Kalahari wxWidgets Expert Skill

Quick Activation Triggers

USE this skill when you see:

• "panel", "dialog", "sizer", "wxAUI", "perspective"
• "wxRichTextCtrl", "wxTreeCtrl", "wxBoxSizer", "wxStaticBoxSizer"
• "event handler", "Bind()", "wxEVT_", "EVT_MENU"
• "GUI code", "wxWidgets", "wxFrame", "wxWindow"
• "layout", "docking", "toolbar", "menu", "statusbar"

Critical Patterns (Kalahari-Specific)

1. wxStaticBoxSizer Layout (MANDATORY)

// ALWAYS use this pattern for configuration sections
wxBoxSizer* mainSizer = new wxBoxSizer(wxVERTICAL);

wxStaticBoxSizer* box = new wxStaticBoxSizer(wxVERTICAL, this, "Group Title");

// Parent controls to StaticBox, use wxEXPAND, set proportions
wxCheckBox* checkbox = new wxCheckBox(box->GetStaticBox(), wxID_ANY, "Label");
box->Add(checkbox, 0, wxALL | wxEXPAND, 5);  // proportion=0 (fixed)

wxStaticText* text = new wxStaticText(box->GetStaticBox(), wxID_ANY, "Description");
box->Add(text, 1, wxALL | wxEXPAND, 5);  // proportion=1 (flexible)

mainSizer->Add(box, 1, wxALL | wxEXPAND, 10);
SetSizer(mainSizer);  // CRITICAL: always call SetSizer()

2. wxAUI Docking Setup

void MainWindow::SetupAUI() {
    m_auiManager.SetManagedWindow(this);

    m_auiManager.AddPane(m_panel,
        wxAuiPaneInfo()
            .Name("PanelName")
            .Caption("Title")
            .Left()  // or Right(), Center(), Top(), Bottom()
            .MinSize(200, -1)
            .BestSize(250, -1)
            .CloseButton(false)
    );

    m_auiManager.Update();
}

3. Event Handling (MVP Pattern)

// Dynamic binding (preferred)
m_button->Bind(wxEVT_BUTTON, &MyClass::OnButton, this);

// Thread-safe GUI update
wxTheApp->CallAfter([this]() {
    m_statusBar->SetStatusText("Updated from worker thread");
});

// Always check event.Skip() for propagation
void OnEvent(wxCommandEvent& event) {
    // Handle event
    event.Skip();  // Allow other handlers
}

4. Context7 Integration (MANDATORY)

ALWAYS fetch wxWidgets docs before coding:

1. mcp__context7__resolve-library-id("wxWidgets")
2. mcp__context7__get-library-docs(id, topic="wxRichTextCtrl")
3. Generate code based on current docs

Common topics: "wxAUI", "wxRichTextCtrl", "wxTreeCtrl", "wxFrame", "wxWidgets threading"

5. Common Pitfalls

6. Code Style (Kalahari Convention)

namespace kalahari {
namespace gui {

class MainWindow : public wxFrame {
public:
    MainWindow();  // PascalCase for classes

private:
    wxAuiManager m_auiManager;  // m_ prefix for members
    wxRichTextCtrl* m_editor;

    void setupAUI();  // camelCase for methods
    void OnFileNew(wxCommandEvent& event);  // On prefix for event handlers
};

} // namespace gui
} // namespace kalahari

Resources

• Context7: ALWAYS use before coding wxWidgets
• Kalahari Docs: project_docs/08_gui_design.md
• Architecture: project_docs/03_architecture.md (MVP pattern)
• Official: https://docs.wxwidgets.org/3.3/

Most Used Classes

• wxFrame, wxPanel, wxDialog
• wxBoxSizer, wxStaticBoxSizer (ALWAYS use for Kalahari)
• wxAuiManager, wxAuiPaneInfo
• wxRichTextCtrl, wxTreeCtrl
• wxMenu, wxMenuBar, wxToolBar, wxStatusBar