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15th Annual Tcl/Tk Conference

October 20-24, 2008

Comfort Suites Manassas
7350 Williamson Blvd
Manassas, Virginia 20109
Phone: (703) 686-1100
Fax: (703) 686-1128

Important Information
Abstracts and proposals due August 15, 2008
Notification to authors September 7, 2008
Author materials due October 15, 2008
Tutorials start October 20, 2008
Conference starts October 22, 2008
Email Contact [email protected]

One of the best reasons to attend the Tcl conference is the tutorial track. These sessions are presented by Tcl experts - people who write the packages, write the books, and develop applications on a daily basis. They share their knowledge of Tcl/Tk and the practical experience in developing large, robust applications. Whether you're new to Tcl or experienced, these sessions will help you develop your projects more quickly.

Free Tutorials

This year we'll be offering FREE tutorials Monday and Tuesday evenings. These will be 1-2 hour lectures on special topics. Anyone is welcome to attend the evening lectures, whether they are a member of the conference or not.

Tutorial Schedule

Monday Morning Monday Afternoon Monday Evening
Introduction to Tcl 1
Introduction to AOLServer
Introduction to Tcl 2
Tcl/Tk Optimizing & Debugging
Tcl/Tk For Gaming
Tuesday Morning Tuesday Afternoon Tuesday Evening
Introduction to Tk 1
Introduction to Open ACS
Introduction to Tk 2
Using Critcl
Advanced Tk: GUI appearance
Web Services in Tcl

Tutorial Information

Introduction to Tcl 1 ( Ken Jones )
This course gives you all the knowledge you need to produce useful Tcl scripts, as well serving as a framework for exploring more advanced features of Tcl. We'll explore basic Tcl syntax and commands, string processing, data structure manipulation, basic process interaction, and file handling.
Introduction to AOLServer ( Matthew Burke )
AOLServer is the best high-end webserver available. AND it's open source, AND it's multi-threaded, AND you can script dynamic pages using Tcl and your favorite database back end. Matthew will introduce the basics of AOLServer, how to install it, create static pages and generate dynamic pages.
Bring a laptop for a hands-on learning experience.
Introduction to Tcl 2 ( Ken Jones )
This course gives you all the knowledge you need to produce useful Tcl scripts, as well serving as a framework for exploring more advanced features of Tcl. We'll explore basic Tcl syntax and commands, string processing, data structure manipulation, basic process interaction, and file handling.
Introduction to Tk 1 ( Clif Flynt )
With remarkably little code, you can add a full-featured GUI to your application that will have a platform-native appearance on Windows, Unix, and Macintosh. In this course we'll explore all the Tk interface components, learn how to modify and extend their behaviors, and see how to put them together into complex multi-window applications.
Introduction to Open ACS ( Matthew Burke )
AOLServer is the best high-end webserver available. Combine that with Tcl scripting, the robust Postgres database server, and a lot of pre-written applications, and you have a platform that makes Ruby-On-Rails look like tinkertoys. Matthew will expand on Monday's discussion of AOLServer to explain how to build an Open ACS driven site.
Bring a laptop for a hands-on learning experience.
Introduction to Tk 2 ( Jeff Hobbs )
With remarkably little code, you can add a full-featured GUI to your application that will have a platform-native appearance on Windows, Unix, and Macintosh. In this course we'll explore all the Tk interface components, learn how to modify and extend their behaviors, and see how to put them together into complex multi-window applications.
Web Services in Tcl ( Gerald Lester )
In this special short-session, Gerald will explain how to do web services using Tcl and the Tcl Httpd server.

With remarkably little code, you can use or create SOAP based Web Services. We'll learn to build and test a "simple" Web Service with complex type arguments in Tcl. Then we'll explore how to call Web Services from Tcl. As part of this course we'll learn how to "read" a WSDL.

Tcl/Tk For Gaming ( Clif Flynt )
Programming should be fun! Fun projects make fun programming.
Tcl is a great tool for one-evening projects like a simple arcade game, PvP networked strategy games, or even FirstPerson Shooters.

Clif will provide a focused look at:

  • using arrays to structure data.
  • canvas features like binding, introspection, and redrawing.
  • socket communications.
  • the snack extension (for sounds & music).
  • merging C with Tcl for speed.
  • providing pause-free runtime with after and update.
Tcl/Tk Optimizing & Debugging ( Clif Flynt )
All languages have tricks and tweaks that help make code run faster.

Clif will discuss:

  • using tkcon to examing and modify a running program.
  • using trace and info level to record program behavior.
  • other debugging techniques.
  • using Tk's option command to speed up a GUI.
  • using loops and procs for more speed.
  • using string map instead of regsub.
  • using faster versions of common commands.
  • using time to find where things are slow.
  • using critcl to recode compute intensive sections in 'C'.
Using Critcl ( Steve Landers )
Critcl makes it easy to merge C code into your Tcl application. This can be used to speed up compute intensive parts of an application, link Tcl with an external library, or just for fun.

Steve Landers will explain the theory and details of using Critcl.

Advanced Tk: GUI appearance ( Jeff Hobbs )
There's a big difference between a quick and dirty GUI and a good looking professional GUI. Jeff will explain the newer features Tk has added to create a solid GUI you can be proud to send to a customer, including:
  • Controlling the toplevel
  • Themed widgets (tile/ttk)
  • 8.5 widget enhancements
  • Subtle platform differences
Some time will be alloted for hands-on work. A laptop is recommended for this course (latest Tk binaries will be provided).

Contact Information

[email protected]