trofs: Tcl Read-Only Filesystem

trofs is a Tcl package that provides commands to create, mount, and unmount archives containing read-only filesystems. Trofs archives can be nested arbitrarily.

One task trofs is useful for is the creation of single-file distributions of packages in agreement with the Tcl Module requirements. After installing trofs, use this script to convert many of your installed Tcl packages into Tcl Modules.

Another application of trofs is the production of single-file distributions of application programs. Much like the ``Starkits'' that Tclkit can run. With trofs installed, plain old tclsh can run this single-file version of the Tclers chatroom client.

The single-file chat program includes within it all the script-based packages required for it to run, so it can successfully run even on a system that doesn't have the jabber library packages installed.

NOTE: This chat program is a demo of the capabilities of trofs. It is not maintained and kept up to date with improvements in the upstream development.

Download trofs 0.4.9 via this link:

The gzip'ed tarball is a TEA 3.10 compliant source code distribution. It should build and run successfully wherever Tcl 8.5 or later is installed and where the autoconf utilities function. Some support for Tcl 8.4 is possible, see the INSTALL file.

As the version number 0.4.9 should suggest, these are still rather early days in the development of trofs. Any users of trofs are encouraged to offer suggestions on ways it should be improved. Continuing development might introduce incompatibilities at both the programming level and the archive level. I will increment the minor version whenever I knowingly introduce an incompatibility. The intent is that normal Tcl package version number interpretation will apply starting with release 1.0.

Please send your comments to the author, Don Porter, in an e-mail message to donald.porter@nist.gov.

Please see the disclaimer
Last modified 2016 Jun 28 by Don Porter @ NIST (donald.porter@nist.gov).