Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk (3rd Edition) [Paperback]

A comprehensive, systematic guide to practical usage of Tcl/Tkup to version 8.2. Since we have now 8.3 already one needs to checkthe site to see the latest improvements of Tcl. This book constantly helps me to do daily tasks in Tcl. It's a tutorial and a reference. Still I like to mention the book "Effective Tcl/Tk Programming" by Harison / McLennan, which goes much further in tutoring the GUI things. And there is also a handy refernece called "Tcl/Tk, Programmer's Reference" by C.Nelson which fits better onto the desk, if that's an issue. The very old book of Ousterhout himself, which was really great, is now completely outdated.

This is not the book to start learning Tcl/Tk. Its a fantastic reference guide. The sample code in the book is clearly not beginners material. If you're writing stuff in Tcl/Tk, this book is probably the only book you will need for reference.

I got interested in Tcl when a friend of mine had presented me with the Expect application and all the wonderfull things it can do for a sysadmin. Since knowledge of Tcl is required for Expect, I set off looking for a book on the topic... and having read the lines "for beginners and expirienced programmers alike" I thought I hit the target. But what a disapointment...

First of all, most books for beginners follow certain format which is not the case with this book. Nothing like "here's how to declare variables", "variables are typeless", "here's how procedures/functions are done", "here's what sets Tcl apart from other languages" or "how to do those things that other languages cannot" that other books for beginners so often cover. I had to look online for the line that starts off the freshly written Tcl script... and this is for beginners?!

From skimming over Tcl implementations on different platforms (I guess that covered the beginner's part) authors dwelve straight into the HTML processing by Tcl (as in "hey Tcl programmers, here's how to do web pages!") which only adds to confusion. It doesn't stop there though... Tcl is said to be a glue language that puts different blocks together, but how come that passing commands to the system from the Tcl script isn't covered? Yes, there are dedicated commands for cruising through the directory tree, creating/removing/deleting files, but is that all?! Linux has a rich arsenal of commannds, many of which go beyond those tasks... and you cannot pass them from a Tcl script? Where's the glue then...

Same confusing format is followed in the Tk part, except for the canonnical "Hello World" example (straightforward "type it in- here's how it works" breakdown) the rest is off the beginner's path. How to clip a Tcl procedure to a Tk button? Nope, that's not shown- but geometry managers examples plenty abound.

Examples are incomplete, explanations vague and I often caught myself reading same line several times trying to understand the point that author tries to make.

As for my reason for learning Tcl, the Expect application- it is MENTIONED on couple of paragraphs that end with a web address. Although it may be the shiniest example of Tcl's power, it is not even skimmed over...

The content offered doesn't justify the price tag for a beginner's book. If you're a beginner you'd be better off working through the online tutorial at tcl.tk page. It is not only money that you'll save...