public command ?arg arg ...?
protected command ?arg arg ...?
private command ?arg arg ...?
set varName ?value?
array option ?arg arg ...?
}
className objName ?arg arg ...?
objName method ?arg arg ...?
className::proc ?arg arg ...?
The fundamental construct in [incr Tcl] is the class definition. Each class acts as a template for actual objects that can be created. The class itself is a namespace which contains things common to all objects. Each object has its own unique bundle of data which contains instances of the "variables" defined in the class definition. Each object also has a built-in variable named "this", which contains the name of the object. Classes can also have "common" data members that are shared by all objects in a class.
Two types of functions can be included in the class definition. "Methods" are functions which operate on a specific object, and therefore have access to both "variables" and "common" data members. "Procs" are ordinary procedures in the class namespace, and only have access to "common" data members.
If the body of any method or proc starts with "@", it is treated as the symbolic name for a C procedure. Otherwise, it is treated as a Tcl code script. See below for details on registering and using C procedures.
A class can only be defined once, although the bodies of class methods and procs can be defined again and again for interactive debugging. See the body and configbody commands for details.
Each namespace can have its own collection of objects and classes. The list of classes available in the current context can be queried using the "itcl::find classes" command, and the list of objects, with the "itcl::find objects" command.
A class can be deleted using the "delete class" command. Individual objects can be deleted using the "delete object" command.
The class definition is evaluated as a series of Tcl statements that define elements within the class. The following class definition commands are recognized:
The order of baseClass names in the inherit list affects the name resolution for class members. When the same member name appears in two or more base classes, the base class that appears first in the inherit list takes precedence. For example, if classes "Foo" and "Bar" both contain the member "x", and if another class has the "inherit" statement:
inherit Foo Bar
Before the body is executed, the optional init statement is used to invoke any base class constructors that require arguments. Variables in the args specification can be accessed in the init code fragment, and passed to base class constructors. After evaluating the init statement, any base class constructors that have not been executed are invoked automatically without arguments. This ensures that all base classes are fully constructed before the constructor body is executed. By default, this scheme causes constructors to be invoked in order from least- to most-specific. This is exactly the opposite of the order that classes are reported by the info heritage command.
If construction is successful, the constructor always returns the object name-regardless of how the body is defined-and the object name becomes a command in the current namespace context. If construction fails, an error message is returned.
When an object is destroyed, all destructors in its class hierarchy are invoked in order from most- to least-specific. This is the order that the classes are reported by the "info heritage" command, and it is exactly the opposite of the default constructor order.
If the args list is specified, it establishes the usage information for this method. The body command can be used to redefine the method body, but the args list must match this specification.
Within the body of another class method, a method can be invoked like any other command-simply by using its name. Outside of the class context, the method name must be prefaced an object name, which provides the context for the data that it manipulates. Methods in a base class that are redefined in the current class, or hidden by another base class, can be qualified using the "className::method" syntax.
If the args list is specified, it establishes the usage information for this proc. The body command can be used to redefine the proc body, but the args list must match this specification.
Within the body of another class method or proc, a proc can be invoked like any other command-simply by using its name. In any other namespace context, the proc is invoked using a qualified name like "className::proc". Procs in a base class that are redefined in the current class, or hidden by another base class, can also be accessed via their qualified name.
If the optional init string is specified, it is used as the initial value of the variable when a new object is created. Initialization forces the variable to be a simple scalar value; uninitialized variables, on the other hand, can be set within the constructor and used as arrays.
The optional config script is only allowed for public variables. If specified, this code fragment is executed whenever a public variable is modified by the built-in "configure" method. The config script can also be specified outside of the class definition using the configbody command.
If the optional init string is specified, it is used as the initial value of the variable. Initialization forces the variable to be a simple scalar value; uninitialized variables, on the other hand, can be set with subsequent set and array commands and used as arrays.
Once a common data member has been defined, it can be set using set and array commands within the class definition. This allows common data members to be initialized as arrays. For example:
itcl::class Foo {
common boolean
set boolean(true) 1
set boolean(false) 0
}
Once a class has been defined, the class name can be used as a command to create new objects belonging to the class.
If objName contains the string "#auto", that string is replaced with an automatically generated name. Names have the form className<number>, where the className part is modified to start with a lowercase letter. In class "Toaster", for example, the "#auto" specification would produce names like toaster0, toaster1, etc. Note that "#auto" can be also be buried within an object name:
fileselectiondialog .foo.bar.#auto -background red
If a single option of the form "-varName" is specified, then this method returns the information for that one variable.
Otherwise, the arguments are treated as option/value pairs assigning new values to public variables. Each variable is assigned its new value, and if it has any "config" code associated with it, it is executed in the context of the class where it was defined. If the "config" code generates an error, the variable is set back to its previous value, and the configure method returns an error.
itcl::class Toaster {
variable crumbs 0
method toast {nslices} {
if {$crumbs > 50} {
error "== FIRE! FIRE! =="
}
set crumbs [expr $crumbs+4*$nslices]
}
method clean {} {
set crumbs 0
}
}
itcl::class SmartToaster {
inherit Toaster
method toast {nslices} {
if {$crumbs > 40} {
clean
}
return [Toaster::toast $nslices]
}
}
itcl::class SmartToaster {
inherit Toaster
method toast {nslices} {
if {$crumbs > 40} {
clean
}
return [chain $nslices]
}
}
Class definitions need not be loaded explicitly; they can be loaded as needed by the usual Tcl auto-loading facility. Each directory containing class definition files should have an accompanying "tclIndex" file. Each line in this file identifies a Tcl procedure or [incr Tcl] class definition and the file where the definition can be found.
For example, suppose a directory contains the definitions for classes "Toaster" and "SmartToaster". Then the "tclIndex" file for this directory would look like:
# Tcl autoload index file, version 2.0 for [incr Tcl] # This file is generated by the "auto_mkindex" command # and sourced to set up indexing information for one or # more commands. Typically each line is a command that # sets an element in the auto_index array, where the # element name is the name of a command and the value is # a script that loads the command. set auto_index(::Toaster) "source $dir/Toaster.itcl" set auto_index(::SmartToaster) "source $dir/SmartToaster.itcl" The auto_mkindex command is used to automatically generate "tclIndex" files.
C procedures can be integrated into an [incr Tcl] class definition to implement methods, procs, and the "config" code for public variables. Any body that starts with "@" is treated as the symbolic name for a C procedure.
Symbolic names are established by registering procedures via Itcl_RegisterC(). This is usually done in the Tcl_AppInit() procedure, which is automatically called when the interpreter starts up. In the following example, the procedure My_FooCmd() is registered with the symbolic name "foo". This procedure can be referenced in the body command as "@foo".
int
Tcl_AppInit(interp)
Tcl_Interp *interp; /* Interpreter for application. */
{
if (Itcl_Init(interp) == TCL_ERROR) {
return TCL_ERROR;
}
if (Itcl_RegisterC(interp, "foo", My_FooCmd) != TCL_OK) {
return TCL_ERROR;
}
}
This scheme provides a natural migration path for code development. Classes can be developed quickly using Tcl code to implement the bodies. An entire application can be built and tested. When necessary, individual bodies can be implemented with C code to improve performance.