stooop(n)					    Simple Tcl Only Object Oriented Programming 					 stooop(n)

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NAME

       stooop - Object oriented extension.

SYNOPSIS

       package require Tcl  8.3

       package require stooop  ?4.4.1?

       ::stooop::class name body

       ::stooop::new class ?arg arg ...?

       ::stooop::delete object ?object ...?

       ::stooop::virtual proc name {this ?arg arg ...?} ?body?

       ::stooop::classof object

       ::stooop::new object

       ::stooop::printObjects ?pattern?

       ::stooop::record

       ::stooop::report ?pattern?

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DESCRIPTION

       This  package  provides	commands  to  extend Tcl in an object oriented manner, using a familiar C++ like syntax and behaviour. Stooop only
       introduces a few new commands: class, new, delete, virtual and classof. Along with a few coding conventions, that is basically all you need
       to know to use stooop. Stooop is meant to be as simple to use as possible.

       This  manual  is  very succinct and is to be used as a quick reminder for the programmer, who should have read the thorough stooop_man.html
       HTML documentation at this point.

       ::stooop::class name body
	      This command creates a class. The body, similar in contents to a Tcl namespace (which a class actually  also  is),  contains  member
	      procedure  definitions.  Member  procedures can also be defined outside the class body, by prefixing their name with class::, as you
	      would proceed with namespace procedures.

	      proc class {this ?arg arg ...?} ?base {?arg arg ...?} ...? body
		     This is the constructor procedure for the class. It is invoked following a new invocation on the class. It must have the same
		     name  as  the  class  and	a  first argument named this. Any number of base classes specifications, including arguments to be
		     passed to their constructor, are allowed before the actual body of the procedure.

	      proc ~class {this} body
		     This is the destructor procedure for the class. It is invoked following a delete invocation. Its name must be the	concatena-
		     tion of a single ~ character followed by the class name (as in C++). It must have a single argument named this.

	      proc name {this ?arg arg ...?} body
		     This  is  a  member procedure of the class, as its first argument is named this. It allows a simple access of member data for
		     the object referenced by this inside the procedure. For example:

			set ($this,data) 0

	      proc name {?arg arg ...?} body
		     This is a static (as in C++) member procedure of the class, as its first argument is not named this.  Static  (global)  class
		     data can be accessed as in:

			set (data) 0

	      proc class {this copy} body
		     This is the optional copy procedure for the class. It must have the same name as the class and exactly 2 arguments named this
		     and copy. It is invoked following a new invocation on an existing object of the class.

       ::stooop::new class ?arg arg ...?
	      This command is used to create an object. The first argument is the class name and is followed by the arguments needed by the corre-
	      sponding class constructor. A unique identifier for the object just created is returned.

       ::stooop::delete object ?object ...?
	      This command is used to delete one or several objects. It takes one or more object identifiers as argument(s).

       ::stooop::virtual proc name {this ?arg arg ...?} ?body?
	      The virtual specifier may be used on member procedures to achieve dynamic binding. A procedure in a base class can then be redefined
	      (overloaded) in the derived class(es). If the base class procedure is invoked on an object, it is actually the derived class  proce-
	      dure  which  is  invoked,  if it exists. If the base class procedure has no body, then it is considered to be a pure virtual and the
	      derived class procedure is always invoked.

       ::stooop::classof object
	      This command returns the class of the existing object passed as single parameter.

       ::stooop::new object
	      This command is used to create an object by copying an existing object. The copy constructor of the corresponding class  is  invoked
	      if it exists, otherwise a simple copy of the copied object data members is performed.

DEBUGGING

       Environment variables

	      STOOOPCHECKDATA
		     Setting this variable to any true value will cause stooop to check for invalid member or class data access.

	      STOOOPCHECKPROCEDURES
		     Setting  this variable to any true value will cause stooop to check for invalid member procedure arguments and pure interface
		     classes instanciation.

	      STOOOPCHECKALL
		     Setting this variable to any true value will cause stooop to activate both procedure and data member checking.

	      STOOOPCHECKOBJECTS
		     Setting this variable to any true value will cause stooop to activate object checking. The following stooop namespace  proce-
		     dures then become available for debugging: printObjects, record and report.

	      STOOOPTRACEPROCEDURES
		     Setting  this  environment  variable to either stdout, stderr or a file name, activates procedure tracing. The stooop library
		     will then output to the specified channel 1 line of informational text for each member procedure invocation.

	      STOOOPTRACEPROCEDURESFORMAT
		     Defines the trace procedures output format. Defaults to "class: %C, procedure: %p, object: %O, arguments: %a".

	      STOOOPTRACEDATA
		     Setting this environment variable to either stdout, stderr or a file name, activates data tracing. The  stooop  library  will
		     then output to the specified channel 1 line of informational text for each member data access.

	      STOOOPTRACEDATAFORMAT
		     Defines  the  trace  data output format. Defaults to "class: %C, procedure: %p, array: %A, object: %O, member: %m, operation:
		     %o, value: %v".

	      STOOOPTRACEDATAOPERATIONS
		     When tracing data output, by default, all read, write and unsetting accesses are reported, but the user can set this variable
		     to  any  combination of the letters r, w, and u for more specific tracing (please refer to the trace Tcl manual page for more
		     information).

	      STOOOPTRACEALL
		     Setting this environment variable to either stdout, stderr or a file name, enables both procedure and data tracing.

       ::stooop::printObjects ?pattern?
	      Prints an ordered list of existing objects, in creation order, oldest first. Each output line contains the class name, object  iden-
	      tifier  and the procedure within which the creation occurred. The optional pattern argument (as in the Tcl string match command) can
	      be used to limit the output to matching class names.

       ::stooop::record
	      When invoked, a snapshot of all existing stooop objects is taken. Reporting can then be used at a later time to  see  which  objects
	      were created or deleted in the interval.

       ::stooop::report ?pattern?
	      Prints  the created and deleted objects since the ::stooop::record procedure was invoked last. If present, the pattern argument lim-
	      its the output to matching class names.

EXAMPLES

       Please see the full HTML documentation in stooop_man.html.

BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK
       This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems.  Please report such in the  category  stooop
       of the Tcllib SF Trackers [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=12883].  Please also report any ideas for enhancements you may have for
       either package and/or documentation.

KEYWORDS

       C++, class, object, object oriented

CATEGORY

       Programming tools

stooop								       4.4.1								 stooop(n)