[http://mini.net/pub/tclerswiki.png]

'''Evolving the Tcl/Tk Core'''

The [Tcl]/[Tk] core is managed by the [Tcl Core Team] and the Core Maintainers.

The Tcl Core Team act as a technical oversight board for new features for the core.  They are trying to make sure that as many people as possible are happy with each new feature that is added and that the overall effect is coherent.

The Core Maintainers are the people who do the actual code-editing work and have the right to modify the core.  ''You can become a core maintainer if you want!  Just tell the TCT your SourceForge user-id and say what bit of the core you want to maintain.  All it takes is a willingness to work with the code (mostly high-quality C with some Tcl and a bit of shell/make scripting in the build) and a bit of time and effort.''

If you want to get in contact with either the TCT or the Maintainers, just send an email to mailto:tcl-core@lists.sf.net though we'd request that you subscribe[[fixme:link]] if you're going to be sending many messages.

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'''Common questions about Tcl'''

'''Q.''' Who is the leader of the Tcl community?  Who makes the final decision about what goes into Tcl or settles arguments?

'''A.''' The Tcl Core Team has the final say about what goes into the "core" but anyone building a distribution gets to choose what they distribute.  That's what being Open Source Software is all about.

'''Q.''' What features are being planned for the next version of Tcl?

'''A.''' All sorts of things.  Some ideas are still in peoples' heads, but others are written down more formally as [TIP]s.  All new features must eventually be TIPped, but support for additional platforms doesn't count; we want to support as many platforms as possible in all versions.  :^)

'''Q.''' Where do I go to download Tcl?

'''A.''' The source code is available for download from SourceForge[http://tcl.sourceforge.net/] and you can also view a ''full'' history of all changes since the Tcl developers switched to using reasonably recent source code management software (which was shortly after the release of Tcl 8.0).  Older versions of Tcl and Tk are also available from SF, but the detailed change history appears to have not survived.

'''Q.''' But what if I just want to use Tcl - not build it?  Where do I find a binary version?

'''A.''' [[need link]]

'''Q.''' Why don't you include [[insert your favorite feature here]] in the Tcl core?

'''A.''' There are a few possible answers.
   * Maybe it is just that nobody's proposed to put it in the core.  Different people have different priorities, after all.
   * Maybe nobody's had the time to write the code to make it happen and build cross-platform.  (Only 24 hours per day!)
   * Maybe the code works just as well as an extension package.  (For example, [Expect] works just fine without being included in the core, and [Img] can't go in the core because of annoying third-party library issues.)
   * Maybe the feature doesn't fit the way that the core works, like a square peg in a round hole.

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'''Links'''
   * Tcl Improvement Proposals ([TIP]s)
   * [Tcl 9.0 WishList]
   * [Tk 9.0 WishList]


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[Category Community]