snit(n) Snit's Not Incr Tcl, OO system snit(n)______________________________________________________________________________NAMEsnit - Snit's Not Incr Tcl
SYNOPSIS
package require Tcl 8.5
package require snit ?2.3.2?
snit::type name definition
typevariable name ?-array? ?value?
typemethod name arglist body
typeconstructor body
variable name ?-array? ?value?
method name arglist body
option namespec ?defaultValue?
option namespec ?options...?
constructor arglist body
destructor body
proc name args body
delegate method name to comp ?as target?
delegate method name ?to comp? using pattern
delegate method * ?to comp? ?using pattern? ?except exceptions?
delegate option namespec to comp
delegate option namespec to comp as target
delegate option * to comp
delegate option * to comp except exceptions
component comp ?-public method? ?-inherit flag?
delegate typemethod name to comp ?as target?
delegate typemethod name ?to comp? using pattern
delegate typemethod * ?to comp? ?using pattern? ?except exceptions?
typecomponent comp ?-public typemethod? ?-inherit flag?
pragma ?options...?
expose comp
expose comp as method
onconfigure name arglist body
oncget name body
snit::widget name definition
widgetclass name
hulltype type
snit::widgetadaptor name definition
snit::typemethod type name arglist body
snit::method type name arglist body
snit::macro name arglist body
snit::compile which type body
$type typemethod args...
$type create name ?option value ...?
$type info typevars ?pattern?
$type info typemethods ?pattern?
$type info args method
$type info body method
$type info default method aname varname
$type info instances ?pattern?
$type destroy
$object method args...
$object configure ?option? ?value? ...
$object configurelist optionlist
$object cget option
$object destroy
$object info type
$object info vars ?pattern?
$object info typevars ?pattern?
$object info typemethods ?pattern?
$object info options ?pattern?
$object info methods ?pattern?
$object info args method
$object info body method
$object info default method aname varname
mymethod name ?args...?
mytypemethod name ?args...?
myproc name ?args...?
myvar name
mytypevar name
from argvName option ?defvalue?
install compName using objType objName args...
installhull using widgetType args...
installhull name
variable name
typevariable name
varname name
typevarname name
codename name
snit::boolean validate ?value?
snit::boolean name
snit::double validate ?value?
snit::double name ?option value...?
snit::enum validate ?value?
snit::enum name ?option value...?
snit::fpixels validate ?value?
snit::fpixels name ?option value...?
snit::integer validate ?value?
snit::integer name ?option value...?
snit::listtype validate ?value?
snit::listtype name ?option value...?
snit::pixels validate ?value?
snit::pixels name ?option value...?
snit::stringtype validate ?value?
snit::stringtype name ?option value...?
snit::window validate ?value?
snit::window name
_________________________________________________________________DESCRIPTION
Snit is a pure Tcl object and megawidget system. It's unique among Tcl
object systems in that it's based not on inheritance but on delegation.
Object systems based on inheritance only allow you to inherit from
classes defined using the same system, which is limiting. In Tcl, an
object is anything that acts like an object; it shouldn't matter how
the object was implemented. Snit is intended to help you build appli‐
cations out of the materials at hand; thus, Snit is designed to be able
to incorporate and build on any object, whether it's a hand-coded
object, a Tk widget, an Incr Tcl object, a BWidget or almost anything
else.
This man page is intended to be a reference only; see the accompanying
snitfaq for a gentler, more tutorial introduction to Snit concepts.
SNIT VERSIONS
This man page covers both Snit 2.2 and Snit 1.3. The primary differ‐
ence between the two versions is simply that Snit 2.2 contains speed
optimizations based on new features of Tcl 8.5; Snit 1.3 supports all
of Tcl 8.3, 8.4 and Tcl 8.5. There are a few minor inconsistencies;
they are flagged in the body of the man page with the label "Snit 1.x
Incompatibility"; they are also discussed in the snitfaq.
REFERENCE
TYPE AND WIDGET DEFINITIONS
Snit provides the following commands for defining new types:
snit::type name definition
Defines a new abstract data type called name. If name is not a
fully qualified command name, it is assumed to be a name in the
namespace in which the snit::type command was called (usually
the global namespace). It returns the fully qualified name of
the new type.
The type name is then a command that is used to create objects
of the new type, along with other activities.
The snit::type definition block is a script that may contain the
following definitions:
typevariable name ?-array? ?value?
Defines a type variable with the specified name, and
optionally the specified value. Type variables are
shared by all instances of the type. If the -array
option is included, then value should be a dictionary; it
will be assigned to the variable using array set.
typemethod name arglist body
Defines a type method, a subcommand of the new type com‐
mand, with the specified name, argument list, and body.
The arglist is a normal Tcl argument list and may contain
default arguments and the args argument; however, it may
not contain the argument names type, self, selfns, or
win.
The variable type is automatically defined in the body to
the type's fully-qualified name. In addition, type vari‐
ables are automatically visible in the body of every type
method.
If the name consists of two or more tokens, Snit handles
it specially:
typemethod {a b} {arg} { puts "Got $arg" }
This statement implicitly defines a type method called a
which has a subcommand b. b is called like this:
$type a b "Hello, world!"
a may have any number of subcommands. This makes it pos‐
sible to define a hierarchical command structure; see
method, below, for more examples.
Type methods can call commands from the namespace in
which the type is defined without importing them, e.g.,
if the type name is ::parentns::typename, then the type's
type methods can call ::parentns::someproc just as some‐
proc. Snit 1.x Incompatibility: This does not work in
Snit 1.x, as it depends on namespace path, a new command
in Tcl 8.5.
Snit 1.x Incompatibility: In Snit 1.x, the following fol‐
lowing two calls to this type method are equivalent:
$type a b "Hello, world!"
$type {a b} "Hello, world!"
In Snit 2.2, the second form is invalid.
typeconstructor body
The type constructor's body is executed once when the
type is first defined; it is typically used to initialize
array-valued type variables and to add entries to The Tk
Option Database.
The variable type is automatically defined in the body,
and contains the type's fully-qualified name. In addi‐
tion, type variables are automatically visible in the
body of the type constructor.
A type may define at most one type constructor.
The type constructor can call commands from the namespace
in which the type is defined without importing them,
e.g., if the type name is ::parentns::typename, then the
type constructor can call ::parentns::someproc just as
someproc. Snit 1.x Incompatibility: This does not work
in Snit 1.x, as it depends on namespace path, a new com‐
mand in Tcl 8.5.
variable name ?-array? ?value?
Defines an instance variable, a private variable associ‐
ated with each instance of this type, and optionally its
initial value. If the -array option is included, then
value should be a dictionary; it will be assigned to the
variable using array set.
method name arglist body
Defines an instance method, a subcommand of each instance
of this type, with the specified name, argument list and
body. The arglist is a normal Tcl argument list and may
contain default arguments and the args argument.
The method is implicitly passed the following arguments
as well: type, which contains the fully-qualified type
name; self, which contains the current instance command
name; selfns, which contains the name of the instance's
private namespace; and win, which contains the original
instance name. Consequently, the arglist may not contain
the argument names type, self, selfns, or win.
An instance method defined in this way is said to be
locally defined.
Type and instance variables are automatically visible in
all instance methods. If the type has locally defined
options, the options array is also visible.
If the name consists of two or more tokens, Snit handles
it specially:
method {a b} {} { ... }
This statement implicitly defines a method called a which
has a subcommand b. b is called like this:
$self a b "Hello, world!"
a may have any number of subcommands. This makes it pos‐
sible to define a hierarchical command structure:
% snit::type dog {
method {tail wag} {} {return "Wag, wag"}
method {tail droop} {} {return "Droop, droop"}
}
::dog
% dog spot
::spot
% spot tail wag
Wag, wag
% spot tail droop
Droop, droop
%
What we've done is implicitly defined a "tail" method
with subcommands "wag" and "droop". Consequently, it's
an error to define "tail" explicitly.
Methods can call commands from the namespace in which the
type is defined without importing them, e.g., if the type
name is ::parentns::typename, then the type's methods can
call ::parentns::someproc just as someproc. Snit 1.x
Incompatibility: This does not work in Snit 1.x, as it
depends on namespace path, a new command in Tcl 8.5.
Snit 1.x Incompatibility: In Snit 1.x, the following fol‐
lowing two calls to this method are equivalent:
$self a b "Hello, world!"
$self {a b} "Hello, world!"
In Snit 2.2, the second form is invalid.
option namespec ?defaultValue?
option namespec ?options...?
Defines an option for instances of this type, and option‐
ally gives it an initial value. The initial value
defaults to the empty string if no defaultValue is speci‐
fied.
An option defined in this way is said to be locally
defined.
The namespec is a list defining the option's name,
resource name, and class name, e.g.:
option {-font font Font} {Courier 12}
The option name must begin with a hyphen, and must not
contain any upper case letters. The resource name and
class name are optional; if not specified, the resource
name defaults to the option name, minus the hyphen, and
the class name defaults to the resource name with the
first letter capitalized. Thus, the following statement
is equivalent to the previous example:
option -font {Courier 12}
See The Tk Option Database for more information about
resource and class names.
Options are normally set and retrieved using the standard
instance methods configure and cget; within instance code
(method bodies, etc.), option values are available
through the options array:
set myfont $options(-font)
If the type defines any option handlers (e.g., -config‐
uremethod), then it should probably use configure and
cget to access its options to avoid subtle errors.
The option statement may include the following options:
-default defvalue
Defines the option's default value; the option's
default value will be "" otherwise.
-readonly flag
The flag can be any Boolean value recognized by
Tcl. If flag is true, then the option is read-
only--it can only be set using configure or con‐
figurelist at creation time, i.e., in the type's
constructor.
-type type
Every locally-defined option may define its vali‐
dation type, which may be either the name of a
validation type or a specification for a valida‐
tion subtype
For example, an option may declare that its value
must be an integer by specifying snit::integer as
its validation type:
option -number -type snit::integer
It may also declare that its value is an integer
between 1 and 10 by specifying a validation sub‐
type:
option -number -type {snit::integer -min 1 -max 10}
If a validation type or subtype is defined for an
option, then it will be used to validate the
option's value whenever it is changed by the
object's configure or configurelist methods. In
addition, all such options will have their values
validated automatically immediately after the con‐
structor executes.
Snit defines a family of validation types and sub‐
types, and it's quite simple to define new ones.
See Validation Types for the complete list, and
Defining Validation Types for an explanation of
how to define your own.
-cgetmethod methodName
Every locally-defined option may define a -cget‐
method; it is called when the option's value is
retrieved using the cget method. Whatever the
method's body returns will be the return value of
the call to cget.
The named method must take one argument, the
option name. For example, this code is equivalent
to (though slower than) Snit's default handling of
cget:
option -font -cgetmethod GetOption
method GetOption {option} {
return $options($option)
}
Note that it's possible for any number of options
to share a -cgetmethod.
-configuremethod methodName
Every locally-defined option may define a -config‐
uremethod; it is called when the option's value is
set using the configure or configurelist methods.
It is the named method's responsibility to save
the option's value; in other words, the value will
not be saved to the options() array unless the
method saves it there.
The named method must take two arguments, the
option name and its new value. For example, this
code is equivalent to (though slower than) Snit's
default handling of configure:
option -font -configuremethod SetOption
method SetOption {option value} {
set options($option) $value
}
Note that it's possible for any number of options
to share a single -configuremethod.
-validatemethod methodName
Every locally-defined option may define a -vali‐
datemethod; it is called when the option's value
is set using the configure or configurelist meth‐
ods, just before the -configuremethod (if any).
It is the named method's responsibility to vali‐
date the option's new value, and to throw an error
if the value is invalid.
The named method must take two arguments, the
option name and its new value. For example, this
code verifies that -flag's value is a valid Bool‐
ean value:
option -font -validatemethod CheckBoolean
method CheckBoolean {option value} {
if {![string is boolean -strict $value]} {
error "option $option must have a boolean value."
}
}
Note that it's possible for any number of options
to share a single -validatemethod.
constructor arglist body
The constructor definition specifies a body of code to be
executed when a new instance is created. The arglist is
a normal Tcl argument list and may contain default argu‐
ments and the args argument.
As with methods, the arguments type, self, selfns, and
win are defined implicitly, and all type and instance
variables are automatically visible in its body.
If the definition doesn't explicitly define the construc‐
tor, Snit defines one implicitly. If the type declares
at least one option (whether locally or by delegation),
the default constructor will be defined as follows:
constructor {args} {
$self configurelist $args
}
For standard Tk widget behavior, the argument list should
be the single name args, as shown.
If the definition defines neither a constructor nor any
options, the default constructor is defined as follows:
constructor {} {}
As with methods, the constructor can call commands from
the namespace in which the type is defined without
importing them, e.g., if the type name is ::par‐
entns::typename, then the constructor can call ::par‐
entns::someproc just as someproc. Snit 1.x Incompatibil‐
ity: This does not work in Snit 1.x, as it depends on
namespace path, a new command in Tcl 8.5.
destructor body
The destructor is used to code any actions that must take
place when an instance of the type is destroyed: typi‐
cally, the destruction of anything created in the con‐
structor.
The destructor takes no explicit arguments; as with meth‐
ods, the arguments type, self, selfns, and win, are
defined implicitly, and all type and instance variables
are automatically visible in its body. As with methods,
the destructor can call commands from the namespace in
which the type is defined without importing them, e.g.,
if the type name is ::parentns::typename, then the
destructor can call ::parentns::someproc just as some‐
proc. Snit 1.x Incompatibility: This does not work in
Snit 1.x, as it depends on namespace path, a new command
in Tcl 8.5.
proc name args body
Defines a new Tcl procedure in the type's namespace.
The defined proc differs from a normal Tcl proc in that
all type variables are automatically visible. The proc
can access instance variables as well, provided that it
is passed selfns (with precisely that name) as one of its
arguments.
Although they are not implicitly defined for procs, the
argument names type, self, and win should be avoided.
As with methods and typemethods, procs can call commands
from the namespace in which the type is defined without
importing them, e.g., if the type name is ::par‐
entns::typename, then the proc can call ::parentns::some‐
proc just as someproc. Snit 1.x Incompatibility: This
does not work in Snit 1.x, as it depends on namespace
path, a new command in Tcl 8.5.
delegate method name to comp ?as target?
Delegates method name to component comp. That is, when
method name is called on an instance of this type, the
method and its arguments will be passed to the named com‐
ponent's command instead. That is, the following state‐
ment
delegate method wag to tail
is roughly equivalent to this explicitly defined method:
method wag {args} {
uplevel $tail wag $args
}
As with methods, the name may have multiple tokens; in
this case, the last token of the name is assumed to be
the name of the component's method.
The optional as clause allows you to specify the dele‐
gated method name and possibly add some arguments:
delegate method wagtail to tail as "wag briskly"
A method cannot be both locally defined and delegated.
Note: All forms of delegate method can delegate to both instance
components and type components.
delegate method name ?to comp? using pattern
In this form of the delegate statement, the using clause
is used to specify the precise form of the command to
which method name name is delegated. In this form, the
to clause is optional, since the chosen command might not
involve any particular component.
The value of the using clause is a list that may contain
any or all of the following substitution codes; these
codes are substituted with the described value to build
the delegated command prefix. Note that the following
two statements are equivalent:
delegate method wag to tail
delegate method wag to tail using "%c %m"
Each element of the list becomes a single element of the
delegated command--it is never reparsed as a string.
Substitutions:
%% This is replaced with a single "%". Thus, to pass
the string "%c" to the command as an argument,
you'd write "%%c".
%c This is replaced with the named component's com‐
mand.
%m This is replaced with the final token of the
method name; if the method name has one token,
this is identical to %M.
%M This is replaced by the method name; if the name
consists of multiple tokens, they are joined by
space characters.
%j This is replaced by the method name; if the name
consists of multiple tokens, they are joined by
underscores ("_").
%t This is replaced with the fully qualified type
name.
%n This is replaced with the name of the instance's
private namespace.
%s This is replaced with the name of the instance
command.
%w This is replaced with the original name of the
instance command; for Snit widgets and widget
adaptors, it will be the Tk window name. It
remains constant, even if the instance command is
renamed.
delegate method * ?to comp? ?using pattern? ?except exceptions?
The form delegate method * delegates all unknown method
names to the specified component. The except clause can
be used to specify a list of exceptions, i.e., method
names that will not be so delegated. The using clause is
defined as given above. In this form, the statement must
contain the to clause, the using clause, or both.
In fact, the "*" can be a list of two or more tokens
whose last element is "*", as in the following example:
delegate method {tail *} to tail
This implicitly defines the method tail whose subcommands
will be delegated to the tail component.
delegate option namespec to comp
delegate option namespec to comp as target
delegate option * to comp
delegate option * to comp except exceptions
Defines a delegated option; the namespec is defined as
for the option statement. When the configure, config‐
urelist, or cget instance method is used to set or
retrieve the option's value, the equivalent configure or
cget command will be applied to the component as though
the option was defined with the following -config‐
uremethod and -cgetmethod:
method ConfigureMethod {option value} {
$comp configure $option $value
}
method CgetMethod {option} {
return [$comp cget $option]
}
Note that delegated options never appear in the options
array.
If the as clause is specified, then the target option
name is used in place of name.
The form delegate option * delegates all unknown options
to the specified component. The except clause can be
used to specify a list of exceptions, i.e., option names
that will not be so delegated.
Warning: options can only be delegated to a component if
it supports the configure and cget instance methods.
An option cannot be both locally defined and delegated.
TBD: Continue from here.
component comp ?-public method? ?-inherit flag?
Explicitly declares a component called comp, and automat‐
ically defines the component's instance variable.
If the -public option is specified, then the option is
made public by defining a method whose subcommands are
delegated to the component e.g., specifying -public
mycomp is equivalent to the following:
component mycomp
delegate method {mymethod *} to mycomp
If the -inherit option is specified, then flag must be a
Boolean value; if flag is true then all unknown methods
and options will be delegated to this component. The
name -inherit implies that instances of this new type
inherit, in a sense, the methods and options of the com‐
ponent. That is, -inherit yes is equivalent to:
component mycomp
delegate option * to mycomp
delegate method * to mycomp
delegate typemethod name to comp ?as target?
Delegates type method name to type component comp. That
is, when type method name is called on this type, the
type method and its arguments will be passed to the named
type component's command instead. That is, the following
statement
delegate typemethod lostdogs to pound
is roughly equivalent to this explicitly defined method:
typemethod lostdogs {args} {
uplevel $pound lostdogs $args
}
As with type methods, the name may have multiple tokens;
in this case, the last token of the name is assumed to be
the name of the component's method.
The optional as clause allows you to specify the dele‐
gated method name and possibly add some arguments:
delegate typemethod lostdogs to pound as "get lostdogs"
A type method cannot be both locally defined and delegated.
delegate typemethod name ?to comp? using pattern
In this form of the delegate statement, the using clause
is used to specify the precise form of the command to
which type method name name is delegated. In this form,
the to clause is optional, since the chosen command might
not involve any particular type component.
The value of the using clause is a list that may contain
any or all of the following substitution codes; these
codes are substituted with the described value to build
the delegated command prefix. Note that the following
two statements are equivalent:
delegate typemethod lostdogs to pound
delegate typemethod lostdogs to pound using "%c %m"
Each element of the list becomes a single element of the
delegated command--it is never reparsed as a string.
Substitutions:
%% This is replaced with a single "%". Thus, to pass
the string "%c" to the command as an argument,
you'd write "%%c".
%c This is replaced with the named type component's
command.
%m This is replaced with the final token of the type
method name; if the type method name has one
token, this is identical to %M.
%M This is replaced by the type method name; if the
name consists of multiple tokens, they are joined
by space characters.
%j This is replaced by the type method name; if the
name consists of multiple tokens, they are joined
by underscores ("_").
%t This is replaced with the fully qualified type
name.
delegate typemethod * ?to comp? ?using pattern? ?except excep‐
tions?
The form delegate typemethod * delegates all unknown type
method names to the specified type component. The except
clause can be used to specify a list of exceptions, i.e.,
type method names that will not be so delegated. The
using clause is defined as given above. In this form,
the statement must contain the to clause, the using
clause, or both.
Note: By default, Snit interprets $type foo, where foo is
not a defined type method, as equivalent to $type create
foo, where foo is the name of a new instance of the type.
If you use delegate typemethod *, then the create type
method must always be used explicitly.
The "*" can be a list of two or more tokens whose last
element is "*", as in the following example:
delegate typemethod {tail *} to tail
This implicitly defines the type method tail whose sub‐
commands will be delegated to the tail type component.
typecomponent comp ?-public typemethod? ?-inherit flag?
Explicitly declares a type component called comp, and
automatically defines the component's type variable. A
type component is an arbitrary command to which type
methods and instance methods can be delegated; the com‐
mand's name is stored in a type variable.
If the -public option is specified, then the type compo‐
nent is made public by defining a typemethod whose sub‐
commands are delegated to the type component, e.g., spec‐
ifying -public mytypemethod is equivalent to the follow‐
ing:
typecomponent mycomp
delegate typemethod {mytypemethod *} to mycomp
If the -inherit option is specified, then flag must be a
Boolean value; if flag is true then all unknown type
methods will be delegated to this type component. (See
the note on "delegate typemethod *", above.) The name
-inherit implies that this type inherits, in a sense, the
behavior of the type component. That is, -inherit yes is
equivalent to:
typecomponent mycomp
delegate typemethod * to mycomp
pragma ?options...?
The pragma statement provides control over how Snit gen‐
erates a type. It takes the following options; in each
case, flag must be a Boolean value recognized by Tcl,
e.g., 0, 1, yes, no, and so on.
By setting the -hastypeinfo, -hastypedestroy, and -hasin‐
stances pragmas to false and defining appropriate type
methods, you can create an ensemble command without any
extraneous behavior.
-canreplace flag
If false (the default) Snit will not create an
instance of a snit::type that has the same name as
an existing command; this prevents subtle errors.
Setting this pragma to true restores the behavior
of Snit V0.93 and earlier versions.
-hastypeinfo flag
If true (the default), the generated type will
have a type method called info that is used for
type introspection; the info type method is docu‐
mented below. If false, it will not.
-hastypedestroy flag
If true (the default), the generated type will
have a type method called destroy that is used to
destroy the type and all of its instances. The
destroy type method is documented below. If
false, it will not.
-hastypemethods flag
If true (the default), the generated type's type
command will have subcommands (type methods) as
usual. If false, the type command will serve only
to create instances of the type; the first argu‐
ment is the instance name.
This pragma and -hasinstances cannot both be set
false.
-hasinstances flag
If true (the default), the generated type will
have a type method called create that is used to
create instances of the type, along with a variety
of instance-related features. If false, it will
not.
This pragma and -hastypemethods cannot both be set
false.
-hasinfo flag
If true (the default), instances of the generated
type will have an instance method called info that
is used for instance introspection; the info
method is documented below. If false, it will
not.
-simpledispatch flag
This pragma is intended to make simple, heavily-
used abstract data types (e.g., stacks and queues)
more efficient.
If false (the default), instance methods are dis‐
patched normally. If true, a faster dispatching
scheme is used instead. The speed comes at a
price; with -simpledispatch yes you get the fol‐
lowing limitations:
· Methods cannot be delegated.
· uplevel and upvar do not work as expected:
the caller's scope is two levels up rather
than one.
· The option-handling methods (cget, config‐
ure, and configurelist) are very slightly
slower.
expose comp
expose comp as method
Deprecated. To expose component comp publicly, use com‐
ponent's -public option.
onconfigure name arglist body
Deprecated. Define option's -configuremethod option
instead.
As of version 0.95, the following definitions,
option -myoption
onconfigure -myoption {value} {
# Code to save the option's value
}
are implemented as follows:
option -myoption -configuremethod _configure-myoption
method _configure-myoption {_option value} {
# Code to save the option's value
}
oncget name body
Deprecated. Define option's -cgetmethod option instead.
As of version 0.95, the following definitions,
option -myoption
oncget -myoption {
# Code to return the option's value
}
are implemented as follows:
option -myoption -cgetmethod _cget-myoption
method _cget-myoption {_option} {
# Code to return the option's value
}
snit::widget name definition
This command defines a Snit megawidget type with the specified
name. The definition is defined as for snit::type. A
snit::widget differs from a snit::type in these ways:
· Every instance of a snit::widget has an automatically-
created component called hull, which is normally a Tk
frame widget. Other widgets created as part of the
megawidget will be created within this widget.
The hull component is initially created with the
requested widget name; then Snit does some magic, renam‐
ing the hull component and installing its own instance
command in its place. The hull component's new name is
saved in an instance variable called hull.
· The name of an instance must be valid Tk window name, and
the parent window must exist.
A snit::widget definition can include any of statements allowed
in a snit::type definition, and may also include the following:
widgetclass name
Sets the snit::widget's widget class to name, overriding
the default. See The Tk Option Database for more infor‐
mation.
hulltype type
Determines the kind of widget used as the snit::widget's
hull. The type may be frame (the default), toplevel,
labelframe; the qualified equivalents of these,
tk::frame, tk::toplevel, and tk::labelframe; or, if
available, the equivalent Tile widgets: ttk::frame,
ttk::toplevel, and ttk::labelframe. In practice, any
widget that supports the -class option can be used as a
hull widget by lappend'ing its name to the variable
snit::hulltypes.
snit::widgetadaptor name definition
This command defines a Snit megawidget type with the specified
name. It differs from snit::widget in that the instance's hull
component is not created automatically, but is created in the
constructor and installed using the installhull command. Once
the hull is installed, its instance command is renamed and
replaced as with normal snit::widgets. The original command is
again accessible in the instance variable hull.
Note that in general it is not possible to change the widget
class of a snit::widgetadaptor's hull widget.
See The Tk Option Database for information on how snit::wid‐
getadaptors interact with the option database.
snit::typemethod type name arglist body
Defines a new type method (or redefines an existing type method)
for a previously existing type.
snit::method type name arglist body
Defines a new instance method (or redefines an existing instance
method) for a previously existing type. Note that delegated
instance methods can't be redefined.
snit::macro name arglist body
Defines a Snit macro with the specified name, arglist, and body.
Macros are used to define new type and widget definition state‐
ments in terms of the statements defined in this man page.
A macro is simply a Tcl proc that is defined in the slave inter‐
preter used to compile type and widget definitions. Thus,
macros have access to all of the type and widget definition
statements. See Macros and Meta-programming for more details.
The macro name cannot be the same as any standard Tcl command,
or any Snit type or widget definition statement, e.g., you can't
redefine the method or delegate statements, or the standard set,
list, or string commands.
snit::compile which type body
Snit defines a type, widget, or widgetadaptor by "compiling" the
definition into a Tcl script; this script is then evaluated in
the Tcl interpreter, which actually defines the new type.
This command exposes the "compiler". Given a definition body
for the named type, where which is type, widget, or widgetadap‐
tor, snit::compile returns a list of two elements. The first
element is the fully qualified type name; the second element is
the definition script.
snit::compile is useful when additional processing must be done
on the Snit-generated code--if it must be instrumented, for
example, or run through the TclDevKit compiler. In addition,
the returned script could be saved in a ".tcl" file and used to
define the type as part of an application or library, thus sav‐
ing the compilation overhead at application start-up. Note that
the same version of Snit must be used at run-time as at compile-
time.
THE TYPE COMMAND
A type or widget definition creates a type command, which is used to
create instances of the type. The type command has this form:
$type typemethod args...
The typemethod can be any of the Standard Type Methods (e.g.,
create), or any type method defined in the type definition. The
subsequent args depend on the specific typemethod chosen.
The type command is most often used to create new instances of
the type; hence, the create method is assumed if the first argu‐
ment to the type command doesn't name a valid type method,
unless the type definition includes delegate typemethod * or the
-hasinstances pragma is set to false.
Furthermore, if the -hastypemethods pragma is false, then Snit
type commands can be called with no arguments at all; in this
case, the type command creates an instance with an automatically
generated name. In other words, provided that the -hastypemeth‐
ods pragma is false and the type has instances, the following
commands are equivalent:
snit::type dog { ... }
set mydog [dog create %AUTO%]
set mydog [dog %AUTO%]
set mydog [dog]
This doesn't work for Snit widgets, for obvious reasons.
Snit 1.x Incompatibility: In Snit 1.x, the above behavior is
available whether -hastypemethods is true (the default) or
false.
STANDARD TYPE METHODS
In addition to any type methods in the type's definition, all type and
widget commands will usually have at least the following subcommands:
$type create name ?option value ...?
Creates a new instance of the type, giving it the specified name
and calling the type's constructor.
For snit::types, if name is not a fully-qualified command name,
it is assumed to be a name in the namespace in which the call to
snit::type appears. The method returns the fully-qualified
instance name.
For snit::widgets and snit::widgetadaptors, name must be a valid
widget name; the method returns the widget name.
So long as name does not conflict with any defined type method
name the create keyword may be omitted, unless the type defini‐
tion includes delegate typemethod * or the -hasinstances pragma
is set to false.
If the name includes the string %AUTO%, it will be replaced with
the string $type$counter where $type is the type name and
$counter is a counter that increments each time %AUTO% is used
for this type.
By default, any arguments following the name will be a list of
option names and their values; however, a type's constructor can
specify a different argument list.
As of Snit V0.95, create will throw an error if the name is the
same as any existing command--note that this was always true for
snit::widgets and snit::widgetadaptors. You can restore the
previous behavior using the -canreplace pragma.
$type info typevars ?pattern?
Returns a list of the type's type variables (excluding Snit
internal variables); all variable names are fully-qualified.
If pattern is given, it's used as a string match pattern; only
names that match the pattern are returned.
$type info typemethods ?pattern?
Returns a list of the names of the type's type methods. If the
type has hierarchical type methods, whether locally-defined or
delegated, only the first word of each will be included in the
list.
If the type definition includes delegate typemethod *, the list
will include only the names of those implicitly delegated type
methods that have been called at least once and are still in the
type method cache.
If pattern is given, it's used as a string match pattern; only
names that match the pattern are returned.
$type info args method
Returns a list containing the names of the arguments to the
type's method, in order. This method cannot be applied to dele‐
gated type methods.
$type info body method
Returns the body of typemethod method. This method cannot be
applied to delegated type methods.
$type info default method aname varname
Returns a boolean value indicating whether the argument aname of
the type's method has a default value (true) or not (false). If
the argument has a default its value is placed into the variable
varname.
$type info instances ?pattern?
Returns a list of the type's instances. For snit::types, it
will be a list of fully-qualified instance names; for snit::wid‐
gets, it will be a list of Tk widget names.
If pattern is given, it's used as a string match pattern; only
names that match the pattern are returned.
Snit 1.x Incompatibility: In Snit 1.x, the full multi-word
names of hierarchical type methods are included in the return
value.
$type destroy
Destroys the type's instances, the type's namespace, and the
type command itself.
THE INSTANCE COMMAND
A Snit type or widget's create type method creates objects of the type;
each object has a unique name that is also a Tcl command. This command
is used to access the object's methods and data, and has this form:
$object method args...
The method can be any of the Standard Instance Methods, or any
instance method defined in the type definition. The subsequent
args depend on the specific method chosen.
STANDARD INSTANCE METHODS
In addition to any delegated or locally-defined instance methods in the
type's definition, all Snit objects will have at least the following
subcommands:
$object configure ?option? ?value? ...
Assigns new values to one or more options. If called with one
argument, an option name, returns a list describing the option,
as Tk widgets do; if called with no arguments, returns a list of
lists describing all options, as Tk widgets do.
Warning: This information will be available for delegated
options only if the component to which they are delegated has a
configure method that returns this same kind of information.
Note: Snit defines this method only if the type has at least one
option.
$object configurelist optionlist
Like configure, but takes one argument, a list of options and
their values. It's mostly useful in the type constructor, but
can be used anywhere.
Note: Snit defines this method only if the type has at least one
option.
$object cget option
Returns the option's value.
Note: Snit defines this method only if the type has at least one
option.
$object destroy
Destroys the object, calling the destructor and freeing all
related memory.
Note: The destroy method isn't defined for snit::widget or
snit::widgetadaptor objects; instances of these are destroyed by
calling Tk's destroy command, just as normal widgets are.
$object info type
Returns the instance's type.
$object info vars ?pattern?
Returns a list of the object's instance variables (excluding
Snit internal variables). The names are fully qualified.
If pattern is given, it's used as a string match pattern; only
names that match the pattern are returned.
$object info typevars ?pattern?
Returns a list of the object's type's type variables (excluding
Snit internal variables). The names are fully qualified.
If pattern is given, it's used as a string match pattern; only
names that match the pattern are returned.
$object info typemethods ?pattern?
Returns a list of the names of the type's type methods. If the
type has hierarchical type methods, whether locally-defined or
delegated, only the first word of each will be included in the
list.
If the type definition includes delegate typemethod *, the list
will include only the names of those implicitly delegated type
methods that have been called at least once and are still in the
type method cache.
If pattern is given, it's used as a string match pattern; only
names that match the pattern are returned.
Snit 1.x Incompatibility: In Snit 1.x, the full multi-word
names of hierarchical type methods are included in the return
value.
$object info options ?pattern?
Returns a list of the object's option names. This always
includes local options and explicitly delegated options. If
unknown options are delegated as well, and if the component to
which they are delegated responds to $object configure like Tk
widgets do, then the result will include all possible unknown
options that can be delegated to the component.
If pattern is given, it's used as a string match pattern; only
names that match the pattern are returned.
Note that the return value might be different for different
instances of the same type, if component object types can vary
from one instance to another.
$object info methods ?pattern?
Returns a list of the names of the instance's methods. If the
type has hierarchical methods, whether locally-defined or dele‐
gated, only the first word of each will be included in the list.
If the type definition includes delegate method *, the list will
include only the names of those implicitly delegated methods
that have been called at least once and are still in the method
cache.
If pattern is given, it's used as a string match pattern; only
names that match the pattern are returned.
Snit 1.x Incompatibility: In Snit 1.x, the full multi-word
names of hierarchical type methods are included in the return
value.
$object info args method
Returns a list containing the names of the arguments to the
instance's method, in order. This method cannot be applied to
delegated methods.
$object info body method
Returns the body of the instance's method method. This method
cannot be applied to delegated methods.
$object info default method aname varname
Returns a boolean value indicating whether the argument aname of
the instance's method has a default value (true) or not (false).
If the argument has a default its value is placed into the vari‐
able varname.
COMMANDS FOR USE IN OBJECT CODE
Snit defines the following commands for use in your object code: that
is, for use in type methods, instance methods, constructors, destruc‐
tors, onconfigure handlers, oncget handlers, and procs. They do not
reside in the ::snit:: namespace; instead, they are created with the
type, and can be used without qualification.
mymethod name ?args...?
The mymethod command is used for formatting callback commands to
be passed to other objects. It returns a command that when
called will invoke method name with the specified arguments,
plus of course any arguments added by the caller. In other
words, both of the following commands will cause the object's
dosomething method to be called when the $button is pressed:
$button configure -command [list $self dosomething myargument]
$button configure -command [mymethod dosomething myargument]
The chief distinction between the two is that the latter form
will not break if the object's command is renamed.
mytypemethod name ?args...?
The mytypemethod command is used for formatting callback com‐
mands to be passed to other objects. It returns a command that
when called will invoke type method name with the specified
arguments, plus of course any arguments added by the caller. In
other words, both of the following commands will cause the
object's dosomething type method to be called when $button is
pressed:
$button configure -command [list $type dosomething myargument]
$button configure -command [mytypemethod dosomething myargument]
Type commands cannot be renamed, so in practice there's little
difference between the two forms. mytypemethod is provided for
parallelism with mymethod.
myproc name ?args...?
The myproc command is used for formatting callback commands to
be passed to other objects. It returns a command that when
called will invoke the type proc name with the specified argu‐
ments, plus of course any arguments added by the caller. In
other words, both of the following commands will cause the
object's dosomething proc to be called when $button is pressed:
$button configure -command [list ${type}::dosomething myargument]
$button configure -command [myproc dosomething myargument]
myvar name
Given an instance variable name, returns the fully qualified
name. Use this if you're passing the variable to some other
object, e.g., as a -textvariable to a Tk label widget.
mytypevar name
Given an type variable name, returns the fully qualified name.
Use this if you're passing the variable to some other object,
e.g., as a -textvariable to a Tk label widget.
from argvName option ?defvalue?
The from command plucks an option value from a list of options
and their values, such as is passed into a type's constructor.
argvName must be the name of a variable containing such a list;
option is the name of the specific option.
from looks for option in the option list. If it is found, it
and its value are removed from the list, and the value is
returned. If option doesn't appear in the list, then the def‐
value is returned. If the option is locally-defined option, and
defvalue is not specified, then the option's default value as
specified in the type definition will be returned instead.
install compName using objType objName args...
Creates a new object of type objType called objName and installs
it as component compName, as described in Components and Delega‐
tion. Any additional args... are passed along with the name to
the objType command. If this is a snit::type, then the follow‐
ing two commands are equivalent:
install myComp using myObjType $self.myComp args...
set myComp [myObjType $self.myComp args...]
Note that whichever method is used, compName must still be
declared in the type definition using component, or must be ref‐
erenced in at least one delegate statement.
If this is a snit::widget or snit::widgetadaptor, and if options
have been delegated to component compName, then those options
will receive default values from the Tk option database. Note
that it doesn't matter whether the component to be installed is
a widget or not. See The Tk Option Database for more informa‐
tion.
install cannot be used to install type components; just assign
the type component's command name to the type component's vari‐
able instead.
installhull using widgetType args...
installhull name
The constructor of a snit::widgetadaptor must create a widget to
be the object's hull component; the widget is installed as the
hull component using this command. Note that the installed wid‐
get's name must be $win. This command has two forms.
The first form specifies the widgetType and the args... (that
is, the hardcoded option list) to use in creating the hull.
Given this form, installhull creates the hull widget, and ini‐
tializes any options delegated to the hull from the Tk option
database.
In the second form, the hull widget has already been created;
note that its name must be "$win". In this case, the Tk option
database is not queried for any options delegated to the hull.
The longer form is preferred; however, the shorter form allows
the programmer to adapt a widget created elsewhere, which is
sometimes useful. For example, it can be used to adapt a "page"
widget created by a BWidgets tabbed notebook or pages manager
widget.
See The Tk Option Database for more information about snit::wid‐
getadaptors and the option database.
variable name
Normally, instance variables are defined in the type definition
along with the options, methods, and so forth; such instance
variables are automatically visible in all instance code (e.g.,
method bodies). However, instance code can use the variable
command to declare instance variables that don't appear in the
type definition, and also to bring variables from other names‐
paces into scope in the usual way.
It's generally clearest to define all instance variables in the
type definition, and omit declaring them in methods and so
forth.
Note that this is an instance-specific version of the standard
Tcl ::variable command.
typevariable name
Normally, type variables are defined in the type definition,
along with the instance variables; such type variables are auto‐
matically visible in all of the type's code. However, type
methods, instance methods and so forth can use typevariable to
declare type variables that don't appear in the type definition.
It's generally clearest to declare all type variables in the
type definition, and omit declaring them in methods, type meth‐
ods, etc.
varname name
Deprecated. Use myvar instead.
Given an instance variable name, returns the fully qualified
name. Use this if you're passing the variable to some other
object, e.g., as a -textvariable to a Tk label widget.
typevarname name
Deprecated. Use mytypevar instead.
Given a type variable name, returns the fully qualified name.
Use this if you're passing the type variable to some other
object, e.g., as a -textvariable to a Tk label widget.
codename name
Deprecated. Use myproc instead. Given the name of a proc (but
not a type or instance method), returns the fully-qualified com‐
mand name, suitable for passing as a callback.
COMPONENTS AND DELEGATION
When an object includes other objects, as when a toolbar contains but‐
tons or a GUI object contains an object that references a database, the
included object is called a component. The standard way to handle com‐
ponent objects owned by a Snit object is to declare them using compo‐
nent, which creates a component instance variable. In the following
example, a dog object has a tail object:
snit::type dog {
component mytail
constructor {args} {
set mytail [tail %AUTO% -partof $self]
$self configurelist $args
}
method wag {} {
$mytail wag
}
}
snit::type tail {
option -length 5
option -partof
method wag {} { return "Wag, wag, wag."}
}
Because the tail object's name is stored in an instance variable, it's
easily accessible in any method.
The install command provides an alternate way to create and install the
component:
snit::type dog {
component mytail
constructor {args} {
install mytail using tail %AUTO% -partof $self
$self configurelist $args
}
method wag {} {
$mytail wag
}
}
For snit::types, the two methods are equivalent; for snit::widgets and
snit::widgetadaptors, the install command properly initializes the wid‐
get's options by querying The Tk Option Database.
In the above examples, the dog object's wag method simply calls the
tail component's wag method. In OO jargon, this is called delegation.
Snit provides an easier way to do this:
snit::type dog {
delegate method wag to mytail
constructor {args} {
install mytail using tail %AUTO% -partof $self
$self configurelist $args
}
}
The delegate statement in the type definition implicitly defines the
instance variable mytail to hold the component's name (though it's good
form to use component to declare it explicitly); it also defines the
dog object's wag method, delegating it to the mytail component.
If desired, all otherwise unknown methods can be delegated to a spe‐
cific component:
snit::type dog {
delegate method * to mytail
constructor {args} {
set mytail [tail %AUTO% -partof $self]
$self configurelist $args
}
method bark { return "Bark, bark, bark!" }
}
In this case, a dog object will handle its own bark method; but wag
will be passed along to mytail. Any other method, being recognized by
neither dog nor tail, will simply raise an error.
Option delegation is similar to method delegation, except for the
interactions with the Tk option database; this is described in The Tk
Option Database.
TYPE COMPONENTS AND DELEGATION
The relationship between type components and instance components is
identical to that between type variables and instance variables, and
that between type methods and instance methods. Just as an instance
component is an instance variable that holds the name of a command, so
a type component is a type variable that holds the name of a command.
In essence, a type component is a component that's shared by every
instance of the type.
Just as delegate method can be used to delegate methods to instance
components, as described in Components and Delegation, so delegate
typemethod can be used to delegate type methods to type components.
Note also that as of Snit 0.95 delegate method can delegate methods to
both instance components and type components.
THE TK OPTION DATABASE
This section describes how Snit interacts with the Tk option database,
and assumes the reader has a working knowledge of the option database
and its uses. The book Practical Programming in Tcl and Tk by Welch et
al has a good introduction to the option database, as does Effective
Tcl/Tk Programming.
Snit is implemented so that most of the time it will simply do the
right thing with respect to the option database, provided that the wid‐
get developer does the right thing by Snit. The body of this section
goes into great deal about what Snit requires. The following is a
brief statement of the requirements, for reference.
· If the snit::widget's default widget class is not what is
desired, set it explicitly using widgetclass in the widget defi‐
nition.
· When defining or delegating options, specify the resource and
class names explicitly when if the defaults aren't what you
want.
· Use installhull using to install the hull for snit::widgetadap‐
tors.
· Use install to install all other components.
The interaction of Tk widgets with the option database is a complex
thing; the interaction of Snit with the option database is even more
so, and repays attention to detail.
Setting the widget class: Every Tk widget has a widget class. For Tk
widgets, the widget class name is the just the widget type name with an
initial capital letter, e.g., the widget class for button widgets is
"Button".
Similarly, the widget class of a snit::widget defaults to the unquali‐
fied type name with the first letter capitalized. For example, the
widget class of
snit::widget ::mylibrary::scrolledText { ... }
is "ScrolledText". The widget class can also be set explicitly using
the widgetclass statement within the snit::widget definition.
Any widget can be used as the hulltype provided that it supports the
-class option for changing its widget class name. See the discussion
of the hulltype command, above. The user may pass -class to the widget
at instantion.
The widget class of a snit::widgetadaptor is just the widget class of
its hull widget; this cannot be changed unless the hull widget supports
-class, in which case it will usually make more sense to use snit::wid‐
get rather than snit::widgetadaptor.
Setting option resource names and classes: In Tk, every option has
three names: the option name, the resource name, and the class name.
The option name begins with a hyphen and is all lowercase; it's used
when creating widgets, and with the configure and cget commands.
The resource and class names are used to initialize option default val‐
ues by querying the Tk option database. The resource name is usually
just the option name minus the hyphen, but may contain uppercase let‐
ters at word boundaries; the class name is usually just the resource
name with an initial capital, but not always. For example, here are
the option, resource, and class names for several text widget options:
-background background Background
-borderwidth borderWidth BorderWidth
-insertborderwidth insertBorderWidth BorderWidth
-padx padX Pad
As is easily seen, sometimes the resource and class names can be
inferred from the option name, but not always.
Snit options also have a resource name and a class name. By default,
these names follow the rule given above: the resource name is the
option name without the hyphen, and the class name is the resource name
with an initial capital. This is true for both locally-defined options
and explicitly delegated options:
snit::widget mywidget {
option -background
delegate option -borderwidth to hull
delegate option * to text
# ...
}
In this case, the widget class name is "Mywidget". The widget has the
following options: -background, which is locally defined, and -border‐
width, which is explicitly delegated; all other widgets are delegated
to a component called "text", which is probably a Tk text widget. If
so, mywidget has all the same options as a text widget. The option,
resource, and class names are as follows:
-background background Background
-borderwidth borderwidth Borderwidth
-padx padX Pad
Note that the locally defined option, -background, happens to have the
same three names as the standard Tk -background option; and -pad, which
is delegated implicitly to the text component, has the same three names
for mywidget as it does for the text widget. -borderwidth, on the
other hand, has different resource and class names than usual, because
the internal word "width" isn't capitalized. For consistency, it
should be; this is done as follows:
snit::widget mywidget {
option -background
delegate option {-borderwidth borderWidth} to hull
delegate option * to text
# ...
}
The class name will default to "BorderWidth", as expected.
Suppose, however, that mywidget also delegated -padx and -pady to the
hull. In this case, both the resource name and the class name must be
specified explicitly:
snit::widget mywidget {
option -background
delegate option {-borderwidth borderWidth} to hull
delegate option {-padx padX Pad} to hull
delegate option {-pady padY Pad} to hull
delegate option * to text
# ...
}
Querying the option database: If you set your widgetclass and option
names as described above, Snit will query the option database when each
instance is created, and will generally do the right thing when it
comes to querying the option database. The remainder of this section
goes into the gory details.
Initializing locally defined options: When an instance of a snit::wid‐
get is created, its locally defined options are initialized as follows:
each option's resource and class names are used to query the Tk option
database. If the result is non-empty, it is used as the option's
default; otherwise, the default hardcoded in the type definition is
used. In either case, the default can be overridden by the caller.
For example,
option add *Mywidget.texture pebbled
snit::widget mywidget {
option -texture smooth
# ...
}
mywidget .mywidget -texture greasy
Here, -texture would normally default to "smooth", but because of the
entry added to the option database it defaults to "pebbled". However,
the caller has explicitly overridden the default, and so the new widget
will be "greasy".
Initializing options delegated to the hull: A snit::widget's hull is a
widget, and given that its class has been set it is expected to query
the option database for itself. The only exception concerns options
that are delegated to it with a different name. Consider the following
code:
option add *Mywidget.borderWidth 5
option add *Mywidget.relief sunken
option add *Mywidget.hullbackground red
option add *Mywidget.background green
snit::widget mywidget {
delegate option -borderwidth to hull
delegate option -hullbackground to hull as -background
delegate option * to hull
# ...
}
mywidget .mywidget
set A [.mywidget cget -relief]
set B [.mywidget cget -hullbackground]
set C [.mywidget cget -background]
set D [.mywidget cget -borderwidth]
The question is, what are the values of variables A, B, C and D?
The value of A is "sunken". The hull is a Tk frame that has been given
the widget class "Mywidget"; it will automatically query the option
database and pick up this value. Since the -relief option is implic‐
itly delegated to the hull, Snit takes no action.
The value of B is "red". The hull will automatically pick up the value
"green" for its -background option, just as it picked up the -relief
value. However, Snit knows that -hullbackground is mapped to the
hull's -background option; hence, it queries the option database for
-hullbackground and gets "red" and updates the hull accordingly.
The value of C is also "red", because -background is implicitly dele‐
gated to the hull; thus, retrieving it is the same as retrieving -hull‐
background. Note that this case is unusual; in practice, -background
would probably be explicitly delegated to some other component.
The value of D is "5", but not for the reason you think. Note that as
it is defined above, the resource name for -borderwidth defaults to
"borderwidth", whereas the option database entry is "borderWidth". As
with -relief, the hull picks up its own -borderwidth option before Snit
does anything. Because the option is delegated under its own name,
Snit assumes that the correct thing has happened, and doesn't worry
about it any further.
For snit::widgetadaptors, the case is somewhat altered. Widget adap‐
tors retain the widget class of their hull, and the hull is not created
automatically by Snit. Instead, the snit::widgetadaptor must call
installhull in its constructor. The normal way to do this is as fol‐
lows:
snit::widgetadaptor mywidget {
# ...
constructor {args} {
# ...
installhull using text -foreground white
#
}
#...
}
In this case, the installhull command will create the hull using a com‐
mand like this:
set hull [text $win -foreground white]
The hull is a text widget, so its widget class is "Text". Just as with
snit::widget hulls, Snit assumes that it will pick up all of its normal
option values automatically; options delegated from a different name
are initialized from the option database in the same way.
Initializing options delegated to other components: Non-hull components
are matched against the option database in two ways. First, a compo‐
nent widget remains a widget still, and therefore is initialized from
the option database in the usual way. Second, the option database is
queried for all options delegated to the component, and the component
is initialized accordingly--provided that the install command is used
to create it.
Before option database support was added to Snit, the usual way to cre‐
ate a component was to simply create it in the constructor and assign
its command name to the component variable:
snit::widget mywidget {
delegate option -background to myComp
constructor {args} {
set myComp [text $win.text -foreground black]
}
}
The drawback of this method is that Snit has no opportunity to initial‐
ize the component properly. Hence, the following approach is now used:
snit::widget mywidget {
delegate option -background to myComp
constructor {args} {
install myComp using text $win.text -foreground black
}
}
The install command does the following:
· Builds a list of the options explicitly included in the install
command -- in this case, -foreground.
· Queries the option database for all options delegated explicitly
to the named component.
· Creates the component using the specified command, after insert‐
ing into it a list of options and values read from the option
database. Thus, the explicitly included options (-foreground)
will override anything read from the option database.
· If the widget definition implicitly delegated options to the
component using delegate option *, then Snit calls the newly
created component's configure method to receive a list of all of
the component's options. From this Snit builds a list of
options implicitly delegated to the component that were not
explicitly included in the install command. For all such
options, Snit queries the option database and configures the
component accordingly.
Non-widget components: The option database is never queried for
snit::types, since it can only be queried given a Tk widget name. How‐
ever, snit::widgets can have non-widget components. And if options are
delegated to those components, and if the install command is used to
install those components, then they will be initialized from the option
database just as widget components are.
MACROS AND META-PROGRAMMING
The snit::macro command enables a certain amount of meta-programming
with Snit classes. For example, suppose you like to define properties:
instance variables that have set/get methods. Your code might look
like this:
snit::type dog {
variable mood happy
method getmood {} {
return $mood
}
method setmood {newmood} {
set mood $newmood
}
}
That's nine lines of text per property. Or, you could define the fol‐
lowing snit::macro:
snit::macro property {name initValue} {
variable $name $initValue
method get$name {} "return $name"
method set$name {value} "set $name \$value"
}
Note that a snit::macro is just a normal Tcl proc defined in the slave
interpreter used to compile type and widget definitions; as a result,
it has access to all the commands used to define types and widgets.
Given this new macro, you can define a property in one line of code:
snit::type dog {
property mood happy
}
Within a macro, the commands variable and proc refer to the Snit type-
definition commands, not the standard Tcl commands. To get the stan‐
dard Tcl commands, use _variable and _proc.
Because a single slave interpreter is used for compiling all Snit types
and widgets in the application, there's the possibility of macro name
collisions. If you're writing a reuseable package using Snit, and you
use some snit::macros, define them in your package namespace:
snit::macro mypkg::property {name initValue} { ... }
snit::type dog {
mypkg::property mood happy
}
This leaves the global namespace open for application authors.
VALIDATION TYPES
A validation type is an object that can be used to validate Tcl values
of a particular kind. For example, snit::integer is used to validate
that a Tcl value is an integer.
Every validation type has a validate method which is used to do the
validation. This method must take a single argument, the value to be
validated; further, it must do nothing if the value is valid, but throw
an error if the value is invalid:
snit::integer validate 5 ;# Does nothing
snit::integer validate 5.0 ;# Throws an error (not an integer!)
The validate method will always return the validated value on success,
and throw the -errorcode INVALID on error.
Snit defines a family of validation types, all of which are implemented
as snit::type's. They can be used as is; in addition, their instances
serve as parameterized subtypes. For example, a probability is a num‐
ber between 0.0 and 1.0 inclusive:
snit::double probability -min 0.0 -max 1.0
The example above creates an instance of snit::double--a validation
subtype--called probability, which can be used to validate probability
values:
probability validate 0.5 ;# Does nothing
probability validate 7.9 ;# Throws an error
Validation subtypes can be defined explicitly, as in the above example;
when a locally-defined option's -type is specified, they may also be
created on the fly:
snit::enum ::dog::breed -values {mutt retriever sheepdog}
snit::type dog {
# Define subtypes on the fly...
option -breed -type {
snit::enum -values {mutt retriever sheepdog}
}
# Or use predefined subtypes...
option -breed -type ::dog::breed
}
Any object that has a validate method with the semantics described
above can be used as a validation type; see Defining Validation Types
for information on how to define new ones.
Snit defines the following validation types:
snit::boolean validate ?value?
snit::boolean name
Validates Tcl boolean values: 1, 0, on, off, yes, no, true,
false. It's possible to define subtypes--that is, instances--of
snit::boolean, but as it has no options there's no reason to do
so.
snit::double validate ?value?
snit::double name ?option value...?
Validates floating-point values. Subtypes may be created with
the following options:
-min min
Specifies a floating-point minimum bound; a value is
invalid if it is strictly less than min.
-max max
Specifies a floating-point maximum bound; a value is
invalid if it is strictly greater than max.
snit::enum validate ?value?
snit::enum name ?option value...?
Validates that a value comes from an enumerated list. The base
type is of little use by itself, as only subtypes actually have
an enumerated list to validate against. Subtypes may be created
with the following options:
-values list
Specifies a list of valid values. A value is valid if
and only if it's included in the list.
snit::fpixels validate ?value?
snit::fpixels name ?option value...?
Tk programs only. Validates screen distances, in any of the
forms accepted by winfo fpixels. Subtypes may be created with
the following options:
-min min
Specifies a minimum bound; a value is invalid if it is
strictly less than min. The bound may be expressed in
any of the forms accepted by winfo fpixels.
-max max
Specifies a maximum bound; a value is invalid if it is
strictly greater than max. The bound may be expressed in
any of the forms accepted by winfo fpixels.
snit::integer validate ?value?
snit::integer name ?option value...?
Validates integer values. Subtypes may be created with the fol‐
lowing options:
-min min
Specifies an integer minimum bound; a value is invalid if
it is strictly less than min.
-max max
Specifies an integer maximum bound; a value is invalid if
it is strictly greater than max.
snit::listtype validate ?value?
snit::listtype name ?option value...?
Validates Tcl lists. Subtypes may be created with the following
options:
-minlen min
Specifies a minimum list length; the value is invalid if
it has fewer than min elements. Defaults to 0.
-maxlen max
Specifies a maximum list length; the value is invalid if
it more than max elements.
-type type
Specifies the type of the list elements; type must be the
name of a validation type or subtype. In the following
example, the value of -numbers must be a list of inte‐
gers.
option -numbers -type {snit::listtype -type snit::integer}
Note that this option doesn't support defining new vali‐
dation subtypes on the fly; that is, the following code
will not work (yet, anyway):
option -numbers -type {
snit::listtype -type {snit::integer -min 5}
}
Instead, define the subtype explicitly:
snit::integer gt4 -min 5
snit::type mytype {
option -numbers -type {snit::listtype -type gt4}
}
snit::pixels validate ?value?
snit::pixels name ?option value...?
Tk programs only. Validates screen distances, in any of the
forms accepted by winfo pixels. Subtypes may be created with the
following options:
-min min
Specifies a minimum bound; a value is invalid if it is
strictly less than min. The bound may be expressed in
any of the forms accepted by winfo pixels.
-max max
Specifies a maximum bound; a value is invalid if it is
strictly greater than max. The bound may be expressed in
any of the forms accepted by winfo pixels.
snit::stringtype validate ?value?
snit::stringtype name ?option value...?
Validates Tcl strings. The base type is of little use by itself,
since very Tcl value is also a valid string. Subtypes may be
created with the following options:
-minlen min
Specifies a minimum string length; the value is invalid
if it has fewer than min characters. Defaults to 0.
-maxlen max
Specifies a maximum string length; the value is invalid
if it has more than max characters.
-glob pattern
Specifies a string match pattern; the value is invalid if
it doesn't match the pattern.
-regexp regexp
Specifies a regular expression; the value is invalid if
it doesn't match the regular expression.
-nocase flag
By default, both -glob and -regexp matches are case-sen‐
sitive. If -nocase is set to true, then both -glob and
-regexp matches are case-insensitive.
snit::window validate ?value?
snit::window name
Tk programs only. Validates Tk window names. The value must
cause winfo exists to return true; otherwise, the value is
invalid. It's possible to define subtypes--that is,
instances--of snit::window, but as it has no options at present
there's no reason to do so.
DEFINING VALIDATION TYPES
There are three ways to define a new validation type: as a subtype of
one of Snit's validation types, as a validation type command, and as a
full-fledged validation type similar to those provided by Snit. Defin‐
ing subtypes of Snit's validation types is described above, under Vali‐
dation Types.
The next simplest way to create a new validation type is as a valida‐
tion type command. A validation type is simply an object that has a
validate method; the validate method must take one argument, a value,
return the value if it is valid, and throw an error with -errorcode
INVALID if the value is invalid. This can be done with a simple proc.
For example, the snit::boolean validate type could have been imple‐
mented like this:
proc ::snit::boolean {"validate" value} {
if {![string is boolean -strict $value]} {
return -code error -errorcode INVALID \
"invalid boolean \"$value\", should be one of: 1, 0, ..."
}
return $value
}
A validation type defined in this way cannot be subtyped, of course;
but for many applications this will be sufficient.
Finally, one can define a full-fledged, subtype-able validation type as
a snit::type. Here's a skeleton to get you started:
snit::type myinteger {
# First, define any options you'd like to use to define
# subtypes. Give them defaults such that they won't take
# effect if they aren't used, and marked them "read-only".
# After all, you shouldn't be changing their values after
# a subtype is defined.
#
# For example:
option -min -default "" -readonly 1
option -max -default "" -readonly 1
# Next, define a "validate" type method which should do the
# validation in the basic case. This will allow the
# type command to be used as a validation type.
typemethod validate {value} {
if {![string is integer -strict $value]} {
return -code error -errorcode INVALID \
"invalid value \"$value\", expected integer"
}
return $value
}
# Next, the constructor should validate the subtype options,
# if any. Since they are all readonly, we don't need to worry
# about validating the options on change.
constructor {args} {
# FIRST, get the options
$self configurelist $args
# NEXT, validate them.
# I'll leave this to your imagination.
}
# Next, define a "validate" instance method; its job is to
# validate values for subtypes.
method validate {value} {
# First, call the type method to do the basic validation.
$type validate $value
# Now we know it's a valid integer.
if {("" != $options(-min) && $value < $options(-min)) ||
("" != $options(-max) && $value > $options(-max))} {
# It's out of range; format a detailed message about
# the error, and throw it.
set msg "...."
return -code error -errorcode INVALID $msg
}
# Otherwise, if it's valid just return it.
return $valid
}
}
And now you have a type that can be subtyped.
The file "validate.tcl" in the Snit distribution defines all of Snit's
validation types; you can find the complete implementation for
snit::integer and the other types there, to use as examples for your
own types.
CAVEATS
If you have problems, find bugs, or new ideas you are hereby cordially
invited to submit a report of your problem, bug, or idea at the Source‐
Forge trackers for tcllib, which can be found at http://source‐
forge.net/projects/tcllib/. The relevant category is snit.
Additionally, you might wish to join the Snit mailing list; see
http://www.wjduquette.com/snit for details.
One particular area to watch is using snit::widgetadaptor to adapt
megawidgets created by other megawidget packages; correct widget
destruction depends on the order of the <Destroy> bindings. The wisest
course is simply not to do this.
KNOWN BUGS
· Error stack traces returned by Snit 1.x are extremely ugly and
typically contain far too much information about Snit internals.
The error messages are much improved in Snit 2.2.
· Also see the SourceForge Trackers at http://source‐
forge.net/projects/tcllib/, category snit.
HISTORY
During the course of developing Notebook (See http://www.wjdu‐
quette.com/notebook), my Tcl-based personal notebook application, I
found I was writing it as a collection of objects. I wasn't using any
particular object-oriented framework; I was just writing objects in
pure Tcl following the guidelines in my Guide to Object Commands (see
http://www.wjduquette.com/tcl/objects.html), along with a few other
tricks I'd picked up since. And though it was working well, it quickly
became tiresome because of the amount of boilerplate code associated
with each new object type.
So that was one thing--tedium is a powerful motivator. But the other
thing I noticed is that I wasn't using inheritance at all, and I wasn't
missing it. Instead, I was using delegation: objects that created
other objects and delegated methods to them.
And I said to myself, "This is getting tedious...there has got to be a
better way." And one afternoon, on a whim, I started working on Snit,
an object system that works the way Tcl works. Snit doesn't support
inheritance, but it's great at delegation, and it makes creating megaw‐
idgets easy.
If you have any comments or suggestions (or bug reports!) don't hesi‐
tate to send me e-mail at will@wjduquette.com. In addition, there's a
Snit mailing list; you can find out more about it at the Snit home page
(see http://www.wjduquette.com/snit).
CREDITS
Snit has been designed and implemented from the very beginning by
William H. Duquette. However, much credit belongs to the following
people for using Snit and providing me with valuable feedback: Rolf
Ade, Colin McCormack, Jose Nazario, Jeff Godfrey, Maurice Diamanti,
Egon Pasztor, David S. Cargo, Tom Krehbiel, Michael Cleverly, Andreas
Kupries, Marty Backe, Andy Goth, Jeff Hobbs, Brian Griffin, Donal Fel‐
lows, Miguel Sofer, Kenneth Green, and Anton Kovalenko. If I've for‐
gotten anyone, my apologies; let me know and I'll add your name to the
list.
BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK
This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain
bugs and other problems. Please report such in the category snit of
the Tcllib SF Trackers [http://source‐
forge.net/tracker/?group_id=12883]. Please also report any ideas for
enhancements you may have for either package and/or documentation.
KEYWORDS
BWidget, C++, Incr Tcl, Snit, adaptors, class, mega widget, object,
object oriented, type, widget, widget adaptors
CATEGORY
Programming tools
COPYRIGHT
Copyright (c) 2003-2009, by William H. Duquette
snit 2.3.2 snit(n)
