TIP:		73
Title:          Export Tcl_GetTime in the Public API
State:          Final
Type:           Project
Tcl-Version:    8.4
Vote:           Done
Post-History:   
Version:	$Revision: 1.4 $
Author:		Kevin Kenny <kennykb@acm.org>
Created:	03-Nov-2001

~ Abstract

This TIP proposes that the existing ''TclpGetTime'' function be
renamed to be ''Tcl_GetTime'' and included in the published API.

~ Rationale

The Tcl library provides a uniform abstraction, ''TclpGetTime'' that
is implemented on each of the platforms to retrieve absolute time in a
''Tcl_Time'' object.  This function is highly useful outside the Tcl
library itself, since it hides a very complex set of interfaces,
particularly on Windows, where several hundred lines of code enable
its use for high-precision measurements.  For this reason, it ought to
be made part of the public API.

~ Proposed Change

The existing ''TclpGetTime'' procedure shall be renamed to be
''Tcl_GetTime'', and its declaration shall be added to
''tcl.decls''.

| void TclpGetTime( Tcl_Time* timePtr );

A definition of ''TclpGetTime'' as a stub procedure that simply
invokes ''Tcl_GetTime'' shall be retained in ''tclInt.decls'' for
compatibility with existing Stubs-enabled extensions that invoke it.

This change requires no other change to the public headers; the
''Tcl_Time'' structure is already exported in ''tcl.h''.

~ Copyright

Copyright © 2001 by Kevin B. Kenny.  Distribution in whole or part,
with or without annotations, is unlimited.