Snippets Concepts One Liners for Students


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Title: Snippets Concepts One Liners for Students


Preface


gold Update 7/14/2026.




Introduction



One Liners have pros and cons. The contents are intended for beginners and engineering students. One-liners are gateways rather than complete solutions.


gold 7/14/2026 update. We agree to some extent. These one liner programs were developed mostly on older versions of the TCL/TK language. I do not doubt that are alternate solutions, better and more elegant solutions exist on the later more elaborate TCL releases. Mostly, I use the expired TCL on an older outdated personal computer. Some of these single line procedures are easier to patch as an older TCL procedure, rather than learn a new TCL grammar and pull the TCLLIB library.


Not a Replacement for TCL Core and TCLLIB Library


This page on developing pseudocode examples and one line procedures is not a replacement for the current Tcl core and Tcllib, which is much improved since Tcl version 4, and other <faster> language constructs. The contents are intended for beginners and engineering students. math ops, Tcllib routines, and other compiled routines can reduce the cost of big-data tasks by about 1/3. The time savings of the core are not always obvious on small quantities of data, like 4 or 5 numbers. Performance of one-line programs may suffer degradation due to lengthy recursion calls, and may be limited by constraints on recursion. Dependence on math operator notation, helper procedures, math check examples, degradation due to lengthy recursion calls, and special library functions should be noted in the comment lines.


Pros and Cons


One Liners have pros and cons. The contents are intended for beginners and student engineers.



These one-liners are meant to show beginners how Tcl expressions map to simple formulas in math and engineering. The one-liners programs are compact by design and Wiki customs. But for real Tcl programs, longer formal procedures with comments, entry validation, and error checks are often easier for professionals to maintain the code.


For beginners, one-liners can be a nice gateway into Tcl syntax and expression evaluation, but one-liners also may reach or test recursion limits.


Pros


  • They show Tcl’s compact syntax clearly.
  • They are easy to copy, test, and modify.
  • They can teach the connection between a formula and its code very directly.
  • They are useful as “micro examples” when learning proc and expr.

Cons


  • They can hide important checks, especially error handling and entry validation.
  • They may be harder to understand than a small multi-line proc.
  • Beginners can copy the pattern without understanding it.
  • Dense one-liners can become fragile when formulas get more complicated.


The terms program, routine, subroutine, procedure, algorithm, and proc are used interchangeably in this article. Recognize that the TCL nomenclature uses the exceptional term procedure and proc, but the internet search engines and general public do not accept or pull the terms procedure and proc as equitably with respect to the other computer languages using terms subroutine and program.


There are pros and cons to one liner programs in TCL. One may contrast the approach to one liners programs in problem solving versus the traditional procedural approach. There are better routines and methods in faster language constructs in the current TCL core distribution and TCLLIB. Working with recursion, primes, text search, and timing the procedures will quickly show the warts on the one liners programs. To gain speed and shorter computation times, one will generally have to access the TCL core distribution and TCLLIB. Since the TCL interpreter collapses the carriage returns, skips, blank lines, and dead space of traditional written procedures into a single line of machine code, is not every script a one liner program to the parser? As grandfather remarked, the gourmet omelet, beef mulligan stew, and farm buttermilk all go to the same place.


The analogy of using a one liners program to control the large TCL language is like sticking an Apple computer for the human operator in front of a Cray computer. The human mind probably can only understand and use a limited set of instructions. So an interface in hardware or TCL language as a limited set of instructions or limited window of interaction might be useful. After all, the human mind was designed to chase rabbits.



Compact Documentation style for one liners


#tcl
# title, formula, topic/math domain, profession
proc name {short var names} { expr { ... } }
# usage: name args... multiple examples, -> result, units, notes
# Boundary conditions, real numbers, or numerical limitations, zingers
----
# Note: textbook and journal formulas may use
# implied multiplication by adjacency.
# Tcl expr requires explicit * operators,
# so adjacent symbols are written as A*B.
----

In dense formulas, use single-letter variables in the proc signature, but spell meaning in comment line.



Note. The core proc, expr, switch, and lmap commands used for one-liners are still present in Tcl V9.0.2. Tcl 9 also keeps the classic rule that a procedure returns the last command’s result.Unless you use return #other, which makes compact one-line procs practical .... or feasible.



# Still checking V9 exposure and drafts.
# Some parts
# of the language Tcl V9 were actually changed,
# but not particularly the expr function.
So most of 21 procs should run unmodified on Tcl 9.


References:


  • GoDuck search engine < Functional Programming >
  • GoDuck search engine < Imperative Programming >
  • GoDuck search engine < Programming Examples >
  • Google search engine < vaporware >
  • Tcllib math::special Special mathematical functions
  • Tcllib math::figurate Evaluate figurate numbers
  • Tcllib simulation::random Pseudo-random number generators
  • Tcllib simulation::montecarlo Monte Carlo simulations
  • Wikipedia search engine < Lehmer random number generator >
  • Professor Frisby's Mostly Adequate Guide to Functional Programming on internet archive
  • Writing code using the Pseudocode Programming Process, article by David Zych
  • Mathematical Methods in Large-scale Computing Units
  • by Derrick H. Lehmer
  • L’Ecuyer, Pierre (January 1999). "Tables of linear congruential generators of different sizes and good lattice structure"
  • Mathematics of Computation. 68
  • A Comprehensive Review of Quantum Random Number PDF
  • Good Pedagogical Random Number Generators
  • from J. Stanley Warford
  • Coding the Lehmer Pseudo random Number Generator
  • from W. H. PAYNE
  • The most commonly used version of the Mersenne Twister algorithm
  • is based on the Mersenne prime expr { 2**19937-1 }
  • TWISTER = 431542479738816264805523551633791983905393504322.....
  • GoDuck search engine < TCL version >
  • One Liners Programs Pie in the Sky
  • One Liners
  • One Liners Programs Compendium [L1 ]
  • WIKI BOOKS, Programming_Examples pdf
  • WIKI BOOKS, Tcl_Programming_Introduction pdf
  • Note. I did find a useful online IDE, jdoodle
  • Note. I can paste, edit, and run an output using this online IDE.
  • How Do I Write Pseudocode? video by Mr. Brown CS
  • Refers to rand, RandMT, Mersenne Twister, & random
  • RS on Horseracing in Tcl.
  • Random Number Generators: Good Ones Are Hard to Find, Keith Willam Miller, pdf online
  • Throwing Two Dice GWM and Dice by Keith Vetter.
  • int from RLE has dice expression expr {1 + int(rand()*6)} RLE.
  • Several Dr. Math emails may reduce some dice issues to simple paths, internet archive.
  • Counting Elements in a List from RWT.


Extra Credit on One Line Procedures




  • Wikipedia search engine < random >
  • Wikipedia search engine < dice >
  • Wikipedia search engine < Programming Examples >
  • Google search engine < vaporware >
  • One Liners Programs Pie in the Sky
  • One Liners
  • One Liners Programs Compendium [L3 ]
  • WIKI BOOKS, Programming_Examples pdf
  • WIKI BOOKS, Tcl_Programming_Introduction pdf
  • google search engine < HgA1c to Average Blood Glucose>
  • Tcllib math::numtheory::numberPrimesGauss N
  • math::numtheory::numberPrimesLegendre N
  • math::numtheory::numberPrimesLegendreModified N
  • math::numtheory::differenceNumberPrimesLegendreModified lower upper
  • math::numtheory::listPrimePairs lower upper step
  • math::numtheory::listPrimeProgressions lower upper step

  • A Philosophy of Software Design, John Ousterhout, 2019
  • Paper: Tcl: An Embeddable Command Language by John K. Ousterhout
  • (USENIX Winter Conference, 1989),
  • Diagram credit, John K. Ousterhout
  • see page ~6 for the diagram.

  • Medusa: A Distributed Operating System (Computer Science Distributed Database Systems)
  • by John K. Ousterhout, thesis
  • Ann Arbor, Mich : UMI Research Press, c1981,

Screenshots


Experimenting Draft


This is a draft.



Trial Test Program




Testing Extended deck


Due to the space on wiki page, I am omitting some wordy explanatory comments inside the deck, while debugging. The credits are normally included inside code comments, but some extras are listed below deck.



# One Liners for Beginners: Engineering & Math V4
# 7/14/2026
# Style follows the  Compendium "house" conventions,
# dead space near  expr ,
# usage comment & worked answer.
# All formulas below have different topics 
# Formulas  should complement student efforts.
# Conventional formulas are largely 
# from engr. math textbooks.
# Almost have to use single letter variables
# in some denser formulas for compactness. 
#  Draft on Compatibility Check with V9 
console show
# All 21 procs above were run under Tcl 8.6.14.
#  Some parts
# of the language Tcl 9  actually changed,
# but not particularly the expr function, 
# so 21 should run unmodified on Tcl 9.

# Tcl 8.6 or greater required
# Naming convention: all proc and variable names are 12-15
# characters, descriptive, and domain-neutral so the engine
# can serve any subject area without modification.
# 
# ----
# Compatible with Tcl/Tk (Tool Command Language / Toolkit) 8.6+
# Written for Windows 11 on ActiveState Tcl.
# Use Pure 7-bit ASCII code, no Unicode characters used anywhere.
# ----
# Program deck may contain multiple estimation procs.
# Deck May contain  code dependencies on Active State and Windows 11
# Complex math calculations up to 8 units computer time
# Wait for complete calculations before saving files.
# Proc names and variables names need to be very human readable
# and very explanatory. 
# Avoid variables with single letter names. 
# Whereas single letter names are known to lead
# to many historic errors. 
# Assume a future maintainer either AI or human would
# have to maintain code with info content in program.
# This is Experimenting Draft,
# and not a replacement for TCL Core. 
# This is a hacker's patch, not rigorously derived.
# appears correct solutions for autotests.
# TCL Club 7/14/2026 
# 
#
## Mechanical / Structural

# tcl
#   power dissipated in a resistor, P = I^2 * R
proc power_dissipated {current resistance} { expr { $current**2 * $resistance } }
#   Usage power_dissipated 2 10  returns 40   (watts)

#   spring constant from Hooke's law, k = F / x
proc spring_constant {force displacement} { expr { $force / $displacement } }
#   Usage spring_constant 50 0.25  returns 200   (N/m)

#   simply supported beam, center point load, max deflection
#   delta = F * L^3 / (48 * E * I)
proc beam_deflection {force length modulus_e moment_i} { expr { $force*$length**3 / (48.*$modulus_e*$moment_i) } }
#   Usage beam_deflection 1000. 2. 200.e9 8.e-6  returns 0.0001042   (meters, ~0.1 mm)

#   axial stress, sigma = F / A
proc axial_stress {force area} { expr { $force / $area } }
#   Usage axial_stress 5000. 0.0002  returns 25000000.0   (Pa, 25 MPa)

#   gear ratio, driven teeth over driver teeth
proc gear_ratio {driven_teeth driver_teeth} { expr { (1.*$driven_teeth) / $driver_teeth } }
#   Usage gear_ratio 40 20  returns 2.0
#

## Fluids / Thermal
# Listing alternatives here.

# Reynolds number, Re=rho*v*D/mu,
# abbrev: rho=density(kg/m³), v=vel(m/s), D=diam(m), mu=visc(Pa·s), units: dimensionless
proc reynolds {rho v D mu} { expr {$rho*$v*$D/$mu} }
# Usage: reynolds 1000 2 0.05 0.001 -> 100000

# conductive heat flow, Q=k*A*ΔT/thick, 
# abbrev: k=conductivity(W/m·K), A=area(m²), ΔT=temp diff(K), thick=thickness(m), units: W (watts)
proc conductive_heat_flow {k A t1 t2 thick} { expr {$k*$A*($t1-$t2)/$thick} }
# Usage: conductive_heat_flow 0.5 2 300 290 0.1 -> 100 W

# tcl
#   Reynolds number, Re = rho * v * D / mu
proc reynolds_number_2 {density velocity diameter viscosity} { expr { $density*$velocity*$diameter/$viscosity } }
#   Usage reynolds_number 1000. 2. 0.05 0.001  returns 100000.0   (turbulent flow)

#   Fourier conduction, Q = k * A * (T1-T2) / thickness
proc conductive_heat_flow_2 {k_conductivity area t1 t2 thickness} { expr { $k_conductivity*$area*($t1-$t2)/$thickness } }
#   Usage conductive_heat_flow 0.5 2. 300. 290. 0.1  returns 100.0   (watts)
#

# Electrical



# capacitor charge, Q=C*V,
# abbrev: C=capacitance(F), V=voltage(V), units: C (coulombs)
proc capacitor_charge {C V} { expr {$C*$V} }
# Usage: capacitor_charge 0.001 12 -> 0.012 C

# RC time constant, tau=R*C, 
# abbrev: R=resistance(ohm), C=capacitance(F), units: s (seconds)
proc rc_time_constant {R C} { expr {$R*$C} }
# Usage: rc_time_constant 1000 0.000001 -> 0.001 s
 


## Dynamics

#  tcl
#   pendulum period (small angle), T = 2*pi*sqrt(L/g)
proc pendulum_period {length} { expr { 2.*acos(-1)*sqrt($length/9.81) } }
#   Usage pendulum_period 1.  returns 2.0064   (seconds, 1 meter pendulum)

#   projectile range on level ground, R = v^2 * sin(2*theta) / g,  theta in radians
proc projectile_range {velocity angle_rad} { expr { $velocity**2 * sin(2.*$angle_rad) / 9.81 } }
#   Usage projectile_range 20. [expr {45.*acos(-1)/180.}]  returns 40.7747   (meters, 45 degree launch)


## Math
# tcl
#   quadratic formula, positive root, x = (-b + sqrt(b^2-4ac)) / 2a
proc quad_root_pos {aa bb cc} { expr { (-$bb+sqrt($bb**2-4.*$aa*$cc))/(2.*$aa) } }
#   Usage quad_root_pos 1. -3. 2.  returns 2.0

#   distance between two points in 3D space
proc distance_3d {x1 y1 z1 x2 y2 z2} { expr { sqrt(($x2-$x1)**2+($y2-$y1)**2+($z2-$z1)**2) } }
#   Usage distance_3d 0. 0. 0. 3. 4. 12.  returns 13.0

#   geometric mean of two numbers
proc geometric_mean2 {aa bb} { expr { sqrt($aa*$bb) } }
#   Usage geometric_mean2 4. 16.  returns 8.0

#   harmonic mean of two numbers
proc harmonic_mean2 {aa bb} { expr { 2.*$aa*$bb/($aa+$bb) } }
#   Usage harmonic_mean2 4. 16.  returns 6.4

#   factorial, needed for combinations below
proc fact {n} { expr { $n<2 ? 1 : $n*[fact [expr {$n-1}]] } }
#   Usage fact 5  returns 120
#   recursion limited, tricky to install

#   combinations, n choose r
proc n_choose_r {n r} { expr { [fact $n] / ([fact $r]*[fact [expr {$n-$r}]]) } }
#   Usage n_choose_r 5 2  returns 10

#   sum of an arithmetic series, S = n/2 * (2a + (n-1)d)
proc arithmetic_series_sum {first_term common_diff n_terms} { expr { $n_terms/2.*(2.*$first_term+($n_terms-1)*$common_diff) } }
#   Usage arithmetic_series_sum 2. 3. 5  returns 40.0   (2+5+8+11+14)

#   3D vector dot product
proc dot_product3 {x1 y1 z1 x2 y2 z2} { expr { $x1*$x2+$y1*$y2+$z1*$z2 } }
#   Usage dot_product3 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.  returns 32.0

#   3D vector magnitude
proc vector_magnitude3 {x y z} { expr { sqrt($x**2+$y**2+$z**2) } }
#   Usage vector_magnitude3 3. 4. 12.  returns 13.0

#   logistic growth, N = K / (1 + ((K-N0)/N0)*exp(-r*t))
proc logistic_growth {carrying_capacity initial_pop rate time} { expr { $carrying_capacity/(1.+(($carrying_capacity-$initial_pop)/$initial_pop)*exp(-$rate*$time)) } }
#   Usage logistic_growth 1000. 10. 0.3 10.  returns 168.6   (population after 10 time units)

Draft, testing under V9 migration???

# tcl
# clamp x to [lo, hi], arithmetic domain, control systems
proc clamp {x lo hi} { expr {$x < $lo ? $lo : ($x > $hi ? $hi : $x)} }
# usage: clamp 17 0 10  -> 10

# tcl
# even test, number theory domain, programming interviews
proc is_even {n} { expr {($n % 2) == 0} }
# usage: is_even 42  -> 1

# tcl
# not the best style, but alternatives???

# Quantum computer


# Note. This code is contrasting validation checks, lengthy.


# Quantum computer

# Quantum
proc qubit_norm2 {a b} { expr {$a*$a + $b*$b} }     ; # qubit purity proxy, p = a^2 + b^2
proc bloch_theta {a} { expr {2*acos($a)} }          ; # Bloch angle proxy, theta = 2*acos(a)
proc qphase {re im} { expr {atan2($im,$re)} }       ; # phase difference, phi = atan2(im, re)
proc fringe {phi} { expr {cos($phi)} }              ; # interference fringe, cos(phi)
proc mixing {p} { expr {$p*(1-$p)} }                ; # two-state mixing, p*(1-p)

# Quantum / Math
# qubit norm squared, p=a²+b², abbrev: a b=amplitudes, units: dimensionless
proc qubit_norm2 {a b} { expr {$a*$a + $b*$b} }
# Usage: qubit_norm2 0.6 0.8 -> 1.0

# Bloch sphere angle, theta=2*acos(a), abbrev: a=|0> amplitude, units: rad (radians)
proc bloch_theta {a} { expr {2*acos($a)} }
# Usage: bloch_theta 0.7071 -> 1.5708 rad

# Note. This code is using validation checks, lengthy.

# tcl
# qubit purity proxy, p = a^2 + b^2, quantum computer domain, researchers
# variables: a b = real amplitudes
proc qubit_norm2 {a b} { if {![string is double -strict $a] || ![string is double -strict $b]} { return -code error "qubit_norm2: numeric arguments required" }; expr {$a*$a + $b*$b} }
# usage: qubit_norm2 0.6 0.8 -> 1
# abbrev: the short names fit amplitude algebra.

# tcl
# Bloch angle proxy, theta = 2 acos(a), quantum computer domain, researchers
# variables: a = amplitude on |0>
proc bloch_theta {a} { if {![string is double -strict $a]} { return -code error "bloch_theta: numeric argument required" }; if {$a < -1 || $a > 1} { return -code error "bloch_theta: amplitude must be in [-1, 1]" }; expr {2*acos($a)} }
# usage: bloch_theta 0.70710678 -> about 1.5708
# abbrev: a is a compact amplitude symbol.

# tcl
# phase difference, phi = atan2(im, re), quantum computer domain, researchers
# variables: re = real part, im = imaginary part
proc qphase {re im} { if {![string is double -strict $re] || ![string is double -strict $im]} { return -code error "qphase: numeric arguments required" }; expr {atan2($im,$re)} }
# usage: qphase 1 1 -> 0.7853981633974483
# abbrev: re and im are standard complex-number shorthand.

# tcl
# interference fringe score, s = cos(phi), quantum computer domain, researchers
# variables: phi = phase
proc fringe {phi} { if {![string is double -strict $phi]} { return -code error "fringe: numeric argument required" }; expr {cos($phi)} }
# usage: fringe 0 -> 1
# abbrev: phi is the conventional phase symbol.

# tcl
# two-state mixing, m = p(1-p), quantum computer domain, researchers
# variables: p = probability
proc mixing {p} { if {![string is double -strict $p]} { return -code error "mixing: numeric argument required" }; if {$p < 0 || $p > 1} { return -code error "mixing: probability must be in [0,1]" }; expr {$p*(1-$p)} }
# usage: mixing 0.5 -> 0.25
# abbrev: p is the usual probability symbol.

Credits



gold 7/14/2026. ASCII diagram Works on ActiveState.


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Please include your wiki MONIKER and date in your comment with the same courtesy that I will give you. Thanks, gold 6/9/2026