TCLTUTOR
INTRODUCTION
TclTutor is a Computer Aided Instruction package to help you learn the
Tcl language. This set of lessons will introduce you to the language syntax
and explain how the commands can be used.
SCROLLING TEXT
Along the right hand edge of the text windows is a vertical bar called a
ScrollBar. If you put the cursor in the upper colored portion of the
bar, and hold down the left or middle mouse button, you can drag that
colored portion lower, and display more of this text. If you drag it
up, it will display any previous text. Clicking the up and down
pointing triangles with the left mouse button will move the text one
line in that direction.
BUTTONS
Files
| Select lessons and courses, set fonts and colors, or exit
Lessons
| Selects an individual lesson from the current course.
| Courses
| Selects the course. (Only Tcl implemented currently.)
| Set Font Size
| Opens a new window with a slider to select the font size.
| Set Colors
| Opens a new window with a Color selector to select foreground and
background for the labels, buttons and text windows.
| Exit
| Exits TclTutor.
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Terseness
| Select the amount of detail and explanation
Beginner
| For people just learning about programming
| User
| For people who know how to program
| Expert
| For people who already know several languages
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Next Lesson
| View the next lesson
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Previous Lesson
| View the previous lesson
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Run Example
| Run the code in the Example Code window
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Help/About
| Display the Help and About text.
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COMMAND SYNTAX CONVENTION
When the syntax of a tcl command is described, the convention Dr.
Ousterhout uses in the tcl man pages is followed:
- The name of the command is in boldface type
- The arguments are in italics
- Arguments bounded by '?' are optional
EXAMPLE CODE EDITING COMMANDS
(The symbol '^' indicates that you depress the control (Ctrl) key while
you depress the letter following the '^' symbol)
- ^N Next line
- ^P Previous line
- ^A Beginning of line
- ^E End of line
- ^F Forward one character
- ^B Back one character
TERSENESS
There are 40+ Tcl lessons in this package. Each lesson is written with
varying levels of explanation.
- The Beginner level is designed for folks who may not have
programmed before and know very little about Computer Science. There is
a lot of explanation of terms and concepts in this level.
- The User level is for folks who may have learned one or two
computer languages, but haven't used scripting and glue languages. This
level explains some of the more esoteric aspects of Tcl, and assumes the
reader is familiar with basic Computer Science terms.
- The Expert level is very terse. It assumes you already speak several
computer languages, are familiar with Unix and Windows, and are just looking
for the ways that Tcl is different from what you've used before.
If you are a new computer user, you may
prefer the Beginner level. If you are more experienced, or are using
TclTutor as an online reference while you work, you may prefer the Expert
level.
MORE REFERENCES
No single learning tools is right for everyone, and no tool can cover all
the available material.
There are links to other online tutorials at
http://www.msen.com/~clif/Tcl.html
There are many links at:
http://dev.scriptics.com/
A Reccommended reading list is:
| Author
| Title
|
Clif Flynt
| Tcl/Tk: A Developer's Guide
|
Brent Welch
| Practical Programming in Tcl/Tk
|
Mark Harris Michael Mclennan
| Effective Tcl/Tk
|
Chris Nelson
| Tcl/Tk Programmer's Reference
|
Don Libes
| Exploring Expect
|