README: tdbc

    This is the 1.0.4 source distribution of Tcl Database Connectivity
    (TDBC). TDBC is available from a Fossil version control repository
    at http://tdbc.tcl.tk/ .

RCS: @(#) $Id$

1. Introduction

This directory contains the source code, documentation, and test scripts
for the base classes and SQL tokenizer of Tcl Database Connectivity. It
is not very useful by itself; to access databases, you also need one
or more driver modules for the database manager(s) that you intend to use.
The drivers are available from http://tdbc.tcl.tk along with the
source code of this module. A bug database and Wiki are available 
at the same location.

TDBC is a freely-available open source package.  You can do virtually
anything you like with it, such as modifying it, redistributing it,
and selling it either in whole or in part.  See the file
"license.terms" for complete information.

2. Documentation

The 'doc' subdirectory in this release contains a set of reference manual
entries for TDBC.  Files with an extension '.n' are for Tcl classes and
commands; files with an extension '.3' are for C library functions. The
file, 'doc/tdbc.n' gives an overview, listing the classes and functions.

3. Compiling and Installing.

TDBC is built in much the same way that Tcl itself is. Once you have
a Tcl build environment set up, you should be able to simply
enter the commands:

    cd tdbc
    ./configure
    make all
    make test
    make install

to have the TDBC base classes and tokenizer installed and usable from
Tcl.  See http://www.tcl.tk/doc/howto/compile.html for instructions on
how to set up a build environment for Tcl.

4. Tcl newsgroup.

There is a USENET news group, "comp.lang.tcl", intended for the exchange of
information about Tcl, Tk, and related applications.  The newsgroup is a
great place to ask general information questions.  For bug reports, please
see the "Support and bug fixes" section below.

5. Tcl'ers Wiki

A Wiki-based open community site covering all aspects of Tcl/Tk is at:

	http://wiki.tcl.tk/

It is dedicated to the Tcl programming language and its extensions.  A
wealth of useful information can be found there.  It contains code
snippets, references to papers, books, and FAQs, as well as pointers to
development tools, extensions, and applications.  You can also recommend
additional URLs by editing the wiki yourself.

6. Mailing lists

SourceForge hosts a mailing list, tcl-tdbc, to discuss issues with using
and developing TDBC. For more information and to subscribe, visit

    http://sourceforge.net/projects/tcl

and go to the 'Mailing Lists' page.

7. Support

We are very interested in receiving bug reports, patches, and suggestions
for improvements.  We prefer that you send this information to us via the
bug database, rather than emailing us directly.  The bug database is at:

	http://tdbc.tcl.tk/

The bug form was designed to give uniform structure to bug reports as
well as to solicit enough information to minimize followup questions.

We will log and follow-up on each bug, although we cannot promise a
specific turn-around time.  Enhancements, reported via the Feature
Requests form at the same web site, may take longer and may not happen
at all unless there is widespread support for them.

The Tcl community is too large for us to provide much individual support
for users.  If you need help, we suggest that you post questions to
comp.lang.tcl.  We read the newsgroup and will attempt to answer esoteric
questions for which no one else is likely to know the answer.

