## 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.

`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

`Next Lesson` | View the next lesson
`Previous Lesson` | View the previous lesson
`Run Example` | Run the code in the Example Code window
`Help/About` | Display the Help and About text.

#### 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