DN565928002

Subject: ANNOUNCE TclTicker 1.2 - DN [1]

tpoindex@nyx10.nyx.net (Tom Poindexter) - 29 Dec 1999 - comp.lang.tcl

 I'm releasing TclTicker, a simple stock ticker program.  It's available at

 http://www.neosoft.com/tcl/ftparchive/sorted/apps/tclticker/1.2/

 Important changes for this release:
     -ticker symbol lookup
     -ticker symbols not automatically folded to upper case
     -prompt for configuration on first startup, or with 'tclticker setup'
     -additional quote service

 Enjoy!

 Tom Poindexter
 tpoindex@nyx.net
 http://www.nyx.net/~tpoindex

 ===============================================================================

 TclTicker README

 Copyright 1999 Tom Poindexter <tpoindex@nyx.net>

 A simple stock tickertape, using HTTP requests to fetch quotes.
 The companion program, mailquote, emails quotes to an email address.

 Version 1.2, December 28, 1999

 REQUIREMENTS:

 You need Tcl/Tk installed on your system.  TclTicker requires Tcl/Tk 8.0
 or later.  If you use 'mailquote', you'll also need the 'ezsmtp' package
 by D.J. Hagberg:  http://www.millibits.com/djh/tcl/index.html

 INSTALLATION:

 Simply unpack the archive.  'tclticker' expects to use 'wish8.0' as
 the wish interpreter name.  You may want to change the interpreter name
 to the wish interpreter you have installed on your system.  E.g, 'wish8.1',
 'wish8.2', etc.

 For Windows users, you may want to rename the file to 'tclticker.tcl',
 so that the file can be started simply by double clicking on the file
 icon.

 You may want to put the quote service files into their own library directory.
 If so, then set the environment variable TCLTICKER_LIB to that directory.
 Otherwise, TclTicker will expect to find quote service library files in
 the ./lib directory, relative to the main 'tclticker' file.

 NOTES:

 Click on the ticker tape (any mouse button) to pop up the configuration
 window.  Currently, you can choose between three different quote sources,

     finance.yahoo.com - provides decimal values, north american markets
                (default service)
     finance.uk.yahoo.com - provides decimal values, european markets
     www2.marketwatch.com - fractional values, us markets only

 Enter the security symbols (stocks, bonds, mutual funds) that you wish to
 track, and adjust ticker speed, font, and data refresh options to suit
 your needs.

 TclTicker saves user configuration into the file $HOME/.tclticker.

 Also, if your network requires HTTP requests through a proxy, enter the
 proxy hostname (omit http://), and a port number (assumed to be 80 if
 not entered.)

 If you plan to use mailquote, you might need to specify a smart SMTP mail
 host that will relay your mail.  Otherwise, the ezsmtp package will attempt
 to contact 'sendmail' (or equivalent) on your localhost, TCP port 25.

 Adjust other parameters as you desire.  A smaller value for 'ticker delay'
 causes the ticker to run faster.  The settings take effect after you
 press 'Ok'.

 The timestamp shown in the tickertape is the local time of the last
 quote fetch.  Note that quotes are usually delayed 15-20 minutes or more
 by quote providers.

 You can write your own quote service.  You should name the file of your
 new quote service as 'service'.tcl.  Refer to the distributed quote
 services as models for new services.
 Be sure to rebuild the Tcl file 'tclIndex' in the library directory.

 Symbol lookup is provided.   Press the 'Symbol lookup' button on the
 configuration window.  The lookup function uses the previously selected
 quote service lookup (if available).  NOTE - if your site requires an
 HTTP proxy, be sure to set the proxy first, making sure quotes are
 being received.  Otherwise, the symbol lookup may hang, because the proxy
 had not be previously set.  If your search is too general, the results
 may not include the symbol for which you are searching.

 You can also use your web browser on any site that provides quotes &
 symbol lookup (finance.yahoo.com, quote.lycos.com, www.etrade.com,
 cnnfn.com, www.schwab.com, www.dbc.com, www.datek.com, etc.)

 Also note that different quote providers require different symbols for
 composite or industry averages.  For example, the three major composites
 commonly tracked in the U.S. are:

                 finance.yahoo.com    www2.marketwatch.com
   Dow Jones Industrial Average     ^DJI            $INDU
   NASDAQ Composite        ^IXIC            $COMPQ
   Standard & Poor's 500 Index    ^SPC            $SPX

 The default ticker symbols you get when you start TclTicker for the first
 time includes both sets.

 If you set a small value for the data refresh, and have a lot of symbols,
 you will probably have some symbols show up without data during one trip
 through the ticker.  Either wait for the symbol to come around again, use
 less symbols, or set a higher refresh time.

 MAILQUOTE

 Mailquote uses much of the same code as TclTicker, but instead
 emails quotes to an email address.  An email address is required.  Mailquote
 uses the same $HOME/.tclticker file as TclTicker for quote service selection
 and symbols.  Optionally, you may specify alternate symbols on the command
 line; mailquote recognizes an optional "-q" flag for quiet operation
 (quietly ignoring errors):

     mailquote -q some_email@somewhere.net  IBM GE ^DJI RHAT

     mailquote some_email@somewhere.net     # uses .tclticker symbols

 Mailquote is useful to send quotes to pagers and cell/pcs phones that support
 text messages via email, perhaps on a regular basis using cron.   Note that
 many text messaging systems limit the amount of text sent to these types of
 devices.  Be sure to place your most important symbols near the beginning
 of the symbol list in TclTicker, or execute mailquote a number of times with
 various symbols on the command line.

 Mailquote requires the 'ezsmtp' Tcl package by D.J.Hagberg, available at:
     http://www.millibits.com/djh/tcl/index.html

 Use TclTicker's configuration window to set a smart SMTP relay host, if needed.

 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

 The code for the basic tickertape was taken from a tclet written by
 Laurent Demailly:
 http://www.demailly.com/tcl/plugin/ticker.html

 A small proc from Don Libes' cgi.tcl is also used to help format the
 URL quote request via HTTP:
 http://expect.nist.gov/cgi.tcl/

 CHANGES:

 1.0 Dec  7, 1999 - first internal version
 1.1 Dec 20, 1999 - first released version
 1.2 Dec 28, 1999 - remove www.quote.com, add www2.marketwatch.com.
            check if first time run, present config window, so that
            http proxy, et.al. can be set.  don't arbitrarily convert
            symbols to upper case; instead, examine symbols returned
            from service, and use those if case insensitive match.
            check that at least one symbols exists.
            feeping creaturism!  symbol lookup is now provided.

 LICENSE:

 TclTicker is distributed under the following license terms:

 This software is copyrighted by Tom Poindexter,
 1999.  The following terms apply to all files associated with the software
 unless explicitly disclaimed in individual files.

 The authors hereby grant permission to use, copy, modify, distribute,
 and license this software and its documentation for any purpose, provided
 that existing copyright notices are retained in all copies and that this
 notice is included verbatim in any distributions. No written agreement,
 license, or royalty fee is required for any of the authorized uses.
 Modifications to this software may be copyrighted by their authors
 and need not follow the licensing terms described here, provided that
 the new terms are clearly indicated on the first page of each file where
 they apply.

 IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR DISTRIBUTORS BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY
 FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
 ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE, ITS DOCUMENTATION, OR ANY
 DERIVATIVES THEREOF, EVEN IF THE AUTHORS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE
 POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE.

 THE AUTHORS AND DISTRIBUTORS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTIES,
 INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY,
 FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.  THIS SOFTWARE
 IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE AUTHORS AND DISTRIBUTORS HAVE
 NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR
 MODIFICATIONS.

 GOVERNMENT USE: If you are acquiring this software on behalf of the
 U.S. government, the Government shall have only "Restricted Rights"
 in the software and related documentation as defined in the Federal
 Acquisition Regulations (FARs) in Clause 52.227.19 (c) (2).  If you
 are acquiring the software on behalf of the Department of Defense, the
 software shall be classified as "Commercial Computer Software" and the
 Government shall have only "Restricted Rights" as defined in Clause
 252.227-7013 (c) (1) of DFARs.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, the
 authors grant the U.S. Government and others acting in its behalf
 permission to use and distribute the software in accordance with the
 terms specified in this license.

 --
 Tom Poindexter
 tpoindex@nyx.net
 http://www.nyx.net/~tpoindex/