README:  Tcl

    This is the Tcl 8.4.15 source distribution.

    Tcl/Tk is also available through NetCVS:

	http://tcl.sourceforge.net/

    You can get any source release of Tcl from the file distributions

    link at the above URL.

RCS: @(#) $Id: README,v 1.49.2.18 2006/10/23 17:53:23 dgp Exp $

Contents

--------

    1. Introduction

    2. Documentation

    3. Compiling and installing Tcl

    4. Development tools

    5. Tcl newsgroup

    6. Tcl contributed archive

    7. Tcl Resource Center

    8. Mailing lists

    9. Support and Training

    10. Thank You

1. Introduction

---------------

Tcl provides a powerful platform for creating integration applications that

tie together diverse applications, protocols, devices, and frameworks.

When paired with the Tk toolkit, Tcl provides the fastest and most powerful

way to create GUI applications that run on PCs, Unix, and the Macintosh.

Tcl can also be used for a variety of web-related tasks and for creating

powerful command languages for applications.

Tcl is maintained, enhanced, and distributed freely by the Tcl community.

The home for Tcl/Tk sources and bug/patch database is on SourceForge:

	http://tcl.sourceforge.net/

with the Tcl Developer Xchange hosted at:

	http://www.tcl.tk/

Tcl is a freely available open source package.  You can do virtually

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

----------------

Extensive documentation is available at our website.

The home page for this release, including new features, is

	http://www.tcl.tk/software/tcltk/8.4.html

Detailed release notes can be found at the file distributions page

by clicking on the relevant version.

	http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=10894

Information about Tcl itself can be found at

	http://www.tcl.tk/about/

There have been many Tcl books on the market.  Many are mentioned in the Wiki:

	http://wiki.tcl.tk/book

2a. Unix Documentation

----------------------

The "doc" subdirectory in this release contains a complete set of

reference manual entries for Tcl.  Files with extension ".1" are for

programs (for example, tclsh.1); files with extension ".3" are for C

library procedures; and files with extension ".n" describe Tcl

commands.  The file "doc/Tcl.n" gives a quick summary of the Tcl

language syntax.  To print any of the man pages on Unix, cd to the

"doc" directory and invoke your favorite variant of troff using the

normal -man macros, for example

		ditroff -man Tcl.n

to print Tcl.n.  If Tcl 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 Tcl

2b. Windows Documentation

-------------------------

The "doc" subdirectory in this release contains a complete set of Windows

help files for Tcl.  Once you install this Tcl release, a shortcut to the

Windows help Tcl documentation will appear in the "Start" menu:

	Start | Programs | Tcl | Tcl Help

3. Compiling and installing Tcl

-------------------------------

There are brief notes in the unix/README, win/README, and macosx/README about

compiling on these different platforms.  There is additional information

about building Tcl from sources at

	http://www.tcl.tk/doc/howto/compile.html

4. TclPro Development tools

---------------------------

A high quality set of commercial quality development tools is available to

accelerate your Tcl application development.  The TclPro product provides a

debugger, static code checker, packaging utility, and bytecode compiler.

TclPro was open-sourced when Scriptics/Ajuba was acquired by Interwoven.

Visit its home at SourceForge for more information and source/binaries:

	http://tclpro.sourceforge.net/

ActiveState has picked up support for commercial Tcl development tools.

More information can be found at

	http://www.ActiveState.com/Tcl

5. Tcl newsgroup

----------------

There is a USENET news group, "comp.lang.tcl", intended for the exchange of

information about Tcl, Tk, and related applications.  The newsgroup is a

great place to ask general information questions.  There is also

a USENET news group, "comp.lang.tcl.announce", intended to announce new

releases of software, training, and more.  For bug reports, please

see the "Support and bug fixes" section below.

6. 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://archives.tcl.tk/pub/tcl

(aka ftp://ftp.procplace.com/pub/tcl).  You can access the archive using

anonymous FTP.  The archive also contains several FAQ ("frequently asked

questions") documents that provide solutions to problems that are commonly

encountered by Tcl newcomers.

7. The Tcler's Wiki

-------------------

A Wiki-based open community site covering all aspects of Tcl/Tk is at:

	http://wiki.tcl.tk/

A wealth of useful information can be found there.

8. Mailing lists

----------------

Several mailing lists are hosted at SourceForge to discuss development or

use issues (like Macintosh and Windows topics).  For more information and

to subscribe, visit:

	http://sourceforge.net/projects/tcl/

and go to the Mailing Lists page.

9. Support and Training

------------------------

We are very interested in receiving bug reports, patches, and suggestions

for improvements.  We prefer that you send this information to us via the

bug form at SourceForge, rather than emailing us directly.  The bug

database is at:

	http://tcl.sourceforge.net/

The bug form was designed to give uniform structure to bug reports as

well as to solicit enough information to minimize followup questions.

We will log and follow-up on each bug, although we cannot promise a

specific turn-around time.  Enhancements, reported via the Feature

Requests form at the same web site, 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,

see the following page on the Wiki for links to other organizations that offer

Tcl/Tk training:

	http://wiki.tcl.tk/training

10. Thank You

-------------

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.