2 This is version 2.5 of the BLT library. It's an extension to the
3 Tcl/Tk toolkit. You simply compile and link with the Tcl/Tk
4 libraries. It does not require the Tcl or Tk source files.
8 www.sourceforge.net/projects/blt/files
10 This release has been built and tested with the following Tcl/Tk
21 Avoid alpha and beta versions of Tcl/Tk. They probably won't work.
25 BLT is an extension to Tcl/Tk. It adds plotting widgets (X-Y graph,
26 barchart, stripchart), a powerful geometry manager, a new canvas
27 item, and several new commands to Tk.
31 graph, barchart, stripchart
32 BLT has X-Y graph, barchart, and stripchart widgets that are
33 both easy to use and customize. All the widgets work with
34 BLT vector data objects, which makes it easy to manage data.
38 treeview Displays a general ordered tree which may be built
39 on-the-fly or all at once.
41 tree Tree data object.
45 tabset Can be used either as a tab notebook or simple tabset.
46 Multi-tiered and/or scrolled tabsets are available.
47 Notebook pages can be torn-off into separate windows and
52 table A table-based geometry manager. Lets you specify widget
53 layouts by row and column positions in the table. Unlike the
54 packer or grid, you can finely control and constrain window
59 vector Lets you manage a vector of floating point values in a
60 high-level fashion. Vectors inter-operate seamlessly with
61 the plotting widgets. The graphs will automatically redraw
62 themselves when the vector data changes. Vector's components
63 can be managed through a Tcl array variable, a Tcl command,
64 or the using its own C API.
66 Background Program Execution:
68 bgexec Like Tcl's "exec ... &", but collects the output, error, and
69 status of the detached UNIX subprocesses. Sets a Tcl variable
74 busy For preventing user-interactions when the application is
75 busy. Manages an invisible "busy" window which prevents
76 further user interactions (keyboard, mouse, button, etc.).
77 Also you can provide a busy cursor that temporarily
78 overrides those of the Tk widgets.
82 eps An new item is added to the Tk canvas for handling
83 encapsulated PostScript. It lets you embed an EPS file into
84 the canvas displaying either an EPS preview image found in
85 the file, or a Tk image that you provide. When you print
86 the canvas the EPS item will automatically include the EPS
87 file, translating and scaling the PostScript. For example,
88 you could use "eps" items to tile several PostScript pages
91 The "eps" item can also be used as a replacement for "image"
92 canvas items. Unlike "image" canvas items, the image of an
93 eps item can be printed and scaled arbitrarily.
97 drag&drop Adds drag-n-drop capabilities to Tk. It uses "send"-style
98 communication between drag-drop sources and targets. The
99 result is a much more powerful drag-and-drop mechanism than
100 is available with OpenLook or Motif.
104 bitmap Lets you read and write bitmaps from Tcl. You can define
105 bitmaps from ordinary text strings. Bitmaps can also be
106 scaled and rotated. For example, you can create a button
107 with rotated text by defining a bitmap from a text string
108 and rotating it. You can then use the bitmap in the button
111 Miscellaneous Commands:
113 winop Basic window operations. You can raise, lower, map, or,
114 unmap windows. Other operations let you move the pointer
115 or take photo image snapshots of Tk widgets.
117 bltdebug Lets you trace the execution of Tcl commands and procedures.
118 Prints out each Tcl command before it's executed.
120 watch Lets you specify Tcl procedures to be run before and/or
121 after every Tcl command. May be used for logging, tracing,
122 profiling, or debugging or Tcl code.
124 spline Computes a spline fitting a set of data points (x and y
125 vectors) and produces a vector of the interpolated images
126 (y-coordinates) at a given set of x-coordinates.
128 htext A simple hypertext widget. Allows text and Tk widgets to
129 be combined in a scroll-able text window. Any Tk widget
130 can be embedded and used to form hyper-links. Other
131 options allow for selections and text searches.
134 How to compile and test BLT?
136 See the file "INSTALL" for instructions.
139 Does BLT work under Windows?
141 Yes. Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP. I've compiled it with both
142 MS VC++ 5.0/6.0p4 and EGCS 1.1.1. Self-installing pre-compiled versions
145 What are the differences between the Windows and Unix releases?
147 All commands work: graphs, bgexec, busy, drag&drop etc. except
148 the "container", and "cutbuffer" widgets.
150 The "drag&drop" command still needs to use "send" to transfer
151 information between Tk applications. You can use
153 ./demos/scripts/send.tcl
155 to imitate "send" using DDE. Just source the script and execute
160 to set up the new send command.
164 In general, I can't answer the "When will" questions, mostly out of
165 embarrassment. My estimates of when new features and releases will
166 occur usually turn out to be way way off.
168 What does BLT stand for?
170 Whatever you want it to.
172 Where to send bugs reports, suggestions, etc. ?
174 gah@siliconmetrics.com
178 ghowlett@grandecom.net
180 (best to send to both addresses) Make sure you include BLT
181 and the version number in the subject line.