Tcl/Tk 8.5 Programming Cookbook: With over 100 recipes, this Cookbook is ideal for both beginners and advanced Tcl/Tk programmers. From the basics to creating applications, it’s full of indispensable tips and tricks to make the most of the language.

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(I received a review copy of this book)This book should be very helpful for beginners interested in what Tcl/Tk has to offer, or those who have to maintain "that Tcl app" at work.The table of contents provides a topical list of tasks, and each section can stand on its own - allowing the reader to immediately write code and see results.This couples well with Tcl's orientation towards rapid prototyping, and should provide the taste beginners need to desire more Tcl/Tk.

When I received my review copy of the Tcl/Tk 8.5 Programming Cookbook I was half expecting a rewrite of the manual -lists of features and functionality with little indication of how and when to use specific resources. I was wrong. Let me explain. A cookbook is something to turn to when you've run out of ideas or perhaps are looking to find some new way of tackling an old problem. Alternatively, cookbooks are for beginners and novices, those people who need to know how do something effectively and quickly. In this area the `Cookbook' score points in every chapter.Turn to any page in the text and you will find a clear, structure on how to use Tcl/Tk to resolve particular issues. There is a task statement, such as 'Creating a List' in which a particular requirement is identified followed by a 'How to Do It' code snippet and a 'Why it Works' explanation. For someone new to Tcl programming this is an excellent approach.Overall, the `Cookbook' is organised over thirteen chapters which cover all the key areas any novice Tcler needs to know. The flow of the book first introduces the reader to the key aspects of Tcl: the shell, program control, error handling, string manipulation, lists, dictionaries (particularly useful) and file operations. Following this it deals with the creation and configuration of GUIs using the Tk widget set and the use of in-built dialogs and the creation of menus. Finally, the issues and decisions surrounding the completion of a first Tcl/Tk project are examined in the form of an address book application.ConclusionThe Tcl/Tk 8.5 Programming CookBook is exactly what it set out to be - a practical tutorial text. It doesn't cover the advanced features of Tcl/Tk but this is intentional. Would I recommend this book to a Tcl/Tk newbie? Yes.

Diese Buch ist wirklich nur für absolute Anfänger. Ein Kochbuch für 100 Lösungen ist es aber aus meiner Sicht nicht. Schritt für Schritt wird in die Kommandos eingeführt, allerdings ohne jeden Tiefgang. Ohne dem zusätzlichen Studium der Manpages innerhalb von Tcl kommt man nicht aus. Die Einführung endet dann in einer rudimentären Adressbuch Applikation. Sehr enttäuschen ist, dass der Buchtitel auf Tcl/Tk 8.5 eingeht, aber alle Kommandos bereits ab der alten wish 4.0 funktionieren. Nirgendwo ein Hinweis auf die Spezialitäten der Version 8.5.Der Schwerpunkt liegt in der GUI Programmierung. Leider fehlen die Definitionen für Schriften und Betriebssystemspezifische Designtemplates die gerade mit der Version 8 überarbeitet wurden. 20 Seiten mehr und das ganze wäre erklärt gewesen. Eine weitere Stärke von Tcl war von je her die Port Kommunikation, die ähnlich einem Dateizugriff funktioniert. Auch hier kein Wort vom Autor. Ein einfaches Bespiel zum Zugriff auf eine MySQL Datenbank wäre gerade für eine Adressbuchanwendung toll gewesen. Auch hier nichts.Der Einband weckt mehr Erwartungen, doch es ist eine einfache Einführung in die Syntax von Tcl/Tk. Deshalb noch 3 Sterne.

I was a bit suprised when a representative of Packt asked me to reviewa new Tcl/Tk book: A new Tcl/Tk book? A book about a language thatgets much less attention nowadays than Ruby, Clojure, Python, C#, andeven Java? Yes, it's really true.There are quite some books on Tcl/Tk, albeit that most are alreadyaging. One of the well-known books is Practical Programming withTcl/Tk by Brent Welch that's now in it's 4th edition. So it'squite obvious that any other book shall compete with this book on theshelf about Tcl/Tk programming.But even with all those new languages, Tcl/Tk doesn't really get thecredit it deserves: It's not a web-oriented language (initial attempts torun Tcl/Tk in the browser failed to catch much popularity). But it'sstill strong as scripting language and as language to make userinterfaces, without having to learn a new framework or a newprogramming language. In that sense, Tcl/Tk is an Agile language thatyou can pick up and extend your knowledge as you go.The book is, as the name suggests, written in the Cookbook-style: Easyto distinguish topics with examples and simple answers. I like thestyle as it's both useful as tutorial book, to read from front to end,as for reference book where you can skip to the topic or issue and read it.The books starts with the Tcl shell syntax, then it describes thestandard control structures, error handling, and then continues to thevarious variable types of the language, such as strings, lists anddictionaries. After discussing the core Tcl features, the books moveson to the Tk-part of Tcl/Tk, the user interface. The differentstandard components are discussed, at the end of the book an exampleis given of an address book application.Although the book, in essence, can be a good addition to what'savailable, when I first browsed through it, I got a bit of saddenedfeeling: There were some typos and errors (e.g. TCL_interactiveinstead of tcl_interactive), and more important: the code indentationis broken throughout the whole book: I know you can have differentopinions on this subject, but I cannot believe the author applies itas it is done in the book. I sincerely hope these layout problems andsome errata's will trigger a second edition release.There are also some other issues that I noticed related to the order:For instance, first regular expressions are discussed. A view pageslater, the simple string search is discussed. If you're reading thebook as tutorial, you might this order a bit unnatural. I also miss adiscussion of the namespace functionality in Tcl/Tk: if you want towrite larger applications, it prevents serious scaling problems andthe use of global variables.The Tk-part of the book is not complete, some important (advanced)techniques are missing. For instance, to control the input of a entrywidget, or handle the scrollbar with the -xscrollcommand and-yscrollcommand (the scrollbar isn't even mentioned). In that sense,if you do not consider it an advanced Tcl/Tk book, it's allright, butyou might miss out these important topics otherwise. The address book application is a section of the book I find a bitmisplaced: it looks like it's just a listing of a (long) application,that is described afterwards. Although I like long examplesdiscussing more complex issues with the language or see the topicscombined in one example, I doubt this example will be encouragingenough for the reader. A reference to where the source code can befound would be more than sufficient, and it would leave room todiscuss the important decisions made in this application.Concluding, I must say that for an entry-level Tcl/Tk book it's a goodand easy accessible book. But if you intend to get a fullunderstanding of the language, you will require at least oneadditional book (or read a lot of internet or manual pages). And someissues, especially the indentation, must be taken care of in a reprintbefore I can give a positive recommendation.