Why Tcl? Is it just another shell language? How can it help you? Tcl stands for Tool Command Language. Tcl is really two things: a scripting language, and an interpreter for that language that is designed to be easy to embed into your application. Tcl and its associated X windows toolkit, Tk, were designed and crafted by Prof. John Ousterhout of U.C. Berkeley. These packages can be picked up off the Internet (see below) and used in your application, even a commercial one. The interpreter has been ported from UNIX to DOS and Macintosh environments.

As a scripting language, Tcl is similar to other UNIX shell languages such as the Bourne Shell, the C Shell, the Korn Shell, and Perl. Shell programs let you execute other programs. They provide enough programmability (variables, control flow, procedures) that you can build up complex scripts that assemble existing programs into a new tool tailored for your needs. Shells are wonderful for automating routine chores. It is the ability to easily add a Tcl interpreter to your application that sets it apart from other shells. Tcl fills the role of an extension language that is used to configure and customize applications. There is no need to invent a command language for your new application, or struggle to provide some sort of user-programmability for your tool. Instead, by adding a Tcl interpreter you are encouraged to structure your application as a set of primitive operations that can be composed by a script to best suit the needs of your users. It also allows programmatic control over your application by other programs, leading to suites of applications that work together well.

Download Ebook Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk ( 455 pages type pdf , 2.0 MB )

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