[SciPy-dev] gui_thread and wxPython-2.5.2.8

[Prabhu Ramachandran]

Hi,

I noticed that gui_thread does not work with wxPython-2.5.2.8.  It
worked perfectly under 2.4.x.  So I spent quite a bit of time figuring
out what was going on today.  I finally have something that works.
The only problem is that the solution requires a small patch to
wx/__init__.py in the wxPython installation.  Of course, I am using
Pearu's excellent wxPython_thread code to handle the threading issues.

AFAICT the major problem with 2.5.2.8 and gui_thread is that a lot is
done when one does `import wx`.  This is unlike 2.4.x where importing
wxPython alone merely imports wxc.  It also turns out that a function
called `_core_._wxPySetDictionary(vars())` in wx/_core.py is the major
pain in the neck.  Boy did that take a while to figure out!

What do you folks recommend that I do about the issue.  Does someone
have the time to look at my changes to gui_thread/wxPython_thread.py
and the patch to wx/__init__.py and help?  Should I also ask Robin
Dunn if I could work out a cleaner solution by perhaps changing the
way _wxPySetDictionary works?  I am not sure.

Any advice would be appreciated.  In any case the result of my hacking
is that with 2 small patches one can use gui_thread fully from within
IPython for both new and old (not tested but should work) versions of
wxPython.

Also, if 0.3.2 is round the corner is this a good thing to push into
scipy?  I am not sure how many folks use gui_thread, but it would
certainly be cool if this could make it into 0.3.2.

Comments/suggestions?

cheers,
prabhu