Distributing WxWidgets Applications

Things useful for telling your customers/users when you're distributing a program which uses wxWidgets

Windows (specific to using Microsoft Visual c++ 2008 express edition):

Compile wxwidgets and your application following the guidelines: Microsoft Visual C++ Guide. The program will run on your development computer. However, in order to get it to run on other windows boxes (clients) you need to install Microsoft Visual C++ 2008 Redistributable Package on the clients (available here). If you compiled statically, the only thing you need to distribute is the .exe file.

Linux:

• for mandrake, the package is called wxGTK-2.4.2-1mdk
• remember to run 'ldconfig' after installing the package

Distributing_WxWidgets_Applications-Distributing WxMac Programs

Required Credits (Copyright "gotchas")

wxWidgets seems to be licenced under a fairly permissive licence which makes it easy to distribute wxWidgets based applications without needing to apply for permission or publicise the fact that wxWidgets is being used.

However, towards the bottom of the README file, there are a few "gotchas" which apply to binary redistribution:

• If you use TIFF support, you need to credit Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics, Inc., in your software and documentation. See the TIFF copyright.
• If you use JPEG support, you need to credit the Independent JPEG Group in your documentation. See the JPEG Readme.
• If you use wxRegEx from wxWidgets 2.4.2, you may need to credit Henry Spencer in your documentation, depending on what platforms your software runs on, and what version of wxWidgets you are using (e.g. wxMSW will use Spencer's code, but apparently most Unices will not). The license in CVS HEAD for 2.5.0 is different, and a credit in the documentation is no longer required. See the regex COPYRIGHT in HEAD and old regex COPYRIGHT.
• The RichEdit sample is under the GPL.
• IODBC is under the LGPL.
• wxDb in versions prior to 2.5.3 has the following license:

 // Notice:      This class library and its intellectual design are free of charge for use,
 //              modification, enhancement, debugging under the following conditions:
 //              1) These classes may only be used as part of the implementation of a
 //                 wxWidgets-based application
 //              2) All enhancements and bug fixes are to be submitted back to the wxWidgets
 //                 user groups free of all charges for use with the wxWidgets library.
 //              3) These classes may not be distributed as part of any other class library,
 //                 DLL, text (written or electronic), other than a complete distribution of
 //                 the wxWidgets GUI development toolkit.
 ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////