Tcl/Tk 8.5 Programming Cookbook

Table of Contents

Copyright

Credits

About the Author

Acknowledgment

About the Reviewers

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Why Subscribe?

Free Access for Packt account holders

Preface

What this book covers

What you need for this book

Who this book is for

Conventions

Reader feedback

Customer support

Errata

Piracy

Questions

1. The Tcl Shell

Introduction

The Tcl shell

Writing to the Tcl console

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Mathematical expressions

Tcl expr operands

Mathematical functions

Computing mathematical expressions

Referencing files in Tcl

UNIX (UNIX, Linux and Mac OS X)

Windows

Variables

Basic variable commands

Getting Ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Unsetting a variable

Command line arguments

Launching a Tcl script

Getting Ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

2. Using the Building Blocks Control Constructs

Introduction

Controlling flow with the if statement

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Looping with for

How to do it…

How it works…

Looping with foreach

How to do it…

How it works…

Looping with while

How to do it…

How it works…

Continuing a procedure

How to do it…

How it works…

Breaking out of a procedure

How to do it…

How it works…

Nested looping

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

3. Error Handling

Introduction

Using the catch command

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Using the eval command

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Using the error command

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Error handling procedure

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

4. Handling String Expressions

Introduction

Appending to a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Formatting a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Matching a regular expression within a string

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Performing character substitution on a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Parsing a string using conversion specifiers

How to do it…

How it works…

Determining the length of a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Comparing strings

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Comparing a string of characters

How to do it…

How it works…

Locating the first instance of a character

How to do it…

How it works…

Locating the index of a character

How to do it…

How it works…

Determining the class of a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Locating the last instance of a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Determining the size of a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Replacing values within a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Locating a pattern within a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Returning a range of characters from a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating a string of repeated characters

How to do it…

How it works…

Replacing ranges of characters contained within a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating a reverse string

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Converting a string to lowercase

How to do it…

How it works…

Converting a string to title

How to do it…

How it works…

Converting a string to uppercase

How to do it…

How it works…

Trimming a string

How to do it…

How it works…

Trimming leading whitespace

How to do it…

How it works…

Trimming trailing whitespace

How to do it…

How it works…

Locating the word end

How to do it…

How it works…

Locating the word start

How to do it…

How it works…

Performing variable substitution

How to do it…

How it works…

5. Expanding String Functionality Using Lists

Introduction

Creating a list

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Joining two lists

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Joining list elements

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Appending list elements

How to do it…

How it works…

Assigning list elements to variables

How to do it…

How it works…

Retrieving an element from a list

How to do it…

How it works…

Inserting elements into a list

How to do it…

How it works…

Determining the number of elements

How to do it…

How it works…

Getting a list element

How to do it…

How it works…

Repeating elements

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Replacing elements

How to do it…

How it works…

Reversing elements

How to do it…

How it works…

Searching a list

How to do it…

How it works…

Editing a list

How to do it…

How it works…

Sorting a list

How to do it…

How it works…

Splitting a string into a list

How to do it…

How it works…

6. The Tcl Dictionary

Introduction

Creating a dictionary

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Using set with the dict create command

Appending to a dictionary

How to do it…

How it works…

Determining if a key exists

How to do it…

How it works…

Filtering a dictionary

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Searching a dictionary

How to do it…

How it works…

Getting a record

How to do it…

How it works…

Incrementing a value

How to do it…

How it works…

Getting the dictionary structure

How to do it…

How it works…

Getting a list of keys

How to do it…

How it works…

Appending to an existing record

How to do it…

How it works…

Merging two dictionaries

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating a blank dictionary structure

How to do it…

How it works…

Updating variables from a dictionary

How to do it…

How it works…

Determining the size of a dictionary

How to do it…

How it works…

Getting all records

How to do it…

How it works…

Assigning values

How to do it…

7. File Operations

Introduction

Opening a file

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Configuring a file

How to do it…

There's more…

Opening a command pipeline

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Writing a file

How to do it…

How it works…

Reading a file

How to do it…

How it works…

Closing a file

How to do it…

How it works…

File handling

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

8. Tk GUI Programming with Tcl/Tk

Introduction

Creating a widget

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Writing to the console

How to do it…

How it works…

Setting the attributes of the window through window manager

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating an additional window

Standard options:

Window-specific options

Commands

How to do it…

How it works…

Destroying a window

How to do it…

How it works…

There's more…

Creating a custom dialog

How to do it…

How it works…

9. Configuring and Controlling Tk Widgets

Introduction

Creating a frame widget

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating a label widget

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating an entry widget

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating a button widget

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating a listbox widget

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating an image

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating a simple form

How to do it…

How it works…

10. Geometry Management

Introduction

Controlling layout with the pack command

How to do it...

How it works…

Controlling layout with the grid command

How to do it…

How it works…

Combining pack and grid

How to do it…

How it works…

Creating an address book interface

Getting ready

How to do it…

How it works…

11. Using Tcl Built-in Dialog Windows

Introduction

Displaying a message box

How to do it…

How it works…

Displaying a confirmation dialog

How to do it…

How it works…

Displaying the color picker

How to do it…

How it works…

Displaying the directory dialog

How to do it…

How it works…

Displaying the file selection dialog

How to do it…

How it works…

Selecting a directory and file

How to do it…

How it works…

12. Creating and Managing Menus

Introduction

Creating a menu

How to do it…

How it works…

Adding menu buttons

How to do it…

How it works…

Displaying a pop-up menu

How to do it…

How it works…

Data entry application

How to do it…

How it works…

13. Creating the Address Book Application

Introduction

Creating the Address Book application

How to do it…

How it works…

Adding a record

How to do it…

How it works…

Navigating records

How to do it…

How it works…

Deleting a record

How to do it…

How it works…

Finding a record

How to do it…

How it works…

Full listing

Index

Tcl/Tk 8.5 Programming Cookbook

Copyright

Copyright © 2011 Packt Publishing

Tcl/Tk 8.5 Programming Cookbook

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles or reviews.

Every effort has been made in the preparation of this book to ensure the accuracy of the information presented. However, the information contained in this book is sold without warranty, either express or implied. Neither the author, nor Packt Publishing, and its dealers and distributors will be held liable for any damages caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by this book.

Packt Publishing has endeavored to provide trademark information about all of the companies and products mentioned in this book by the appropriate use of capitals. However, Packt Publishing cannot guarantee the accuracy of this information.

First published: February 2011

Production Reference: 1080211

Published by Packt Publishing Ltd. 32 Lincoln Road Olton Birmingham, B27 6PA, UK.

ISBN 978-1-849512-98-5

www.packtpub.com

Cover Image by Asher Wishkerman (<a.wishkerman@mpic.de>)

Credits

Author

Bert Wheeler

Reviewers

Clif Flynt

Thomas J. Krehbiel

Acquisition Editor

Steven Wilding

Development Editor

Susmita Panda

Technical Editor

Pooja Pande

Indexer

Hemangini Bari

Editorial Team Leader

Aanchal Kumar

Project Team Leader

Ashwin Shetty

Project Coordinator

Joel Goveya

Proofreader

Jacqueline McGhee

Production Coordinator

Adline Swetha Jesuthas

Cover Work

Adline Swetha Jesuthas

About the Author

Bert Wheeler was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky and is one of five sons. After graduating from high school he entered the United States Navy and later retired in 1997, after 20 years as an Air Traffic Controller. Following his military career, Bert returned to college and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in computer science.

After completion of his degree, Bert worked in all aspects of the IT and software industries in numerous positions including Software Design and Development, Project and Product Management, Director of Information Technologies, and Director of Engineering Services. He continues to work and his primary area of expertise is in the design and implementation of physical security solutions in the Access Control arena throughout the world.

Acknowledgment

This book would not have been completed without the help of numerous individuals. I would like to thank the staff at Packt Publishing for their meticulous efforts and editorial assistance throughout the completion of this book. Special thanks to Steven Wilding, Susmita Panda, and Joel Goveya, whose tireless efforts have guided me and kept me on track.

As with all writers, it is our families that provide the support and necessary encouragement. To Claudia, my wife, partner and best friend, and my sons Jeremy, Justin, Valentino, and Arrigo. Without your love and support throughout my lifetime, I would not have become who I am today. Thank you for everything you have done, the lessons you have taught me and the love that keeps me going. I am blessed.

About the Reviewers

Clif Flynt has been a professional programmer since 1978. He has used languages ranging from Am2900 microcode to high level languages such as APL, HTML, and Tcl/Tk. Clif has developed applications for many clients including the US Navy, General Mills, and McDonalds, and also for his own amusement.

Clif has taught computer science at Grinnell College and Eastern Michigan University. He's a member of the Washtenaw Community College Computer Science Advisory Committee. He's delivered training sessions in the US, Canada, Europe, and India, and has given talks at conferences in the US and Europe.

Clif is the president and founder of the Tcl Community Association, the organization that runs the annual Tcl/Tk conference in the US and coordinates the Tcl/Tk and Open ACS involvement with Google Summer of Code. Since 1999, Clif has owned his own company: Noumena Corporation. Noumena Corporation provides computer training and software development services, focusing on Tcl/Tk and other open source technologies.

Clif has written Tcl/Tk for Real Programmers, Tcl/Tk: A Developer's Guide; has edited Interactive Web Applications with Tcl/Tk (Academic Press, Schroeder/Doyle), Practical Programming in Tcl/Tk (Prentice Hall, Welch/Jones/Hobbs), Tcl and the Tk Toolkit (Addison Wesley, Ousterhout/Jones), and Tcl/Tk Programmer's Reference (Osborne, Nelson).

Thomas J. Krehbiel is a graduate electrical engineer with a Masters' in solid state semiconductor and device physics. During his career in the semiconductor industry, he did IC circuit design, IC device design, managed a parametric test area, managed a CIM group, and worked in a RET (Reticle Enhancement Technologies) software development group. Along the way, he created a parametric data analysis system, a wafer tracking system, and a RET processing system.

Thomas has many years of experience managing software development and the hardware and system associated with that development. He has programmed for over 30 years, starting with FORTRAN and ending with his current favorite language Tcl/Tk. As computers changed, Tom worked with mainframes (IBM360), minis (DEC), and desktops (HPUX, Solaris, Linux, Windows).

When he was younger, he enjoyed playing baseball, basketball, handball, tennis, hiking the Grand Canyon, and snow skiing.

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Preface

Created in 1988 by John Ousterhoult, while working at the University of Califormia, Berkeley, Tcl (Tool Command Language) is a scripting language originally designed for embedded system platforms. Since its creation, Tcl has grown far beyond its original design with numerous expansions and additions (such as the graphical Took Kit or Tk) to become a full-featured scripted programming language capable of creating elegant, cross-platform solutions.

This book is written for both the beginning developer looking for a instructions on how to get their application up and running quickly to the experienced Tcl/Tk programmer looking to sharpen their skills. You will find everything from utilization of the console commands through to the creation of a stand-alone application.

What this book covers

Chapter 1, The Tcl Shell, gives an introduction to the Tcl shell.

Chapter 2, Using the Building Blocks Control Constructs, talks about using control constructs (if statements, for statements, and so on) to perform control program flow.

Chapter 3, Error Handling, talks about using the built-in commands and the Tcl shell to perform error handling.

Chapter 4, Handling String Expressions, explains how to create, manipulate, and manage string variables.

Chapter 5, Expanding String Functionality Using List, shows how to create, manipulate, and manage data in Tcl lists.

Chapter 6, The Tcl Dictionary, explains how to create, manipulate, and manage data in Tcl dictionaries.

Chapter