1README: Tcl
2 This is the Tcl 8.4.19 source distribution.
3 Tcl/Tk is also available through NetCVS:
4 http://tcl.sourceforge.net/
5 You can get any source release of Tcl from the file distributions
6 link at the above URL.
7
8RCS: @(#) $Id: README,v 1.49.2.23 2008/04/11 16:57:37 dgp Exp $
9
10Contents
11--------
12 1. Introduction
13 2. Documentation
14 3. Compiling and installing Tcl
15 4. Development tools
16 5. Tcl newsgroup
17 6. Tcl contributed archive
18 7. Tcl Resource Center
19 8. Mailing lists
20 9. Support and Training
21 10. Thank You
22
231. Introduction
24---------------
25Tcl provides a powerful platform for creating integration applications that
26tie together diverse applications, protocols, devices, and frameworks.
27When paired with the Tk toolkit, Tcl provides the fastest and most powerful
28way to create GUI applications that run on PCs, Unix, and the Macintosh.
29Tcl can also be used for a variety of web-related tasks and for creating
30powerful command languages for applications.
31
32Tcl is maintained, enhanced, and distributed freely by the Tcl community.
33The home for Tcl/Tk sources and bug/patch database is on SourceForge:
34
35 http://tcl.sourceforge.net/
36
37with the Tcl Developer Xchange hosted at:
38
39 http://www.tcl.tk/
40
41Tcl is a freely available open source package. You can do virtually
42anything you like with it, such as modifying it, redistributing it,
43and selling it either in whole or in part. See the file
44"license.terms" for complete information.
45
462. Documentation
47----------------
48
49Extensive documentation is available at our website.
50The home page for this release, including new features, is
51 http://www.tcl.tk/software/tcltk/8.4.html
52
53Detailed release notes can be found at the file distributions page
54by clicking on the relevant version.
55 http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10894
56
57Information about Tcl itself can be found at
58 http://www.tcl.tk/about/
59
60There have been many Tcl books on the market. Many are mentioned in the Wiki:
61 http://wiki.tcl.tk/book
62
632a. Unix Documentation
64----------------------
65
66The "doc" subdirectory in this release contains a complete set of
67reference manual entries for Tcl. Files with extension ".1" are for
68programs (for example, tclsh.1); files with extension ".3" are for C
69library procedures; and files with extension ".n" describe Tcl
70commands. The file "doc/Tcl.n" gives a quick summary of the Tcl
71language syntax. To print any of the man pages on Unix, cd to the
72"doc" directory and invoke your favorite variant of troff using the
73normal -man macros, for example
74
75 ditroff -man Tcl.n
76
77to print Tcl.n. If Tcl has been installed correctly and your "man" program
78supports it, you should be able to access the Tcl manual entries using the
79normal "man" mechanisms, such as
80
81 man Tcl
82
832b. Windows Documentation
84-------------------------
85
86The "doc" subdirectory in this release contains a complete set of Windows
87help files for Tcl. Once you install this Tcl release, a shortcut to the
88Windows help Tcl documentation will appear in the "Start" menu:
89
90 Start | Programs | Tcl | Tcl Help
91
923. Compiling and installing Tcl
93-------------------------------
94
95There are brief notes in the unix/README, win/README, and macosx/README about
96compiling on these different platforms. There is additional information
97about building Tcl from sources at
98
99 http://www.tcl.tk/doc/howto/compile.html
100
1014. Development tools
102---------------------------
103
104ActiveState produces a high quality set of commercial quality development
105tools that is available to accelerate your Tcl application development.
106Tcl Dev Kit builds on the earlier TclPro toolset and provides a debugger,
107static code checker, single-file wrapping utility, bytecode compiler and
108more. More information can be found at
109
110 http://www.ActiveState.com/Tcl
111
1125. Tcl newsgroup
113----------------
114
115There is a USENET news group, "comp.lang.tcl", intended for the exchange of
116information about Tcl, Tk, and related applications. The newsgroup is a
117great place to ask general information questions. There is also
118a USENET news group, "comp.lang.tcl.announce", intended to announce new
119releases of software, training, and more. For bug reports, please
120see the "Support and bug fixes" section below.
121
1226. The Tcler's Wiki
123-------------------
124
125A Wiki-based open community site covering all aspects of Tcl/Tk is at:
126
127 http://wiki.tcl.tk/
128
129It is dedicated to the Tcl programming language and its extensions. A
130wealth of useful information can be found there. It contains code
131snippets, references to papers, books, and FAQs, as well as pointers to
132development tools, extensions, and applications. You can also recommend
133additional URLs by editing the wiki yourself.
134
1357. Mailing lists
136----------------
137
138Several mailing lists are hosted at SourceForge to discuss development or
139use issues (like Macintosh and Windows topics). For more information and
140to subscribe, visit:
141
142 http://sourceforge.net/projects/tcl/
143
144and go to the Mailing Lists page.
145
1468. Support and Training
147------------------------
148
149We are very interested in receiving bug reports, patches, and suggestions
150for improvements. We prefer that you send this information to us via the
151bug form at SourceForge, rather than emailing us directly. The bug
152database is at:
153
154 http://tcl.sourceforge.net/
155
156The bug form was designed to give uniform structure to bug reports as
157well as to solicit enough information to minimize followup questions.
158
159We will log and follow-up on each bug, although we cannot promise a
160specific turn-around time. Enhancements, reported via the Feature
161Requests form at the same web site, may take longer and may not happen
162at all unless there is widespread support for them (we're trying to
163slow the rate at which Tcl/Tk turns into a kitchen sink). It's very
164difficult to make incompatible changes to Tcl/Tk at this point, due to
165the size of the installed base.
166
167The Tcl community is too large for us to provide much individual support
168for users. If you need help we suggest that you post questions to
169comp.lang.tcl. We read the newsgroup and will attempt to answer esoteric
170questions for which no one else is likely to know the answer. In addition,
171see the following page on the Wiki for links to other organizations that offer
172Tcl/Tk training:
173
174 http://wiki.tcl.tk/training
175
17610. Thank You
177-------------
178
179We'd like to express our thanks to the Tcl community for all the
180helpful suggestions, bug reports, and patches we have received.
181Tcl/Tk has improved vastly and will continue to do so with your help.
182