Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 09:43:14 +1030 (CST) From: Michael Smith <msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au> To: frankd@yoda.fdt.net (Frank) Cc: msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au, freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org Subject: Re: Book recommendations Message-ID: <199603142313.JAA09670@genesis.atrad.adelaide.edu.au> In-Reply-To: <Pine.BSF.3.91.960314173833.182B-100000@Kryten.nina.com> from "Frank" at Mar 14, 96 05:47:37 pm
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Frank stands accused of saying: > >> ...and in particular the TclX dialect. This gives you easy GUI programming, >> networking and just about everything (apart from fast math 8) that you could >> possibly want in a language. Being interpreted, it's also nice and easy >> to work with. > > Does being an interpreted language mean slow as molasses? If so, is there Not at all. As with any language, your programming style can have a significant effect on the speed of your code, but unless you're engaging in lots of numeric operations, Tcl is pretty quick. > another relatively easy to learn alternative for programming in X without > a speed hit? Is it feasible to program for X using straight C? I take it > as a given that C is the way to go for text based programs. True? Not necessarily. One of the pleasant things about Unix is the staggering plethora of languages available; if C doesn't spin your propellor, you've only eliminated one of literally dozens of possibilities. Another important thing about Tcl/Tk in relation to the first question; from the start it was designed as a 'glue language' for large programs. You write your low-level code in C and provide hooks to the Tcl interpreter, and then write the top-level program flow control in Tcl. This gives you the best of both worlds; you can use C for its performance and complex data structure support, and Tcl for its easy hackability and simple GUI interface. I'd really recommend a trip to http://www.sunlabs.com/research/tcl/, this is the "official" tcl homepage, but it also contains links to a number of other resources, including a large collection of discussions comparing Tcl and a number of other languages. It makes for very interesting reading. > Frank Seltzer -- ]] Mike Smith, Software Engineer msmith@atrad.adelaide.edu.au [[ ]] Genesis Software genesis@atrad.adelaide.edu.au [[ ]] High-speed data acquisition and (GSM mobile) 0411-222-496 [[ ]] realtime instrument control (ph/fax) +61-8-267-3039 [[ ]] Collector of old Unix hardware. "Where are your PEZ?" The Tick [[
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