NAME

       ensemble - create or modify a composite command

SYNOPSIS

       itcl::ensemble ensName ?command arg arg...?
       or
       ensemble ensName {
           part partName args body
           ...
           ensemble partName {
               part subPartName args body
               part subPartName args body
           ...
           }
       }

DESCRIPTION

       The  ensemble  command  is  used to create or modify a composite command.  See the section
       WHAT IS AN ENSEMBLE? below for a brief overview of ensembles.

       If the ensemble command finds  an  existing  ensemble  called  ensName,  it  updates  that
       ensemble.   Otherwise,  it creates an ensemble called ensName.  If the ensName is a simple
       name like "foo", then an ensemble command named "foo" is added to  the  current  namespace
       context.  If a command named "foo" already exists in that context, then it is deleted.  If
       the ensName contains namespace qualifiers like "a::b::foo", then  the  namespace  path  is
       resolved,  and  the  ensemble  command is added that namespace context.  Parent namespaces
       like "a" and "b" are created automatically, as needed.

       If the ensName contains spaces like "a::b::foo bar baz", then additional words like  "bar"
       and  "baz"  are  treated  as  sub-ensembles.   Sub-ensembles  are  merely  parts within an
       ensemble; they do not have a Tcl command associated with them.  An ensemble like "foo" can
       have  a  sub-ensemble  called "foo bar", which in turn can have a sub-ensemble called "foo
       bar baz".  In this case, the sub-ensemble "foo  bar"  must  be  created  before  the  sub-
       ensemble "foo bar baz" that resides within it.

       If  there are any arguments following ensName, then they are treated as commands, and they
       are executed to update the ensemble.   The  following  commands  are  recognized  in  this
       context:  part and ensemble.

       The  part  command  defines  a  new part for the ensemble.  Its syntax is identical to the
       usual proc command, but it defines a part within an ensemble, instead of  a  Tcl  command.
       If  a  part  called  partName  already  exists  within the ensemble, then the part command
       returns an error.

       The ensemble command can be nested inside  another  ensemble  command  to  define  a  sub-
       ensemble.

WHAT IS AN ENSEMBLE?

       The usual "info" command is a composite command--the command name info must be followed by
       a sub-command like body or globals.  We will refer to a command like info as an  ensemble,
       and to sub-commands like body or globals as its parts.

       Ensembles  can  be  nested.   For example, the info command has an ensemble info namespace
       within it.  This ensemble has parts like info namespace all and info namespace children.

       With ensembles, composite commands can be created and extended in an automatic  way.   Any
       package  can  find an existing ensemble and add new parts to it.  So extension writers can
       add their own parts, for example, to the info command.

       The  ensemble  facility  manages  all  of  the  part  names  and  keeps  track  of  unique
       abbreviations.   Normally,  you  can  abbreviate  info  complete  to info comp.  But if an
       extension adds the part info  complexity,  the  minimum  abbreviation  for  info  complete
       becomes info complet.

       The  ensemble  facility  not only automates the construction of composite commands, but it
       automates the error  handling  as  well.   If  you  invoke  an  ensemble  command  without
       specifying  a  part name, you get an automatically generated error message that summarizes
       the usage information.  For  example,  when  the  info  command  is  invoked  without  any
       arguments, it produces the following error message: wrong # args: should be one of...
         info args procname
         info body procname
         info cmdcount
         info commands ?pattern?
         info complete command
         info context
         info default procname arg varname
         info exists varName
         info globals ?pattern?
         info level ?number?
         info library
         info locals ?pattern?
         info namespace option ?arg arg ...?
         info patchlevel
         info procs ?pattern?
         info protection ?-command? ?-variable? name
         info script
         info tclversion
         info vars ?pattern?
         info  which  ?-command?  ?-variable? ?-namespace? name You can also customize the way an
       ensemble responds to errors.  When an ensemble encounters an unspecified or ambiguous part
       name,  it  looks  for  a  part called @error.  If it exists, then it is used to handle the
       error.  This part will receive all of the arguments on the command line starting with  the
       offending  part  name.   It can find another way of resolving the command, or generate its
       own error message.

EXAMPLE

       We could use an ensemble to clean up the syntax of the various "wait" commands in  Tcl/Tk.
       Instead  of  using  a series of strange commands like this: vwait x tkwait visibility .top
       tkwait window .  we could use commands with a uniform syntax, like this: wait  variable  x
       wait  visibility  .top wait window .  The Tcl package could define the following ensemble:
       itcl::ensemble wait part variable {name} {
           uplevel vwait $name } The Tk package could add some options to this ensemble,  with  a
       command like this: itcl::ensemble wait {
           part visibility {name} {
               tkwait visibility $name
           }
           part window {name} {
               tkwait window $name
           } } Other extensions could add their own parts to the wait command too.

KEYWORDS

       ensemble, part, info