bionic (1) critcl.1.gz

Provided by: critcl_3.1.9-1build1_all bug

NAME

       critcl - CriTcl Application

SYNOPSIS

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

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

DESCRIPTION

       Welcome  to the C Runtime In Tcl, CriTcl for short, a system to build C extension packages for Tcl on the
       fly, from C code embedded within Tcl scripts, for all who wish to make their code go faster.

       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:

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

APPLICATION OPTIONS

       The following options are understood

       -v

       --version
              These options cause critcl to print its version to stdout and then exit.

       -I path
              This  option  specifies  an  additional global include path to use during compilation of ".critcl"
              files. All values are used if this is specified multiple times.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -L path
              This option specifies an additional global library searh path to use during linking  of  ".critcl"
              files. All values are used if this is specified multiple times.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -cache path
              This  option  specifies  the path to the directory to use as the result cache. If not specified it
              defaults to "~/.critcl/<platform>", or, when generating a package  (see  option  -pkg  below),  to
              "~/.critcl/<pid>.<epoch>", When specified multiple times the last value is used.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -clean When  specified  the  result  cache  is  emptied,  i.e. all files and directories found inside are
              deleted) before compilation begins.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a package (see option  -pkg  below)  because  this  mode
              starts out with a unique and empty result cache.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -config path
              This  option specifies the path to a custom configuration file, allowing the user to use their own
              target specifications. If not specified a hardwired default configuration embedded in  the  system
              core is used instead.  When specified multiple times the last value is used.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -debug mode
              This  option  activates  compilation  with  debugging. It accepts the modes below.  When specified
              multiple times the combination of all modes is used.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

              memory This mode activates memory debugging of allocations made through the Tcl core.

              symbols
                     This mode activates building of all ".c" files with debugging symbols.

              all    This mode activates both memory and symbols.

       -disable name
              This option sets the value of  the  custom  build  configuration  option  name  to  false.  It  is
              equivalent to "-with-name 0".

              The  information is validated only if one of the ".critcl" input files actually defines and uses a
              custom build configuration option with that name.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -enable name
              This option sets the value of the custom build configuration option name to true. It is equivalent
              to "-with-name 1".

              The  information is validated only if one of the ".critcl" input files actually defines and uses a
              custom build configuration option with that name.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -force When specified compilation is always done, even if a shared library for the file  exists  already.
              This  effect  can be had through cleaning the cache (see above) as well, except that it is lazy in
              the destruction of files and will not destroy files unrelated to the ones we are building.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a package (see option  -pkg  below)  because  this  mode
              starts out with a unique and empty result cache.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -help  This  option will cause the system to print a short help about command line syntax and options and
              then exit the application.

       -keep  This option will cause the system to keep the ".c" files generated by a run in the  result  cache.
              When  generating  a  package (see option -pkg below) this also prevents the deletion of the unique
              result cache used by the run.  This option is intended for the debugging of critcl  itself,  where
              it may be necessary to inspect the generated C code.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -libdir path
              This  option  specifies  the path under which the packages generated via option -pkg are saved. It
              also specifies a path to search libraries in, like for -L.  When specified multiple times the last
              value is used.  When not specified at all the default, "lib", is used. Note how this is a relative
              path, placing the result into the current working directory.

       -includedir path
              This option specifies the path under which any  generated  package  headers  are  saved.  It  also
              specifies  a path to search include files in, like for -I.  When specified multiple times the last
              value is used as destination, however all previous values are kept on  the  include  search  path.
              When  not  specified  at  all  the  default, "include", is used. Note how this is a relative path,
              placing the result into the current working directory.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -pkg   The default mode of the application is to build the ".critcl" files listed on the command line and
              save  the  results in the result cache. Essentially pre-filling the cache with important packages,
              cutting down on the time needed to use these packages.

              This option activates one of the other modes, package generation.  In this mode  the  input  files
              are  processed  first  as  usual,  however  after  that they are bundled into a single library and
              additional files are generated to make this library usable as a regular Tcl package.

              The option -tea, see below, invokes the last mode, TEA generation. If both options, i.e. -pkg  and
              -tea are specified the last one specified wins.

              In  this  mode  the  options -clean and -force are irrelevant and ignored. In contrast, the option
              -libdir is relevant in both this and -tea mode.

              When this option is specified the basename of the first file argument after the options is used as
              the  name  of  the  package  to generate. If the extension of that file indicates a shared library
              (".so", ".sl", ".dylib", and ".dll") it is also removed from the set of input files. A ".tcl" file
              is kept as part of the input. A single file without extension is assumed to actually have a ".tcl"
              extension. A file without extension, 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  This option, when specified, will cause the system to print the configuration of the chosen target
              to stdout and then exit.  The choice of target can be influenced through the option  -target  (see
              below).

       -showall
              This option, when specified, will cause the system to print the whole chosen configuration file to
              stdout and then exit.  The choice of configuration file  can  be  influenced  through  the  option
              -config (see above).

       -target name
              This  option  overrides the default choice of build target with the user's choice.  When specified
              multiple times the last value is used.  The named target must exist in  the  chosen  configuration
              file.   Use  option  -targets  (see below) to get a list of the acceptable targets.  The choice of
              configuration file can be influenced through the option -config (see above).

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea below).

       -targets
              This option, when specified, will cause the system to print the list of all known targets from the
              chosen  configuration  file  to  stdout  and  then  exit.  The choice of configuration file can be
              influenced through the option -config (see above).

       -tea   Similar to option -pkg, except that the invoked mode does not generate binaries, but  a  directory
              hierarchy  containing  the  ".critcl"  file, its companion files, and a TEA-lookalike build system
              with most of the needed support code (incliding copies of the critcl packages).

              If both options, i.e. -pkg and -tea are specified the last one specified wins.

              In this mode the options -I, -L, -clean,  -force,  -cache,  -includedir,  -enable,  -disable,  and
              -with-FOO are irrelevant and ignored. In contrast, the option -libdir is relevant in both this and
              -pkg mode.

              When this option is specified the basename of the first file argument after the options is used as
              the  name  of  the  package  to generate. If the extension of that file indicates a shared library
              (".so", ".sl", ".dylib", and ".dll") it is also removed from the set of input files. A ".tcl" file
              is kept as part of the input. A single file without extension is assumed to actually have a ".tcl"
              extension. A file without extension, 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.

              This option is irrelevant when generating a TEA package (see option -tea above).

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>

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.

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 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 3.0.2

       [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 3.0.3

       [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 3.0.4

       [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 3.0.5

       [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 3.0.6

       [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 3.0.7

       [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 3.1

       [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 3.1.1

       [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 3.1.2

       [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 3.1.3

       [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 3.1.4

       [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 3.1.5

       [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 3.1.6

       [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 3.1.7

       [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 3.1.8

       [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 3.1.9

       [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 #33. Handle files starting with a dot better.

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 (c) Jean-Claude Wippler
       Copyright (c) Steve Landers
       Copyright (c) 2011-2013 Andreas Kupries