[[Explain pkgIndex.tcl (one of the [magic names]), [package], ...]]






[[Mention pertinence to "[How to change a running system]"?]]


Be careful not to be confused by the title.  Files named
''tclIndex'' are special to the Tcl auto-loader, powered by
the [unknown] command.

Files named ''pkgIndex.tcl'' are special to [tclPkgUnknown],
the command registered by default with [[package unknown]].

The two mechanisms are different, though they (unfortunately)
share the global variable ''$::auto_path''.

----

'''Auto Loading'''

If you're building a library of tcl scripts, you should consider using utilizing one of Tcl's auto-loading mechanisms.

If you put a bunch of library scripts in a directory (or set of relative directories), you can use the auto_mkindex command (documented on Tcl's library manual page) to generate a special index file named tclIndex.  This index file contains references to all the procedures defined in all the files.

You can then modify your application's [auto_path] variable to include this new library directory.  The auto-loading mechanism will scan the index, and when you call one of the indexed procedures, it will know where to find it.  No 'source' commands required.