The main script is the primary script that is executed by the interpreter, e.g. tclsh or wish.
One common technique is to have a script run a self test if it detects that it is the main script. Naive approaches only compare info script with $argv0. A somewhat more robust approach that usually works with pkg_mkIndex looks only at the file tail of those two values. The most robust approach fully normalizes those two values, including the last component, which a simple file normalize does not resolve.
The most complete approach:
if {[info exists argv0] && [ file dirname [file normalize [info script]/...]] eq [ file dirname [file normalize $argv0/...]]} { #do stuff }
AMG: I'm not sure I fully understand the purpose of the /... in this code. From the above description, I'm assuming it's a dummy component so that [file normalize] resolves all components of the true path.
PYK: Yes, that's its purpose.
A common and fairly robust approach:
if {[info exists argv0] && [file tail [info script]] eq [file tail $argv0]} { #do stuff }
The negative approach, also quite common:
if {![info exists argv0] || [file tail [info script]] ne [file tail $argv0]} { return } # test/standalone code follows
The more simple and naive approach to detection method directly compares info script with $argv0:
if {[info exists argv0] && $argv0 eq [info script]} { #do stuff }
or, as formulated in Methods for Justifying text output in TCL , DKF, comp.lang.tcl, 2001-06-15:
if {[string equal $::argv0 [info script]] || [array exists ::embed_args]} { main }
AMG: Which posting would that be? What is ::embed_args? It must be something specific to the script DKF was describing.
PYK: I migrated this example and the verbiage from another page (can't remember which one now), and unfortunately it was just as unclear on that other page as well. I just searched comp.lang.tcl though, found the conversation, and included it above.
AMG: Here's a new way to do it, comparing device and inode numbers:
proc mainScript {} { global argv0 if {[info exists argv0] && [file exists [info script]] && [file exists $argv0]} { file stat $argv0 argv0Info file stat [info script] scriptInfo expr {$argv0Info(dev) == $scriptInfo(dev) && $argv0Info(ino) == $scriptInfo(ino)} } else { return 0 } }
And by request from PYK, here's how to make the above callable as [info main]:
namespace ensemble configure info -map [dict replace\ [namespace ensemble configure info -map] main mainScript]
PYK: Actually, I was suggesting that since only tclsh itself really knows what is the main script, e.g. wouldn't get confused by source info script, that it should provide [info main] as an alternative to all the scripts on this page.