source(3tcl)

NAME

   source - Evaluate a file or resource as a Tcl script

SYNOPSIS

   source fileName

   source -encoding encodingName fileName                                  
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DESCRIPTION

   This  command  takes the contents of the specified file or resource and
   passes it to the Tcl interpreter as a text script.   The  return  value
   from  source  is  the  return value of the last command executed in the
   script.  If an error occurs in evaluating the contents  of  the  script
   then the source command will return that error.  If a return command is
   invoked from within the script then the remainder of the file  will  be
   skipped  and  the  source  command will return normally with the result
   from the return command.

   The end-of-file character for files is "\32" (^Z)  for  all  platforms.
   The  source  command  will  read  files  up  to  this  character.  This
   restriction does not exist for the read or gets commands, allowing  for
   files  containing  code and data segments (scripted documents).  If you
   require a "^Z" in code for string comparison, you  can  use  "\032"  or
   "\u001a",  which will be safely substituted by the Tcl interpreter into
   "^Z".

   A leading BOM (Byte order mark) contained in the file  is  ignored  for
   unicode encodings (utf-8, unicode).

   The -encoding option is used to specify the encoding of the data stored 
   in fileName.  When the -encoding option is omitted, the system encoding 
   is assumed.

EXAMPLE

   Run  the  script  in  the  file foo.tcl and then the script in the file
   bar.tcl:
          source foo.tcl
          source bar.tcl
   Alternatively:
          foreach scriptFile {foo.tcl bar.tcl} {
             source $scriptFile
          }

SEE ALSO

   file(3tcl), cd(3tcl), encoding(3tcl), info(3tcl)

KEYWORDS

   file, script

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