Practical Programming in Tcl & Tk [Textbook Binding]

Brent B. Welch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997

61683-9 Completely-updated Tcl/Tk best-seller! Extensive new coverage of UNIX, Windows and Macintosh Tcl/Tk. Authored by a member of the Tcl/Tk development team, Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk is the most comprehensive, practical guide to Tcl and Tk available. Beginners can rely on this book for a thorough, well-organized introduction-and experts will gain insight from the extensive programming tips and examples. Tcl/Tk insider Brent Welch begins by introducing Tcl and the fundamental mechanisms that characterize it. It presents both basic and advanced coding techniques, describes Tcl's interface to the operating system, and the script library facility. He introduces Tk and the relevant aspects of graphical interface programming, presenting examples and sample widgets. Along the way, he shows experienced developers how Tcl and Tk have evolved-and how to take full advantage of its new capabilities. You'll find extensive coverage of user interface development, including techniques for creating user interfaces that run on all major desktop platforms. Welch reviews Tcl's improved network support, as well as Safe Tcl and its recent enhancements.He also covers advanced topics such as C programming with the Tk toolkit. Finally, the book covers the new Tcl 8.0 compiler and the Tcl/Tk plug-in for both Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer. The accompanying CD-ROM includes all the source code in the book, plus an extensive library of Tcl/Tk and Tcl freeware for Windows 95, UNIX, Macintosh, Windows 3.1 and Windows NT. Whether you're a current Tcl/Tk programmer, or a developer searching for a convenient, powerful multiplatform scripting language, Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk delivers exactly what you're looking for. "This is an excellent book, loaded with useful examples. Newcomers to Tk will find the widget descriptions particularly helpful." John Ousterhout, Professor of Computer Science, University of California at Berkeley and Creator of Tcl and Tk "Brent Welch fills an important need for an introduction to Tcl/Tk with an applied focus and with coverage of many of the useful extensions available ...I recommended this book to my new students ...and I keep a copy handy for my own use." Joseph A. Konstan, Professor of Computer Science, University of Minnesota

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk, according to its preface, is intended for both novices and experts. However, in practice, novices who are not familiar with a C-like language or Unix shell programming will find the going difficult. The book is divided into six parts: Tcl basics, advanced Tcl, Tk basics, Tk widgets, Tk details, and Tcl and C. The included CD-ROM contains Tcl and Tk versions for Windows 95, 3.1, and NT, as well as for Unix and Macintosh. The original version of this book was based on Tcl 7.4 and Tk 4.0. This second edition has been updated to cover changes in Tcl 7.4 and Tk 4.0, Tcl 7.5 and Tk 4.1, Tcl 7.6 and Tk 4.2, and Tcl/Tk 8.0. If you need information about the most recent additions to Tcl/Tk, such as Safe-Tcl, then this is the book for you.

From the Publisher

This book is a practical, comprehensive tutorial for programming in the TCL scripting language and the TL X toolkit that is based on TCL, which provides a Motif-like look-and-feel without much of Motif's complexity. The book provides a comprehensive introduction to Tcl programming, including tips on problem areas and strategies for effective use of the language. The examples demonstrate how to use the toolkit features, and are useful in their own right for programmers constructing new applications. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Textbook Binding: 630 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 2nd edition (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0136168302
• ISBN-13: 978-0136168300
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,694,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Contents fine, but book un-usable, May 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Programming in Tcl & Tk (Textbook Binding)

The contents of the book are reasonable, but not great. All too often, there is a reliance on looking at supplied examples, rather than actually giving definitions and specifics. Both are necessary, so I found that having Ousterhouts definitive book beside this one to be useful. The two complement each other nicely.

BUT... the book is basically un-usable because of the lousy binding! After only light use over a couple of weeks, the darn thing is falling apart! Pages are dropping out of it. I pride myself on taking good care of my books, especially ones that I plan on using for a long time. None the less, this one is fragile, preventing me from recommending it to anyone.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Renewed impressions..., October 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Practical Programming in Tcl & Tk (Textbook Binding)

(This is a followup to my commentary in May) I've used Welch's book extensively for Tcl/Tk work for some months now. Although there are some gripes that could be made, I find the book indespensible. It is perched on top of my monitor, and use it daily (hourly?).

As for the binding... The people at Amazon were amazing. They were kind and generous enough to replace my crumbling copy. Mr. Welch, the author, then also complained to the publisher on behalf of all the readers, and I understand that they will be offering a lay-flat binding in the November printing! My hats off to everyone. I'm deeply impressed.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Computing Graduate, February 28, 2000

By 

Ian Danielsen (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Practical Programming in Tcl & Tk (Textbook Binding)

This is one of my favourite computing books.

After you've studied a couple 3GL system language's and played with Perl & scripting. Understand computing concepts, (Tcl probably isn't too good for random beginners or people who just don't like the paradigm). If you're into computing and want.., then go for this one.

When you are the only person on campus doing-knowing any Tcl / Tk, you had better get the right book.

I mailled Brent with a question and sure enough he got back to me. (try that with Lara Lemay).

So for such a good book and service - 5 star award.