Collaborative Client-Server Architectures in Tcl/Tk: A Class Project Experiment and Experience

Abstract: 

This paper presents a class software project that was part of a recent experimental graduate course on Frontiers of Collaborative Computing on the Internet. We chose Tcl/Tk to facilitate rapid prototyping, testing, and demonstrating all phases of the project. The major milestones achieved during this course are:

  • rapid proficiency in Tcl/Tk that allowed each student to manipulate data and widgets, apply socket programming principles, and create a progression of client/server applications, from textbook cases to a unique client/server architecture prototype - driven by and matched to a well-defined collaborative project driver.
  • universal server that supports any number of user-configurable clients, each accessible through a Web-browser on a Mac, Windows, or UNIX platforms. Prototype client configurations include: (1) collaborative document composition, (2) collaborative Tcl/Tk debugging and compilation, (3) collaborative design workflow.

    • BibTeX
    @inproceedings {271419,
    author = {Zhi Fu and Debabrata Ghosh and Lorie I. Moffitt and Steve Nelson and J. Marshall Smith and Jun Zhou},
    title = {Collaborative {Client-Server} Architectures in {Tcl/Tk}: A Class Project Experiment and Experience},
    booktitle = {13th Systems Administration Conference (LISA 99)},
    year = {1999},
    address = {Seattle, WA},
    url = {https://www.usenix.org/conference/lisa-99/collaborative-client-server-architectures-tcltk-class-project-experiment-and},
    publisher = {USENIX Association},
    month = nov
    }
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    Paper: 
    http://www.usenix.org/publications/library/proceedings/tcl2k/full_papers/brglez/brglez.pdf
    Paper (HTML): 
    http://www.usenix.org/publications/library/proceedings/tcl2k/full_papers/brglez/brglez_html/index.html