BOOK: Tcl 8.5 Network Programming

Tcl/Tk 8.5 Network Programming

by Wojciech Kocjan and Piotr Beltowski
See also: BOOK Tcl 8.5 Network Programming

This book shows you how to create network-aware applications with Tcl language. Packed with practical examples, the book not only takes you through the implementation of network protocols in Tcl, but also key aspects of Tcl programming.

The book starts with the basic element of Tcl programming as we take a look at the syntax and fundamental commands of the language. To get us ready for network programming, we look at important Tcl features such as object-oriented programming, accessing files, packaging in TCL, event driven programming, and multithreaded applications. To create standalone single-file executable applications with Tcl we take a look at the Starpack technology, and ensure that we’ll be able to create robust applications with a thorough coverage of troubleshooting and debugging Tcl applications.

The book is really about network programming, and it will not let you down with its deep coverage of these topics. Of course we look at protocols, but there are plenty of practical examples to keep things moving along. We start with the TCP and UDP protocols, and look at some other protocols to see examples of synchronizing time with other servers, querying user information and authenticating users over LDAP and performing DNS queries.

What you will learn from this book :

• Get to know the the tools available to ease up development of Tcl code
• Discover Tcl’s approach of using events over threads, which is very different from many other languages
• Learn the VFS feature that allows the usage of Metakit database as normal file system
• Create loggers, define log levels, write your logs to file or channel, and trace the execution of your code
• Get to know the key differences between free TclPro Debugger and paid ActiveState Tcl Dev Kit Debugger
• Handle different text encoding, dependent on the region you live, and create multi-language, internationalized application with msgcat package
• Handle UDP communication in Tcl was presented, with TclUDP extension as the implementation
• Manage files remotely over File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and learn to download a file from a web site using Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP),
• Learn the usage Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) to look up information and/or authenticate users, manually querying host names and time servers
• Get to know the Tcl package Scotty that handles SNMP and provides a Tk based GUI application that can be used for inspecting devices, discovering systems within our network and browsing data that can be retrieved over SNMP
• Use Tcl code as legacy CGI scripts and improve it with ncgi package
• Create client-server application based on HTTP protocol and Tclhttpd as embedded web server packed into Starkit technology for easy deployment
• Connect to XML-RPC services and issue methods remotely, and easily integrate with major blogging engines
• Create SOAP services using Tclhttpd and Web Services for Tcl; define complex data types for storing structured information
• Learn to use encrypted connections from Tcl and the method to make sure you know whom your application is communicating with

MHo: Very usefull book!

RLH: Thanks, good to know.