linux the issue was quite serious, though. There is a bug in wx-2.8.3 in which an application may run into an endless loop if a statictext control is added to menu. This issue was making Code::Blocks to hang-at-start-up. So if your Code::Blocks installation is showing such weird behaviour, it’s time to upgrade.
For Linux, you need to upgrade on your own. As such no wxGTK runtime will be provided by Code::Blocks team (including me). You may build it on your own or can check wxWidgets website’s Download section.
So if you face any of these two issues, please don’t file a bug-report. Rather update wxWidgets runtime.
Signing off today. 
Biplab May 4th, 2007
Hello all,
The wxWidgets Wizard of Code::Blocks have been updatd recently. In this article I’ll explain the changes that I’ve committed.
Earlier wizard had two pages to add additional libraries in Non-Monolithic build of wxWidgets in Windows. Now those two pages have been changed to a more user-friendly one page list. All the libraries are now available as a single list and selecting them is also easier. Please see the following screenshot for more details.
Another important update has been committed in the wizard. Wizard is now able to add additional dependencies if you’ve forgot to add them in your project. This would be helpful in resolving linking errors due to missing dependencies.
In past couple of months, several users requested to add support for a wxWidgets target addition. In this update I’ve added that, too. Now you’ll be able to add a target to an existing project even with a different compiler and configuration.
To use this, please click File > New > Build target menu. Now you’ll see the following screen.
Select wxWidgets from the list and the target wizard will start. Now follow the steps in the wizard and use appropriate settings. The wizard will create a New target for you.
Please note that to add a new target, a project should be open in Code::Blocks.
Hopefully you’ll find this new addition to be useful.
Regards,
Biplab
Biplab May 3rd, 2007
Hello All,
This is a compilation of all the changes made to Code::Blocks this month. The first week of April was declared as a bug-fix week and a number of bugs were fixed. A large number of patches were applied to the core.
Please Note: This is NOT a Release Announcement. The report is based on Commit history and for information only.
Please don’t forget to visit Code::Blocks forums for more details.
Among the notable improvements:
- Windows build is switched to wxWidgets-2.8.3
- Added Advanced Regular Expression support.
- Added Custom Build command support to Projectfile.
- Code-completion now accepts ‘.’, ‘;’ or any other characters and this list can be customised.
- Now it’s possible to add additional controls to wxSmith.
- Codesnippets plugin got huge update.
- wxWidgets wizard got a facelift. Added to the target list.
- Improved virtual folder management.
- A lot more fixes..
Detailed changelog is as follows. Continue Reading »
Biplab March 26th, 2007
Hi Everybody,
In this article I’ll discuss on how to install Code::Blocks Nightly on Windows. Most of the Code::Blocks (C::B) users start downloading Code::Blocks RC2, which was the last stable release. But RC2 is very old, around one and half years old. A lot of changes were made to the core and that is one of the reasons of not releasing another stable release within this period.
First download a latest nightly from the following forum. Go to that forum and you’ll find a number of posts. Read the most recent release announcement.
http://forums.codeblocks.org/index.php/board,20.0.html
Code::Blocks nightly release file name will be in the following format. Generally you’ll find a file named CB_YYYYMMDD_revXXXX_win32.7z, where ‘X’ denotes revision number. Download this file.
Now extract the contents of this file to a folder. Please remember the following two points.
- Do not overwrite the contents of an existing Nightly or an older RC2 release installation directory contents. This may land you into troubles. There are major differences between RC2 core and latest Nightly core and they are incompatible with each other. If you overwrite an existing nightly,C::B may refuse to run if there is any changes made to the core and some plugins may fail.
- Before installing any C::B nightly, please remove older RC2 installation. Because the older RC2 created configuration files will conflict with newer ones.
Now Code::Blocks needs another two files to run. Both the files are also posted with each nightly releases. One file is wxWidgets runtime dll and the second one is MinGW runtime dll file. Download them and extract to the folder where codeblocks.exe file resides. These runtime files can be downloaded from the following link.
Your Code::Blocks nightly is now installed!!
If you still have any questions, please feel free to ask me.
Biplab March 18th, 2007
Hello Everybody,
A post after a long gap. Actually got bit busy with studies and bug-fixing. After fixing a number of bugs Code::Blocks (by the whole team) I finally decided to write this about the newer features that we’ve added.
So the first question that may come to your mind is why I’m saying switch to “Newer & Better” Code::Blocks??
Most of the users start downloading the Code::Blocks RC2 which is about 1.5 yrs old. But it has undergone a large number of changes in core and that is one of the reasons it’s now offered as Nightly Releases.
The latest change is actually a Performance Boost. Earlier there were a large number of complaints that Code::Blocks is a resource hog in some machines. It was a long pending issue. Finally we’ve fixed this issue in Revision 3676.
Now newer Code::Blocks actually consumes at least 6-8 times less CPU power!! Can’t believe it? Try a newer Nightly and you’ll come to know. So your favourite IDE has just got better.
So it’s my humble request to everyone who is using Code::Blocks Nightly of Revision lesser than 3676 to upgrade to a newer Nightly immediately. Download link are available in Blogroll section of this blog on the right side of this page.
Any more updates? Yes, there are many. We’ve fixed a bunch of bugs. We’re currently doing some modifications to it’s core, wxSmith has got better and more. At the time of writing revision 3718 is out. Please try it out.
Biplab March 7th, 2007
Hello Everybody,
This week I’m posting wxWidgets Wizard update alongwith a number of other feature improvements that has been added in Code::Blocks.
A number of users had complained about the support of OpenWatcom in Code::Blocks. The support was there but it was broken as it was written quite a while ago. Thus I rewrote some of the parts to improve the support. Now it has been tested with OpenWatcom 1.6 and found to be working perfectly with different types of projects.
After improving OpenWatcom support the goal was set to make the wxWidgets Wizard compatible with OpenWatcom. It has been updated to work with latest OpenWatcom release. I’ve personally tested it with OpenWatcom 1.6 and found to be working perfectly. OpenWatcom support for wxWidgets Wizard has been added in Revision 3660.
Till date if anyone wishes to develop wxWidgets based application with OpenWatcom makefile was the only option. Latest Nightlies of Code::Blocks have changed the equation. The OpenWatcom support is also available in 3rd-Party GUI builder integration part of wxWidgets Wizard.
One feature is presently lacking in OpenWatcom support in wizard. It does not support PCH files. But soon this limitation will be resolved.
Another interesting feature addition to wizard is support for wxSmith, the default GUI builder in Code::Blocks. I’m thankful to Byo for his support making the integration possible.
I hope you’ll all find the latest changes more interesting and useful.
Thanks for visiting the Blog. Please visit again for more updates.
Biplab February 28th, 2007
An interesting feature has been added in the wxWidgets Project Wizard of Code::Blocks. Support for external GUI builder. Presently wxFormBuilder is supported. Code::Blocks also comes with an integrated GUI builder named wxSmith. Next release of this wizard will be focusing on integrating wxSmith.
So what more user need to do to enable this feature? Truly speaking, not much. User have to select an option which asks which GUI builder to use (See the following screenshot for more details). There is another option to generate either wxDialog based or wxFrame based app.
Screenshot showing GUI builder selection page
Selecting No GUI Builder will create an working project with sample code.
Changelog:
- Wizard now supports creation of wxDialog / wxFrame based app.
- Wizard now supports wxFormBuilder to be selected as 3rd-Party GUI Builder alongwith wxDialog / wxFrame option.
- PCH include header has been reverted to wx_pch.h and PCH Pre-Processor definition is changed to WX_PRECOMP
- EVT_CLOSE has been added in all templates to ensure proper exit.
The new wizard will be available from Revision 3645 onwards and it has been released with 26th February 2007 Nightly Release. Download it from -
http://forums.codeblocks.org/index.php/topic,5289.0.html
Biplab February 22nd, 2007
Hello Everybody,
There has been couple of significant changes to wxWidgets project wizard of Code::Blocks. The update will help advanced users who want to debug their application in Debug mode but linking with Release library of wxWidgets. Yes! this is now possible but only for GCC. Other compilers may not support this feature and thus it has been internally disabled.
Changelog:
- Set Target Types option has been renamed to Configure Advanced Options. (See screenshot 1)
- Now wizard can setup debug target using Release wxWidgets lib and without __WXDEBUG__. Please remember that this is available only for GCC in Windows. (See screenshot 2)
This option was requested by several developer of Code::Blocks. This option will enable a developer to compile application in debug mode (using -g flag to be particular) but using release lib of wxWidgets to avoid mixing of bugs. Please remember that this option will not work for any other compilers other than GCC.
Committed in revision 3610
Biplab February 11th, 2007
Latest changes are:
- Library selection page in Linux have been redesigned. Options have been regrouped (See the screenshot below).
- Now it’s possible for users to create a project with default wx lib configurations present in Linux.
Please download Code::Blocks Nightly Revision 3577 onwards to get these changes.
Biplab February 6th, 2007
There are a number of changes made to it last week.
Changes:
- Bugfix restoring PCH support for GCC. A bug was introduced in Revision 7 which disabled the PCH support.
- Warning message added for Empty Project Creation.
- Added option to use customised PCH header.
- Grouped the various options in wxWidgets lib Configuration page.
The changes will be available with Revision 3570 of Code::Blocks (http://www.codeblocks.org) and onwards.
