Michael McLennan (CDS, Inc.)
You've heard it before-the new technology that promises to cure all ills. If we could just make it object-oriented... Use componentware... Do it in Java... These ideas have some merit, but they come with an enormous price: To get the benefits they promise, you must rewrite a lot of existing code. But there is another approach that is far more powerful. Instead of rewriting your code, you can integrate your old systems with new technology via Tcl/Tk. Tcl is a flexible scripting language designed specifically for integration tasks. Tk is a graphical user interface toolkit that runs cross-platform on UNIX, Windows and Macintosh systems. Together they provide a powerful glue that will link your legacy programs to 3D graphics, databases, Java beans, e-mail, Web pages, and anything else that comes along. You can even integrate your own proprietary C/C++ or Fortran code into the mix. With its emphasis on integration, Tcl/Tk is ushering in a new era in software development. Welcome to the Integration Age.