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README: Tcl
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This is the Tcl 8.4.15 source distribution.
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Tcl/Tk is also available through NetCVS:
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http://tcl.sourceforge.net/
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You can get any source release of Tcl from the file distributions
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link at the above URL.
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RCS: @(#) $Id: README,v 1.49.2.18 2006/10/23 17:53:23 dgp Exp $
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Contents
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--------
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1. Introduction
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2. Documentation
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3. Compiling and installing Tcl
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4. Development tools
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5. Tcl newsgroup
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6. Tcl contributed archive
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7. Tcl Resource Center
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8. Mailing lists
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9. Support and Training
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10. Thank You
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1. Introduction
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---------------
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Tcl provides a powerful platform for creating integration applications that
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tie together diverse applications, protocols, devices, and frameworks.
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When paired with the Tk toolkit, Tcl provides the fastest and most powerful
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way to create GUI applications that run on PCs, Unix, and the Macintosh.
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Tcl can also be used for a variety of web-related tasks and for creating
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powerful command languages for applications.
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Tcl is maintained, enhanced, and distributed freely by the Tcl community.
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The home for Tcl/Tk sources and bug/patch database is on SourceForge:
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http://tcl.sourceforge.net/
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with the Tcl Developer Xchange hosted at:
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http://www.tcl.tk/
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Tcl is a freely available open source package. You can do virtually
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anything you like with it, such as modifying it, redistributing it,
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and selling it either in whole or in part. See the file
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"license.terms" for complete information.
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2. Documentation
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----------------
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Extensive documentation is available at our website.
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The home page for this release, including new features, is
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http://www.tcl.tk/software/tcltk/8.4.html
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Detailed release notes can be found at the file distributions page
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by clicking on the relevant version.
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http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10894
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Information about Tcl itself can be found at
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http://www.tcl.tk/about/
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There have been many Tcl books on the market. Many are mentioned in the Wiki:
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http://wiki.tcl.tk/book
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2a. Unix Documentation
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----------------------
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The "doc" subdirectory in this release contains a complete set of
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reference manual entries for Tcl. Files with extension ".1" are for
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programs (for example, tclsh.1); files with extension ".3" are for C
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library procedures; and files with extension ".n" describe Tcl
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commands. The file "doc/Tcl.n" gives a quick summary of the Tcl
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language syntax. To print any of the man pages on Unix, cd to the
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"doc" directory and invoke your favorite variant of troff using the
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normal -man macros, for example
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ditroff -man Tcl.n
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to print Tcl.n. If Tcl has been installed correctly and your "man" program
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supports it, you should be able to access the Tcl manual entries using the
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normal "man" mechanisms, such as
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man Tcl
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2b. Windows Documentation
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-------------------------
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The "doc" subdirectory in this release contains a complete set of Windows
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help files for Tcl. Once you install this Tcl release, a shortcut to the
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Windows help Tcl documentation will appear in the "Start" menu:
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Start | Programs | Tcl | Tcl Help
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3. Compiling and installing Tcl
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-------------------------------
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There are brief notes in the unix/README, win/README, and macosx/README about
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compiling on these different platforms. There is additional information
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about building Tcl from sources at
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http://www.tcl.tk/doc/howto/compile.html
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4. TclPro Development tools
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---------------------------
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A high quality set of commercial quality development tools is available to
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accelerate your Tcl application development. The TclPro product provides a
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debugger, static code checker, packaging utility, and bytecode compiler.
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TclPro was open-sourced when Scriptics/Ajuba was acquired by Interwoven.
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Visit its home at SourceForge for more information and source/binaries:
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http://tclpro.sourceforge.net/
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ActiveState has picked up support for commercial Tcl development tools.
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More information can be found at
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http://www.ActiveState.com/Tcl
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5. Tcl newsgroup
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There is a USENET news group, "comp.lang.tcl", intended for the exchange of
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information about Tcl, Tk, and related applications. The newsgroup is a
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great place to ask general information questions. There is also
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a USENET news group, "comp.lang.tcl.announce", intended to announce new
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releases of software, training, and more. For bug reports, please
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see the "Support and bug fixes" section below.
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6. Tcl contributed archive
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--------------------------
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Many people have created exciting packages and applications based on Tcl
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and/or Tk and made them freely available to the Tcl community. An archive
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of these contributions is kept on the machine ftp://archives.tcl.tk/pub/tcl
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(aka ftp://ftp.procplace.com/pub/tcl). You can access the archive using
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anonymous FTP. The archive also contains several FAQ ("frequently asked
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questions") documents that provide solutions to problems that are commonly
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encountered by Tcl newcomers.
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7. The Tcler's Wiki
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-------------------
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A Wiki-based open community site covering all aspects of Tcl/Tk is at:
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http://wiki.tcl.tk/
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A wealth of useful information can be found there.
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8. Mailing lists
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----------------
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Several mailing lists are hosted at SourceForge to discuss development or
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use issues (like Macintosh and Windows topics). For more information and
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to subscribe, visit:
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http://sourceforge.net/projects/tcl/
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and go to the Mailing Lists page.
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9. Support and Training
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------------------------
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We are very interested in receiving bug reports, patches, and suggestions
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for improvements. We prefer that you send this information to us via the
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bug form at SourceForge, rather than emailing us directly. The bug
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database is at:
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http://tcl.sourceforge.net/
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The bug form was designed to give uniform structure to bug reports as
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well as to solicit enough information to minimize followup questions.
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We will log and follow-up on each bug, although we cannot promise a
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specific turn-around time. Enhancements, reported via the Feature
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Requests form at the same web site, may take longer and may not happen
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at all unless there is widespread support for them (we're trying to
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slow the rate at which Tcl/Tk turns into a kitchen sink). It's very
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difficult to make incompatible changes to Tcl/Tk at this point, due to
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the size of the installed base.
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The Tcl community is too large for us to provide much individual support
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for users. If you need help we suggest that you post questions to
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comp.lang.tcl. We read the newsgroup and will attempt to answer esoteric
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questions for which no one else is likely to know the answer. In addition,
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see the following page on the Wiki for links to other organizations that offer
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Tcl/Tk training:
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http://wiki.tcl.tk/training
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10. Thank You
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-------------
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We'd like to express our thanks to the Tcl community for all the
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helpful suggestions, bug reports, and patches we have received.
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Tcl/Tk has improved vastly and will continue to do so with your help.
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