Perl::Tk vs Tcl::Tk vs Tkx vs ...?

[ks]

Hi all,
thanks to Jeff's response i got insight into other possibilities than
Perl::Tk. differences between Perl::Tk and both other modules are
obvious. i've read some materials about Tcl::Tk and Tkx and for me it
seems they are very similar. could you please point some differences?
benefits? etc.? for me it seems both are trying to use Tcl as a middle
tier to avoid producing tones of code - simpler maintainance, thin
layer, more up to date. unfortunately as i understood it is impossible
to reuse Tk::* modules written especially for Perl::Tk but on the
other hand it is possible to use all native and third party Tcl
widgets - and there are tones of them.
so what are the differences between Tcl::Tk and Tkx? which do you
prefer and why? any comments are welcome!

thanks in advance
best regards
ks

[Robert Hicks]

Purely conjecture...but I think the Tkx is the one to use going
forward. I base this on something I read (can't remember) about Tkx is
what they are using to build the new PPM4 gui with.

I have looked at the Pod and it looks nifty.

:Robert

[cve...@gmail.com]

Since some people like it, I played with Tcl::Tk last night. It seems
to require active tcl, and using PAR I was unable to create a
standalone binary. Does one have to use active state's packager in
order to build standalone apps with Tcl::Tk?

[Robert Hicks]

I don't have the PAR answer. I do know you have to have Tcl installed
because Tkx is now using Tcl and Tk directly. That has the benefit of
speed, easier upgrades to newer versions of Tk and all Tk has like
Tile. Python does it this way I believe.

:Robert

[ks]

Hi,

>Purely conjecture...but I think the Tkx is the one to use going
>forward. I base this on something I read (can't remember) about Tkx is
>what they are using to build the new PPM4 gui with.

it seems (but it is only my first shallow impression) Tkx is the
newest and most maintained Tk binding. as it is driven by ActiveState,
and used for their tools, there is a big hope they will take special
care of it. moreover it is thin tier between perl and tcl+tk so it is
easier to keep it up to date and to reuse all tcl/tk modules created
by third-party. unfortunately, there is no possibility (i think so) to
use all Tk::* extensions but it is a price for being too much
separated - Perl/Tk is heavy and is built using Tcl/Tk rather as a
reference. i hope that everything what was possible in Perl/Tk is now
possible in Tkx (+ pure Tcl/Tk modules - like access to OpenGL:) ). i
also hope that this module is in good hands and Tk 9.0 will be
available immediately in Perl after the release.

>I have looked at the Pod and it looks nifty.

all the better ;)

ks

[Jeff Hobbs]

FWIW, this is just one possibility, but it is not a requirement. The
next release of ActivePerl (818+) will have this all bundled together
using a system that wraps all the Tcl and Tk bits into one dll.
However, you can also use any other suitably recent Tcl version, and it
should be much easier to work across platforms now.

ActiveState is using Tkx going forward but both Tcl::Tk and Tkx rely on
the same underlying Tcl.pm module. Tkx breaks from old compatibility
with its own new syntax (which we think is tight and productively
useful). Tcl::Tk has more compat stuff for Perl/Tk and such.

--

Jeff Hobbs, The Tk Guy, http://www.activestate.com/