ANNOUNCE: freeWrap 6.3 released
Dennis LaBelle
The freeWrap program turns TCL/TK scripts into single-file binary executable
programs. freeWrap can wrap TCL/TK applications that consist of multiple
script and binary files. FreeWrap combines all the files together into a
single executable file.
freeWrap 6.3 is based on TCL/TK 8.4.16
freeWrap executables are freely available for both Linux and Windows.
Instructions and source code for building freeWrap on both Windows and UNIX
platforms is also freely available.
The following additional variations of freeWrap are also available for
download:
freewrapPLUS a windowing application that includes TCL/TK along
with the BLT, tkTable and sqlite extensions
freewrapTCLSH a console-only application which includes only TCL.
Please visit the freeWrap home page:
http://freewrap.sourceforge.net
Changes implemented in version 6.3
------------------------------------
1. Added support for freeWrap program packages. The -p wrapping option
can now be used to create a wrapped application without the freeWrap
executable component. The freeWrap program package can then be run using
freeWrap as a single-file shell (example: freewish myapp.fwp).
2. Added SQLite as one of the extensions that are included with
freewrapPLUS
3. Added a new variable into the ::freewrap namespace.
The ::freewrap::runMode variable indicates whether freeWrap is running as:
Value of variable Meaning
----------------- -------
interactiveShell an interactive shell
standAloneShell a stand-alone shell running a script
programPackage a wrapped executable program
4. Improved the security of wrapped applications. FreeWrapped
applications will detect whether they have been modidied or tampered with
and refuse to run. As a result, the -e option is no longer available to
create an application that is not encrypted.
5. FreeWrap is no longer compressed with UPX. Therefore, users will
notice an increase in the size of freeWrap and the executables that it
produces. This size change should not be significant compared to recent
increases in disk drive capacities.
6. The -i option is now available under operating systems other than
Windows so that the Windows application icon may be changed when using
the -w (cross-platform generation) option.
7. The default system encoding for freeWrap has been set to cp1252 and
the documentation has been updated with additional words concerning the use
of encodings.
Torsten Berg
> freeWrap 6.3 is based on TCL/TK 8.4.16
Great, thanks! Good to see, this is actively developed.
Will there be a freeWrap version for Tcl8.5 soon? I really fear that
BLT will not run under 8.5 though (freewrapPLUS). Has anyone out there
successfully compiled BLT for Tcl 8.5??? This is something of a
showstopper for me. I can't upgrade my apps to 8.5 if BLT is missing
there ... or I have to make a substantial rewrite.
> 1. Added support for freeWrap program packages. The -p wrapping option
> can now be used to create a wrapped application without the freeWrap
> executable component. The freeWrap program package can then be run using
> freeWrap as a single-file shell (example: freewish myapp.fwp).
This sounds a lot like starkits and starpacks. It is a welcome
addition to keep programs modular. A few questions:
- Are both the executable and the fwp file encrypted?
- Is it possible for the executable to load more than one fwp file?
> 3. Added a new variable into the ::freewrap namespace.
> The ::freewrap::runMode variable indicates whether freeWrap is running as:
> Value of variable Meaning
> ----------------- -------
> interactiveShell an interactive shell
> standAloneShell a stand-alone shell running a script
> programPackage a wrapped executable program
>
Oh, good. This will prove to be convenient, I think.
Thanks again for you grat work!
Torsten
ZB
>
>> freeWrap 6.3 is based on TCL/TK 8.4.16
>
> Great, thanks! Good to see, this is actively developed.
>
> Will there be a freeWrap version for Tcl8.5 soon?
Yes, it would be greatly appreciated
--
ZB