What: Frink - Source code formatter
Where: http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Programs/Frink/
ftp://catless.ncl.ac.uk/pub/
Description: Program to prettify (like the indent command) your Tcl/Tk
program. Frink can format, minimize and/or obfuscate your Tcl code.
It can take some forms of your code and convert it to use message
catalogs (used for internationalization). It applies a variety
of heuristics to the code to try to detect possible errors.
Supports only vanilla tcl - not extensions such as tclX, itcl, etc.
Does however recognize namespace and interp commands.
Check the first URL on a regular basis for updates.
Does not permit commercial use.
Currently at version 2.2.2p4, with an ancient 2.3.1 alpha also available at the above ftp site.
Updated: 06/2001
Contact: mailto:[email protected] [Lindsay F. Marshall]
This tool by [Lindsay Marshall] does [Static syntax analysis].
See also "[What debugging tools are available to a Tcl programmer]" in general.
Frink makes a brief appearance in a UnixReview.com column in April 2002
[http://click.unixreview.email-publisher.com/maaakIVaaRQqKa2scaRb/].
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'''Note:''' Be very careful using frink to reformat your source code.
Double check the frink results against the original source.
It messes up your code every once and a while.
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Question: What flags do you find most useful when using frink to check for
errors/warnings?
Answer:
frink -HJ source.tcl
although I sometimes use
frink -JF FFFFE source.tcl
to turn off a warning for the construct ''variable $varname'' [PT]
[LV] I use frink -J -U -H to give me a LOT of possible issues;
by the time I've checked them all (and I have run the code through
[tclchecker]), I am ready to move on to looking at algorithm problems...
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Peter Newman 25 April 2004: The frink web site doesn't seem to have any '''Windows Binaries'''.
But there's one in the [ASED] Tclkit/Starpack. Just download and [SDX] unwrap that.
[EKB] 16 April 2005: Another Windows binary is available at http://tclsoap.sourceforge.net/dom-packages.html. (v2.1.5)
17 Feb 2006: http://folk.ntnu.no/tyridal/dist/frink-2.2.2-w32.zip
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[LV] What are your preferences for frink pretty printing arguments?
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[CGM] An unrelated "calculating tool and programming language" going by the same name is described at http://futureboy.homeip.net/frinkdocs/----
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%| [C<<categoryies>> Application] | [Category Debugging] (=>| [Static syntax analysis]) |%
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