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The Active State of Tcl Conference 2002

Discover the latest developments in the Tcl community and the future directions of Tcl/Tk. Learn about ActiveState's multi-language software and services, including Tcl, Perl, PHP, Python, and XSLT. Explore the history of Tcl and its usage in mission-critical applications.

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The Active State of Tcl Conference 2002

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  1. The (Active) State of Tcl 9th Annual Tcl Conference Jeff Hobbs ActiveState Corporation Tcl'2002

  2. Agenda • Introduction • What has happened… • Developments in the Tcl community • Developments of the Tcl/Tk core • Future directions Tcl'2002

  3. About ActiveState • ActiveState provides multi-language, cross-platform software & services • Tcl, Perl, PHP, Python, XSLT • Linux, Solaris, Windows, HP-UX, AIX, … • We make it easy to use new technologies • Web Services and .NET • Mission: Make Programming Easier • Our IDEs • Active distributions • ASPN Tcl'2002

  4. You are here History of Tcl 7. ActiveState introduces Tcl support and services 1. Tcl created as general-purpose command/scripting language by John Ousterhout • 4. Scriptics formed: • Evolve and extend Tcl platform • Create development tools 6.0 Sept 7.0 Sept 7.4 July 7.6 Oct 8.0 Aug 8.1 Apr 8.3 Feb … 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 8.2 Aug 5. Tcl Core Team formed (August) • 2. Open source distributions • from U.C. Berkeley: • Easy GUIs under Unix • Extensible applications 6. Scriptics/Ajuba Acquired by Interwoven (Nov.) • 3. Tcl enhanced at Sun Microsystems: • Windows, Macintosh ports • Web/Internet support • Java support 1M ? 100 1000 10,000 100,000 500,000 Tcl'2002

  5. R.I.P You are here Recent History of Tcl 6. ActiveState introduces Tcl support and services (Feb) 1. Tcl’2K in Austin (Feb) 2. Scriptics becomes Ajuba (May) 9. 8th Tcl Conference (July) 8.4.0 Sept 8.3.1 Apr 8.3.2 Aug 8.3.3 May 8.4a3 Mar 2000 2001 2002 8.4a3 July 8.4b2 8.3.0 Feb 8.4a1 June 8.4a2 Nov 8.3.4 Oct 8.4b1 7. Tcl’Europe 2001 (June) 3. Tcl’Europe 2000 (June) 10. ActiveState TclPro (Dec) 11. ActiveTcl 8.3.4.3 (July) 5. Scriptics/Ajuba acquired by Interwoven; Tcl/Tk core moves to SourceForge; TclPro open sourced (Nov.) 4. Tcl Core Team formed (August) 12. ActiveState Tcl Dev Kit 2.0 (Aug) Tcl'2002

  6. Tcl Usage • Tcl usage is still growing • Used extensively for mission-critical applications: • Cisco, Motorola, Lucent, Nortel, etc.: • Automated hardware testing • Coordinate different pieces of test equipment • Tcl omnipresent in EDA industry • AOL Digital City, Travelocity, MapQuest: • Dynamic Web content • Integrate information from different sources • Content developers are not programmers Tcl'2002

  7. Tcl Usage, Cont’d • More mission-critical applications: • NBC: • Digital broadcast control system • Mix programming content, control transmission through satellites to local stations • Pixar: • Used in animation tools (RenderMan software) • Technical directors write Tcl scripts to animate characters • Shell Oil: • Real-time control for offshore oil platforms • Coordinate, manage various systems Tcl'2002

  8. Status As of 8th Tcl Conference • At O’Reilly Open Source Convention,San Diego, July 2001 • Tcl/Tk 8.3.3 was the stable version (8.3.x now standard in Linux distributions) • 8.4a3 was just released • ActiveState was just establishing with Tcl expertise Tcl'2002

  9. Tcl Core Team • Formed in August 2000 with 14 charter members based on community voting to collectively manage development of the core Tcl'2002

  10. TCT: TIP Initiatives • TIP page for Tclhttp://www.tcl.tk/cgi-bin/tct/tip/ • TIPs are intended to guide and document development on the core • The focus is on new or changing features, not bugs • Voted on by the TCT following community discussion using the TYANNOTT process • Currently over 100 TIPs • Divided into process, informational & project TIPs • TCT discussion is open on the public mailing list:tcl-core@lists.sourceforge.net Tcl'2002

  11. Tcl/Tk Maintainers • Tcl/Tk maintainers are separate from the TCT • Maintainers oversee a specific area of the core, as defined in TIP #16 for Tcl and TIP #23 for Tk • They assist, but are not solely responsible for, fixing bugs and adding documentation in their area • They are responsible for reviewing code and approving code changes to their area • Open to anyone willing to learn the core • New volunteers always welcome Tcl'2002

  12. The Maintainers… • Tcl (TIP #24): • Tk (TIP #30): • Other contributors as well Tcl'2002

  13. R.I.P Scriptics/Ajuba… • Scriptics became Ajuba Solutions in May 2000 • New focus as a B2B infrastructure company • Interwoven: content management company in need of B2B… • Ajuba assimilated on Nov 1, 2000 • Tcl/Tk moved to SourceForge:http://tcl.sf.net/ • Further open source work not continued at Interwoven • Most other projects at Ajuba moved to SourceForge Tcl'2002

  14. Tcl/Tk at SourceForge • SourceForge provides a wealth of services for open source projects • Bug and patch database • Mailing lists • CVS repositories • File server • Web pages • Managed by TCT and Tcl/Tk maintainers • Not the Tcl Developer Xchange Tcl'2002

  15. Tcl @ ActiveState • ActiveState established 1997 • “Programming for the People” • Used to be Perl specific • Well known ActivePerl distribution • Added Python and XML/XSLT expertise in 2000 • Jeff Hobbs hired in Feb 2001 • Andreas Kupries follows soon after • Other knowledgeable Tcl’ers on staff • Wealth of scripting knowledge at ActiveState Tcl'2002

  16. ActiveState and Tcl • ActiveState provides the Tcl community with… • Improvements to open source Tcl core • Host of the Tcl Developer Xchange • Commercial support infrastructure http://www.ActiveState.com/Products/Enterprise/TclDirect/ • Professional services for Tcl (TclDirect) • High quality development tools • ActiveTcl http://aspn.ActiveState.com/ASPN/Tcl/ • ASPN Tcl (Tcl Dev Kit + Komodo IDE) http://www.ActiveState.com/Products/ASPN_Tcl/ Tcl'2002

  17. ActiveTcl 8.4.0.1 • Based on the 8.4.0 Tcl core • Enhanced with several popular extensions • [incr Tcl], TclX, expect, tcllib, Bwidgets, iwidgets, tktable, tkcon • A standard batteries-included distribution for Tcl users • Available for Windows, Linux, Solaris and HP-UX • More may come in the future Tcl'2002

  18. ActiveTcl (cont.) • Code repository (still) in the works • ActiveTcl 8.3.4.3 based on the 8.3.4 Tcl core • Provides a basis for the Tcl Dev Kit • Considering threaded builds Tcl'2002

  19. Tcl Developer Xchange Tcl'2002

  20. Tcl Cookbook Tcl'2002

  21. ASPN Tcl: TclPro + More • Introduced December 2001 • Tcl Dev Kit: based on TclPro, a commercial quality development environment • Debugger: source-level debugger with nice GUI • Checker: find errors without running application • Wrapper: create self-contained applications for distribution • Compiler: protect your source code Tcl'2002

  22. ASPN Tcl: Komodo • An IDE for scripting languages • Mozilla framework based • Cross-platform (Windows & Linux) • Modern IDE features • Several unique Tcl editing features • Tight integration of TDK tools with Komodo • Komodo 2.0 in beta (demo later) Tcl'2002

  23. ActiveState Komodo IDE Tcl'2002

  24. ASPN Tcl: Future • Continuing development of Tcl tools • Tcl Dev Kit 2.0 released in August • Enhanced debugger with integrated checker • Code coverage and hot-spot analysis tool • Added user-friendly GUIs to Wrapper and Compiler • Checker updated for 8.4 (and corrected for 8.3) • GUI Builder part of Komodo 2.0 Pro • X-platform, x-language Tk UI builder • Based loosely on SpecTcl • Will be integrated with other tools Tcl'2002

  25. ActiveState GUI Builder Tcl'2002

  26. In the Community… • The Tcl’ers Wiki has increased in activity: • http://wiki.tcl.tk/ • Now with interactive chat • The Tcl Developer Xchange official URL: • http://www.tcl.tk/ • http://tcl.ActiveState.com/ • Tcl-URL! continues to provide weekly news: • http://www.ddj.com/topics/tclurl/ • Or subscribe to tcl-announce@listserv.activestate.com • Lots of extension updates Check out the wiki! Tcl'2002

  27. Tcl/Tk Today • Download rate steady: • Windows: 55% • Unix: 40% • Mac: 5% • Stable release now at 8.4.0 • More than 2 years in development • Spanning 4 companies • First release to be governed by the TIP process • Countless features and enhancements • Previous stable release 8.3 set a new standard • SuSE 8.1 will include 8.4.0 ActiveTcl downloads • Data point: • ~2x ActivePython d/ls • ~1/7th ActivePerl d/ls Tcl'2002

  28. Tcl/Tk 8.4 • 8.4.0 released September 10th, 2002 • Many core feature enhancements • New virtual file system • Improved 64-bit support on 32-bit OSes • Extended serial port control • lset, lsearch, regsub, command tracing • Significant work on performance • Near or better than 8.0, with unicode and thread safety. • Inclusion of numerous TIPs Tcl'2002

  29. Tcl/Tk 8.4 (cont) • New spinbox, labelframe, panedwindow core Tk widgets • Unlimited undo/redo in text widget • Compound buttons and labels • Improved window manager control • Ports now exist for native OS X/Aqua, Windows CE and Palm OS • More later in 8.4 overview Tcl'2002

  30. 8.4 Contributors Tcl'2002

  31. Versions in use Pre-8.0 8.0 8.2 8.3 8.4 Response (out of xx) User Poll: Versions Tcl'2002

  32. Develop/Deploy: Windows Macintosh OS 9 Macintosh OS X Linux Solaris HP-UX Other unix … Response (out of xx) User Poll: Platforms Tcl'2002

  33. Tcl’Europe 2002 • Munich, June 27-28, 2002 • 15 original talks • Talks included on the Tcl’2002 conference CD • Thanks to Michael Haschek • Talks and pictures online http://www.t-ide.com/tcl2002e.html Tcl'2002

  34. Future Directions • The core is guided by community input • Anyone can write a TIP • Anyone can be a core maintainer • What issues are most pressing? • ActiveState will continue to work with the Tcl community and build more Tcl related products • Demos later Tcl'2002

  35. (More) improved Tcl performance Archive file support via VFS (.jar/.zip) Larger source / binary distributions Tcl Installer Stand-alone executable support in core (*wrap) Smaller, modular core Drag & Drop Windows Tk Performance Printing support Tk abstraction layer (TkGS) Megawidgets (roll your own) New Widgets … Ideas in the Pipeline Tcl'2002

  36. Conclusion • Tcl core is robust, feature-rich • … and still pushing the boundaries • Future emphasis on packages and modularization • Community is the key to an even more successful future Tcl'2002

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