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Date:      Tue, 28 Mar 1995 18:27:40 -0700
From:      Nate Williams <nate@trout.sri.MT.net>
To:        Amancio Hasty <hasty@star-gate.com>
Cc:        hackers@freefall.cdrom.com
Subject:   Re: MBONE interfaces and snazzy install tools.
Message-ID:  <199503290127.SAA12442@trout.sri.MT.net>
In-Reply-To: Amancio Hasty <hasty@star-gate.com> "Re: MBONE interfaces and snazzy install tools." (Mar 28,  5:03pm)

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>  > I don't think Perl5 is quite ready for prime-time, and although patch2
> 
> Perl may not be but tcl/tk is ready for prime time and someone posted
> that there is already a bmake of tcl/tk for netbsd.

Old versions of tcl/tk are as ready as old versions of Perl.  I'm
currently doing development with TCL7.4b3/Tk4.0b3, and there in the same
boat as Perl is.  New changes that aren't completely tested.

> Again, something like an installation tool will be trivial to implement in
> tcl/tk which will work for X and curses.

Or TkPerl. :-)

> If it helps, SCO has standardized on using all the sys admin tools 
> around tcl/tk.

Not unless you have the sources to the tools and can re-distribute them.
:-)

We need to standardize on *one* scripting language, and jumping from one
ship to the next as it becomes popular does not help us.

IMHO, Perl is much more readable than tcl/tk.  It has a much nicer
'C-like' syntax, and as a former sys-ad I found it much easier to write
Perl scripts than it is to write tcl/tk scripts, especially when it
comes to combining C & Perl.  But, they also do two different things
w/regards to interfaces, so I guess a straight comparison is unfair.

However, I'm pretty sure Peter Da Silva will disagree with me on the
ease of use comparing Perl & Tcl.  The bottom line is that we need to
minimize software bloat in the install, and since we don't have tcl/tk
in the system and no reasons to bring them 'right now', then I think
it's fair to say that preferring an already existing solution is better
than using something new and as-yet completely unused.

However, I'm sure if you (or someone else) provided Jordan with an
all-singing dancing installation toolset in tcl/tk that worked with X
and/or curses, he'd be more than willing to accept it and might even use
it.  But, until that happens the tools Jordan outlined are the ones that
are preferrable since they already exist in the current system.



Nate



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