The concept of this page is to become a place for those of us who are
not professional programmers.  A place where you don't have to be
embarrassed about asking a 'dumb' question.  (NOTE:  The pros on clt
have always been gracious and helpful anyway!)  Having trouble with
a script? Post the problem part here.  Want someone else to take a
look at something you are working on and suggest comments or
improvements? Put it here.  A place where we can work together to
improve our skills, or perhaps help each other complete a project.
(Don't worry about a lack of 'professional' help - many of the
regulars won't be able to resist!)
----

So let me start this off with a little something I have been
working on:
----

 #!/usr/bin/wish

 label .local_time -textvariable timezone_name
 set timezone_name [clock format [clock scan now] -format "%Z"]

 label .gmt_time -textvariable tz_name
 if {$tcl_version >= 8.3} {
        set tz_name [clock format [clock scan now] -gmt 1\
        -format "%Z"]
        } else {
        set tz_name "GMT"
 }

 grid .local_time -row 0 -columnspan 1
 grid .gmt_time -row 0 -column 1 -columnspan 1

 entry .local_date_entry
 entry .gmt_date_entry
 grid .local_date_entry -row 1 -column 0 -columnspan 1
 grid .gmt_date_entry -row 1 -column 1 -columnspan 1

 entry .local_time_entry -textvariable local_time
 entry .gmt_time_entry -textvariable gmt_time

 grid .local_time_entry -row 2 -column 0 -columnspan 1
 grid .gmt_time_entry -row 2 -column 1 -columnspan 1

 set local_date [clock format [clock scan now]\
 -format "%A %B %d, %Y"]

 set gmt_date [clock format [clock scan now] -gmt 1\
 -format "%A %B %d, %Y"]

 .local_date_entry insert 0 $local_date
 .gmt_date_entry insert 0 $gmt_date

 set local_length [string length $local_date]
 set gmt_length [string length $gmt_date]

 .local_date_entry configure -width $local_length -justify center
 .gmt_date_entry configure -width $gmt_length -justify center

 .local_time_entry configure -width $local_length -justify center
 .gmt_time_entry configure -width $gmt_length -justify center

 proc local_clock:set var {
   global $var
   set $var [clock format [clock seconds] -format "%I:%M:%S %p" ]
   after 200 [list local_clock:set $var]
 }
 local_clock:set local_time

 proc gmt_clock:set var {
   global $var
   set $var [clock format [clock scan now] -gmt 1\
   -format "%I:%M:%S %p" ]
   after 200 [list gmt_clock:set $var]
 }
 gmt_clock:set gmt_time

 tk appname "Double Clock"

----
Anyone who wants to use this in any manner whatsoever, is welcome to
it.  Most of the code for the clocks was found doing a search on clt.
(I just changed the format a little)

It is easily possible to use other time zones, but I wish I could
figure out a way to do this using time zone mnemonics and/or
military time zones.  Any suggestions? ''so''

''DKF - 20000612:''  Up to (and including) 8.3 at least, you'd need to perform the timezone adjustment yourself.  However, you can use [[clock scan]] (on most platforms at least) to help you get the offset:

  proc getClockOffset {timezone} {
      # Do it this way to avoid UNIXism assumption...
      set epoch [clock format 0 -format "%b %d %Z %H:%M:%S %Y" -gmt 1]
      regsub GMT $epoch $timezone datestring
      return [expr {-[clock scan $datestring]}]
  }

This should help you convert timezones (including the military designations, IIRC) into offsets so you can format the date correctly.  The only awkward bit is getting a list of timezones that the code supports, and I'm afraid that you might need to delve into the source code for that (there are some interesting clashes in there!)

(Note that I specify the format because on some platforms the usual output of [[clock format]] can't be understood by [[clock scan]], and the format is needed to avoid hard-coding in the assumption that the epoch begins with 1970, as this might not hold on all platforms...)

Your task, should you choose to accept it, is to combine this code into the preceding code to create a more internationally-aware application...

----
Donal - thanks for the input.  I am working on this from time to time.
Never figured on the problems with the time-zone mnemonics! ''so''
----
On another subject - 
A recent posting on clt reminded me of my first foray into the 
newsgroup.  When I first began tinkering with tcl/tk, I could
find examples of scripts to design a data input form, but nothing
on how to *save* the data.  I have always meant to post something
somewhere for beginners (like me), but never got around to it -
til now, a *simplistic*, *minimalist*, dataform, that works:
----
 frame .entryframe
 label .entryframe.l1 -text "Last Name"
 entry .entryframe.e1 -textvariable data_array(lastName)
 label .entryframe.l2 -text "First Name"
 entry .entryframe.e2 -textvariable data_array(firstName)

 grid .entryframe.l1 .entryframe.e1
 grid .entryframe.l2 .entryframe.e2
 grid .entryframe

 frame .controlframe
 button .controlframe.clear -text "Clear" -command {  clear_card }
 button .controlframe.find -text "Find" -command { file_get }
 button .controlframe.save -text "Save" -command { file_save }
 button .controlframe.exit -text "Exit" -command { exit }

 grid .controlframe.clear .controlframe.find .controlframe.save .controlframe.exit
 grid .controlframe

 proc file_save { } {
	global data_array
        ## DKF: A more efficient way to dump an array to a file is below
	#foreach index [array names data_array] {
	#append data "set data_array($index) {$data_array($index)}" \n
	#}
	set file_types {
		{"All Files" * }
	}		
	set filename [tk_getSaveFile -filetypes $file_types\
	-defaultextension .mdf -initialfile $data_array(lastName)$data_array(firstName)\
	]
	set fileid [open $filename w]
	#puts $fileid $data
	puts $fileid [list array set data_array [array get data_array]]
	close $fileid
 }

 proc file_get {  } {
	global data_array
	clear_card
	set file_types {
		{"My Data File" { .mdf }}
	}
	set filename [tk_getOpenFile -filetypes $file_types\
	-defaultextension . -initialdir [pwd]]
	source $filename
 }

 proc clear_card { } {
	.entryframe.e1 delete 0 end
	.entryframe.e2 delete 0 end
	
 }

----
All you pros please feel free to comment on better ways to do this,
script improvements, etc.

''DKF'' - As you can see above, it is easier to use [[array get]] and [[array set]] to dump and reload arrays from files, though the general principle of loading data via source is a good one for non-binary data.