''Tcl's syntax is small enough to fit in the working memory of a typical human.'' -- [Cameron Laird] ** Summary ** The syntax of [Tcl] scripts is minimal and elegant. Additional layers of complexity and power are achieved via commands, which either recursively repeat [subst%|%some] or [eval%|%all] of the Tcl script evaluation process. ** Description ** A [Tcl] script conforms to the [Dodekalogue%|%12 rules] of script construction, and is processed in the following way: 1. Exactly one level of substitution and/or evaluation occurs in each pass through the Tcl interpreter, no more and no less. 1. Each character is scanned exactly once in each pass through the interpreter. 1. Any well-formed list is also a well-formed command; if evaluated, each element of the list will become exactly one word of the command with no further substitutions. 1. Commands such as such as `[[[subst]]` and `[[[eval]]`, submit their arguments to the Tcl interpreter, which scans them again. See: [http://groups.google.com/group/comp.lang.tcl/msg/61d39c42794c4955%|%"args" == ARGH! Are they _really_ good for anything?], [Brent Welch], [comp.lang.tcl], 1994-02-01: ** See Also ** [#]: [{*}]: specifies that each item in a [list] should be considered an individual argument to the current command [BNF for Tcl]: [A parser's monolog]: [An indentation syntax for Tcl]: [Brace your expr-essions]: [comment]: [Comments in expressions]: Some suggestions, on how to do it. [Dodekalogue]: [double substitution]: [Glossary for Tcl syntax]: [Hunt for Tcl Extensional Equivalents]: [Is there a a decent tcl script for finding matching brackets]?: [Syntax parsing in Tcl]: [syntax]: [Static syntax analysis]: [Tcl Quoting]: [Why is Tcl syntax so weird]: In a nutshell: Because it's new to you :) <> Syntax