Product Description
Tcl/Tk is enjoying a resurgence of popularity and interest in the computing community due to the fact that it is relatively easy to learn, powerful, fast, permits rapid development, and runs on all computing platforms. Until now, there has not been a guide book available that teaches Tcl/Tk to those with little or no programming experience. Covering the newest versions of Tcl and Tk, Tcl and Tk Programming for the Absolute Beginner teaches beginning and novice programmers concepts such as loops, conditional execution, input and output, and events, and shows readers how to implement these concepts using the grammar and syntax of the Tcl language. As part of the for the absolute beginner? series, the book teaches all the concepts through the creation of simple computer games. Not only will this ?learn by doing? approach provide you with an instant sense of accomplishment, but it?s also a fun way to learn. Plus, in addition to learning Tcl and Tk, you?ll also learn the basics of computer programming, so you?ll have a solid foundation from which you can confidently jump to other programming languages. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Tcl and Tk Programming

Arrived quickly and was in perfect condition.

Would use this vendor again.

Great book - easy and understandable examples
This book was exactly what I needed.I have plenty of programming experience but TCL is new to me.This chapters in this book walked through a series of examples that gave me all the information I needed to get the job done.Downloading the code examples from the web site helped to make it even easier.

I don't consider this book as a reference guide but instead a great primer on the TCL language.That's exactly what I was looking for and that's what I got.

Very Disappointed
This book is poorly organized.In the discussion of Tcl, important terms are not defined or explained.Different data types and structures like strings, lists and arrays are given entire chapters, but it is not explained why they are different and when they should be used.The truly difficult topics like substitutions and grouping are not clearly explained.This would be horrible for an absolute beginner.
The reviewer who liked the discussion of Tk may have a point.The section on Tk seems to make more sense and may be of some use.

Buy this if you want to develop non-web UIs quickly
I've been a web developer for nearly the entire 10 years of my IT career, and this book's section on Tk, the toolkit for building (non-web) UIs, is the best resource for quickly developing useful UIs that I've come across my entire career.

Not for Beginners!
First off, I have programming experience, and am a technical professional. However, this is NOT a reference for a true beginner. The author's writing style is geared more toward someone with some familiarity rather than an absolute beginner. There are numerous mistakes in the book (on page 93 in the fourth paragraph it states if [Random $values] returns 2, the expression evaluates to King; since Tcl indices are 0-based, the correct answer from the example list {Ace King Queen Jack...} is Queen) that need to be cleaned up for a second printing. Then in the same chapter for exercise 5.1 the author uses code that has not been introduced ('info' and 'exists' in the line 'if {[info exists cards] && [lsearch ..."); this is supposed to check that a duplicate card is not created, but the code is different in the two places it is used, and then the logic is wrong! If the first two cards in this blackjack game are identical, the 'for {set i 1}' loop in Block 2 only populates the list with 1 card instead of 2.

I have not finished the book as of yet, but it does not meet my expectations of a book that is supposed to be "for the absolute beginner". The publication of the book was late to begin with; shipment from Amazon was delayed MANY weeks from what was projected when I ordered the book in July 2007. The editor/publisher/author should have spent more time checking for errors, and providing better examples. The author states that code could be written in another form, but does not provide that alternate example, which would have been very illustrative.

If you truly are a beginner, I'd recommend looking elsewhere for a learning reference. ... Read more

Product Description
Practical Programming in Tcl/Tk is described as the "bible" for Tcl programmers. It is a guide to the Tcl/Tk programming language and GUI toolkit. This revision includes substantial updates to cover the new version 8.4-giving both an overview of the features, as well as details about every command in the language. The third edition, written on version 8.2, sold over 30,000 copies. Version 8.4 of Tcl - Tool Command Language-provides substantial updates to one of the most popular UNIX scripting languages. The latest release, includes the addition of a virtual filesystem (VFS), many additional programming widgets (spinbox, panedwindow, labelframe),and improved performance of about 20% over 8.3. The book provides a guide to the best ways to use the tooklit. It not only gives accurate details, but includes extensive examples that demonstrate the best way to use the toolkit. The authors are experts that have both developed the technology and used it to solve problems, so they have many valuable insights to relate to the readers.Amazon.com Review
Despite its frequently obtuse syntax, Tcl/Tk enjoys a large and enthusiastic following. It's king of the world when it comes to building graphical user interfaces (GUIs) for C programs (particularly those running in X Windows environments), which is what the language originally was invented to do. Tcl/Tk (which is pronounced "tickle tee-kay," and which stands for "Tool Control Language/Toolkit" despite the abbreviation's unusual capitalization) is expanding its scope to encompass fields as diverse as voice scripting and molecular visualization. The latest edition of Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk, the fourth, offers an encyclopedic guide to Tcl/Tk that not only helps programmers solve problems, but enables them to conceive new applications for the language.

The new edition of Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk covers Tcl 8.4, particularly its versatile new Virtual File System (VFS) capabilities that allow you to include FTP sites and other remote directories in ordinary File Save and File Open interfaces. Further new coverage goes to Starkits, with which you can bundle Tcl/Tk programs for deployment, and some new Tk elements. Otherwise, the book is generally revised and improved with additional examples (the sample code has always been one of this book's main attractions) and intelligently laid-out keyword tables. It has a great lay-flat binding, too. This book (with John Ousterhout's Tcl and the Tk Toolkit) remains one of the two must-have Tcl/Tk books. --David Wall

Topics covered: The Tcl programming language and the Tk toolkit on which it most usually operates. Sections cover basic and advance programming techniques, specific aspects of Tk widgets, and extending the C library that defines Tcl. Copious examples make it easier to understand (and quickly employ) effective design strategies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (43)

Um Livro Prático
O livro é muito bem escrito. Os exemplos são valiosos. Um tutorial e guia bem completo do Tcl e do Tk.

Where's the TclX reference?No mention of Keyed Lists.
This book is pretty much the Tcl/Tk bible.If you use Tcl on a regular basis, this book has to be somewhere nearby.However, one BIG disappointment is that this book does not cover TclX what-so-ever.Very useful Tcl eXtensions such as Keyed lists and the associated commands are nowhere to be found!This may not be a big deal to most people using Tcl, however, a large part of the software that I support is written using Keyed Lists and TclX commands.So, I had to go buy the O'Reilly book Tcl/Tk in A Nutshell just for the TclX reference (Chapter 10).Great job as always on R4 with getting all the new stuff in the world related to Tcl into the book.A request for the next Revision - INCLUDE TclX please!!

Too cryptic to recommend
I expected from a book praised and priced so high to deliver on
promise. Unfortunately I can't say this is the case with
"Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk (4th Edition) " . Yes, it
shines through every page that the author(s) who wrote it knows the
language in and out; only that unfortunately he (they) failed in
presenting this knowledge in a digestable form.
I am not new to programming and I would see and say it here if the book was written for advanced readers only, but no, the book is just plain cryptic. You will have to read over and over the same example and
explaining it text to MAY be get to the meaning.
The main reason I still bought it is that it was the only more or less
up-to-date book about the language. But now even this reason could be dismissed
- on O'Reilly in June 2009 appeared new edition of
"Tcl and the Tk Toolkit, Second Edition " By John K. Ousterhout; Ken Jonesas Rough Cuts version, I am now reading it and rediscovering the
simplicity of this language . Chances are good it will be available
some day as printed book as well.

I like it more and more...
I like this book the more I use it.[...] I like Tcl/Tk the more I use it as well.The tclsh and wish shells are very interactive and great for getting feedback on new ideas to try. My experience writing code for PC's has been limited (I do embedded stuff) and having Tcl/Tk to learn GUI development has been more fun and rewarding than my attempts at Visual C++ and Xcode/Cocoa have been.

Hard to understand examples and ambiguous wording
I had picked this book up to learn TCL to take over a fairly simple TCL code base at work. As a person that is familiar with scripting and programming languages, I found this book hard to understand.

Specifically, example (8-4) is suppose to show an example for passing arrays by name.However, the example is quite cryptic as it uses a variable named array on the same line that it also uses the array TCL command.This causes the example to be fairly obfuscated and hard to understand.

In the first chapter they list the built-in math functions but give very little background on them. They fail to mention that the ceil function actually returns a floating point number.In the index for ceil they even state "next highest integer," which is incorrect.

I have not been impressed by this book for learning and understanding TCL and would not recommend it to colleagues.I can't comment on the TK section of the book, I'm hoping the book is better for learning TK. ... Read more

Product Description
You need a graphical user interface, and it needs to run on multiple platforms. You don't have much time, and you're not a wizard with X/Motif, the Win32 GUI, or the Mac GUI. The project seems impossible, but with Tcl/Tk it's simple and fun. The Tcl scripting language and the Tk toolkit create a powerful programming environment for building graphical user interfaces. With two lines of code you can create a simple button; with two hundred lines of code, a desktop calculator; and with a thousand lines of code, an industrial-strength groupware calendar and appointment minder. Your applications run on all of the major platforms: UNIX, Windows 95/NT, and Macintosh. You can even embed your programs in a Web page to make them available online. Mark Harrison and Michael McLennan, two noted Tcl/Tk experts, combine their extensive experience in this practical programming guide. It is ideal for developers who are acquainted with the basics of Tcl/Tk and are now moving on to build real applications. Effective Tcl/Tk Programming shows you how to build Tcl/Tk applications effectively and efficiently through plenty of real-world advice. It clarifies some of the more powerful aspects of Tcl/Tk, such as the packer, the canvas widget, and binding tags. The authors describe valuable design strategies and coding techniques that will make your Tcl/Tk projects successful. You will learn how to: create interactive displays with the canvas widget; create customized editors with the text widget; create new geometry managers, like tabbed notebooks or paned windows; implement client/server architectures; handle data structures; interface with existing applications; package Tcl/Tk code into reusable libraries; deliver Tcl/Tk applications that are easy to configure and install; embed applications in a Web page; and build applications that will run on multiple platforms. Throughout the book, the authors develop numerous applications and a library of reusable components. Learn from their approach, follow their strategies, and steal their code for your own applications! But don't bother retyping all of the examples. You can download all the source code at the Effective Tcl/Tk Programming Web site: http://www.awl.com/cp/efftcl/efftcl.html. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (15)

Good for getting a Tk start
I puchased this book because I was having a little trouble getting Tk to work. It really helped my understanding of the event loop. Reading this book gave me enough background to better understand the Tk sectins of the Welch book and points out a number of pitfalls and how to avoid them.The book also includesa library of useful widgets that can be faily easily modified. In two weeks time I was able to construct a GUI for long term testing set up and control. My main complaint with this book is that the index is very weak plus there is no comprehensive list of attributes so you still need a reference book or manpages.

Takes you from hacker to Tk programmer
You can quickly start creating window apps using tk/tcl. This tends to result in poorly structured non-reusable code.
This books intention is not to teach you tk/tcl but to guide you to a style that will increase your productivity by an order of magnitude by showing how to create libraries that you can drop into any app (as a bonus it also includes many useful code examples which you can use to start this library.)

It focuses more on the tk side as the authors demonstrate how to build cross-platform window apps with networking capability. A worthwhile addition to any tk/tcl proagrammers bookshelf.

it does focus on tk
i find the title of this book, and its promise, to be a bit misleading. it focuses on tk with little about tcl specifics in there. i find myself not using this book very often except when i have to do something tricky in tk. i program in tcl every day, but i don't do much tk anymore.

you wont learn tcl/tk from this, but you may pick up some great tk organization and features.

i'd say this book is overpriced, too, so see if you can buy it used.

if you're looking at getting a book to make you an advanced tcl programmer, i'd look elsewhere first.

please note--this is a Tk book.
TCL users look to the Welch or Ousterhout for a good TCL reference.

The best book for advanced TCL/TK topics
Once you have mastered tha basics of TCL/TK, then this book is a must read.It covers some very elegant programming techniques that are possible in an interpreted language, such as TCL. ... Read more

Product Description
This practical, hands-on introduction to the TCL scripting language and the use of TK X Windows toolkit introduces both fundamental and advanced concepts of TCL and TK through numerous working examples. Includes a CD-ROM that contains the book, the TCL TK toolkits, sample programs and a selection of other TK programs.Amazon.com Review
Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk, according to itspreface, is intended for both novices and experts. However, inpractice, novices who are not familiar with a C-like language or Unixshell programming will find the going difficult. The book is dividedinto six parts: Tcl basics, advanced Tcl, Tk basics, Tk widgets, Tkdetails, and Tcl and C. The included CD-ROM contains Tcl and Tkversions for Windows 95, 3.1, and NT, as well as for Unix andMacintosh. The original version of this book was based on Tcl 7.4 andTk 4.0. This second edition has been updated to cover changes in Tcl7.4 and Tk 4.0, Tcl 7.5 and Tk 4.1, Tcl 7.6 and Tk 4.2, and Tcl/Tk8.0. If you need information about the most recent additions toTcl/Tk, such as Safe-Tcl, then this is the book for you. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (16)

Computing Graduate
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 intocomputing and want.., then go for this one.

When you are the only personon 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. (trythat with Lara Lemay).

So for such a good book and service - 5 staraward.

Great tcl/tk book
Although I'm manly progrmming in perl, this tcl/tk book is an example of a great textbook and manual for a programming languange. With it's help I actually made programms for which I got money:-)

Renewed impressions...
(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 ontop of my monitor, and use it daily (hourly?).

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

This book is confusing.
I am confused at the very beginning. It cannot be the book for the beginners. This book does not include some useful extensions of TCL, such like Scotty, Expect. I recommend another book by Don Libes, 'ExploringExpect'.

Contents fine, but book un-usable
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 thathaving Ousterhouts definitive book beside this one to be useful.The twocomplement each other nicely.

BUT... the book is basically un-usablebecause 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 pridemyself on taking good care of my books, especially ones that I plan onusing for a long time.None the less, this one is fragile, preventing mefrom recommending it to anyone. ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Tcl, Tk, Incr Tcl, Tcl/java, Tcllib, Snit, C++/tcl, Itk, Tclx, L Programming Language, Xotcl. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 41. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Tcl (originally from "Tool Command Language", but conventionally rendered as "Tcl" rather than "TCL"; pronounced as "tickle" or "tee-see-ell") is a scripting language created by John Ousterhout. Originally "born out of frustration," according to the author, with programmers devising their own (poor quality) languages intended to be embedded into applications, Tcl gained acceptance on its own. It is commonly used for rapid prototyping, scripted applications, GUIs and testing. Tcl is used on embedded systems platforms, both in its full form and in several other small-footprinted versions. Tcl is also used for CGI scripting and as the scripting language for the Eggdrop bot. Tcl is popularly used today in many automated test harnesses, both for software and hardware, and has a loyal following in the Network Testing and SQA communities. The combination of Tcl and the Tk GUI toolkit is referred to as Tcl/Tk which is often pronounced "tickle tock." The Tcl programming language was created in the spring of 1988 by John Ousterhout while working at the University of California, Berkeley. Tcl conferences and workshops are held in both the United States and Europe. Tcl's features include Tcl did not originally support object oriented syntax before 8.6 (8.6 provides an OO system in Tcl core), so OO functionality was provided by extension packages, such as incr Tcl and XOTcl. Even purely scripted OO packages exist, such as Snit and STOOOP (simple tcl-only object-oriented programming). A Tcl script consists of several command invocations. A command invocation is a list of words separated by whitespace and terminated by a newline or ...http://booksllc.net/?id=30237 ... Read more

Product Description
Tcl/Tk (Tool Command Language/Tool Kit) makes it fast and easy to implement any type of application, from games to network analyzers. Tcl/Tk is a full-bodied, mature programming platform used by NASA rocket scientists, Wall Street database experts, Internet designers, and open source programmers around the world. Tcl/Tk's multi-faceted and extensible nature make it ideal for developing end-user GUIs, client/server middleware, Web applications, and more. You can code completely in Tcl, use any of hundreds of extensions, call C or Java subroutines from Tcl/Tk, or use Tcl to glue legacy applications together.

Written from a programmer's perspective, Tcl/Tk: A Developer's Guide describes how to use Tcl's standard tools and the unique features that make Tcl/Tk powerful: including graphics widgets, packages, namespaces, and extensions. With this book an experienced programmer will be able to code Tcl in a few hours. In just a few chapters you will learn about Tcl features that allow you to isolate and protect your code from being damaged in large applications. You will even learn how to extend the language itself.

Tcl/Tk: A Developer's Guide clearly discusses development tools, proven techniques, and existing extensions. It shows how to use Tcl/Tk effectively and provides many code examples. This fully revised new edition is the complete resource for computer professionals, from systems administrators to programmers. It covers versions 7.4to 8.4 and includes a CD-ROM containing the interpreters, libraries, and tutorials to get you started quickly. Additional materials in the book include case studies and discussions of techniques for the advanced user.

On the CD-ROM
*Distributions for Tcl 8.3 and 8.4 for Linux, Solaris, Macintosh, and Windows.
*A copy of ActiveTcl from ActiveState.
*The latest release of TclTutor.
*How-to's and tutorials as well as copies of all the tools discussed in the book.
*The author's "Tclsh Spot" articles from :login; magazine and the "Real World" Tcl/Tk chapters from the first edition.
*Demo copies of commercial development tools from ActiveState and NeatWare.
*Many open source Tcl/Tk development tools.
*Tcl/Tk design guidelines.

*Brings beginners up to speed quickly.
*Overview of Tcl development tools, popular extensions, and packages.
*Tips, style guidelines, and debugging techniques for the advanced user. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

This book led me toward know what questions I need to ask and solutions for many
When I needed to write some TCL for an EDA test bench and for FPGA syntheses I ran into the issue that TCL has a significant structure than other languages such as non-object oriented Perl.Because of this I didn't know for what to search.After reading this book I was able to know the questions I needed to ask.

It made me feel like a computer again (in a good way)
Clif's book is good for learning not only the basics of Tcl/Tk (which this book does very well), but also when to use each of the skills you use. Each lesson is digestible and fluid and builds upon the last, always in a useful, goal-oriented way. Through this, his diction and use of metaphors, you can start to see and make your own his deep understanding of the language and its many various applications.

A Developers guide to Tcl
Tcl is a multi-faceted language. You can use Tcal a s a command scripting language, as a powerful multi platform interpreted language, as a rapid prototyping platform, or as a library of interpreter calls within another project.Tcl's simple syntax makes single use scripts quick and easy to write. Tcl's modulations and encapsulation features help you develop large projects.Tcl's extensibility makes it easy to use Tcl as the base language across a broad range of projects, from machine control to database applications to electronic design applications, network test devices etc.

I found this book very well structured and informative with a level of detailed attuned for both as a reference for an experiences programmer to a learning guide for a novice.

Hands on approach
This book is fairly informal, with examples dominating the reference parts. I think I'll be using Brent Welch's book more as a reference though. There is good coverage of third party libraries and tools.

Getting Started with TCL
I was looking for a book to learn and start programming in TCL. The book has allowed me to do it. I had some problems with the way the informationw was presented. The book does not focus on TCL and the exact explinations for each commandis not present clearly.

The book does cover a lot of detail and there is a nice collection of stuff on the CD included so it is a good value for its cost. ... Read more

Product Description

John K. Ousterhout’s Definitive Introduction to Tcl/Tk–Now Fully Updated for Tcl/Tk 8.5

Tcl and the Tk Toolkit, Second Edition, is the fastest way for newcomers to master Tcl/Tk and is the most authoritative resource for experienced programmers seeking to gain from Tcl/Tk 8.5’s powerful enhancements. Written by Tcl/Tk creator John K. Ousterhout and top Tcl/Tk trainer Ken Jones, this updated volume provides the same extraordinary clarity and careful organization that made the first edition the world’s number one Tcl/Tk tutorial.

Part I introduces Tcl/Tk through simple scripts that demonstrate its value and offer a flavor of the Tcl/Tk scripting experience. The authors then present detailed, practical guidance on every feature necessary to build effective, efficient production applications–including variables, expressions, strings, lists, dictionaries, control flow, procedures, namespaces, file and directory management, interprocess communication, error and exception handling, creating and using libraries, and more.

Part II turns to the Tk extension and Tk 8.5’s new themed widgets, showing how to organize sophisticated user interface elements into modern GUI applications for Tcl.

Part III presents incomparable coverage of Tcl’s C functions, which are used to create new commands and packages and to integrate Tcl with existing C software–thereby leveraging Tcl’s simplicity while accessing C libraries or executing performance-intensive tasks.

Throughout, the authors illuminate all of Tcl/Tk 8.5’s newest, most powerful improvements. You’ll learn how to use new Starkits and Starpacks to distribute run-time environments and applications through a single file; how to take full advantage of the new virtual file system support to treat entities such as zip archives and HTTP sites as mountable file systems; and more.

From basic syntax to simple Tcl commands, user interface development to C integration, this fully updated classic covers it all. Whether you’re using Tcl/Tk to automate system/network administration, streamline testing, control hardware, or even build desktop or Web applications, this is the one Tcl/Tk book you’ll always turn to for answers.

Customer Reviews (15)

Excellent How To Book (not best first Tcl book)
This is a super "How-To" book, but very different from the first edition. If you are looking to learn TclTk from scratch or want a great TclTk reference book, don't start here (read Brent Welch's book). If you have a fair or extensive Tcl background & want a nuts-n-bolts how-to book, this is it.
But why learn TclTk?
Tcl is the Zen of computer languages (easy to get started, impossible to totally master). The abstraction level is very much like the human mind (e.g. you can write apps that generate or modify their own code based on what's coming into the apps environment (via substitutions & eval, etc.) and because there is no compile cycle, you can write apps that can run for years and be updated (via source command) without ever shutting down.
Tcl can be embedded into or run on top of other languages or apps (saves a lot of programming time). One complaint I've heard about Tcl is it's slow for some purposes, but because Tcl is built on C there's always the option of using C code (or Java, whatever) where it's needed. Almost always there's a faster solution in Tcl when speed is an issue (e.g. lists (now also dicts) are fast, big arrays are slow).
Tk is the graphical side of the TclTk team and can be used with other languages as a graphics builder.
If you like rigid computer languages (PLC programming or BASIC) you may find the infinite "open-ended-ness" of Tcl a little scary. However, if you wanna' use a language that would be great for running a starship, give Tcl a try.

thought I would learn how to do TCL with this
This book is just horrible.My needs are pretty simple, I am not doing a ton of TCL programming, and I am hardly using Tk.That said, the book completely glosses over the major applications of TCL, and the major commands.Looping is 3 pages.regexp...3 pages.Entire books have been written on regexp, but the authors seem to think that the backbone of TCL only deserves 3 pages.

I am programming professionally at a fortune 100 company using TCL.I started from scratch, not knowing TCL at all (but with experience in C and sh.This book was absolutely worthless; anything significant was not covered to any depth. I googled everything I had a problem with.That pretty much says it all.Don't buy this book if you are starting from scratch or want to know anything about TCL.This isn't the book for you.

Very highly recommended for serious developer's libraries
The second updated edition of John K. Outserhout and Ken Jones' TCL AND THE TK TOOLKIT has been fully updated for Tcl/Tk8.5 and is a must for any graphics programming library. It uses simple scripts to introduce Tcl/Tk basics and provides a fine coverage of its commands, functions and more. All of its latest, newest improvements are revealed along with real-world run-time environments and applications. Very highly recommended for serious developer's libraries.

Missing material on new features
This book does a good job of explaining the fundamentals to Tcl, Tk, and the C API.However, after a decade between editions, it's missing too much material about more modern features.Specifically there is no information on the Threads package; for this you will instead need to refer to chapter 21 of Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk, 4th ed.

This is Just a Great Book
I've read other books written by the authors of the language, and found them to be lacking.But this author's book is really well organized, thoughtful, clear, and has great explanations.I was up and running creating widgets, etc. in a matter of no time.

I think this book is more of an instructional guide (and a damn good one too), but I don't believe it is oriented as a reference guide.I know that there were a few gripes on this should be both, but I wouldn't want that.Technology changes, so I prefer references to remain online.Gone are the days to cart a wheel-barrel of reference material for a given project, only to be obsoleted in a few years.

This book opened the doors to the great wonderful world of Tcl/Tk.And I am confident it will help others in years to come. ... Read more

Product Description
The Tcl language and the Tk graphical toolkit are simple and powerful building blocks for sophisticated applications. The Tcl/Tk combination is increasingly popular because it lets you produce sophisticated graphical interfaces with a few easy commands, develop and change scripts quickly,and conveniently tie together existing utilities or programming libraries.A companion volume to Tcl/Tk in a Nutshell, the Tcl/Tk PocketReference is a handy reference guide to the basic Tcl languageelements, Tcl and Tk commands, and Tk widgets. It provides easy access to just what you need and includes easy-to-understand summariesof Tcl/Tk language elements. Covers Tcl Version 8 and Tk Version 8. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

I keep going back to Ousterhout
This reference is good if you are only looking for syntax or available options to a command you understand.

If you have questions about the way the commands work, or the concepts behind them (what is a list?) then you'll find that you keep going back to the larger books.

So I am currently in Ousterhout for most of my questions and then opening this infrequently to check syntax.

I think it could have had a more extensive index and I cannot see any order in the table of contents.

A lot of info in a small package.
These pocket reference guides pack an amazing amount of information. In my opinion, this book (along with other pocket references) are better than some full sized books. One thing I like about this book is that it goes straight to the point. For example, I wanted to look up the after command. So, in a few seconds I find the description, and I immediately learn the syntax for this command. There is no long description or theory to read through, the bulk of what you need to know is right there. Anybody who is in to TCL/TK should get this book!

A different kind of animal
Tcl (Tool command language) scripting language.

TK (tool Kit) graphic tool to help build graphic interface.

You will be surprised to know that you know a lot of the commands and concepts already.

The reason for different languages is to be more efficient in the purpose of the program. In my case, this is used for writing code for phone switching systems. No one can remember all the commands; so it is wise to carry your pocket reference with you. For those that do not have the occasion to use Tcl/Tk the reference helps you stay culturally literate. Moreover, who know one day you may have the need and say, "now where did I put that Pocket reference?"

Good if you like such things...
If it's important to you to have a quick reference in paper form, then by all means this is the book for you. It's technically accurate.It is getting a bit out of date, but Tcl has an excellent track record for maintaining upward compatibility.You may miss out on new features, but you won't be led too far astray.

If, on the other hand, you're comfortable with browsing the manual on-line, then save your money.There's little in this book that isn't also in the on-line manuals that come with Tcl/Tk, and you can be certain that the on-line manual matches the Tcl/Tk release that you're using.

Tcl/Tk Pocket Reference
The Tcl/Tk Pocket Reference is a good basic guide to the Tcl syntax. The text is a simple straight-forward listing of the different Tcl terms, their functions and their signatures, alphabetized by category. ... Read more