2004-12-20
<pre>
QOTW:  "I see Tcl as a reduced-power Lisp that you can use into the real
world :)" -- Salvatore Sanfilippo

"You can foreach your heart out, of course, but {xpath
/agents/agent[@id='013']/name[@type='first'])} is much simpler."
                         Pascal Scheffers

    
POTW:  Cryptkit is a Tcl binding to the Cryptlib security toolkit AND a
nice model for the general pattern of exposing C-coded functionality as
Tcl commands.
    http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_thread/thread/26d908923dd87a9c/70d00f1fd264a83b


    Steve Cassidy provides an example on making new Tcl_Obj types for his
    matrix library
        http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_thread/thread/49eec7e457956353
    
    The Tcl_Obj interface for args is quicker than using the string interface
        http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/msg/517af0498a962afc
    
    Renaming core commands affects byte compiling
        http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_thread/thread/3791969747e86489/ad0239dd169aee0f
     
    Why is wish different? History of the wish shell.  Notice that
    renaming shows up again here--including an example *not* to follow.
        http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/msg/d4f84447688b9746 

    Do frames have backgrounds?  Can frames have backgrounds?  *Should*
    frames have backgrounds?  This is real engineering--that is, no one
    knows the answers yet.
        http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_thread/thread/4d1350c2d02de2dc
    
Thanks to Arjen Markus for his report from the Wiki(s):
  Ah, those dark days on the northern hemisphere that mark the end 
  of the year ... is that the reason for so many "do-it-yourself"
  pages? One can only guess.
  
  Building
  - Building Tcl on Windows - easier than you might think. But what
    do you then? <http://wiki.tcl.tk/2419> is back.
  
  - TclMagick is a powerful application, but not easy to build given
    that it depends on so many other things. <http://wiki.tcl.tk/13188>
    proudly presents ... And otherwise <http://wiki.tcl.tk/13194> if 
    you are impatient.
  
  Ready made
  - Need one of these enigmatic encryption methods? Let Cryptkit pave
    the way for you - <http://wiki.tcl.tk/13191>
  
  - The name looks like the start of an unsuccessful scrabble game, 
    but "gdtclft" can make pictures without the need of a screen 
    - <http://wiki.tcl.tk/5140>
  
  - Those dreadful keypresses - you can never catch them. Or can you?
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/4016> presents a (fairly) ready solution.
  
  Recipes
  - This is not for the die-hards among us, who simply use a text editor.
    But what if you are used to an IDE? What does Tcl offer you then?
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/3599> for an overview.
  
  - Anyone suffering from an overflowing inbox? Maybe it is time to get it
    "right" in the coming year and split the poor thing up -
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/123200> tells you how.
  
  - All you ever needed to know about simple database access -
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/13185> presents it step by step.
  
  People 
  - On the French Wiki they keep thinking about all those youngsters for 
    whom, one day, a computer might mean more than playing games:
    <http://wfr.tcl.tk/766> revives the old LOGO-turtle ...
  
  - "Process control" - I bet you thought of [exec], pipes and other
    Tcl commands. Me too - but here are people who deal with physical
    processes rather than a bunch of bits: <http://wiki.tcl.tk/10825>
  
  - When your chronicler first saw this page, the originator had already 
    passed away - but now there is a chance to learn more about Bob Clark
    and the lovely work he did with Tcl and elsewhere; see:
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/3406> 
    

Everything Tcl-related you want is probably one or two clicks away in these
pages:
    The "Welcome to comp.lang.tcl" message by Andreas Kupries
        http://www.purl.org/net/tcl-welcome

    The Tcl Developer Site is Tcl's "home base".
	http://www.tcl.tk

    Larry Virden maintains a comp.lang.tcl FAQ launcher.
        http://www.purl.org/NET/Tcl-FAQ/

    The Tcl Developer Xchange is a highly organized resource center
    of documents and software with provisions for individuals to
    maintain references to their own software:
        http://www.tcl.tk/resource/
    The TDX sponsor, ActiveState, also keeps info to convince your
    boss Tcl is a good thing
        http://www.tcl.tk/scripting/

    The Tcl'ers Wiki is a huge, dynamic, collaboratively edited repository
    of documentation, examples, tutorials and pontifications on all things 
    Tcl.
        http://wiki.tcl.tk/0
    For the ideal overview of the topics about Tcl most likely to
    interest a newcomer, see "Arts and Crafts ..."
        http://wiki.tcl.tk/969

    ActiveState maintains binaries distribution and development tools
        http://www.activestate.com/Tcl
    along with a Cookbook of Tcl recipes
        http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Cookbook/Tcl

    Cameron Laird tracks several Tcl/Tk references of interest
        http://phaseit.net/claird/comp.lang.tcl/

    Cetus Links maintains a Tcl/Tk page with verified links
        http://www.cetus-links.org/oo_tcl_tk.html

    "Yahoo! Groups" archives comp.lang.tcl.announce posts
        http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tcl_announce/

Previous - (U)se the (R)esource, (L)uke! - messages are listed here:
  http://www.ddj.com/topics/tclurl/
An alternative is
  http://groups.google.com/groups?oi=djq&as_q=+Tcl-URL&as_ugroup=comp.lang.tcl

Suggestions/corrections for next week's posting are always welcome.

To receive a new issue of this posting in e-mail each Monday, ask
<claird@phaseit.net> to subscribe.  Be sure to mention "Tcl-URL!".
--
Dr. Dobb's Journal (http://www.ddj.com) is pleased to participate in and
sponsor the "Tcl-URL!" project.
</pre>