# Compiled Runtime In Tcl
* Welcome to the C Runtime In Tcl, CriTcl for short, a system to
build C extension packages for Tcl on the fly, from C code
embedded within Tcl scripts, for all who wish to make their code
go faster.
# Website
* The main website of this project is http://andreas-kupries.github.com/critcl
It provides access to pre-made binaries and archives for various
platforms, and the full documentation, especially the guides to
building and using Critcl.
Because of the latter this document contains only the most basic
instructions on getting, building, and using Critcl.
# Versions
* Version 3 is the actively developed version of Critcl, with several
new features, listed in section **New Features**, below. This version
has changes to the public API which make it incompatible with packages
using Critcl version 2.x, or earlier.
* The last of version 2 is 2.1, available at the same-named tag in the
repository. This version is not developed anymore.
# Getting, Building, and Using Critcl
* Retrieve the sources:
```% git clone http://github.com/andreas-kupries/critcl```
Your working directory now contains a directory ```critcl```.
* Build and install it:
Install requisites: cmdline, md5; possibly one of tcllibc, Trf, md5c to accelerate md5.
```% cd critcl```
```% tclsh ./build.tcl install```
The generated packages are placed into the **[info library]** directory
of the **tclsh** used to run build.tcl. The **critcl** application script
is put into the directory of the **tclsh** itself (and modified to
use this executable). This may require administrative (root) permissions,
depending on the system setup.
* It is expected that a working C compiler is available. Installation and
setup of such a compiler is platform and vendor specific, and instructions
for doing so are very much outside of scope for this document. Please find
and read the documentation, how-tos, etc. for your platform or vendor.
* With critcl installed try out one of the examples:
```% cd examples/stack```
```% critcl -keep -cache B -pkg cstack.tcl```
```% critcl -keep -cache B -pkg stackc.tcl```
```% tclsh```
```> lappend auto_path [pwd]/lib```
```> package require stackc```
```> stackc create S```
```> S push FOO```
```> S size```
```> S destroy```
```> exit```
```%```
# New Features
* Declaration, export and import of C-APIs through stubs tables.
* Generation of source packages from critcl-based code containing a
TEA-based buildsystem wrapped around the raw critcl.
* Declaration, initializaton and use of user-specified configuration
options. An important use is the declaration and use of custom
build configurations, like 'link a 3rd party library dynamically,
statically, build it from copy of its sources, etc.', etc.
* This is of course not everything. For the details please read the
Changes sections of the documentation.
# Documentation
* Too much to cover here. Please go to http://andreas-kupries.github.com/critcl
for online reading, or the directories **embedded/www** and
**embedded/man** for local copies of the documentation in HTML
and nroff formats, respectively.
# History
* **2013-01-21** : Move code to from jcw to andreas-kupries.
* **2011-08-18** : Move code to public repository on GitHub
The Subversion repository at *svn://svn.equi4.com/critcl* is now obsolete.
GitHub has the new official repository for Critcl.