Kevin Walzer wrote:
> Below please find a new version of the "rah-rah" release...thanks to
> Mark for some feedback. Any further comments before we finalize it?
Oh, definitely getting closer.
> When should we submit this to Slashdot et. al? Next week are the
> holidays and I won't be doing much work...if someone else wants to take
> this and run with it, be my guest.
Is what we in the biz call "dead week" a good time for this? Perhaps,
but others might disagree.
> Tcl/Tk 8.5.0 Released
>
> The Tcl Core Team is pleased to announce the 8.5.0 releases of the Tcl
> dynamic language and the Tk GUI toolkit. This is the first stable
> release of Tcl/Tk 8.5, following more than four years of development,
> and represents a major advance over previous versions of Tcl/Tk.
>
> Highlights of Tcl 8.5:
>
> * "Dict" command: New data structure in the core language, similar to
> arrays, that allows access to data by value rather than a variable name,
> which is substantially faster.
>
> * "Chan" command: Streamlines and replaces several different I/O
> commands in file and network operations.
Dict and Chan need to move down, if we are presuming this is primarily
targeted to the non-Tcl crowd. When I read the dict explanation, which
names but doesn't clarify arrays (a term that varies in languages), I
kind of wonder "so they finally got hashes?". Also, that they are
ordered is notable but not noted.
As for the "chan" command, this is all syntactic sugar to Tcl'ers. I
vote for the 2038-issue free clock as a point instead (and clock has
other benefits).
> * "Bignums": Tcl now supports arbitrary-precision integers in the core
> language, which improves math operations on large integers.
>
> * Speed: Tcl now runs 10% faster on benchmarks than Tcl 8.4.
This one needs a bit more wording. Let's try:
* Speed: Tcl now runs 10% faster than the previous version with bytecode
improvements, object caching and reduced memory usage.
Why does that sound a gazillion times better? "benchmarks" is a notably
tricksy word, replacing it with buzzwords like "bytecode" and "object
caching" reiterate to the non-Tcler that we do indeed have these
features at the core of the language. Stick it in the eye of those
pedants and pundits who think Tcl still lives in 7.6 timewarp.
In fact, make it the first point.
> * Additional improvements: Faster list search, improved mathematics
> procedures, safer parsing of procedure arguments, new ways to package
> Tcl extensions, and more.
>
> Highlights of Tk 8.5:
>
> * New modern widget set: New and additional widgets that make use of
> platform-specific theming on Mac OS X and Windows to better fit in with
> those environments, and feature an improved look and feel under X11.
> (For screenshots, see http://wiki.tcl.tk/13636.)
I think "theming engine" needs to be here. If you want to go l33t, then
say "skinnable" (although I shudder to say it).
> * Font rendering: Now uses anti-aliased text under X11, and a more
> modern text engine on Mac OS X.
>
> * Text display: Smooth scrolling and improved procedures for counting
> and replacing text.
"Text display" is a bit misleading. That might imply all text, but we
are talking about the text widget above only. In that case, also add
"widget peering", because it is and sounds cool and mysterious.
> * Additional improvements: Window transparency, new "fullscreen" option
> for windows, enhancements to specific widgets and window layout, and more.
That should be "window".
> For more information on Tcl/Tk 8.5, see
> http://www.tcl.tk/software/tcltk/8.5.html.
Now we just need to spiff up this link before the big announcement.
Jeff
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