Index of /tcl/ftparchive/sorted/apps/Whiteboard/0.90

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[DIR] Parent Directory       26-May-00 02:13      -  
[   ] CHANGES                01-Dec-99 01:33     1k  
[   ] README                 01-Dec-99 01:33     4k  
[CMP] Whiteboard-0.90.tar.gz 01-Dec-99 01:50    83k  


Whiteboard-0.90 :  Whiteboard application in Tcl
------------------------------------------------


What?
----

This is a whiteboard application that runs on TCP/IP. It is made in
Tcl/Tk so you need to download and install Tcl/Tk from
www.scriptics.com if you do not already have it installed.
It is written in Tcl only, but is more fun with extensions (see below).
Basically, it is a minimal drawing program that not only draws in
your own whiteboard, but also on all connected remote whiteboards.
It contains its own server, so there is no central server needed;
everything needed is contained in the application. Each connection
takes place pairwise.
   It is necessary to have access to a unique server port on remote
machines, so it can be problematic if you are behand a firewall. 
Perhaps ssh (secure shell) is a solution.


Tested?
------

It is to be considered as a developer release, since its main use
is to have it as a platform to build custom made whiteboard 
applications. *It is far from being bug free*. It has been developed
and tested on MacOS 8.1, LinuxPPC R4, and various Sun/Solaris platforms.
Some testing also on Windows NT, but not very extensively. 
The Tcl verisons used are 8.0-8.2.
A good way to test it is to start two wish shells with a Whiteboard in
each, but to use different server port numbers. This works on a single
machine (LinuxPPC), and is good to use for debugging if only a single is
machine available.
   I would judge this as an alpha quality application, not beta,
which is reflected in the version number (0.90).


Name?
----

Its name, Whiteboard, is generic and likely to change in the future.


Options?
-------

Some options for how it works are set in the beginning of the source
code itself. It should be easy to understand what the options mean. 
The source code is the only documentation.


Packages?
--------

If you have QuickTime, either for Windows (not tested) or Mac, 
and the plugin QuickTimeTcl it is much more fun. Also, for Mac users, 
if you have PlainTalk (free from Apple) and the MacSpeech plugin, 
it speaks! 
As of this writing, these plugins are only available for Tcl 8.0b2 to 8.0.5.
I hope these plugins will be updated to use the new Tcl 'stubs' libs so
that they don't have to be recompiled for each new Tcl version.
This is of highest priority.


Known Bugs?
----------

1.	The safe interpreter on the server is still not working.	

2.	On Unix/Linux platforms the gifs I use are dithered instead
	of being shown in full color, even on 24 bit displays. It is
	probably something with the -palette option of 'image create photo'
	and the -colormap option of wish.

3.	Accelerator keys do not work on my Linux box. Perhaps its
	something with my xmodmap file since it is home made.

4.	The item numbering is not always unique when one client is
	restarted and reconnected to a previously connected client.

5.	The image handling is not very good and needs to be restructured.
	Resizing images does not work properly with all operations.

6.	The cancel button in the progress window produces an error
	because a fileevent from fcopy is still left, which produces
	an error when trying to copy to an already closed socket.

7.	There are numerous "details" that need to be fixed.


As always, the code needs cleaning and restructuring. In particular,
regional namespaces should be used.
	

Distribution?
------------

It is distributed under the standard GPL, and I encourage anyone to put
it on a server for further distribution.
It is copyrighted: (c) Copyright by Mats Bengtsson (1999).
If copyright is in conflict with the GPL, the latter is valid.
Buttons are stolen from Gimp and slightly changed (Thank You!).

Bug?
---

Don't be afraid for the 'Coccinella' (nyckelpiga in swedish), it's tame!


Who?
---

It has been developed by:

	Mats Bengtsson, 
	Hamngatan 21,
	SE-58226, Linkoping Sweden,
	matben@lin.foa.se,
	phone: +46 13 136114

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