[ANN] Ruby-Tk LIbraries Runtime Library 3.0 and Gestalt Items

[Arndt Roger Schneider]

Hi Ruby commuters

It is my distinct pleasure to announce the
availability of Runtime Library 3.0
and Gestalt Items 1.1 for Ruby-tk and Ruby.

Both libraries are written in Tcl/Tk >= version 8.4.
Ruby-tk based Ruby Wrapper classes are part the
libraries, making them accesible from Ruby.

The libraries contain a wide range of
composite windows for Tk:

Basic Container windows for
* scroll able dialogs
* automatic scrollbar management

Listboxes and Hierarchy
* Combobox
* A edit able listbox (called gistbox)
* Multi-column listboxes
* Tree

A complete AQUA compliant toolbar
infrastructure
* goolbar and zoolbar, toolbars
implemented in Tk canvas and / or TkPath and
TkZinc
* gooleditor the associated interactive
toolbar editor.
* A multi-line toolbar (galette)

Dialogs:
* A dual shell, could serve as an
interactive Ruby shell
* A Font selection dialog (Windows design)

tabset, status bar, ...


Take a look at the brand-new manual pages dedicated to Ruby:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net/ruby/index.html

There is currently only one Ruby specific examples inside the
Ruby manual pages, sorry.

The Ruby wrapper classes do not contain typed
properties or methods, such as for tracing variables.
These Ruby-tk specific features are best implemnted through
inheritance. The Ruby wrapper classes are be generated
from the Tcl/Tk source.


Some Details about the Libraries:

All the composite windows
use explicit naming conventions
--they are predeterministic-- to keep
bi-directional communication between
Tcl and Ruby minimal.

Most of the composite windows either use the
Tk canvas or TkPath pathCanvas window in their
implementation. This makes it possible to convert
all the composites into SVG.
The SVG generator is a separate --unpublished-- tool
and not bundled with the libraries.
The manual pages contain such SVGs generated from Tk.

TkPath is highly recommended to gain a
visually sophisticated GUI. The libraries
do also work without TkPath. TkPath is
based on CAIRO under X11 and bypasses the
Tk X11-emulation layer under Windows and OSX.


Download Packages:
geitems11.tgz -- Gestalt Items Library in Tcl/Tk
geitemsRuby11.tgz -- Ruby classes for above Gestalt Items

rtl30.tgz -- Runtime Library in Tcl/Tk
rtlruby30.tgz -- Ruby classes for above Runtime Library

Also see the original documentation at:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net

The Runtime Library (Tcl/Tk) is documented by two
books, the latest book is online at:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net/rtl/index.html

The Gestalt Items book:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net/geitems/index.html

All three books contain lots of Tcl/Tk examples
and screen shots (as bitmaps).


-roger

 

[Michael Fellinger]

Hi Arndt,

Just wanted to let you know of the library I'm currently working on:
http://github.com/manveru/ffi-tk
I'll go through your stuff, sounds really handy.

Hi Ruby commuters

It is my distinct pleasure to announce the
availability of Runtime Library 3.0
and Gestalt Items 1.1 for Ruby-tk and Ruby.

Both libraries are written in Tcl/Tk >=3D version 8.4.
Ruby-tk based Ruby Wrapper classes are part the
libraries, making them accesible from Ruby.

The libraries contain a wide range of
composite windows for Tk:

Basic Container windows for
* scroll able dialogs
* automatic scrollbar management

Listboxes and Hierarchy
* Combobox
* A edit able listbox (called gistbox)
* Multi-column listboxes
* Tree

A complete AQUA compliant toolbar
infrastructure
* goolbar and zoolbar, toolbars
=C2=A0implemented in Tk canvas and / or TkPath and
=C2=A0TkZinc
* gooleditor the associated interactive
=C2=A0toolbar editor.
* A multi-line toolbar (galette)

Dialogs:
* A dual shell, could serve as an
=C2=A0interactive Ruby shell
* A Font selection dialog (Windows design)

tabset, status bar, ...


Take a look at the brand-new manual pages dedicated to Ruby:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net/ruby/index.html

There is currently only one Ruby specific examples inside the
Ruby manual pages, sorry.

The Ruby wrapper classes do not contain typed
properties or methods, such as for tracing variables.
These Ruby-tk specific features are best implemnted through
inheritance. The Ruby wrapper classes are be generated
from the Tcl/Tk source.


Some Details about the Libraries:

All the composite windows
use explicit naming conventions
--they are predeterministic-- to keep
bi-directional communication between
Tcl and Ruby minimal.

Most of the composite windows either use the
Tk canvas or TkPath pathCanvas window in their
implementation. This makes it possible to convert
all the composites into SVG.
The SVG generator is a separate --unpublished-- tool
and not bundled with the libraries.
The manual pages contain such SVGs generated from Tk.

TkPath is highly recommended to gain a
visually sophisticated GUI. The libraries
do also work without TkPath. TkPath is
based on CAIRO under X11 and bypasses the
Tk X11-emulation layer under Windows and OSX.


Download Packages:
geitems11.tgz -- Gestalt Items Library in Tcl/Tk
geitemsRuby11.tgz -- Ruby classes for above Gestalt Items

rtl30.tgz -- Runtime Library in Tcl/Tk
rtlruby30.tgz -- Ruby classes for above Runtime Library

Also see the original documentation at:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net

The Runtime Library (Tcl/Tk) is documented by two
books, the latest book is online at:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net/rtl/index.html

The Gestalt Items book:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net/geitems/index.html

All three books contain lots of Tcl/Tk examples
and screen shots (as bitmaps).


-roger

--=20
Michael Fellinger
CTO, The Rubyists, LLC
972-996-5199

 

[Arndt Roger Schneider]

Hi Arndt,

Just wanted to let you know of the library I'm currently working on:
http://github.com/manveru/ffi-tk
I'll go through your stuff, sounds really handy.

[snip]

Hi Michael,
your project lacks some documentation.

How does the interface differ from ruby-tk?
Only in the require statement?

What about custom properties--traces on variables?

I have a tool which generates wrapper classes from the
Tcl source code for python, ruby and lisp, support for your
library wouldn't be hard.

-roger

 

[Michael Fellinger]

Hi Arndt,

Just wanted to let you know of the library I'm currently working on:
http://github.com/manveru/ffi-tk
I'll go through your stuff, sounds really handy.

[snip]

Hi Michael,
your project lacks some documentation.

How does the interface differ from ruby-tk?
Only in the require statement?

What about custom properties--traces on variables?

I have a tool which generates wrapper classes from the
Tcl source code for python, ruby and lisp, support for your
library wouldn't be hard.

I'm sorry, the project is just a month old and just got usable
recently, still a few of the commands are missing.
I will try to improve the documentation and make a first release soon,
maybe within a week.
The interface differs from ruby-tk by not providing lots of aliases
and using the C API of Tcl/Tk a lot more.
You can take a look at the specs and examples to see how it is being
used, usual apps don't need a lot of change to run on FFI::Tk.
Thanks for the information.
I haven't found any information on TkPath, is it shipped with tk, or
do i need to compile anything to install it?

 

[Arndt Roger Schneider]

Michael Fellinger schrieb:
[snip]

Hi Michael,
your project lacks some documentation.

How does the interface differ from ruby-tk?
Only in the require statement?

What about custom properties--traces on variables?

I have a tool which generates wrapper classes from the
Tcl source code for python, ruby and lisp, support for your
library wouldn't be hard.

I'm sorry, the project is just a month old and just got usable
recently, still a few of the commands are missing.
I will try to improve the documentation and make a first release soon,
maybe within a week.
The interface differs from ruby-tk by not providing lots of aliases
and using the C API of Tcl/Tk a lot more.
You can take a look at the specs and examples to see how it is being
used, usual apps don't need a lot of change to run on FFI::Tk.
Thanks for the information.
I haven't found any information on TkPath, is it shipped with tk, or
do i need to compile anything to install it?

Yes it's a 3rd party package!

The Runtime Library and Gestalt Items
are independent from tkpath
--you just get a more sophisticated
Graphical User Interface with transparency and gradients

The Tcl-related documentation of the Runtime Library
contains a chapter on tkpath:
http://gestaltitems.sourceforge.net/rtl/RTL_Tkpath.html

In short the project is hosted at sourceforge under
http://tclbitprint.sourceforge.net/

Source code access through CVS:
# cvs tkpath:
cvs
-dserver:[email protected]:/cvsroot/tclbitprint
login
# gives you version 0.3.x
# [enter]
cvs -z3
-dserver:[email protected]:/cvsroot/tclbitprint
co -P tkpath


There are some administrative difficulties with tkpath right now.
I do recommend that you use a
stable older version (0.2.8 instead of the current 0.3 and 0.3.1).
The Runtime Library and Gestalt Items support both tkpath 0.2 and 0.3.x.

-roger