'\" '\" Generated from file '/home/andrew/maintain/critcl-3.1.9/debian/tmp/man/files/critcl_introduction.3tcl' by tcllib/doctools with format 'nroff' '\" Copyright (c) Jean-Claude Wippler '\" Copyright (c) Steve Landers '\" Copyright (c) 2011-2013 Andreas Kupries '\" '\" The definitions below are for supplemental macros used in Tcl/Tk '\" manual entries. '\" '\" .AP type name in/out ?indent? '\" Start paragraph describing an argument to a library procedure. '\" type is type of argument (int, etc.), in/out is either "in", "out", '\" or "in/out" to describe whether procedure reads or modifies arg, '\" and indent is equivalent to second arg of .IP (shouldn't ever be '\" needed; use .AS below instead) '\" '\" .AS ?type? ?name? '\" Give maximum sizes of arguments for setting tab stops. Type and '\" name are examples of largest possible arguments that will be passed '\" to .AP later. If args are omitted, default tab stops are used. '\" '\" .BS '\" Start box enclosure. From here until next .BE, everything will be '\" enclosed in one large box. '\" '\" .BE '\" End of box enclosure. '\" '\" .CS '\" Begin code excerpt. '\" '\" .CE '\" End code excerpt. '\" '\" .VS ?version? ?br? '\" Begin vertical sidebar, for use in marking newly-changed parts '\" of man pages. The first argument is ignored and used for recording '\" the version when the .VS was added, so that the sidebars can be '\" found and removed when they reach a certain age. If another argument '\" is present, then a line break is forced before starting the sidebar. '\" '\" .VE '\" End of vertical sidebar. '\" '\" .DS '\" Begin an indented unfilled display. '\" '\" .DE '\" End of indented unfilled display. '\" '\" .SO '\" Start of list of standard options for a Tk widget. The '\" options follow on successive lines, in four columns separated '\" by tabs. '\" '\" .SE '\" End of list of standard options for a Tk widget. '\" '\" .OP cmdName dbName dbClass '\" Start of description of a specific option. cmdName gives the '\" option's name as specified in the class command, dbName gives '\" the option's name in the option database, and dbClass gives '\" the option's class in the option database. '\" '\" .UL arg1 arg2 '\" Print arg1 underlined, then print arg2 normally. '\" '\" RCS: @(#) $Id: man.macros,v 1.1 2009/01/30 04:56:47 andreas_kupries Exp $ '\" '\" # Set up traps and other miscellaneous stuff for Tcl/Tk man pages. .if t .wh -1.3i ^B .nr ^l \n(.l .ad b '\" # Start an argument description .de AP .ie !"\\$4"" .TP \\$4 .el \{\ . ie !"\\$2"" .TP \\n()Cu . el .TP 15 .\} .ta \\n()Au \\n()Bu .ie !"\\$3"" \{\ \&\\$1 \\fI\\$2\\fP (\\$3) .\".b .\} .el \{\ .br .ie !"\\$2"" \{\ \&\\$1 \\fI\\$2\\fP .\} .el \{\ \&\\fI\\$1\\fP .\} .\} .. '\" # define tabbing values for .AP .de AS .nr )A 10n .if !"\\$1"" .nr )A \\w'\\$1'u+3n .nr )B \\n()Au+15n .\" .if !"\\$2"" .nr )B \\w'\\$2'u+\\n()Au+3n .nr )C \\n()Bu+\\w'(in/out)'u+2n .. .AS Tcl_Interp Tcl_CreateInterp in/out '\" # BS - start boxed text '\" # ^y = starting y location '\" # ^b = 1 .de BS .br .mk ^y .nr ^b 1u .if n .nf .if n .ti 0 .if n \l'\\n(.lu\(ul' .if n .fi .. '\" # BE - end boxed text (draw box now) .de BE .nf .ti 0 .mk ^t .ie n \l'\\n(^lu\(ul' .el \{\ .\" Draw four-sided box normally, but don't draw top of .\" box if the box started on an earlier page. .ie !\\n(^b-1 \{\ \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\l'\\n(^lu+3n\(ul'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\l'|0u-1.5n\(ul' .\} .el \}\ \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\h'\\n(^lu+3n'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\l'|0u-1.5n\(ul' .\} .\} .fi .br .nr ^b 0 .. '\" # VS - start vertical sidebar '\" # ^Y = starting y location '\" # ^v = 1 (for troff; for nroff this doesn't matter) .de VS .if !"\\$2"" .br .mk ^Y .ie n 'mc \s12\(br\s0 .el .nr ^v 1u .. '\" # VE - end of vertical sidebar .de VE .ie n 'mc .el \{\ .ev 2 .nf .ti 0 .mk ^t \h'|\\n(^lu+3n'\L'|\\n(^Yu-1v\(bv'\v'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^Yu'\h'-|\\n(^lu+3n' .sp -1 .fi .ev .\} .nr ^v 0 .. '\" # Special macro to handle page bottom: finish off current '\" # box/sidebar if in box/sidebar mode, then invoked standard '\" # page bottom macro. .de ^B .ev 2 'ti 0 'nf .mk ^t .if \\n(^b \{\ .\" Draw three-sided box if this is the box's first page, .\" draw two sides but no top otherwise. .ie !\\n(^b-1 \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\l'\\n(^lu+3n\(ul'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\h'|0u'\c .el \h'-1.5n'\L'|\\n(^yu-1v'\h'\\n(^lu+3n'\L'\\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^yu'\h'|0u'\c .\} .if \\n(^v \{\ .nr ^x \\n(^tu+1v-\\n(^Yu \kx\h'-\\nxu'\h'|\\n(^lu+3n'\ky\L'-\\n(^xu'\v'\\n(^xu'\h'|0u'\c .\} .bp 'fi .ev .if \\n(^b \{\ .mk ^y .nr ^b 2 .\} .if \\n(^v \{\ .mk ^Y .\} .. '\" # DS - begin display .de DS .RS .nf .sp .. '\" # DE - end display .de DE .fi .RE .sp .. '\" # SO - start of list of standard options .de SO .SH "STANDARD OPTIONS" .LP .nf .ta 4c 8c 12c .ft B .. '\" # SE - end of list of standard options .de SE .fi .ft R .LP See the \\fBoptions\\fR manual entry for details on the standard options. .. '\" # OP - start of full description for a single option .de OP .LP .nf .ta 4c Command-Line Name: \\fB\\$1\\fR Database Name: \\fB\\$2\\fR Database Class: \\fB\\$3\\fR .fi .IP .. '\" # CS - begin code excerpt .de CS .RS .nf .ta .25i .5i .75i 1i .. '\" # CE - end code excerpt .de CE .fi .RE .. .de UL \\$1\l'|0\(ul'\\$2 .. .TH "critcl_introduction" 3tcl 3.1.8 doc "C Runtime In Tcl (CriTcl)" .BS .SH NAME critcl_introduction \- Introduction To CriTcl .SH DESCRIPTION .PP Welcome to the \fIC Runtime In Tcl\fR, \fICriTcl\fR for short, a system to build C extension packages for Tcl on the fly, from C code embedded within Tcl scripts, for all who wish to make their code go faster. .PP CriTcl started life as an experiment by Jean-Claude Wippler and was a self-contained Tcl package to build C code into a Tcl/Tk extension on the fly. It was somewhat inspired by Brian Ingerson's \fIInline\fR for \fIPerl\fR, but is considerably more lightweight. .PP It is for the last 5% to 10% when pure Tcl, which does go a long way, is not sufficient anymore. I.e. for .IP [1] when the last bits of performance are needed, .IP [2] access to 3rd party libraries, .IP [3] hiding critical pieces of your library or application, and .IP [4] simply needing features provided only by C. .PP .PP The following sections first reference a few related documents which may or may not be of interest to you, depending on if you are just a plain user of the system, trying to get and build/install it, or are going deep into the internals for either edification or modification. .PP This is followed by an introduction to the modes of operation supported by the system, and its general architecture as seen by a user. .SH "RELATED DOCUMENTS" .IP [1] \fICritcl - License\fR. .IP [2] \fIUsing Critcl\fR .IP [3] \fICritcl - How To Get The Sources\fR. .IP [4] \fICritcl - The Installer's Guide\fR. .IP [5] \fICritcl - Application Package Reference\fR .IP [6] \fICritcl - Package Reference\fR .IP [7] \fICritcl - The Developer's Guide\fR. .PP .SH "MODES OF OPERATION/USE" CriTcl can be used in three different modes of operation, called .IP [1] \fICompile & Run\fR, and .IP [2] \fIGenerate Package\fR .IP [3] \fIGenerate TEA Package\fR .PP Of these three \fICompile & Run\fR came first and is the default when using the package directly. In that case the package collects the C fragments, builds them as needed, and caches the results for quick reuse when the same code is used in the future again. .PP The second mode, \fIGenerate Package\fR, was introduced to enable the creation of (prebuilt) deliverable packages which do not depend on the existence of a build system, i.e. C compiler, on the target machine. This was originally done through the experimental \fBCritbind\fR tool, and is now handled by the \fICriTcl Application\fR, also named \fBcritcl\fR. .PP Newly introduced with Critcl version 3 is \fIGenerate TEA Package\fR. This mode constructs a directory hierarchy from the package which can later be built like a regular TEA package, i.e. using .CS .../configure --prefix ... make all isntall .CE .SH "SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE" The system consists of two main layers, as seen in the figure below, plus a support layer containing general packages the system uses during operation. .PP .PS .nf +----------------+ |Applications | | critcl | | critcl::app | +----------------+ +----------------+ |Core Packages | | critcl | | critcl::util | +----------------+ +----------------+ |Support Packages| | stubs::* | | md5, platform | | ... | +----------------+ .fi .PE .PP .IP [1] At the top we have an application built on top of the core packages, providing command line access to the second and third usage modes, i.e. \fIGenerate Package\fR and \fIGenerate TEA Package\fR. .RS .TP \fBcritcl\fR .TP \fBcritcl::app\fR .RE .IP [2] Below that is the core package providing the essential functionality of the system, plus various utility packages which make common tasks more convenient. .RS .TP \fBcritcl\fR .TP \fBcritcl::util\fR .RE .IP [3] Lastly a layer of supporting packages, mostly external to critcl. .RS .TP \fBmd5\fR For this pure-Tcl package to be fast users should get one of several possible accelerator packages: .RS .IP [1] \fBtcllibc\fR .IP [2] \fBTrf\fR .IP [3] \fBmd5c\fR .RE .TP \fBcmdline\fR .TP \fBplatform\fR .TP \fBstubs::container\fR .TP \fBstubs::reader\fR .TP \fBstubs::writer\fR .TP \fBstubs::gen\fR .TP \fBstubs::gen::init\fR .TP \fBstubs::gen::header\fR .TP \fBstubs::gen::decl\fR .TP \fBstubs::gen::macro\fR .TP \fBstubs::gen::slot\fR .TP \fBstubs::gen::lib\fR .RE .PP .SH EXAMPLES .PP The sources of Critcl, should you have gotten them, contain several larger examples show-casing various aspects of the system. These demonstration packages can all be found in the sub-directory "\fIexamples/\fR" of the sources. .PP Lots of smaller examples can be found in the document \fIUsing CriTcl\fR, an introduction to Critcl by way of a of examples. These focus more on specific critcl commands than the overall picture shown by the large examples mentioned in the previous paragraph. .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 2.1" .IP [1] Fixed bug where \fBcritcl::tsources\fR interpreted relative paths as relative to the current working directory instead of relative to the "\fI.critcl\fR" file using the command, as all other commands of this type do. .IP [2] Fixed internals, preventing information collected for multiple "\fI.critcl\fR" files to leak between them. Notably, \fBcritcl::tk\fR is not a global configuration option anymore. .IP [3] Fixed the command \fBcritcl::license\fR to be a null-operation in mode "compile & run", instead of throwing an error. .IP [4] Fixed the critcl application's interference with the "compile & run" result cache in \fB-pkg\fR mode by having it use a wholly separate (and by default transient) directory for that mode. .IP [5] Fixed bug where changes to a "\fI.critcl\fR" file did not result in a rebuild for mode "compile & run". All relevant API commands now ensure UUID changes. .IP [6] Fixed bug in the backend handling of \fBcritcl::debug\fR where the companion c-sources of a "\fI.critcl\fR" file were not compiled with debug options, although the "\fI.critcl\fR" file was. .IP [7] Fixed bug in \fBcritcl::debug\fR which prevented recognition of mode "all" when it was not the first argument to the command. .IP [8] Fixed bug in "\fIpreload.c\fR" preventing its compilation on non-windows platforms. .IP [9] Fixed long-standing bug in the handling of namespace qualifiers in the command name argument of \fBcritcl::cproc\fR and \fBcritcl::ccommand\fR. It is now possible to specify a fully qualified command name without issues. .IP [10] Extended/reworked \fBcritcl::tsources\fR to be the canonical way of declaring "\fI.tcl\fR" companion files even for mode "compile & run". .IP [11] Extended/reworked \fBcritcl::tsources\fR to allow the use of a "\fI.critcl\fR" file as its own Tcl companion file. .IP [12] Extended \fBcritcl::framework\fR to internally check for OS X build target, and to ignore the declaration if its not. .IP [13] Extended \fBcritcl::failed\fR to be callable more than once in a "\fI.critcl\fR" file. The first call forces the build, if it was not done already, to get the result. Further calls return the cached result of the first call. .IP [14] Extended the handling of environment variable CC in the code determining the compiler to use to deal with (i.e. remove) paths to the compiler, compiler file extensions, and compiler options specified after the compiler itself, leaving only the bare name of the compiler. .IP [15] Extended the code handling the search for preloaded libraries to print the paths it searched, making debugging of a search failure easier. .IP [16] A new command \fBcritcl::tcl\fR can be used to declare the version of Tcl minimally needed to build and run the "\fI.critcl\fR" file and package. Defaults to 8.4 if not declared. Extended critcl to have the stubs and headers for all of Tcl 8.4, 8.5, and 8.6. .IP [17] A new command \fBcritcl::load\fR forces the build and load of a "\fI.critcl\fR" file. This is the official way for overriding critcl's default lazy-build-&-load-on-demand scheme for mode "compile & run". .sp \fINote\fR that after using \fBcritcl::load\fR / \fBcritcl::failed\fR in a "\fI.critcl\fR" file it is not possible to use critcl commands in that file anymore. Doing so will throw an error. .IP [18] Extended the generation of '#line' pragmas to use \fBinfo frame\fR (if available) to provide the C compiler with exact line numbers into the "\fI.critcl\fR" file for the reporting of warnings and errors. .IP [19] Extended \fBcritcl::check\fR with logging to help with debugging build-time checks of the environment, plus an additional optional argument to provide labeling. .IP [20] Added a new command \fBcritcl::checklink\fR which not only tries to check the environment via compiling the code, but also its linkability. .IP [21] Added a new command \fBcritcl::msg\fR for messaging, like command \fBcritcl::error\fR is for error reporting. Likewise this is a hook a user of the package is allowed to override. The default implementation, used by mode \fIcompile & run\fR does nothing. The implementation for mode \fIgenerate package\fR prints the message to stdout. .sp Envisioned use is for the reporting of results determined by \fBcritcl::check\fR and \fBcritcl::checklink\fR during building, to help with debugging when something goes wrong with a check. .IP [22] Exposed the argument processing internals of \fBcritcl::proc\fR for use by advanced users. The new commands are .RS .IP [1] \fBcritcl::argnames\fR .IP [2] \fBcritcl::argcnames\fR .IP [3] \fBcritcl::argcsignature\fR .IP [4] \fBcritcl::argvardecls\fR .IP [5] \fBcritcl::argconversion\fR .RE .IP Please see section \fIAdvanced Embedded C Code\fR of the \fBcritcl\fR package documentation for details. .IP [23] Extended the critcl package to intercept \fBpackage provide\fR and record the file -> package name mapping. Plus other internal changes now allow the use of namespaced package names while still using proper path names and init function. .IP [24] Dropped the unused commands \fBcritcl::optimize\fR and \fBcritcl::include\fR. .IP [25] Dropped \fB-lib\fR mode from the critcl application. .IP [26] Dropped remnants of support for Tcl 8.3 and before. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3" .IP [1] The command \fBcritcl::platform\fR was deprecated in version 2.1, superceded by \fBcritcl::targetplatform\fR, yet kept for compatibility. Now it has been removed. .IP [2] The command \fBcritcl::compiled\fR was kept with in version 2.1 with semantics in contradiction to its, for compatibility. This contradiction has been removed, changing the visible semantics of the command to be in line with its name. .IP [3] The change to version 3 became necessary because of the two incompatible visible changes above. .IP [4] Extended the application package with code handling a new option \fB-tea\fR. Specifying this option invokes a special mode where critcl generates a TEA package, i.e. wraps the input into a directory hierarchy and support files which provide it TEA-lookalike buildsystem. .sp This new option, and \fB-pkg\fR, exclude each other. If both are specified the last used option takes precedence. .sp The generated package directory hierarchy is mostly self-contained, but not fully. It requires not only a working installation of Tcl, but also working installations of the packages \fBmd5\fR and \fBcmdline\fR. Both of these are provided by the \fBTcllib\fR bundle. Not required, but recommended to have installed are any of the packages which can accelerate md5's operation, i.e. \fBcryptkit\fR, \fBtcllibc\fR, or \fBTrf\fR. .IP [5] Extended the critcl package with a new command \fBcritcl::scan\fR taking the path to a "\fI.critcl\fR" file, statically scanning it, and returning license, version, a list of its companion files, list of imported APIs, and list of developer-specified custom configuration options. This data is the foundation for the TEA wrapping described above. .sp Note that this is a \fIstatic\fR scan. While the other build modes can (must) execute the "\fI.critcl\fR" file and make platform-specific decisions regarding the assembled C code, companion files, etc. the TEA wrap mode is not in a position to make platform-specific decisions. It has to wrap everything which might conceivably be needed when actually building. Hence the static scan. This has however its own set of problems, namely the inability to figure out any dynamic construction of companion file paths, at least on its own. Thus: .IP [6] Extended the API used by critcl-based packages with the command \fBcritcl::owns\fR. While this command is ignored by the regular build modes the static scanner described above takes its arguments as the names of companion files which have to be wrapped into the TEA package and could not be figured by the scanner otherwise, like because of dynamic paths to \fBcritcl::tsources\fR, \fBcritcl::csources\fR, getting sourced directly, or simply being adjunct datafiles. .IP [7] Extended the API used by critcl-based packages with the command \fBcritcl::api\fR for the management of stubs tables, be it their use, and/or declaration and export. .sp Please see section \fIStubs Table Management\fR of the \fBcritcl\fR package documentation for details. .IP [8] Extended the API used by critcl-based packages with the command \fBcritcl::userconfig\fR for the management of developer-specified custom configuration options, be it their use and/or declaration. .sp Please see section \fICustom Build Configuration\fR of the \fBcritcl\fR package documentation for details. .IP [9] Extended the API used by critcl-based packages with the commands \fBcritcl::description\fR, \fBcritcl::summary\fR, \fBcritcl::subject\fR, \fBcritcl::meta\fR, and \fBcritcl::buildrequirement\fR for the declaration of TEApot meta data for/about the package. .sp Please see section \fIPackage Meta Data\fR of the \fBcritcl\fR package documentation for details. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.1" .IP [1] Bugfixes all around. In detail: .IP [2] Fixed recording of Tcl version requirements. Keep package name and version together, unbreaking generated meta data and generated package load command. .IP [3] Fixed the build scripts: When installing, or wrapping for TEA, generate any missing directories .IP [4] Modified the build scripts to properly exit the application when the window of their GUI is closed through the (X) button. .IP [5] Removed an 8.5-ism (open wb) which had slipped into the main build script. .IP [6] Modified the example build scripts to separate the output for the different examples (and packages) by adding empty lines. .IP [7] stack::c example bugfix: Include API declarations for use in the companion files. .IP [8] Extended the documentation: Noted the need for a working installation of a C compiler. .IP [9] Extended the Windows target definitions and code to handle the manifest files used by modern MS development environments. Note that this code handles both possibilities, environment using manifests, and (old(er)) environments without. .IP [10] Extended the Windows 64bit target definitions and code to auto-detect the need for the helper library "bufferoverflowU.lib" and reconfigure the compile and link commands appropriately. We assume that the library must be linked when present. This should be no harm if the library is present, yet not needed. Just superfluous. We search for the library in the paths specified by the environment variable LIB. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.2" .IP [1] Fixed issue in compile-and-run mode where commands put into the auto_index are not found by Tcl's [unknown] command. .IP [2] Fixed an array key mismatch breaking usage of client data and delete function for procedure. Reported by Jos DeCoster, with patch. .IP [3] Implemented a command line option \fB-L\fR, an equivalent of option \fB-I\fR, just for library search paths. .IP [4] Fixed github issues 5 and 8. Working around a missing variable ::errorInfo. It should always be present, however there seem to be revisions of Tcl around which violate this assumption. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.3" .IP [1] Fixed github issues 5 and 8, for the example build.tcl scripts. Working around a missing variable ::errorInfo. It should always be present, however there seem to be revisions of Tcl around which violate this assumption. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.4" .IP [1] Fixed generation of the package's initname when the incoming code is read from stdin and has no proper path. .IP [2] Fixed github issue 11. Now using /LIBPATH instead of -L on Windows (libinclude configuration setting). .IP [3] Extended critcl to handle -l:path format of -l options. GNU ld 2.22+ handles this by searching for the path as is. Good when specifying static libraries, as plain -l looks for shared libraries in preference over static. critcl handles it now, as older GNU ld's do not understand it, nor the various vendor-specific linkers. .IP [4] Fixed github issue #12. Critcl now determines the version of MSVC in use and uses it to switch between various link debug options. Simplified the handling of bufferoverflowU.lib also, making use of the same mechanism and collapsing the two configurations sections we had back into one. .IP [5] Reworked the insertion of #line pragmas into the generated C code to avoid limitations on the line number argument imposed by various compilers, and be more accurate. .IP [6] Modified argument processing. Option -libdir now also implies -L for its argument. .IP [7] Extended handling of option -show (\fBcritcl::showconfig\fR) to list the path of the configuration file the data is coming from. Good for debugging configuration processing. .IP [8] Extended the build script with targets to regenerate the embedded documentation, and diagrams, and to generate a release. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.5" .IP [1] Fixed bug in the new code for #line pragmas triggered when specifying C code without leading whitespace. .IP [2] Extended the documentation to have manpages for the license, source retrieval, installer, and developer's guides. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.6" .IP [1] Fixed github issue 10. The critcl application now delivers a proper exit code (1) on build failure, instead of always indicating success (status 0). .IP [2] Fixed github issue 13. Handling of bufferoverflowU.lib for release builds was inconsistent with handling for debug builds. It is now identically handled (conditional) by both cases. .IP [3] Documentation cleanup, mainly in the installation guide, and the README.md shown by github .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.7" .IP [1] Fixed the code generated by \fBcritcl::c++command\fR. The emitted code handed a non-static string table to \fBTcl_GetIndexFromObj\fR, in violation of the contract, which requires the table to have a fixed address. This was a memory smash waiting to happen. Thanks to Brian Griffin for alrerting us to the general problem. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1" .IP [1] Added a new higher-level package \fBcritcl::iassoc\fR. .sp This package simplifies the creation of code associating data with an interpreter via Tcl's \fBTcl_(Get|Set)AssocData()\fR APIs. The user can concentrate on his data while all the necessary boilerplate C code to support this is generated by the package. .sp This package uses several of the new features which were added to the core \fBcritcl\fR package, see below. .IP [2] Added the higher-level package \fBcritcl::class\fR. .sp This package simplifies the creation of C level objects with class and instance commands. The user can write a class definition with class- and instance-variables and -methods similar to a TclOO class, with all the necessary boilerplate C code to support this generated by the package. .sp This package uses several of the new features which were added to the core \fBcritcl\fR package, see below. .IP [3] Extended the API for handling TEApot metadata. Added the command \fBcritcl::meta?\fR to query the stored information. Main use currently envisioned is retrieval of the current package's name by utility commands, for use in constructed names. This particular information is always available due to the static scan of the package file on execution of the first critcl command. .sp The new packages \fBcritcl::iassoc\fR and \fBcritcl::class\fR (see above) are users of this command. .IP [4] Extended the API with a command, \fBcritcl::name2c\fR, exposing the process of converting a Tcl name into base name, namespace, and C namespace. This enables higher-level code generators to generate the same type of C identifiers as \fBcritcl\fR itself. .sp The new package \fBcritcl::class\fR (see above) is a user of this command. .IP [5] Extended the API with a command, \fBcritcl::source\fR, executing critcl commands found in a separate file in the context of the current file. This enables easier management of larger bodies of code as it allows the user to split such up into easier to digest smaller chunks without causing the generation of multiple packages. .IP [6] Related to the previous item, extended the API with commands to divert collection of generated C code into memory. This makes it easier to use the commands for embedded C code in higher-level code generators. .sp See the section \fBAdvanced: Diversions\fR for details of the provided commands. .sp The new package \fBcritcl::class\fR (see above) is a user of these facilities. .IP [7] Extended the API with commands helping developers with the generation of proper C \fI#line\fR directives. This allows higher-level code generators to generate and insert their own directives, ensuring that compile errors in their code are properly attributed. .sp See the section \fBAdvanced: Location management\fR for details of the provided commands. .sp The new packages \fBcritcl::iassoc\fR and \fBcritcl::class\fR (see above) are users of these facilities. .IP [8] Extended the API with commands giving users the ability to define custom argument and result types for \fB::critcl::cproc\fR. .sp See the section \fBAdvanced: Extending cproc\fR for details of the provided commands. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.1" .IP [1] Bugfixes all around. In detail: .IP [2] Fixed the generation of wrong#args errors for \fBcritcl::cproc\fR and derived code (\fBcritcl::class\fR cproc-based methods). Use NULL if there are no arguments, and take the offset into account. .IP [3] Fixed the handling of package names by \fBcritcl::class\fR. Forgot that they may contain namespace separators. Bumped to version 1.0.1. .IP [4] Extended a \fBcritcl::class\fR generated error message in instance creation for clarity. Bumped to version 1.0.2. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.2" .IP [1] Enhancement. In detail: .IP [2] Extended \fBcritcl::cproc\fR to be able to handle optional arguments, in a limited way. This is automatically available to \fBcritcl::class\fR cproc-based methods as well. .IP [3] Bugfix in \fBlassign\fR emulation for Tcl 8.4. Properly set unused variables to the empty string. Bumped version of emulation package \fBlassign84\fR to 1.0.1. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.3" .IP [1] Enhancement. In detail: .IP [2] Added new argument type "pstring", for "Pascal String", a counted string, i.e. a combination of string pointer and string length. .IP [3] Added new methods \fBcritcl::argtypesupport\fR and \fB::critcl::argsupport\fR to define and use additional supporting code for an argument type, here used by "pstring" above to define the necessary structure. .IP [4] Semi-bugfixes in the packages \fBcritcl::class\fR and \fBcritcl::iassoc\fR. Pragmas for the AS meta data scanner to ensure that the template files are made part of the package. Versions bumped to 1.0.4 and 1.0.1 respectively. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.4" .IP [1] Bugfix in package \fBcritcl::class\fR. Generate a dummy field in the class structure if the class has no class variables. Without this change the structure would be empty, and a number of compilers are not able to handle such a type. .IP [2] Fixed a typo which broke the win64 configuration. .IP [3] Fixed issue #16, a typo in the documentation of command \fBcritcl::class\fR. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.5" .IP [1] Fixed issue #19. Made the regular expression extracting the MSVC version number more general to make it work on german language systems. This may have to be revisited in the future, for other Windows locales. .IP [2] Fixed issue #20. Made option -tea work on windows, at least in a unix emulation environment like msys/mingw. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.6" .IP [1] Fixed issue #21. While the multi-definition of the stub-table pointer variables was ok with for all the C linkers seen so far C++ linkers did not like this at all. Reworked the code to ensure that this set of variables is generated only once, in the wrapper around all the pieces to assemble. .IP [2] Fixed issue #22, the handling of the command identifier arguments of \fBcritcl::ccommand\fR, \fBcritcl::cproc\fR, and \fBcritcl::cdata\fR. We now properly allow any Tcl identifier and generate proper internal C identifiers from them. .sp As part of this the signature of command \fBcritcl::name2c\fR changed. The command now delivers a list of four values instead of three. The new value was added at the end. .sp Further adapted the implementation of package \fBcritcl::class\fR, a user of \fBcritcl::name2c\fR. This package is now at version 1.0.6 and requires critcl 3.1.6 .sp Lastly fixed the mis-handling of option \fB-cname\fR in \fBcritcl::ccommand\fR, and \fBcritcl::cproc\fR. .IP [3] Fixed issue #23. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.7" .IP [1] Fixed issue #24. Extract and unconditionally display compiler warnings found in the build log. Prevents users from missing warnings which, while not causing the build to fail, may still indicate problems. .IP [2] New feature. Output hook. All non-messaging user output is now routed through the command \fBcritcl::print\fR, and users are allowed to override it when using the critcl application-as-package. .IP [3] New feature, by Ashok P. Nadkarni. Platform configurations can inherit values from configurations defined before them. .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.8" .IP [1] Fixed issue with package indices generated for Tcl 8.4. Join the list of commands with semi-colon, not newline. .IP [2] Fixed issue #26 which brought up use-cases I had forgotten to consider while fixing bug #21 (see critcl 3.1.6). .PP .SH "CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.9" .IP [1] Fixed issue #27. Added missing platform definitions for various alternate linux and OS X targets. .IP [2] Fixed issue #28. Added missing -mXX flags for linking at the linux-{32,64}-* targets. .IP [3] Fixed issue #29. Replaced the use of raw "cheaders" information in the processing of "cdefines" with the proper include directives derived from it. .IP [4] Fixed the issue behind rejected pull request #30 by Andrew Shadura. Dynamically extract the stubs variable declarations from the Tcl header files and generate matching variable definitions for use in the package code. The generated code will now be always consistent with the headers, even when critcl's own copy of them is replaced by system headers. .IP [5] Fixed issue #31. Accepted patch by Andrew Shadura, with changes (comments), for easier integration of critcl with OS package systems, replacing critcl's copies of Tcl headers with their own. .IP [6] Fixed issue #32. Merged pull request by Andrew Shadura. Various typos in documentation and comments. .IP [7] Fixed issue #33. Handle files starting with a dot better. .PP .SH AUTHORS Jean Claude Wippler, Steve Landers, Andreas Kupries .SH "BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK" This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems. Please report them at \fIhttps://github.com/andreas-kupries/critcl/issues\fR. Ideas for enhancements you may have for either package, application, and/or the documentation are also very welcome and should be reported at \fIhttps://github.com/andreas-kupries/critcl/issues\fR as well. .SH KEYWORDS C code, Embedded C Code, code generator, compile & run, compiler, dynamic code generation, dynamic compilation, generate package, linker, on demand compilation, on-the-fly compilation .SH CATEGORY Glueing/Embedded C code .SH COPYRIGHT .nf Copyright (c) Jean-Claude Wippler Copyright (c) Steve Landers Copyright (c) 2011-2013 Andreas Kupries .fi