This chapter presented how to create a completely standalone single-file executable application entirely in Tcl, using Starpack technology. There are three core items that made this solution possible:
- The Metakit database with its unique ability to nest subviews inside a view
- The VFS feature that allows you to use the Metakit database as a normal file system
- Tclkit—a complete Tcl interpreter compiled into one file
The beauty and power offered by this solution can't be underestimated. You can deliver virtually any application in terms of a single file that does not require installation/un-installation, doesn't mess up the user's operating system, and is extremely easy to deploy and use as it does not have any external dependencies. It is hardly possible to imagine or propose a better, easier-to-use solution.
What is also important, from a developer's point of view, is that the Starkit/Starpack technology does not have a significant impact on the way you create your code due to the low number of constraints it requires.
Throughout this chapter, you have been made familiar with Metakit database and VFS concepts. You also learned how to create Starkits/Starpacks, the benefits and constraints of this technology, and how to bypass them, if possible.
The next chapter will introduce you to concepts that are usually ignored at the beginning, only to be found as invaluable at the end—logging and debugging of an application. Experienced programmers already know these can save your life; and novices will soon learn the value of these concepts.