Re: [CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO] Re: CPNC Programming Resources

> From: Ron Ginger <ginger@...>
> The VTK one is usefull because it describes some coding standards and
> some submission processes. We will need to do something in this area as
> well.

Sooner, rather than later...

> One of the major reasons Im stopping the work on my VB program is that
> the underlying data structure is not good. I cannot use the VB Object
> stuff, since my .dll limits me to the 16bit VB, so that forces just
> about everything to be global variables, since procedures can only
> return a single value. I have done some reading on Tcl/tk and find the
> same problems.

In tcl, the return variable could be a list (one-dimensional array). Tcl also
has some list handling commands such as concat, join, lappend, linsert,
llength, lrange, lreplace, and lsearch.

> I would much prefer to write in Perl/Tk. All the data handing could then
> be object oriented and much more robust. We could also use the Perl
> module mechanisms to add code. To use a controller like Simple Step or
> FLashCut this would be fine, but to interface to EMC it will be
> necessary to do the same kind of work that was done to tie Tcl to EMC.
> It is not hard, but it does require some C work, and its not something
> Im ready to take on. Who did the emc-tcl work, and can we encourage him
> to do it for Perl?

I called Fred Proctor this morning to ask him about this. Considering he is a
busy guy, he was remarkably receptive to this idea and is looking into how to
do it.

Tcl/tk support seems to come standard with Linux, so all the potential user
needs to do is download the tcl/tk application's script file(s) and run
it(them). On Win95 I had to get tcl/tk from the Scriptics site (I think),
install it just like any other Windows application (it went without a hitch),
and then I could proceed just like the Linux user to get tcl/tk applications
running. How hard will it be for the end user to add Perl/tk support to
Win95/NT (I'm assuming that it's already there, or easy to add, for Linux)?

Matt