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- Keep procedures short - Why you may ask? Would you rather see 200 lines of code that does X, or a command call saying do X. If function/procedure calls you feel are too expensive, I suggest you keep in mind that machine coders used the same argument when assemblers came around. (Back then they thought that computer time was more expensive than programmer time, which isn't generally true nowadays.)
- Use descriptive names for variables and procedures - Don't go crazy and write 100 character variable names, unless perhaps you're working with generated code (or crazy). Be consistent in the names you use. If you want nTimes to mean "number of times" don't later use numTimes or nt. Being lazy just wastes your time. Also keep in mind that if you use variables that are too short and use long comments to describe them you are wasting your time.
- Keep a consistent pattern of object/memory management - Decide ahead of time if the parent of a procedure should manage a certain object, or if the child or called procedure should, and try to be consistent about how things should be managed.
- Use comments that describe how and why you are doing something
- Use comments when the pattern of what happens next may not be expected
- Look for patterns in your code, and minimize repeats by using proc or interp alias (see 1)
- Don't make assumptions that a command or function won't return an error. - Check the results and catch if absolutely needed.
- Have a plan for each file before you begin coding. - It's all too easy to fall into the trap of staying up late coding massive amounts of code. Often if you really think about the problem you can reduce the amount of code substantially. By having a plan you also can work out potential problems before you invest time. This is what separates a software engineer from a programmer.
- Use the interactive tclsh/wish shell if you aren't sure about how something will work - Don't assume
- Use a consistent pattern of capitalization or _ for classes of keywords - If you decide that you want all classes to be like BoxClass don't later change to ball_class type naming. You will only confuse yourself and make it more difficult for your mind to parse your own code later on. Obviously in the world of packages this may not be possible, but strive to keep your own code consistent.