Subject: Dr. Dobb's Tcl-URL! - weekly Tcl news and links (Jan 25)
From: Uwe Klein
Date: Wed, 25 Jan 2006 18:23:34 +0000
To: "Dr. Dobb's Tcl-URL distribution" :;
CC:
Newsgroups: comp.lang.tcl

QOTW:  "[In] how many other languages can you go from novice to superficial
expert in 4 hours? :)" - Steve Landers

"Good FPers don't loop." - Richard Suchenwirth


POTW:    Tcl3D, formerly know as tclogl, wraps OpenGL libraries:
    tcl3dUtil    Tcl3D utility library (math functions, shapes, stop watch, et al).     
    tcl3dOgl     Wrapper for basic OpenGL functionality (GL Version 1.1, GLU Version 1.2).    
    tcl3dOglExt  Wrapper for enhanced OpenGL functionality (GL Version 1.2 through 2.0) and OpenGL extensions.    
    tcl3dCg      Wrapper for NVidia’s Cg shading language.    
    tcl3dSDL     Wrapper for the Simple DirectMedia Library.    
    tcl3dTogl    Enhanced Togl widget, a Tk widget for displaying OpenGL content.    
    tcl3dGauges  A Tcl3D package for displaying gauges.    
    http://wiki.tcl.tk/15278
    http://www.tcl3d.org

    
    Csaba Nemethi's longstanding effort TableList has culminated
    in the release of TableList 4.3 with a fluffy batch of new
    features:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_frm/thread/78b2e98965bfcc43

    FreeBSD has problems with serial devices.  This seems to be a
    longstanding issue with binary distributions.  Rebuilding tcl
    on the host fixes this.
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_frm/thread/d282cbd9601fcd9e

    eTcl got a friendly greeting last week AND it seems a lot of feedback
    which was put to good use:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_frm/thread/17ad1c65a9485e64

    In contrast to C's switch, Tcl has implicit an break after 
    executing a matched script. Discussion and ways to change this:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_frm/thread/65a4827fc9070548

    Calling helper functions on windows or multiple functionality from
    a (wrapped) single file executable:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_frm/thread/4fb1192124653c22

    Don't curl your toes through Expect--use tclcurl:
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/browse_frm/thread/e1dc984a88325f59

Thanks to Arjen Markus for his so-accurate summary of Wiki activity:
  Loads of pages are being revisited on the Wiki; this activity turns
  up a few nuggets that were all but forgotten. Don't worry: there are
  a lot of new pages too.

  Internet topics
  - Is uploading a file really complicated? It probably
    depends - here is a straightforward approach:
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/15002>
  
  - Well, socket need not be complicated, as is witnessed
    by this demonstration: <http://wiki.tcl.tk/15315> 
  
  - HTTP robots or web scraping, whatever you call it,
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/1303> provides the basics.
  
  - And of course, at some point you need to have 
    an HTML file ... <http://wiki.tcl.tk/15282>
  
  Graphical topics
  - Ever watch a turtle dance? This French page
    shows the result ... <http://wfr.tcl.tk/766>
  
  - Moving along in a long list - you can simply
    do it with pressing keys instead of the mouse
    buttons - <http://wiki.tcl.tk/1346>
  
  - Take the sharp edge off of those polygons.
    It makes for a smoother picture (with the
    help of some maths): <http://wiki.tcl.tk/15313>
  
  - What if you lost that nice little pocket 
    calculator? Tcl/Tk helps out by providing
    a virtual one: <http://wiki.tcl.tk/15312>
  
  Topics for a relaxed afternoon
  - Do you always need to put your script 
    in a file or type it in on the prompt?
    Surely not, <http://wiki.tcl.906> turns
    tclsh into a command-line tool.
  
  - The great Gauss invented/discovered 
    quite a few things, many of which can
    not be avoided. The probabilistic 
    distribution that bears his name is
    one. <http://wiki.tcl.tk/11208>

    Continuing efforts by the Midnight Categorizer bring
    to light little gems from the past, including fileless
    tclsh in the vein of awk:     
        http://wiki.tcl.tk/906

    Execution transparently out of VFS:
        http://wiki.tcl.tk/14944

    Down Memory Lane : HP 15 C behind glass.  Well, running
    the simulator gives that impression:
        http://wiki.tcl.tk/15312 
  
  - Are you one of those people who can
    not stand the difficulty of distinguishing
    a true list from a string one? Maybe this
    will help: <http://wiki.tcl.tk/15314>
  
  - And finally, Tcl Tutor has been translated
    into Portuguese. Who dares to take on the
    job of translating it in other languages
    as well? <http://wiki.tcl.tk/1691> has
    the details.

  
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
    comp.lang.tcl is a crucial resource for Tcl practitioners.
    An interesting perspective on its traffic appears at
        http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/about

    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

    deli.cio.us presents an intriguing approach to reference commentary.
    It already aggregates quite a bit of Tcl intelligence.
        http://del.icio.us/tag/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/topic/tcl/
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.

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