WinForms control docking in wxWidgets - c++

Question

I'm new to wxWidgets since I never use GUI when programming in C++. Now I have to. I want to make the UI responsive using something like the DockStyle.Right/Bottom/Fill from WinForms. Since I have no code I tried before, the question is very short and not the best but I hope someone can help me.
EDIT:
That is what I currently have. When I uncomment SetMaxSize there is 30px space at the bottom but the panel (blue) is not visible:
namespace tms {
MainFrame::MainFrame(const wxString& title, const wxPoint& pos, const wxSize& size) : wxFrame(NULL, wxID_ANY, title, pos, size) {
this->InitialiseComponents();
}
void MainFrame::InitialiseComponents() {
this->panelChatLog = new wxPanel(this, wxID_ANY);
this->panelChatLog->SetBackgroundColour(wxColour(0, 255, 0));
this->panelChatInput = new wxPanel(this, wxID_ANY);
this->panelChatInput->SetBackgroundColour(wxColour(0, 0, 255));
this->panelChatInput->SetMinSize(wxSize(0, 30));
//this->panelChatInput->SetMaxSize(wxSize(0, 30));
this->sizerPanels = new wxBoxSizer(wxVERTICAL);
this->sizerPanels->Add(this->panelChatLog, 1, wxEXPAND | wxALL);
this->sizerPanels->Add(this->panelChatInput, 1, wxEXPAND | wxALL);
this->SetSizer(this->sizerPanels);
}
void MainFrame::OnExit(wxCommandEvent& event) {
this->Close(true);
}
}

Answer 1

Learning sizers can be a little tricky at first. But once you've absorbed the concept, they can be a very effective tool for laying out windows and controls for your application.
In the specific case above, when you uncomment the SetMaxSize line, you're setting both the min width and max width of the window to be 0 - which means the window has a width of 0. Instead you can use the special value of -1 which means the min width is and max width are unspecified. Consequently the sizer will pick the best width for the window:
this->panelChatInput->SetMinSize(wxSize(-1, 30));
this->panelChatInput->SetMaxSize(wxSize(-1, 30));
Alternately, you can use the proportion property when adding the lower panel to sizer. If you set the proportion to 0, the window will take it's minimum size (in the vertical direction). It will still expand in the horizontal direction because of the wxEXPAND flag is set.
...
this->panelChatInput->SetMinSize(wxSize(-1, 30));
this->sizerPanels = new wxBoxSizer(wxVERTICAL);
this->sizerPanels->Add(this->panelChatLog, 1, wxEXPAND | wxALL);
this->sizerPanels->Add(this->panelChatInput, 0, wxEXPAND | wxALL);
...
Either way, you'll get a layout that looks like this:
I think that's what you're trying to accomplish. Sorry if I'm misunderstanding.
Also as I mentioned above, visual tools like wxFormbuilder, wxCrafter, and wxGlade can be of help to see how all these numbers and properties translate to the actual layout of the windows in your application's forms. I know they really helped me.