DOKK / manpages / debian 11 / critcl / critcl.1.en
critcl(1) C Runtime In Tcl (CriTcl) critcl(1) 







critcl - CriTcl Application








critcl ?option...? ?file...?












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
    command. Its intended audience are people having to build packages using
    critcl for deployment. Writers of packages with embedded C code can
    ignore this document. If you are in need of an overview of the whole system
    instead, please go and read the Introduction To CriTcl.


This application resides in the Application Layer of CriTcl.




*================*
|Applications    |
| critcl         |
| critcl::app    |
*================*
+----------------+
|Core Packages   |
| critcl         |
| critcl::util   |
+----------------+
+----------------+
|Support Packages|
| stubs::*       |
| md5, platform  |
|  ...           |
+----------------+



. The application supports the following general command line:



  

  
The exact set of options supported, their meaning, and interaction is
      detailed in section Application Options below. For a larger set of
      examples please see section "Building Critcl Packages" in the
      document about Using CriTcl.










The following options are understood:



  

  

  

  
Print the version to stdout and exit.

  

  
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).



  

  
Arranges for the linker to search path. Uses of this option are
      cumulative.




Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea
    below).



  

  
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).



  

  
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).



  

  
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).



  

  
Activates one of the following debugging modes:







  

  
Track and report memory allocations made by the Tcl core.

  

  
Compile all ".c" files with debugging symbols.

  

  
Both memory and symbols.






Ignored when generating a TEA package (see option -tea
    below). Uses of this option are cumulative.



  

  
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).



  

  
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).



  

  
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).



  

  
Prints a short description of command line syntax and options and then
      exits the application.

  

  
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).



  

  
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.

  

  
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).



  

  
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






  

  
Prints the configuration of the chosen target to stdout and then
      exits. Set -target, below.

  

  
Prints the whole chosen configuration file to stdout and then
      exits. See -config, above.

  

  
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).



  

  
Prints the list of all known targets from the chosen configuration file to
      stdout and then exits. Use -config to select the
      configuration file.

  

  
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






  

  
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).








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.

  











  
[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.










Jean Claude Wippler, Steve Landers, Andreas Kupries








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.








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








Glueing/Embedded C code








Copyright (c) Jean-Claude Wippler
Copyright (c) Steve Landers
Copyright (c) 2011-2018 Andreas Kupries








  

    3.1.18
    doc