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@@ -2,23 +2,9 @@ README: Tk Tk is maintained, enhanced, and distributed freely as a service to the Tcl community by Scriptics Corporation. + http://www.scriptics.com/ -RCS: @(#) $Id: README,v 1.15 1999/04/21 21:53:20 rjohnson Exp $ - -Contents --------- - 1. Introduction - 2. Documentation - 3. Compiling and installing Tk - 4. Getting started - 5. Summary of changes in Tk 8.1 - 6. Development tools - 7. Tcl newsgroup - 8. Tcl contributed archive - 9. Tcl Resource Center - 10. Mailing lists - 11. Support and bug fixes - 12. Tk version numbers +RCS: @(#) $Id: README,v 1.16 1999/04/24 01:50:47 stanton Exp $ 1. Introduction --------------- @@ -28,12 +14,8 @@ toolkit implemented with the Tcl scripting language. The information here corresponds to release 8.1.0, which is the final release for Tk 8.1. -The most important change in Tk 8.1 is that it supports the new -internationalization features in Tcl 8.1. It also contains a new -library for handling configuration options some of the widgets have -been converted to use the Tcl object facilities. For details on -features, incompatibilities, and potential problems with this release, -see the Tcl/Tk 8.1 Web page at +For details on features, incompatibilities, and potential problems with +this release, see the Tcl/Tk 8.1 Web page at http://www.scriptics.com/software/8.1.html @@ -45,293 +27,11 @@ anything you like with it, such as modifying it, redistributing it, and selling it either in whole or in part. See the file "license.terms" for complete information. -2. Documentation ----------------- - -The best way to get started with Tk is to read about Tk on the -Scriptics Web site at: - - http://www.scriptics.com/scripting - -Another good way to get started with Tcl is to read one of the -introductory books on Tcl: - - Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk, 2nd Edition, by Brent Welch, - Prentice-Hall, 1997, ISBN 0-13-616830-2 - - Tcl and the Tk Toolkit, by John Ousterhout, - Addison-Wesley, 1994, ISBN 0-201-63337-X - - Exploring Expect, by Don Libes, - O'Reilly and Associates, 1995, ISBN 1-56592-090-2 - -Other books are listed at -http://www.scriptics.com/resource/doc/books/ - -There is also an official home for Tcl and Tk on the Scriptics Web site: - - http://www.scriptics.com - -These Web pages include information about the latest releases, products -related to Tcl and Tk, reports on bug fixes and porting issues, HTML -versions of the manual pages, and pointers to many other Tcl/Tk Web -pages at other sites. Check them out! - -If you are porting Tk 3.6 scripts to Tk 4.0 or later releases, you may -find the Postscript file doc/tk4.0.ps useful. It is a porting guide -that summarizes the new features and discusses how to deal with the -changes in Tk 4.0 that are not backwards compatible. - -2a. Unix Documentation ----------------------- - -The "doc" subdirectory in this release contains a complete set of -reference manual entries for Tk. Files with extension ".1" are for -programs such as wish; files with extension ".3" are for C library -procedures; and files with extension ".n" describe Tcl commands. To -print any of the manual entries, cd to the "doc" directory and invoke -your favorite variant of troff using the normal -man macros, for example - - ditroff -man wish.1 - -to print wish.1. If Tk has been installed correctly and your "man" -program supports it, you should be able to access the Tcl manual entries -using the normal "man" mechanisms, such as - - man wish - -2b. Windows Documentation -------------------------- - -The "doc/help" subdirectory in this release contains a complete set of -Windows help files for TclPro. Once you install this Tcl release, a -shortcut to the Windows help Tcl documentation will appear in the -"Start" menu: - - Start | Programs | Tk | Tk Help - -3. Compiling and installing Tk ------------------------------- - -This release contains everything you should need to compile and run -Tk under UNIX, PCs (either Windows NT, Windows 95, or Win 3.1 with -Win32s), and Macintoshes. - -Before trying to compile Tk you should do the following things: - - (a) Check for a binary release. Pre-compiled binary releases are - available now for PCs, Macintoshes, and several flavors of UNIX. - Binary releases are much easier to install than source releases. - To find out whether a binary release is available for your - platform, check the Scriptics Tcl Resource Center - (http://www.scriptics.com/resource). Also, check in - the FTP directory from which you retrieved the base - distribution. - - (b) Make sure you have the most recent patch release. Look in the - FTP directory from which you retrieved this distribution to see - if it has been updated with patches. Patch releases fix bugs - without changing any features, so you should normally use the - latest patch release for the version of Tk that you want. - -Once you've done this, change to the "unix" subdirectory if you're -compiling under UNIX, "win" if you're compiling under Windows, or -"mac" if you're compiling on a Macintosh. Then follow the instructions -in the README file in that directory for compiling Tk, installing it, -and running the test suite. - -4. Getting started ------------------- - -The best way to get started with Tk is by reading one of the -introductory books. See the documentation section above for more -details. - -The subdirectory library/demos contains a number of pre-canned scripts -that demonstrate various features of Tk. See the README file in the -directory for a description of what's available. The file -library/demos/widget is a script that you can use to invoke many -individual demonstrations of Tk's facilities, see the code that -produced the demos, and modify the code to try out alternatives. - -5. Summary of changes in Tk 8.1 -------------------------------- - -6. Development tools --------------------- - -A high quality set of commercial development tools is now available to -accelerate your Tk application development. Scriptics' TclPro -product provides a debugger, static code checker, packaging utility, -and bytecode compiler. Visit the Scriptics Web site at: - - http://www.scriptics.com/tclpro - -for more information on TclPro and for a free 30-day evaluation -download. - -7. Tcl newsgroup ----------------- - -There is a network news group "comp.lang.tcl" intended for the -exchange of information about Tcl, Tk, and related applications. The -newsgroup is a greata place to ask general information questions. For -bug reports, please see the "Support and bug fixes" section below. - -8. Tcl contributed archive --------------------------- - -Many people have created exciting packages and applications based on Tcl -and/or Tk and made them freely available to the Tcl community. An archive -of these contributions is kept on the machine ftp.neosoft.com. You -can access the archive using anonymous FTP; the Tcl contributed archive is -in the directory "/pub/tcl". The archive also contains several FAQ -("frequently asked questions") documents that provide solutions to problems -that are commonly encountered by TCL newcomers. - -9. Tcl Resource Center ----------------------- - -Visit http://www.scriptics.com/resource/ to see an annotated index of -many Tcl resources available on the World Wide Web. This includes -papers, books, and FAQs, as well as development tools, extensions, -applications, binary releases, and patches. You can also recommend -additional URLs for the resource center using the forms labeled "Add a -Resource". - -10. Mailing lists +2. See Tcl README ----------------- -A couple of Mailing List have been set up to discuss Macintosh or -Windows related Tcl issues. To subscribe send a message to: - - wintcl-request@tclconsortium.org - mactcl-request@tclconsortium.org - -In the body of the message (the subject will be ignored) put: - - subscribe mactcl Joe Smith - -Replacing Joe Smith with your real name, of course. (Use wintcl -instead of mactcl if your interested in the Windows list.) If you -would just like to receive more information about the list without -subscribing put the line: - - information mactcl - -in the body instead (or wintcl). - -11. Support and bug fixes -------------------------- - -Scriptics is very interested in receiving bug reports, patches, and -suggestions for improvements. We prefer that you send this -information to us via the bug form on the Scriptics Web site, rather -than emailing us directly. The bug form is at: - - http://www.scriptics.com/support/bugForm.html - -The bug form was designed to give uniform structure to bug reports as -well as to solicit enough information to minimize followup questions. -The bug form also includes an option to automatically post your report -on comp.lang.tcl. We strongly recommend that you select this option -because someone else who reads comp.lang.tcl may be able to offer a -solution. - -When reporting bugs, please provide full information about the Tcl/Tk -version and the platform on which you are running Tcl/Tk. Also, -please include a short wish script that we can use to reproduce the -bug. Make sure that the script runs with a bare-bones wish and -doesn't depend on any extensions or other programs, particularly those -that exist only at your site. Also, please include three additional -pieces of information with the script: - - (a) how do we use the script to make the problem happen (e.g. - what things do we click on, in what order)? - (b) what happens when you do these things (presumably this is - undesirable)? - (c) what did you expect to happen instead? - -We will log and follow-up on each bug, although we cannot promise a -specific turn-around time. Enhancements may take longer and may not -happen at all unless there is widespread support for them (we're -trying to slow the rate at which Tcl/Tk turns into a kitchen sink). -It's very difficult to make incompatible changes to Tcl/Tk at this -point, due to the size of the installed base. - -The Tcl community is too large for us to provide much individual -support for users. If you need help we suggest that you post -questions to comp.lang.tcl. We read the newsgroup and will attempt to -answer esoteric questions for which no-one else is likely to know the -answer. In addition, Tcl/Tk support and training are available -commercially from Scriptics at: - - http://www.scriptics.com/training - -Also see the following Web site for links to other organizations that -offer Tcl/Tk training: - - http://www.scriptics.com/resource/commercial/training - -12. Tk version numbers ----------------------- - -You can test the current version of Tk by examining the -tk_version and tk_patchLevel variables. The tk_patchLevel -variable follows the naming rules outlined below (e.g., 8.0.5). -The tk_version just has the major.minor numbers in it (e.g., 8.0) - -Each Tk release is identified by two numbers separated by a dot, e.g. -3.6 or 4.0. If a new release contains changes that are likely to break -existing C code or Tcl scripts then the major release number increments -and the minor number resets to zero: 3.0, 4.0, etc. If a new release -contains only bug fixes and compatible changes, then the minor number -increments without changing the major number, e.g. 4.1, 4.2, etc. If -you have C code or Tcl scripts that work with release X.Y, then they -should also work with any release X.Z as long as Z > Y. - -Alpha and beta releases have an additional suffix of the form a2 or -b1. For example, Tk 4.0b1 is the first beta release of Tk version -4.0, Tk 4.0b2 is the second beta release, and so on. A beta release -is an initial version of a new release, used to fix bugs and bad -features before declaring the release stable. An alpha release is -like a beta release, except it's likely to need even more work before -it's "ready for prime time". New releases are normally preceded by -one or more alpha and beta releases. We hope that lots of people will -try out the alpha and beta releases and report problems. We'll make -new alpha/beta releases to fix the problems, until eventually there is -a beta release that appears to be stable. Once this occurs we'll make -the final release. - -We can't promise to maintain compatibility among alpha and beta releases. -For example, release 4.1b2 may not be backward compatible with 4.1b1, even -though the final 4.1 release will be backward compatible with 4.0. This -allows us to change new features as we find problems during beta testing. -We'll try to minimize incompatibilities between beta releases, but if -a major problem turns up then we'll fix it even if it introduces an -incompatibility. Once the official release is made then there won't -be any more incompatibilities until the next release with a new major -version number. - -(Note: This compatibility is true for Tcl scripts, but historically -the Tcl C APIs have changed enough between releases that you may need -to work a bit to upgrade extensions.) - -Patch releases now have a suffix such as ".4" or ".5". Prior to -version 8.0.3, patch releases had the suffix "p1" or "p2". So, the -8.0 release went to 8.0p1, 8.0p2, 8.0.3, 8.0.4, and 8.0.5. The alphas -and betas continue to use the 'a' and 'b' letters in their -tk_patchLevel. Patch releases normally contain bug fixes only. A -patch release (e.g Tk 8.0.5) should be completely compatible with the -base release from which it is derived (e.g. Tk 8.0), and you should -normally use the highest available patch release. - -Note: with Tk 8.0 the Tk version number skipped from 4.2 to 8.0. The -jump was made in order to synchronize the Tcl and Tk version numbers. - -13. Thank You -------------- +Please see the README file that comes with the associated Tcl release +for more information. There are pointers there to extensive +documentation. In addition, there are additional README files +in the subdirectories of this distribution. -We'd like to express our thanks to the Tcl community for all the -helpful suggestions, bug reports, and patches we have received. -Tcl/Tk has improved vastly and will continue to do so with your help. |