Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!sun!vladimir From: vladimir@prosper.Eng.Sun.COM (Vladimir G. Ivanovic) Newsgroups: comp.lang.scheme Subject: Re: Scheme as an extension language and call/cc Message-ID: Date: 23 Aug 90 09:40:39 GMT References: Sender: news@sun.Eng.Sun.COM Distribution: comp Organization: Sun Microsystems, Inc. Lines: 34 In-reply-to: pk@tut.fi's message of 21 Aug 90 09:45:28 GMT From the abstract of "Tcl: An Embeddable Command Language" by John Ousterhout, UC Berkeley: Tcl is an interpreter for a tool command language. It consists of a library package that is embedded in tools (such as editors, debuggers, etc) as the basic command interpreter. Tcl provides (a) a parser for a simple textual command language, (b) a collection of built-in utility commands, (c) a C interface that tools use to augment the built-in commands with tool-specific commands. Tcl is particularly attractive when integrated with the widget library of a window system: it increases the programmability of the widgets by providing mechanisms for variables, procedures, expressions, etc; it allows users to program both the appearance and the actions of widgets; and it offers a simple but powerful communication mechanism between interactive programs. ------ Tcl and mx, the editor built using Tcl are available using autonomous ftp from ucbvax.berkeley.edu in the file pub/mx.tar.Z. There is also tcl.tar.Z which contains only the Tcl code. A copy of the paper cited is in the tcl directory as usenix.ps (I think). My sense is that the ideas that Tcl uses are worthy of serious consideration as a better paradigm of an extension/command language compared to Scheme. Mind you, there a lots of applications where Scheme is THE language of choice, where Tcl would be totally inappropriate, but I don't think a generic extension language is one of them. -- Vladimir -- Vladimir G. Ivanovic vladimir@prosper.Eng.Sun.COM Sun Microsystems, Inc. or (415) 336-2315 vivanovic@Sun.COM