Tcl_ParseCommand(), Tcl_ParseExpr(), Tcl_ParseBraces(), Tcl_ParseQuotedString(), Tcl_ParseVarName(), Tcl_ParseVar(), Tcl_FreeParse(), Tcl_EvalTokens()

parse Tcl scripts and expressions 

Tcl Library Procedures

SYNOPSIS

#include <tcl.h>

int Tcl_ParseCommand(interp, string, numBytes, nested, parsePtr)

int Tcl_ParseExpr(interp, string, numBytes, parsePtr)

int Tcl_ParseBraces(interp, string, numBytes, parsePtr, append, termPtr)

int Tcl_ParseQuotedString(interp, string, numBytes, parsePtr, append, termPtr)

int Tcl_ParseVarName(interp, string, numBytes, parsePtr, append)

char * Tcl_ParseVar(interp, string, termPtr)

Tcl_FreeParse(usedParsePtr)

Tcl_Obj * Tcl_EvalTokens(interp, tokenPtr, numTokens)

ARGUMENTS

Tcl_Interp *interp (out) 

For procedures other than Tcl_FreeParse() and Tcl_EvalTokens(), used only for error reporting; if NULL, then no error messages are left after errors. For Tcl_EvalTokens(), determines the context for evaluating the script and also is used for error reporting; must not be NULL.

char *string (in) 

Pointer to first character in string to parse.

int numBytes (in) 

Number of bytes in string, not including any terminating null character. If less than 0 then the script consists of all characters in string up to the first null character.

int nested (in) 

Non-zero means that the script is part of a command substitution so an unquoted close bracket should be treated as a command terminator. If zero, close brackets have no special meaning.

int append (in) 

Non-zero means that *parsePtr already contains valid tokens; the new tokens should be appended to those already present. Zero means that *parsePtr is uninitialized; any information in it is ignored. This argument is normally 0.

Tcl_Parse *parsePtr (out) 

Points to structure to fill in with information about the parsed command, expression, variable name, etc. Any previous information in this structure is ignored, unless append is non-zero in a call to Tcl_ParseBraces(), Tcl_ParseQuotedString(), or Tcl_ParseVarName().

char **termPtr (out) 

If not NULL, points to a location where Tcl_ParseBraces(), Tcl_ParseQuotedString(), and Tcl_ParseVar() will store a pointer to the character just after the terminating character (the close-brace, the last character of the variable name, or the close-quote (respectively)) if the parse was successful.

Tcl_Parse *usedParsePtr (in) 

Points to structure that was filled in by a previous call to Tcl_ParseCommand(), Tcl_ParseExpr(), Tcl_ParseVarName(), etc.

DESCRIPTION

These procedures parse Tcl commands or portions of Tcl commands such as expressions or references to variables. Each procedure takes a pointer to a script (or portion thereof) and fills in the structure pointed to by parsePtr with a collection of tokens describing the information that was parsed. The procedures normally return TCL_OK. However, if an error occurs then they return TCL_ERROR, leave an error message in interp's result (if interp is not NULL), and leave nothing in parsePtr.

Tcl_ParseCommand() is a procedure that parses Tcl scripts. Given a pointer to a script, it parses the first command from the script. If the command was parsed successfully, Tcl_ParseCommand() returns TCL_OK and fills in the structure pointed to by parsePtr with information about the structure of the command (see below for details). If an error occurred in parsing the command then TCL_ERROR is returned, an error message is left in interp's result, and no information is left at *parsePtr.

Tcl_ParseExpr() parses Tcl expressions. Given a pointer to a script containing an expression, Tcl_ParseCommand() parses the expression. If the expression was parsed successfully, Tcl_ParseExpr() returns TCL_OK and fills in the structure pointed to by parsePtr with information about the structure of the expression (see below for details). If an error occurred in parsing the command then TCL_ERROR is returned, an error message is left in interp's result, and no information is left at *parsePtr.

Tcl_ParseBraces() parses a string or command argument enclosed in braces such as {hello} or {string \t with \t tabs} from the beginning of its argument string. The first character of string must be {. If the braced string was parsed successfully, Tcl_ParseBraces() returns TCL_OK, fills in the structure pointed to by parsePtr with information about the structure of the string (see below for details), and stores a pointer to the character just after the terminating } in the location given by *termPtr. If an error occurs while parsing the string then TCL_ERROR is returned, an error message is left in interp's result, and no information is left at *parsePtr or *termPtr.

Tcl_ParseQuotedString() parses a double-quoted string such as "sum is [expr $a+$b]" from the beginning of the argument string. The first character of string must be ". If the double-quoted string was parsed successfully, Tcl_ParseQuotedString() returns TCL_OK, fills in the structure pointed to by parsePtr with information about the structure of the string (see below for details), and stores a pointer to the character just after the terminating " in the location given by *termPtr. If an error occurs while parsing the string then TCL_ERROR is returned, an error message is left in interp's result, and no information is left at *parsePtr or *termPtr.

Tcl_ParseVarName() parses a Tcl variable reference such as $abc or $x([expr $index + 1]) from the beginning of its string argument. The first character of string must be $. If a variable name was parsed successfully, Tcl_ParseVarName() returns TCL_OK and fills in the structure pointed to by parsePtr with information about the structure of the variable name (see below for details). If an error occurs while parsing the command then TCL_ERROR is returned, an error message is left in interp's result (if interp isn't NULL), and no information is left at *parsePtr.

Tcl_ParseVar() parse a Tcl variable reference such as $abc or $x([expr $index + 1]) from the beginning of its string argument. The first character of string must be $. If the variable name is parsed successfully, Tcl_ParseVar() returns a pointer to the string value of the variable. If an error occurs while parsing, then NULL is returned and an error message is left in interp's result.

The information left at *parsePtr by Tcl_ParseCommand(), Tcl_ParseExpr(), Tcl_ParseBraces(), Tcl_ParseQuotedString(), and Tcl_ParseVarName() may include dynamically allocated memory. If these five parsing procedures return TCL_OK then the caller must invoke Tcl_FreeParse() to release the storage at *parsePtr. These procedures ignore any existing information in *parsePtr (unless append is non-zero), so if repeated calls are being made to any of them then Tcl_FreeParse() must be invoked once after each call.

Tcl_EvalTokens() evaluates a sequence of parse tokens from a Tcl_Parse structure. The tokens typically consist of all the tokens in a word or all the tokens that make up the index for a reference to an array variable. Tcl_EvalTokens() performs the substitutions requested by the tokens, concatenates the resulting values, and returns the result in a new Tcl_Obj. The reference count of the object returned as result has been incremented, so the caller must invoke Tcl_DecrRefCount() when it is finished with the object. If an error occurs while evaluating the tokens (such as a reference to a non-existent variable) then the return value is NULL and an error message is left in interp's result.

TCL_PARSE STRUCTURE

Tcl_ParseCommand(), Tcl_ParseExpr(), Tcl_ParseBraces(), Tcl_ParseQuotedString(), and Tcl_ParseVarName() return parse information in two data structures, Tcl_Parse and Tcl_Token: 

typedef struct Tcl_Parse {
	char *commentStart;
	int commentSize;
	char *commandStart;
	int commandSize;
	int numWords;
	Tcl_Token *tokenPtr;
	int numTokens;
	...
} Tcl_Parse;

typedef struct Tcl_Token {
	int type;
	char *start;
	int size;
	int numComponents;
} Tcl_Token;

The first five fields of a Tcl_Parse structure are filled in only by Tcl_ParseCommand(). These fields are not used by the other parsing procedures.

Tcl_ParseCommand() fills in a Tcl_Parse structure with information that describes one Tcl command and any comments that precede the command. If there are comments, the commentStart field points to the # character that begins the first comment and commentSize indicates the number of bytes in all of the comments preceding the command, including the newline character that terminates the last comment. If the command is not preceded by any comments, commentSize is 0. Tcl_ParseCommand() also sets the commandStart field to point to the first character of the first word in the command (skipping any comments and leading space) and commandSize gives the total number of bytes in the command, including the character pointed to by commandStart up to and including the newline, close bracket, or semicolon character that terminates the command. The numWords field gives the total number of words in the command.

All parsing procedures set the remaining fields, tokenPtr and numTokens. The tokenPtr field points to the first in an array of Tcl_Token structures that describe the components of the entity being parsed. The numTokens field gives the total number of tokens present in the array. Each token contains four fields. The type field selects one of several token types that are described below. The start field points to the first character in the token and the size field gives the total number of characters in the token. Some token types, such as TCL_TOKEN_WORD and TCL_TOKEN_VARIABLE, consist of several component tokens, which immediately follow the parent token; the numComponents field describes how many of these there are. The type field has one of the following values:

TCL_TOKEN_WORD 

This token ordinarily describes one word of a command but it may also describe a quoted or braced string in an expression. The token describes a component of the script that is the result of concatenating together a sequence of subcomponents, each described by a separate subtoken. The token starts with the first non-blank character of the component (which may be a double-quote or open brace) and includes all characters in the component up to but not including the space, semicolon, close bracket, close quote, or close brace that terminates the component. The numComponents field counts the total number of sub-tokens that make up the word, including sub-tokens of TCL_TOKEN_VARIABLE and TCL_TOKEN_BS tokens.

TCL_TOKEN_SIMPLE_WORD 

This token has the same meaning as TCL_TOKEN_WORD, except that the word is guaranteed to consist of a single TCL_TOKEN_TEXT sub-token. The numComponents field is always 1.

TCL_TOKEN_TEXT 

The token describes a range of literal text that is part of a word. The numComponents field is always 0.

TCL_TOKEN_BS 

The token describes a backslash sequence such as \n or xa3. The numComponents field is always 0.

TCL_TOKEN_COMMAND 

The token describes a command whose result result must be substituted into the word. The token includes the square brackets that surround the command. The numComponents field is always 0 (the nested command is not parsed; call Tcl_ParseCommand() recursively if you want to see its tokens).

TCL_TOKEN_VARIABLE 

The token describes a variable substitution, including the $, variable name, and array index (if there is one) up through the close parenthesis that terminates the index. This token is followed by one or more additional tokens that describe the variable name and array index. If numComponents is 1 then the variable is a scalar and the next token is a TCL_TOKEN_TEXT token that gives the variable name. If numComponents is greater than 1 then the variable is an array: the first sub-token is a TCL_TOKEN_TEXT token giving the array name and the remaining sub-tokens are TCL_TOKEN_TEXT, TCL_TOKEN_BS, TCL_TOKEN_COMMAND, and TCL_TOKEN_VARIABLE tokens that must be concatenated to produce the array index. The numComponents field includes nested sub-tokens that are part of TCL_TOKEN_VARIABLE tokens in the array index.

TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR 

The token describes one subexpression of an expression (or an entire expression). A subexpression may consist of a value such as an integer literal, variable substitution, or parenthesized subexpression; it may also consist of an operator and its operands. The token starts with the first non-blank character of the subexpression up to but not including the space, brace, close-paren, or bracket that terminates the subexpression. This token is followed by one or more additional tokens that describe the subexpression. If the first sub-token after the TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR token is a TCL_TOKEN_OPERATOR token, the subexpression consists of an operator and its token operands. If the operator has no operands, the subexpression consists of just the TCL_TOKEN_OPERATOR token. Each operand is described by a TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR token. Otherwise, the subexpression is a value described by one of the token types TCL_TOKEN_WORD, TCL_TOKEN_TEXT, TCL_TOKEN_BS, TCL_TOKEN_COMMAND, TCL_TOKEN_VARIABLE, and TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR. The numComponents field counts the total number of sub-tokens that make up the subexpression; this includes the sub-tokens for any nested TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR tokens.

TCL_TOKEN_OPERATOR 

The token describes one operator of an expression such as && or hypot. An TCL_TOKEN_OPERATOR token is always preceded by a TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR token that describes the operator and its operands; the TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR token's numComponents field can be used to determine the number of operands. A binary operator such as * is followed by two TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR tokens that describe its operands. A unary operator like - is followed by a single TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR token for its operand. If the operator is a math function such as log10, the TCL_TOKEN_OPERATOR token will give its name and the following TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR tokens will describe its operands; if there are no operands (as with rand), no TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR tokens follow. There is one trinary operator, ?, that appears in if-then-else subexpressions such as x?y:z; in this case, the ? TCL_TOKEN_OPERATOR token is followed by three TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR tokens for the operands x, y, and z. The numComponents field for a TCL_TOKEN_OPERATOR token is always 0.

After Tcl_ParseCommand() returns, the first token pointed to by the tokenPtr field of the Tcl_Parse structure always has type TCL_TOKEN_WORD or TCL_TOKEN_SIMPLE_WORD. It is followed by the sub-tokens that must be concatenated to produce the value of that word. The next token is the TCL_TOKEN_WORD or TCL_TOKEN_SIMPLE_WORD token for the second word, followed by sub-tokens for that word, and so on until all numWords have been accounted for.

After Tcl_ParseExpr() returns, the first token pointed to by the tokenPtr field of the Tcl_Parse structure always has type TCL_TOKEN_SUB_EXPR. It is followed by the sub-tokens that must be evaluated to produce the value of the expression. Only the token information in the Tcl_Parse structure is modified: the commentStart, commentSize, commandStart, and commandSize fields are not modified by Tcl_ParseExpr().

After Tcl_ParseBraces() returns, the array of tokens pointed to by the tokenPtr field of the Tcl_Parse structure will contain a single TCL_TOKEN_TEXT token if the braced string does not contain any backslash-newlines. If the string does contain backslash-newlines, the array of tokens will contain one or more TCL_TOKEN_TEXT or TCL_TOKEN_BS sub-tokens that must be concatenated to produce the value of the string. If the braced string was just {} (that is, the string was empty), the single TCL_TOKEN_TEXT token will have a size field containing zero; this ensures that at least one token appears to describe the braced string. Only the token information in the Tcl_Parse structure is modified: the commentStart, commentSize, commandStart, and commandSize fields are not modified by Tcl_ParseBraces().

After Tcl_ParseQuotedString() returns, the array of tokens pointed to by the tokenPtr field of the Tcl_Parse structure depends on the contents of the quoted string. It will consist of one or more TCL_TOKEN_TEXT, TCL_TOKEN_BS, TCL_TOKEN_COMMAND, and TCL_TOKEN_VARIABLE sub-tokens. The array always contains at least one token; for example, if the argument string is empty, the array returned consists of a single TCL_TOKEN_TEXT token with a zero size field. Only the token information in the Tcl_Parse structure is modified: the commentStart, commentSize, commandStart, and commandSize fields are not modified.

After Tcl_ParseVarName() returns, the first token pointed to by the tokenPtr field of the Tcl_Parse structure always has type TCL_TOKEN_VARIABLE. It is followed by the sub-tokens that make up the variable name as described above. The total length of the variable name is contained in the size field of the first token. As in Tcl_ParseExpr(), only the token information in the Tcl_Parse structure is modified by Tcl_ParseVarName(): the commentStart, commentSize, commandStart, and commandSize fields are not modified.

All of the character pointers in the Tcl_Parse and Tcl_Token structures refer to characters in the string argument passed to Tcl_ParseCommand(), Tcl_ParseExpr(), Tcl_ParseBraces(), Tcl_ParseQuotedString(), and Tcl_ParseVarName().

There are additional fields in the Tcl_Parse structure after the numTokens field, but these are for the private use of Tcl_ParseCommand(), Tcl_ParseExpr(), Tcl_ParseBraces(), Tcl_ParseQuotedString(), and Tcl_ParseVarName(); they should not be referenced by code outside of these procedures.

PORTABILITY

Windows 10. Windows Server 2016. Windows Server 2019. Windows 11. Windows Server 2022. Windows Server 2025.

AVAILABILITY

PTC MKS Toolkit for Professional Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers
PTC MKS Toolkit for Enterprise Developers 64-Bit Edition

PTC MKS Toolkit 10.5 Documentation Build 40.