local(n)							    [incr Tcl]								  local(n)

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NAME

       local - create an object local to a procedure

SYNOPSIS

       itcl::local className objName ?arg arg ...?
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DESCRIPTION

       The local command creates an [incr Tcl] object that is local to the current call frame.	When the call frame goes away, the object is auto-
       matically deleted.  This command is useful for creating objects that are local to a procedure.

       As a side effect, this command creates a variable named "itcl-local-xxx", where xxx is the name of the object that is created.  This  vari-
       able detects when the call frame is destroyed and automatically deletes the associated object.

EXAMPLE

       In  the	following example, a simple "counter" object is used within the procedure "test".  The counter is created as a local object, so it
       is automatically deleted each time the procedure exits.	The puts statements included in the constructor/destructor show the object  coming
       and going as the procedure is called.
	      itcl::class counter {
		  private variable count 0
		  constructor {} {
		      puts "created: $this"
		  }
		  destructor {
		      puts "deleted: $this"
		  }

		  method bump {{by 1}} {
		      incr count $by
		  }
		  method get {} {
		      return $count
		  }
	      }

	      proc test {val} {
		  local counter x
		  for {set i 0} {$i < $val} {incr i} {
		      x bump
		  }
		  return [x get]
	      }

	      set result [test 5]
	      puts "test: $result"

	      set result [test 10]
	      puts "test: $result"

	      puts "objects: [itcl::find objects *]"

KEYWORDS

       class, object, procedure

itcl																	  local(n)