Provided by: critcl_3.1.18.1+dfsg-3_amd64 
NAME
critcl::app - Critcl - Application Package Reference
SYNOPSIS
package require Tcl 8.4
package require critcl::app ?3.1.18?
package require critcl ?2?
package require platform ?1.0.2?
package require cmdline
::critcl::app::main commandline
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DESCRIPTION
C Runtime In Tcl, or CriTcl , is a system for compiling C code embedded in Tcl on the fly and either
loading the resulting objects into Tcl for immediate use or packaging them for distribution. Use CriTcl
to improve performance by rewriting in C those routines that are performance bottlenecks.
This document is the reference manpage for the critcl::app package. Its intended audience are developers
working on critcl's internals. These commands are not needed to simply write a Critcl script. If you
are in need of an overview of the whole system instead, please go and read the Introduction To CriTcl.
This package resides in the Application Layer of CriTcl.
*================*
|Applications |
| critcl |
| critcl::app |
*================*
+----------------+
|Core Packages |
| critcl |
| critcl::util |
+----------------+
+----------------+
|Support Packages|
| stubs::* |
| md5, platform |
| ... |
+----------------+
, implementing the functionality of the CriTcl Application, and through this, the mode generate package.
The actual application is (only) a shim wrapping around this package. It itself is build on top of the
core package critcl.
API
The package exports a single command
::critcl::app::main commandline
The commandline is a list of zero or more options followed by zero or more Critcl script files.
By default, the Critcl script files are build and the results cached. This cuts down on the time
needed to load the package. The last occurrence of -pkg and -tea, if provided, selects the
corresponding alternative mode of operations. For a larger set of examples please see section
"Building Critcl Packages" in the document about Using CriTcl.
The options are:
OPTIONS
The following options are understood:
-v
--version
Print the version to stdout and exit.
-I path
Arranges for the compiler to search path for headers. Uses of this option are cumulative.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-L path
Arranges for the linker to search path. Uses of this option are cumulative.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-cache path
Sets path as the directory to use as the result cache. The default is "~/.critcl/<platform>", or
"~/.critcl/<pid>.<epoch>" when generating a package. See option -pkg, below.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-clean Arranges for all files and directories in the result cache to be deleted before compilation
begins.
Ignored when generating a package because this mode starts out with a unique and empty result
cache. See option -pkg, below.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-config path
Provides a custom configuration file. By default a configuration included in the system core is
used. When specified multiple times the last value is used.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-debug mode
Activates one of the following debugging modes:
memory Track and report memory allocations made by the Tcl core.
symbols
Compile all ".c" files with debugging symbols.
all Both memory and symbols.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below). Uses of this option are cumulative.
-disable name
Sets the value of the custom build configuration option name to false. It is equivalent to "-with-
name 0".
Validated only if one of the input files for the Critcl script actually defines and uses a custom build
configuration option with that name.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-enable name
Sets the value of the custom build configuration option name to true. It is equivalent to "-with-
name 1".
Validated only if one of the input files for the Critcl script actually defines and uses a custom build
configuration option with that name.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-force Forces compilation even if a shared library for the file already exists. Unlike cleaning the
cache, this is lazy in the destruction of files and only affects relevant files.
Ignored when generating a package (see option -pkg, below), which starts out with a unique and
empty result cache.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-help Prints a short description of command line syntax and options and then exits the application.
-keep Causes the system to cache compiled ".c" files. Also prevents the deletion of the unique result
cache used by the run when generating a package (see option -pkg below), Intended for debugging of
critcl itself, where it may be necessary to inspect the generated C code.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-libdir directory
Adds directory to the list of directories the linker searches for libraries in (like -L). With
-pkg, generated packages are saved in directory. When specified multiple times the last value is
used. The default is "lib", resolved relative to the current working directory.
-includedir directory
Adds directory to the list of directories the compiler searches for headers in. With -pkg,
generated header files are saved in directory. Uses of this option are cumulative. The last
value is used as the destination for generated header files. The default is the relative
directory "include", resolved relative to the current working directory.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-pkg Generates a package from the Critcl script files. Input files are processed first as usual, but
are then bundled into a single library, with additional generated files to form the library into a
standard Tcl package.
generation. If both options, i.e. -pkg and -tea are specified the last one specified wins.
Options -clean and -force are ignored. -libdir is relevant in both this and -tea mode.
The basename of the first file is the name of the package to generate. If its file extension
indicates a shared library (".so", ".sl", ".dylib", and ".dll") it is also removed from the set of
input files. Each Critcl script file is kept as part of the input. A single file without a suffix
is assumed to be a Critcl script. A file without a suffix, but other input files following is
treated like the name of a shared library proper, and removed from the set of input files.
Examples:
... -pkg ... foo
=> Package name is: foo
=> Input file is: foo.tcl
... -pkg ... foo bar.tcl
=> Package name is: foo
=> Input file is: bar.tcl
... -pkg ... foo.tcl
=> Package name is: foo
=> Input file is: foo.tcl
... -pkg ... foo.so bar.tcl
=> Package name is: foo
=> Input file is: bar.tcl
-show Prints the configuration of the chosen target to stdout and then exits. Set -target, below.
-showall
Prints the whole chosen configuration file to stdout and then exits. See -config, above.
-target name
Overrides the default choice of build target. Only the last occurrence of this option is used.
The named target must exist in the chosen configuration file. Use -targets (see below) to get a
list of the acceptable targets. Use -config to select the configuration file.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
-targets
Prints the list of all known targets from the chosen configuration file to stdout and then exits.
Use -config to select the configuration file.
-tea Like -pkg, except no binaries are generated. Creates a directory hierarchy containing the Critcl
script, its companion files, and a TEA-conformant build system with most of the needed support
code, including copies of the critcl packages.
If both -pkg and -tea are specified the last occurrence wins.
-I, -L, -clean, -force, -cache, -includedir, -enable, -disable, and -with-FOO are ignored. In
contrast, the option -libdir is relevant in both this and -pkg mode.
The basename of the first file is the name of the package to generate. If its file extension
indicates a shared library (".so", ".sl", ".dylib", and ".dll") it is also removed from the set of
input files. Each Critcl script file is kept as part of the input. A single file without a suffix
is assumed to be a Critcl script. A file without a suffix, but other input files following is
treated like the name of a shared library proper, and removed from the set of input files.
Examples:
... -tea ... foo
=> Package name is: foo
=> Input file is: foo.tcl
... -tea ... foo bar.tcl
=> Package name is: foo
=> Input file is: bar.tcl
... -tea ... foo.tcl
=> Package name is: foo
=> Input file is: foo.tcl
... -tea ... foo.so bar.tcl
=> Package name is: foo
=> Input file is: bar.tcl
-with-name value
This option sets the value of the custom build configuration option name to value.
The information is validated only if one of the ".critcl" input files actually defines and uses a
custom build configuration option with that name.
Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).
MODES OF OPERATION/USE
CriTcl can be used in three different modes of operation, called
[1] Compile & Run, and
[2] Generate Package
[3] Generate TEA Package
Compile & Run was the original mode and is the default for critcl_pkg. Collects the C fragments from the
Critcl script, builds them as needed, and caches the results to improve load times later.
The second mode, Generate Package, was introduced to enable the creation of (prebuilt) deliverable
packages which do not depend on the existence of a build system, i.e. C compiler, on the target machine.
This was originally done through the experimental Critbind tool, and is now handled by the CriTcl
Application, also named critcl.
Newly introduced with Critcl version 3 is Generate TEA Package. This mode constructs a directory
hierarchy from the package which can later be built like a regular TEA package, i.e. using
.../configure --prefix ...
make all isntall
PACKAGE STRUCTURE
Packages generated by critcl have the following basic structure:
<TOP>
+- pkgIndex.tcl
+- critcl-rt.tcl
+- license.terms (optional)
|
+- tcl (optional)
| +- <tsources files>
|
+- <platform>
+- <shared library>
Notes
[1] The file "pkgIndex.tcl" is the standard package index file expected by Tcl's package management.
It is sourced during a search for packages, and declares the package to Tcl with its files, and
how to handle them.
[2] The file "critcl-rt.tcl" is a helper file containing the common code used by "pkgIndex.tcl" to
perform its tasks.
[3] The file "license.terms" is optional and appears only if the ".critcl" file the package is
generated from used the command critcl::license to declare package author and license.
[4] All files declared with the command critcl::tsources are put into the sub-directory "tcl".
[5] The shared library generated by critcl is put into a platform-specific sub-directory.
The whole structure, and especially the last point, enable us to later merge the results (for the same
package, and version) for multiple target platforms into a single directory structure without conflict,
by simply copying the top directories over each other. The only files which can conflict are in the <TOP>
and "tcl" directories, and for these we know that they are identical across targets. The result of such a
merge would look like:
<TOP>
+- pkgIndex.tcl
+- critcl-rt.tcl
+- license.terms (optional)
|
+- tcl (optional)
| +- <tsources files>
|
+- <platform1>
| +- <shared library1>
+- <platform2>
| +- <shared library2>
...
+- <platformN>
+- <shared libraryN>
The latest changes are found at the top.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.18.1
[1] Attention: While the overall version (of the bundle) moves to 3.1.18.1 the versions of packages
critcl and critcl::app are unchanged.
[2] Bugfix Generally removed a number of 8.5-isms which slipped into 3.1.18, breaking ability to use
it with Tcl 8.4.
[3] Bugfix Corrected broken build.tcl uninstall.
[4] Bugfix Package critcl::class bumped to version 1.1.1. Fixed partial template substitution breaking
compilation of the generated code.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.18
[1] Feature (Developer support). Merged pull request #96 from sebres/main-direct-invoke. Enables
direct invokation of the "main.tcl" file for starkits from within a dev checkout, i.e. outside of
a starkit, or starpack.
[2] Feature. Added channel types to the set of builtin argument and result types. The argument types
are for simple channel access, access requiring unshared channels, and taking the channel fully
into the C level, away from Tcl. The result type comes in variants for newly created channels,
known channels, and to return taken channels back to Tcl. The first will register the returned
value in the interpreter, the second assumes that it already is.
[3] Bugfix. Issue #96. Reworked the documentation around the argument type Tcl_Interp* to make its
special status more visible, explain uses, and call it out from result types where its use will be
necessary or at least useful.
[4] Feature. Package critcl::class bumped to version 1.1. Extended with the ability to create a C API
for classes, and the ability to disable the generation of the Tcl API.
[5] Bugfix. Merged pull request #99 from pooryorick/master. Fixes to the target directory calculations
done by the install code.
[6] Merged pull request #94 from andreas-kupries/documentation. A larger documentation cleanup. The
main work was done by pooryorick, followed by tweaks done by myself.
[7] Extended the test suite with lots of cases based on the examples for the various generator
packages. IOW the new test cases replicate/encapsulate the examples and demonstrate that the
packages used by the examples generate working code.
[8] Bugfix. Issue #95. Changed the field critcl_bytes.s to unsigned char* to match Tcl's type. Further
constified the field to make clear that read-only usage is the common case for it.
[9] Bugfix/Feature. Package critcl::cutil bumped to version 0.2. Fixed missing inclusion of header
"string.h" in "critcl_alloc.h", needed for memcpy in macro STREP. Added macros ALLOC_PLUS and
STRDUP. Moved documentation of STREP... macros into proper place (alloc section, not assert).
[10] Merged pull request #83 from apnadkarni/vc-fixes. Removed deprecated -Gs for MSVC builds, and
other Windows fixups.
[11] Feature. Package critcl::iassoc bumped to version 1.1. Refactored internals to generate an
include header for use by .c files. This now matches what other generator packages do. The
template file is inlined and removed.
[12] Merged pull request #82 from gahr/home-symlink Modified tests to handle possibility of $HOME a
symlink.
[13] Merged pull request #81 from gahr/test-not-installed Modified test support to find uninstalled
critcl packages when running tests. Handles all but critcl::md5.
[14] Merged pull request #85 from snoe925/issue-84 to fix Issue #84 breaking installation on OSX.
[15] Merged pull request #87 from apnadkarni/tea-fixes to fix Issue #86, broken -tea option, generating
an incomplete package.
[16] Feature. New package critcl::callback providing C-level functions and data structures to manage
callbacks from C to Tcl.
[17] Feature. Package critcl::literals bumped to version 1.3. Added mode +list enabling the conversion
of multiple literals into a list of their strings.
[18] Feature. Package critcl::enum bumped to version 1.1. Added basic mode handling, supporting tcl
(default) and +list (extension enabling the conversion of multiple enum values into a list of
their strings).
[19] Feature. Package critcl::emap bumped to version 1.2. Extended existing mode handling with +list
extension enabling the conversion of multiple emap values into a list of their strings.
[20] Feature. Extended the set of available types by applying a few range restrictions to the scalar
types (int, long, wideint, double, float).
Example: int > 0 is now a viable type name.
This is actually more limited than the description might let you believe.
See the package reference for the details.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.17
[1] Extension: Allow duplicate arg- and result-type definitions if they are fully identical.
[2] Bugfix. The application mishandled the possibility of identical-named critcl::tsources. Possible
because critcl::tsources can be in subdirectories, a structure which is not retained in the
assembled package, causing such files to overwrite each other and at least one lost. Fixed by
adding a serial number to the file names in the assembled package.
[3] Bugfix in the static scanner which made it loose requirement information. Further added code to
generally cleanup results at the end (removal of duplicates, mainly).
[4] Bugfix: Fixed issue #76. Support installation directories which are not in the auto_path.
Without the patch the installed critcl will not find its own packages and fail. Thank you to Simon
Bachmann [https://github.com/lupylucke] for the report and patch, and then his patience with me to
getting to actually apply it.
[5] Bugfix: Fixed issue #75. Extended critcl::include to now take multiple paths.
[6] Added new compatibility package lmap84.
[7] Fixed typos in various documentation files.
[8] Fixed bug introduced by commit 86f415dd30 (3.1.16 release). The separation of critcl::ccode into
user and work layers means that location retrieval has to go one more level up to find the user
location.
[9] New supporting package critcl::cutil. Provides common C level facilities useful to packages
(assertions, tracing, memory allocation shorthands).
[10] Modified package critcl to make use of the new tracing facilities to provide tracing of arguments
and results for critcl::ccommand and critcl::cproc invokations.
[11] Modified packages critcl and critcl::class to provide better function names for (class) method
tracing. Bumped package critcl::class to version 1.0.7.
[12] Extended the support package critcl::literals with limited configurability. It is now able to
generate code for C-level access to the pool without Tcl types (Mode c). The previously existing
functionality is accesssible under mode tcl, which also is the default. Both modes can be used
together.
[13] Extended the support package critcl::emap with limited configurability. It is now able to generate
code for C-level access to the mapping without Tcl types (Mode c). The previously existing
functionality is accessible under mode tcl, which also is the default. Both modes can be used
together.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.16
[1] New feature. Extended critcl::cproc's argument handling to allow arbitrary mixing of required and
optional arguments.
[2] New feature. Potential Incompatibility.
Extended critcl::cproc's argument handling to treat an argument args as variadic if it is the last
argument of the procedure.
[3] New feature. Added two introspection commands, critcl::has-argtype and critcl::has-resulttype.
These enable a user to test if a specific (named) type conversion is implemented or not.
[4] Added new result type Tcl_Obj*0, with alias object0. The difference to Tcl_Obj* is in the
reference counting.
[5] Extended the command critcl::argtypesupport with new optional argument through which to explicitly
specify the identifier for guarding against multiple definitions.
[6] Bugfix: Fixed problem with the implementation of issue #54 (See 3.1.14). Always create the
secondary log file. Otherwise end-of-log handling may break, unconditionally assuming its
existence.
[7] Bugfix: Fixed problem with the internal change to the hook HandleDeclAfterBuild. Corrected the
forgotten critcl::cconst.
[8] Debugging aid: Added comment holding the name of the result type when emitting result conversions.
[9] Bugfix: Fixed issue #60. Unbundled the package directories containing multiple packages. All
directories under "lib/" now contain exactly one package.
[10] Bugfix: Fixed issue #62, a few dict exists commands operating on a fixed string instead of a
variable.
[11] Bugfix: Fixed issue #56. Release builders are reminded to run the tests.
[12] Bugfix: Fixed issue #55. For FreeBSD critcl's platform package now identifies the Kernel ABI
version. Initialization of the cache directory now also uses platform::identify for the default
path, instead of platform::generic.
[13] Bugfix: Fixed issue #58. Simplified the setup and use of md5. Critcl now makes use of its own
package for md5, using itself to built it. There is no chicken/egg problem with this as the -pkg
mode used for this does not use md5. That is limited to mode compile & run.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.15
[1] Fixed version number bogosity with 3.1.14.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.14
[1] Fixed issue #36. Added message to target all of the Makefile generated for TEA mode. Additionally
tweaked other parts of the output to be less noisy.
[2] Accepted request implied in issue #54. Unconditionally save the compiler/linker build log into key
log of the dictionary returned by cresults, and save a copy of only the execution output in the
new key exl ("execution log").
[3] Fixed issue #53. Clarified the documentation of commands critcl::load and critcl::failed with
regard to their results and the throwing of errors (does not happen).
[4] Fixed issue #48. Modified mode "compile & run" to allow new declarations in a file, after it was
build, instead of erroring out. The new decls are build when needed. Mode "precompile" is
unchanged and will continue to trap the situation.
[5] Fixed issue #52. Updated the local Tcl/Tk headers to 8.4.20, 8.5.13, and 8.6.4.
[6] Fixed issue #45. New feature command critcl::cconst.
[7] critcl::util: New command locate to find a file across a set of paths, and report an error when
not found. This is for use in autoconf-like header-searches and similar configuration tests.
[8] Modified 'AbortWhenCalledAfterBuild' to dump the entire stack (info frame!). This should make it
easier to determine the location of the troubling declaration.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.13
[1] Merged PR #43. Fixed bug loading adjunct Tcl sources.
[2] Fixes in documentation and generated code of package "critcl::enum". Bumped to version 1.0.1.
[3] Fixes in documentation of package "critcl::bitmap".
[4] New package "critcl::emap". In essence a variant or cross of "critcl::bitmap" with behaviour like
"critcl::enum".
[5] Merged PR #49. Fixed documentation typo.
[6] Merged PR #46. Fixed documentation typo.
[7] Merged PR #47. Fixes to test results to match the accumulated code changes. Also made portable
across Tcl versions (varying error syntax).
[8] New predefined argument- and result-type "wideint" mapping to Tcl_WideInt.
[9] New predefined argument-type "bytes" mapping to tuple of byte-array data and length. Note: The
existing "bytearray" type (and its aliases) was left untouched, to keep backward compatibility.
[10] Modified the internal interface between the Tcl shim and C function underneath "critcl::cproc"
with respect to the handling of optional arguments. An optional argument "X" now induces the use
of two C arguments, "X" and "has_X". The new argument "has_X" is of boolean (int) type. It is set
to true when X is set, and set to false when X has the default value. C code which cares about
knowing if the argument is default or not is now able to check that quickly, without having to
code the default value inside. NOTE: This change is visible in the output of the advanced
commands "argcnames", "argcsignature", "argvardecls", and "argconversion".
[11] Fixed issue #50 and documented the availability of variable "interp" (type Tcl_Interp*) within
"critcl::cinit" C code fragments. Note that while the old, undocumented name of the variable,
"ip", is still usable, it is deprecated. It will be fully removed in two releases, i.e. for
release 3.1.15. The variable name was changed to be consistent with other code environments.
[12] Fixed issue #51. Disabled the generation of #line directives for "critcl::config lines 0" coming
from template files, or code generated with them before the final value of this setting was known.
[13] Fixed issue with handling of namespaced package names in "critcl::iassoc". Equivalent to a bug in
"critcl::class" fixed for critcl 3.1.1, critcl::class 1.0.1. Note: "literals", "enum", "emap",
and "bitmap" do not require a fix as they are all built on top of "iassoc".
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.12
[1] Fixed issue 42. Clear ::errorInfo immediately after startup to prevent leakage of irrelevant
(caught) errors into our script and confusing the usage code.
[2] Fixed issue 40. Keep the order of libraries, and allow duplicates. Both are things which are
occasionally required for proper linking.
[3] Extended the utility package critcl::literals to declare a cproc result-type for a pool.
Further fixed the generated header to handle multiple inclusion.
Bumped version to 1.1.
[4] Fixed issue with utility package critcl::bitmap.
Fixed the generated header to handle multiple inclusion.
Bumped version to 1.0.1.
[5] Created new utility package critcl::enum for the quick and easy setup and use of mappings between
C values and Tcl strings. Built on top of critcl::literals.
[6] Added examples demonstrating the use of the utility packages critcl::literals, critcl::bitmap, and
critcl::enum
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.11
[1] Fixed issue #37, via pull request #38, with thanks to Jos DeCoster. Information was stored into
the v::delproc and v::clientdata arrays using a different key than when retrieving the same
information, thus failing the latter.
[2] New convenience command critcl::include for easy inclusion of headers and other C files.
[3] New command critcl::make to generate a local header of other C files for use by other parts of a
package through inclusion.
[4] New utility package critcl::literals for quick and easy setup of and access to pools of fixed
Tcl_Obj* strings. Built on top of critcl::iassoc.
[5] New utility package critcl::bitmap for quick and easy setup and use of mappings between C bitsets
and Tcl lists whose string elements represent that set. Built on top of critcl::iassoc.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.10
[1] Fixed code version numbering forgotten with 3.1.9.
[2] Fixed issue #35. In package mode (-pkg) the object cache directory is unique to the process, thus
we do not need content-hashing to generate unique file names. A simple counter is sufficient and
much faster.
Note that mode "compile & run" is not as blessed and still uses content-hasing with md5 to ensure
unique file names in its per-user object cache.
[3] Fixed issue where the ccommand forgot to use its body as input for the UUID generation. Thus
ignoring changes to it in mode compile & run, and not rebuilding a library for changed sources.
Bug and fix reported by Peter Spjuth.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.9
[1] Fixed issue #27. Added missing platform definitions for various alternate linux and OS X targets.
[2] Fixed issue #28. Added missing -mXX flags for linking at the linux-{32,64}-* targets.
[3] Fixed issue #29. Replaced the use of raw "cheaders" information in the processing of "cdefines"
with the proper include directives derived from it.
[4] Fixed the issue behind rejected pull request #30 by Andrew Shadura. Dynamically extract the stubs
variable declarations from the Tcl header files and generate matching variable definitions for use
in the package code. The generated code will now be always consistent with the headers, even when
critcl's own copy of them is replaced by system headers.
[5] Fixed issue #31. Accepted patch by Andrew Shadura, with changes (comments), for easier integration
of critcl with OS package systems, replacing critcl's copies of Tcl headers with their own.
[6] Fixed issue #32. Merged pull request by Andrew Shadura. Various typos in documentation and
comments.
[7] Fixed issue #34. Handle files starting with a dot better.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.8
[1] Fixed issue with package indices generated for Tcl 8.4. Join the list of commands with semi-
colon, not newline.
[2] Fixed issue #26 which brought up use-cases I had forgotten to consider while fixing bug #21 (see
critcl 3.1.6).
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.7
[1] Fixed issue #24. Extract and unconditionally display compiler warnings found in the build log.
Prevents users from missing warnings which, while not causing the build to fail, may still
indicate problems.
[2] New feature. Output hook. All non-messaging user output is now routed through the command
critcl::print, and users are allowed to override it when using the critcl application-as-package.
[3] New feature, by Ashok P. Nadkarni. Platform configurations can inherit values from configurations
defined before them.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.6
[1] Fixed issue #21. While the multi-definition of the stub-table pointer variables was ok with for
all the C linkers seen so far C++ linkers did not like this at all. Reworked the code to ensure
that this set of variables is generated only once, in the wrapper around all the pieces to
assemble.
[2] Fixed issue #22, the handling of the command identifier arguments of critcl::ccommand,
critcl::cproc, and critcl::cdata. We now properly allow any Tcl identifier and generate proper
internal C identifiers from them.
As part of this the signature of command critcl::name2c changed. The command now delivers a list
of four values instead of three. The new value was added at the end.
Further adapted the implementation of package critcl::class, a user of critcl::name2c. This
package is now at version 1.0.6 and requires critcl 3.1.6
Lastly fixed the mis-handling of option -cname in critcl::ccommand, and critcl::cproc.
[3] Fixed issue #23.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.5
[1] Fixed issue #19. Made the regular expression extracting the MSVC version number more general to
make it work on german language systems. This may have to be revisited in the future, for other
Windows locales.
[2] Fixed issue #20. Made option -tea work on windows, at least in a unix emulation environment like
msys/mingw.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.4
[1] Bugfix in package critcl::class. Generate a dummy field in the class structure if the class has no
class variables. Without this change the structure would be empty, and a number of compilers are
not able to handle such a type.
[2] Fixed a typo which broke the win64 configuration.
[3] Fixed issue #16, a typo in the documentation of command critcl::class.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.3
[1] Enhancement. In detail:
[2] Added new argument type "pstring", for "Pascal String", a counted string, i.e. a combination of
string pointer and string length.
[3] Added new methods critcl::argtypesupport and ::critcl::argsupport to define and use additional
supporting code for an argument type, here used by "pstring" above to define the necessary
structure.
[4] Semi-bugfixes in the packages critcl::class and critcl::iassoc. Pragmas for the AS meta data
scanner to ensure that the template files are made part of the package. Versions bumped to 1.0.4
and 1.0.1 respectively.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.2
[1] Enhancement. In detail:
[2] Extended critcl::cproc to be able to handle optional arguments, in a limited way. This is
automatically available to critcl::class cproc-based methods as well.
[3] Bugfix in lassign emulation for Tcl 8.4. Properly set unused variables to the empty string.
Bumped version of emulation package lassign84 to 1.0.1.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1.1
[1] Bugfixes all around. In detail:
[2] Fixed the generation of wrong#args errors for critcl::cproc and derived code (critcl::class cproc-
based methods). Use NULL if there are no arguments, and take the offset into account.
[3] Fixed the handling of package names by critcl::class. Forgot that they may contain namespace
separators. Bumped to version 1.0.1.
[4] Extended a critcl::class generated error message in instance creation for clarity. Bumped to
version 1.0.2.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.1
[1] Added a new higher-level package critcl::iassoc.
This package simplifies the creation of code associating data with an interpreter via Tcl's
Tcl_(Get|Set)AssocData() APIs. The user can concentrate on his data while all the necessary
boilerplate C code to support this is generated by the package.
This package uses several of the new features which were added to the core critcl package, see
below.
[2] Added the higher-level package critcl::class.
This package simplifies the creation of C level objects with class and instance commands. The user
can write a class definition with class- and instance-variables and -methods similar to a TclOO
class, with all the necessary boilerplate C code to support this generated by the package.
This package uses several of the new features which were added to the core critcl package, see
below.
[3] Extended the API for handling TEApot metadata. Added the command critcl::meta? to query the stored
information. Main use currently envisioned is retrieval of the current package's name by utility
commands, for use in constructed names. This particular information is always available due to the
static scan of the package file on execution of the first critcl command.
The new packages critcl::iassoc and critcl::class (see above) are users of this command.
[4] Extended the API with a command, critcl::name2c, exposing the process of converting a Tcl name
into base name, namespace, and C namespace. This enables higher-level code generators to generate
the same type of C identifiers as critcl itself.
The new package critcl::class (see above) is a user of this command.
[5] Extended the API with a command, critcl::source, executing critcl commands found in a separate
file in the context of the current file. This enables easier management of larger bodies of code
as it allows the user to split such up into easier to digest smaller chunks without causing the
generation of multiple packages.
[6] Related to the previous item, extended the API with commands to divert collection of generated C
code into memory. This makes it easier to use the commands for embedded C code in higher-level
code generators.
See the section Advanced: Diversions for details of the provided commands.
The new package critcl::class (see above) is a user of these facilities.
[7] Extended the API with commands helping developers with the generation of proper C #line
directives. This allows higher-level code generators to generate and insert their own directives,
ensuring that compile errors in their code are properly attributed.
See the section Advanced: Location management for details of the provided commands.
The new packages critcl::iassoc and critcl::class (see above) are users of these facilities.
[8] Extended the API with commands giving users the ability to define custom argument and result types
for ::critcl::cproc.
See the section Advanced: Extending cproc for details of the provided commands.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.7
[1] Fixed the code generated by critcl::c++command. The emitted code handed a non-static string table
to Tcl_GetIndexFromObj, in violation of the contract, which requires the table to have a fixed
address. This was a memory smash waiting to happen. Thanks to Brian Griffin for alrerting us to
the general problem.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.6
[1] Fixed github issue 10. The critcl application now delivers a proper exit code (1) on build
failure, instead of always indicating success (status 0).
[2] Fixed github issue 13. Handling of bufferoverflowU.lib for release builds was inconsistent with
handling for debug builds. It is now identically handled (conditional) by both cases.
[3] Documentation cleanup, mainly in the installation guide, and the README.md shown by github
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.5
[1] Fixed bug in the new code for #line pragmas triggered when specifying C code without leading
whitespace.
[2] Extended the documentation to have manpages for the license, source retrieval, installer, and
developer's guides.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.4
[1] Fixed generation of the package's initname when the incoming code is read from stdin and has no
proper path.
[2] Fixed github issue 11. Now using /LIBPATH instead of -L on Windows (libinclude configuration
setting).
[3] Extended critcl to handle -l:path format of -l options. GNU ld 2.22+ handles this by searching
for the path as is. Good when specifying static libraries, as plain -l looks for shared libraries
in preference over static. critcl handles it now, as older GNU ld's do not understand it, nor the
various vendor-specific linkers.
[4] Fixed github issue #12. Critcl now determines the version of MSVC in use and uses it to switch
between various link debug options. Simplified the handling of bufferoverflowU.lib also, making
use of the same mechanism and collapsing the two configurations sections we had back into one.
[5] Reworked the insertion of #line pragmas into the generated C code to avoid limitations on the line
number argument imposed by various compilers, and be more accurate.
[6] Modified argument processing. Option -libdir now also implies -L for its argument.
[7] Extended handling of option -show (critcl::showconfig) to list the path of the configuration file
the data is coming from. Good for debugging configuration processing.
[8] Extended the build script with targets to regenerate the embedded documentation, and diagrams, and
to generate a release.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.3
[1] Fixed github issues 5 and 8, for the example build.tcl scripts. Working around a missing variable
::errorInfo. It should always be present, however there seem to be revisions of Tcl around which
violate this assumption.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.2
[1] Fixed issue in compile-and-run mode where commands put into the auto_index are not found by Tcl's
[unknown] command.
[2] Fixed an array key mismatch breaking usage of client data and delete function for procedure.
Reported by Jos DeCoster, with patch.
[3] Implemented a command line option -L, an equivalent of option -I, just for library search paths.
[4] Fixed github issues 5 and 8. Working around a missing variable ::errorInfo. It should always be
present, however there seem to be revisions of Tcl around which violate this assumption.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3.0.1
[1] Bugfixes all around. In detail:
[2] Fixed recording of Tcl version requirements. Keep package name and version together, unbreaking
generated meta data and generated package load command.
[3] Fixed the build scripts: When installing, or wrapping for TEA, generate any missing directories
[4] Modified the build scripts to properly exit the application when the window of their GUI is closed
through the (X) button.
[5] Removed an 8.5-ism (open wb) which had slipped into the main build script.
[6] Modified the example build scripts to separate the output for the different examples (and
packages) by adding empty lines.
[7] stack::c example bugfix: Include API declarations for use in the companion files.
[8] Extended the documentation: Noted the need for a working installation of a C compiler.
[9] Extended the Windows target definitions and code to handle the manifest files used by modern MS
development environments. Note that this code handles both possibilities, environment using
manifests, and (old(er)) environments without.
[10] Extended the Windows 64bit target definitions and code to auto-detect the need for the helper
library "bufferoverflowU.lib" and reconfigure the compile and link commands appropriately. We
assume that the library must be linked when present. This should be no harm if the library is
present, yet not needed. Just superfluous. We search for the library in the paths specified by the
environment variable LIB.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 3
[1] The command critcl::platform was deprecated in version 2.1, superceded by critcl::targetplatform,
yet kept for compatibility. Now it has been removed.
[2] The command critcl::compiled was kept with in version 2.1 with semantics in contradiction to its,
for compatibility. This contradiction has been removed, changing the visible semantics of the
command to be in line with its name.
[3] The change to version 3 became necessary because of the two incompatible visible changes above.
[4] Extended the application package with code handling a new option -tea. Specifying this option
invokes a special mode where critcl generates a TEA package, i.e. wraps the input into a directory
hierarchy and support files which provide it TEA-lookalike buildsystem.
This new option, and -pkg, exclude each other. If both are specified the last used option takes
precedence.
The generated package directory hierarchy is mostly self-contained, but not fully. It requires not
only a working installation of Tcl, but also working installations of the packages md5 and
cmdline. Both of these are provided by the Tcllib bundle. Not required, but recommended to have
installed are any of the packages which can accelerate md5's operation, i.e. cryptkit, tcllibc, or
Trf.
[5] Extended the critcl package with a new command critcl::scan taking the path to a ".critcl" file,
statically scanning it, and returning license, version, a list of its companion files, list of
imported APIs, and list of developer-specified custom configuration options. This data is the
foundation for the TEA wrapping described above.
Note that this is a static scan. While the other build modes can (must) execute the ".critcl" file
and make platform-specific decisions regarding the assembled C code, companion files, etc. the TEA
wrap mode is not in a position to make platform-specific decisions. It has to wrap everything
which might conceivably be needed when actually building. Hence the static scan. This has however
its own set of problems, namely the inability to figure out any dynamic construction of companion
file paths, at least on its own. Thus:
[6] Extended the API used by critcl-based packages with the command critcl::owns. While this command
is ignored by the regular build modes the static scanner described above takes its arguments as
the names of companion files which have to be wrapped into the TEA package and could not be
figured by the scanner otherwise, like because of dynamic paths to critcl::tsources,
critcl::csources, getting sourced directly, or simply being adjunct datafiles.
[7] Extended the API used by critcl-based packages with the command critcl::api for the management of
stubs tables, be it their use, and/or declaration and export.
Please see section Stubs Table Management of the critcl package documentation for details.
[8] Extended the API used by critcl-based packages with the command critcl::userconfig for the
management of developer-specified custom configuration options, be it their use and/or
declaration.
Please see section Custom Build Configuration of the critcl package documentation for details.
[9] Extended the API used by critcl-based packages with the commands critcl::description,
critcl::summary, critcl::subject, critcl::meta, and critcl::buildrequirement for the declaration
of TEApot meta data for/about the package.
Please see section Package Meta Data of the critcl package documentation for details.
CHANGES FOR VERSION 2.1
[1] Fixed bug where critcl::tsources interpreted relative paths as relative to the current working
directory instead of relative to the ".critcl" file using the command, as all other commands of
this type do.
[2] Fixed internals, preventing information collected for multiple ".critcl" files to leak between
them. Notably, critcl::tk is not a global configuration option anymore.
[3] Fixed the command critcl::license to be a null-operation in mode "compile & run", instead of
throwing an error.
[4] Fixed the critcl application's interference with the "compile & run" result cache in -pkg mode by
having it use a wholly separate (and by default transient) directory for that mode.
[5] Fixed bug where changes to a ".critcl" file did not result in a rebuild for mode "compile & run".
All relevant API commands now ensure UUID changes.
[6] Fixed bug in the backend handling of critcl::debug where the companion c-sources of a ".critcl"
file were not compiled with debug options, although the ".critcl" file was.
[7] Fixed bug in critcl::debug which prevented recognition of mode "all" when it was not the first
argument to the command.
[8] Fixed bug in "preload.c" preventing its compilation on non-windows platforms.
[9] Fixed long-standing bug in the handling of namespace qualifiers in the command name argument of
critcl::cproc and critcl::ccommand. It is now possible to specify a fully qualified command name
without issues.
[10] Extended/reworked critcl::tsources to be the canonical way of declaring ".tcl" companion files
even for mode "compile & run".
[11] Extended/reworked critcl::tsources to allow the use of a ".critcl" file as its own Tcl companion
file.
[12] Extended critcl::framework to internally check for OS X build target, and to ignore the
declaration if its not.
[13] Extended critcl::failed to be callable more than once in a ".critcl" file. The first call forces
the build, if it was not done already, to get the result. Further calls return the cached result
of the first call.
[14] Extended the handling of environment variable CC in the code determining the compiler to use to
deal with (i.e. remove) paths to the compiler, compiler file extensions, and compiler options
specified after the compiler itself, leaving only the bare name of the compiler.
[15] Extended the code handling the search for preloaded libraries to print the paths it searched,
making debugging of a search failure easier.
[16] A new command critcl::tcl can be used to declare the version of Tcl minimally needed to build and
run the ".critcl" file and package. Defaults to 8.4 if not declared. Extended critcl to have the
stubs and headers for all of Tcl 8.4, 8.5, and 8.6.
[17] A new command critcl::load forces the build and load of a ".critcl" file. This is the official way
for overriding critcl's default lazy-build-&-load-on-demand scheme for mode "compile & run".
Note that after using critcl::load / critcl::failed in a ".critcl" file it is not possible to use
critcl commands in that file anymore. Doing so will throw an error.
[18] Extended the generation of '#line' pragmas to use info frame (if available) to provide the C
compiler with exact line numbers into the ".critcl" file for the reporting of warnings and errors.
[19] Extended critcl::check with logging to help with debugging build-time checks of the environment,
plus an additional optional argument to provide labeling.
[20] Added a new command critcl::checklink which not only tries to check the environment via compiling
the code, but also its linkability.
[21] Added a new command critcl::msg for messaging, like command critcl::error is for error reporting.
Likewise this is a hook a user of the package is allowed to override. The default implementation,
used by mode compile & run does nothing. The implementation for mode generate package prints the
message to stdout.
Envisioned use is for the reporting of results determined by critcl::check and critcl::checklink
during building, to help with debugging when something goes wrong with a check.
[22] Exposed the argument processing internals of critcl::proc for use by advanced users. The new
commands are
[1] critcl::argnames
[2] critcl::argcnames
[3] critcl::argcsignature
[4] critcl::argvardecls
[5] critcl::argconversion
Please see section Advanced Embedded C Code of the critcl package documentation for details.
[23] Extended the critcl package to intercept package provide and record the file -> package name
mapping. Plus other internal changes now allow the use of namespaced package names while still
using proper path names and init function.
[24] Dropped the unused commands critcl::optimize and critcl::include.
[25] Dropped -lib mode from the critcl application.
[26] Dropped remnants of support for Tcl 8.3 and before.
AUTHORS
Jean Claude Wippler, Steve Landers, Andreas Kupries
BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK
This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems. Please
report them at https://github.com/andreas-kupries/critcl/issues. Ideas for enhancements you may have for
either package, application, and/or the documentation are also very welcome and should be reported at
https://github.com/andreas-kupries/critcl/issues as well.
KEYWORDS
C code, Embedded C Code, code generator, compile & run, compiler, dynamic code generation, dynamic
compilation, generate package, linker, on demand compilation, on-the-fly compilation
CATEGORY
Glueing/Embedded C code
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) Jean-Claude Wippler
Copyright (c) Steve Landers
Copyright (c) 2011-2018 Andreas Kupries
doc 3.1.18 critcl::app(3tcl)