Dr. Dobb's Tcl-URL!

QOTW: "[L]ike chess or go, even with very simple rules things can get
quite complex to understand." -- Michael Schlenker

"Paranoia pays off in terms of good habits..." -- Donal K. Fellows


POTW: smake 1.1 by Kristoffer Lawson.  "smake is a utility that allows
developers to build makefiles in 100% TCL"
     http://people.fishpool.fi/~setok/proj/smake/


     How to detect the destruction of text tags and embedded
     windows, without allowing the destruction of the text widget:
         http://groups.google.com/groups?th=cf7995bbe1110119

     Experienced Tclers know to to keep paired delimiters balanced
     even in comments, but what about in variable names?
         http://groups.google.com/groups?th=616406b952bdf244

     Tempers flare as the flames of "exec hell" leap higher, but calm
     reason returns and leads to a philosophical discussion of whether
     Tcl's essential beauty makes its warts all the more ugly:
         http://groups.google.com/groups?th=a6f7a94c71373311
         http://groups.google.com/groups?th=b6255781e9e7df2

     What does underlining a letter in a menu entry get you?
         http://groups.google.com/groups?th=18339f2eb0d7c2f4

     Not getting any data from a readable channel?  Did you check
     for EOF?  Are you using -buffering line?  All this and more (like
     why you should always catch your close) is discussed in:
         http://groups.google.com/groups?th=eb5aed8812079ccd

     Discussion of a VT100 terminal library:
         http://groups.google.com/groups?th=d9909141400cd5b5

     If you hate .really.long.names.that.take.up.lots.of.space, just be
     glad you're programming with Tcl and not low-level Xt widgets!
     In Tcl there are workarounds:
         http://groups.google.com/groups?th=94dd73d344612add


Thanks to Arjen Markus for his summary of recent Wiki activity:
  Let us try an overview in categories again (it seems so long ago :)
  
  Here are a few pages on programming techniques:
  - Create your own control structures? Why not, it can be done in Tcl,
    and <http://wiki.tcl.tk/685> has plenty of examples
  
  - Justifying text is just one of the many things you might want to
    do to strings, words and sentences. But an important one:
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/2774> will help.
  
  - Making a network without directly communicating with each other,
    the so-called publish/subscribe paradigm? Well, tuplespaces are
    an elegant approach - <http://wiki.tcl.tk/3947>
  
  - Making a network of two? Then PCOM may be what you want:
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/9102>
  
  - But keep it simple (<http://wiki.tcl.tk/10147>) and refactor
    your code (<http://wiki.tcl.tk/10144>).
  
  Just some thoughts:
  - What is missing from Tcl's list functions? Or just what would be
    nice in addition? <http://wiki.tcl.tk/43> has been around for 
    quite a while and new additions find their way to it.
  
  - Clipboards (yes, the cut-and-paste thingies, not the pads with 
    paper and pencil): do they play well with Tcl/Tk? <http://wiki.tcl.tk/2431>
  
  - Oh, there is a place for thoughts on the loose: <http://wiki.tcl.tk/8858>
  
  And now for something completely different: graphics
  - What is the alternative to an analogue clock? Right: a binary one!
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/1011> has both.
  
  - Insects other than bugs sometimes make it to the computer screen -
    <http://wiki.tcl.tk/3939> has code to watch an "ant" walk its 
    toroidical world (in a topological sense). Okay, I will put it
    in computer terms: the page has code for several cellular automata,
    one being "Langton's ant".
  
  - I am not sure whether I believe the pedagogical ideas behind this
    page, but if you have young kids, try <http://wiki.tcl.tk/10158>
  
  - And now, just sit down and be fascinated: <http://wiki.tcl.tk/10224>
    shows an infinite landscape from a little train ... 
    (I guess you must be called Richard Suchenwirth to come up with
    an idea like that! Animation by inflation!)
  

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

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

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

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