1 Tcl 8.0.3 for Macintosh
16 This is the README file for the Macintosh version of the Tcl
17 scripting language. The file consists of information specific
18 to the Macintosh version of Tcl. For more general information
19 please read the README file in the main Tcl directory.
24 The main new feature is the Tcl compilier. You should certainly
25 notice the speed improvements. Any problems are probably
26 generic rather than Mac specific. If you have questions or
27 comments about the compilier feel free to forward them to the
28 author of the compilier: Brian Lewis <btlewis@eng.sun.com>.
29 Several things were fixed/changed since the a1 release so be
30 sure to check this out.
32 The largest incompatible change on the Mac is the removal of the
33 following commands: "rm", "rmdir", "mkdir", "mv" and "cp". These
34 commands were never really supported and their functionality is
35 superceded by the file command.
37 I've also added in a new "AppleScript" command. This was contributed
38 by Jim Ingham who is a new member of the Tcl group. It's very cool.
39 The command isn't actually in the core - you need to do a "package
40 require Tclapplescript" to get access to it. This code is officially
41 unsupported and will change in the next release. However, the core
42 functionality is there and is stable enough to use. Documentation
43 can be found in "AppleScript.html" in the mac subdirectory.
45 The resource command has also been rewacked. You can now read and
46 write any Mac resource. Tcl now has the new (and VERY COOL) binary
47 command that will allow you to pack and unpack the resources into
48 useful Tcl code. We will eventually provide Tcl libraries for
49 accessing the most common resources.
51 See the main Tcl README for other features new to Tcl 8.0.
53 3. Mac specific features
54 ------------------------
56 There are several features or enhancements in Tcl that are unique to
57 the Macintosh version of Tcl. Here is a list of those features and
58 pointers to where you can find more information about the feature.
60 * The "resource" command allows you manipulate Macintosh resources.
61 A complete man page is available for this command.
63 * The Mac version of the "source" command has an option to source from
64 a Macintosh resource. Check the man page from the source command
67 * The only command NOT available on the Mac is the exec command.
68 However, we include a Mac only package called Tclapplescript that
69 provides access to Mac's AppleScript system. This command is still
70 under design & construction. Documentatin can be found in the mac
71 subdirectory in a file called "AppleScript.html".
73 * The env variable on the Macintosh works rather differently than on
74 Windows or UNIX platforms. Check out the tclvars man page for
77 * The command "file volumes" returns the available volumes on your
78 Macintosh. Check out the file command for details.
80 * The command "file attributes" has the Mac specific options of
81 -creator and -type which allow you to query and set the Macintosh
82 creator and type codes for Mac files. See file man page for details.
84 * We have added a template for creating a Background-only Tcl application.
85 So you can use Tcl as a faceless server process. For more details, see
86 the file background.doc.
88 If you are writing cross platform code but would still like to use
89 some of these Mac specific commands, please remember to use the
90 tcl_platform variable to special case your code.
95 Macintosh Tcl is distributed in three different forms. This
96 should make it easier to only download what you need. The
97 packages are as follows:
101 This distribution is a "binary" only release. It contains an
102 installer program that will install a 68k, PowerPC, or Fat
103 version of the "Tcl Shell" and "Wish" applications. In addition,
104 it installs the Tcl & Tk libraries in the Extensions folder inside
107 mactcltk-full-8.0.3.sea.hqx
109 This release contains the full release of Tcl and Tk for the
110 Macintosh plus the More Files packages which Macintosh Tcl and Tk
113 mactcl-source-8.0.3.sea.hqx
115 This release contains the complete source for Tcl 8.0. In
116 addition, Metrowerks CodeWarrior libraries and project files
117 are included. However, you must already have the More Files
118 package to compile this code.
123 The "html" subdirectory contains reference documentation in
124 in the HTML format. You may also find these pages at:
126 http://www.scriptics.com/man/tcl8.0/contents.html
128 Other documentation and sample Tcl scripts can be found at
129 the Tcl archive site:
131 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/tcl/
133 and the Tcl resource center:
135 http://www.scriptics.com/resource/
137 The internet news group comp.lang.tcl is also a valuable
138 source of information about Tcl. A mailing list is also
139 available (see below).
144 In order to compile Macintosh Tcl you must have the
147 CodeWarrior Pro 2 or 3
151 There are two sets of project files included with the package. The ones
152 we use for the release are for CodeWarrior Pro 3, and are not compatible
153 with CodeWarrior Gold release 11 and earlier. We have included the files
154 for earlier versions of CodeWarrior in the folder tcl8.0:mac:CW11 Projects,
155 but they are unsupported, and a little out of date.
157 As of Tcl8.0p2, the code will also build under CW Pro 2. The only
158 change that needs to be made is that float.mac.c should be replaced by
159 float.c in the MacTcl MSL project file.
161 However, there seems to be a bug in the CFM68K Linker in CW Pro 2,
162 which renders the CFM68K Version under CW Pro 2 very unstable. I am
163 working with MetroWerks to resolve this issue. The PPC version is
164 fine, as is the Traditional 68K Shell. But if you need to use the
165 CFM68K, then you must stay with CW Pro 1 for now.
167 The project files included with the Mac Tcl source should work
168 fine. The only thing you may need to update are the access paths.
169 Unfortunantly, it's somewhat common for the project files to become
170 slightly corrupted. The most common problem is that the "Prefix file"
171 found in the "C/C++ Preference" panel is incorrect. This should be
172 set to MW_TclHeaderPPC, MW_TclHeader68K or MW_TclHeaderCFM68K.
174 To build the fat version of TclShell, open the project file "TclShells.ΒΌ",
175 select the "TclShell" target, and build. All of the associated binaries will
176 be built automoatically. There are also targets for building static 68K
177 and Power PC builds, for building a CFM 68K build, and for building a
178 shared library Power PC only build.
182 * There is a small bug in More Files 1.4.3. Also you should not use
183 MoreFiles 1.4.4 - 1.4.6. Look in the file named morefiles.doc for
186 * You may not have the libmoto library which will cause a compile
187 error. You don't REALLY need it - it can be removed. Look at the
188 file libmoto.doc for more details.
190 * Check out the file bugs.doc for information about known bugs.
192 If you have comments or Bug reports send them to: