Tcl Windows API extension

Version History

Tcl Windows API extension version history

DESCRIPTION

Summarizes the list of changes for each version of TWAPI.

Major changes in this release are support for Windows event tracing, new Windows event logging API, SSL/TLS sockets, greatly enhanced support for CryptoAPI including certificate handling, access to performance counters, enhancements to the COM module and architectural changes for modularity and run-time performance.

Make a special note of the list of Incompatible Changes at the end of this section. Some of these differences apply to prior 4.0 betas as well.

Added SSL/TLS socket channels.
Added support for the new event logging infrastructure in Windows Vista.
Added support for reading performance counters.
New Event Tracing for Windows module.
Enhanced SSPI module including stream support.
Added certificate commands for creation, verification and management of certificates and certificate stores.
New commands eject_media, load_media, lock_media and unlock_media for dealing with removable media.
Added read_credentials, credentials_dialog, confirm_credentials and credentials.
Added conceal/reveal for memory encryption and protect_data/unprotect_data for protecting data based on user credentials.
Added -active option to comobj to create an instance of an existing object.
Added named argument support for COM method calls
Added generate_code_from_typelib to generate COM client code from type libraries.
Added COM support for passing SAFEARRAY types as input parameters and enhanced output SAFEARRAY values to support multidimensional arrays. POTENTIAL INCOMPATIBILITY as previously multidimensional arrays were returned as a single list.
Added comobj? and comobj_instances to check for and return instances of comobj objects.
Significantly improved COM method call performance through the use of TclOO in newer Tcl versions (8.6b2 and later)
Added define_dispatch_prototypes.
Added get_network_adapters, get_network_adapters_detail and get_network_adapter_info.
Added the common data format record array for collections returned by many commands and the corresponding recordarray command.
Added get_keyboard_layout_name.
Added tclcast and tcltype.
Added commands get_user_local_groups, get_user_global_groups, add_members_to_local_group, remove_members_from_local_group and -type sid option to add_member_to_local_group, remove_member_from_local_group.
Added commands get_password_policy, get_lockout_policy, set_password_policy and set_lockout_policy for dealing with global account settings.
Added -runas to write_shortcut and read_shortcut.
Added random_bytes.
Added -raw option to write_clipboard_text.
Added -setvars option to parseargs.
Added the rethrow, trapresult and trapoptions commands to trap.
Added get_processor_group_config and get_numa_config.
Added get_build_config to return build information.

INCOMPATIBLE CHANGES

The following tables list incompatibilities and potential incompatibilities with respect to TWAPI 3.1.

Base module

debuglog	Calling interface has changed.
get_build_config	Return value format and content has changed.
try	Removed to prevent conflicts with the try command in Tcl 8.6. Use trap instead. The errorCode, errorResult and errorInfo variables are no longer brought into scope automatically in onerror clauses.

Users and Groups

get_global_groups get_global_group_members get_local_groups get_local_group_members get_users	Commands return record arrays instead of a list when the -level option is used. Field and optin names have been changed for consistency.
get_user_local_groups_recursive	Deprecated. Use get_user_local_groups with the -recurse flag instead.

Network configuration

address_to_hostname	Removed. Use the resolve_address command instead.
flush_arp_tables	Takes interface names as arguments instead of interface indices.
get_arp_table	Returns the ARP table as a record array. Options -ifindex and -validonly are no longer available. Use record array filtering instead.
get_ip_addresses	Was deprecated. Now removed Use get_system_ipaddrs instead.
get_netif_count, get_netif6_count	Removed. Returned internal driver interface information which was misleading in terms of the interfaces actually visible at the application level.
get_netif_indices get_netif6_indices	Removed. Use interface names as returned by get_network_adapters instead.
get_tcp_connections get_udp_connections	Return connections as record arrays instead of lists.
hostname_to_address	Removed. Use the resolve_hostname command instead.

COM

COM SAFEARRAY

Multidimensional arrays are returned as nested lists. In 3.1, they were returned as a single flat list.

Network Shares and Lan Manager

find_lm_connections find_lm_sessions find_lm_open_files get_client_shares get_shares

Commands return record arrays instead of a list when the -level option is used. Field and option names have been changed for consistency.

Services

get_multiple_service_status get_dependent_service_status

Changed to return record arrays.

Device module

device_ioctl

Calling interface has changed.

Windows Shell

file_properties_dialog printer_properties_dialog volume_properties_dialog	Removed. Use shell_object_properties_dialog instead.
shell_object_properties_dialog	Defaults the object type to file instead of attempting to guess the type.
TwapiThemeDefineValue	Removed.

Storage

get_logical_drives

Removed. Use find_logical_drives instead.

Processes and Threads

get_process_info	The -toplevels option is no longer available. Use get_toplevel_windows -pids instead. Also, rate based performance options have been removed. Equivalent functionality is available through performance counters commands.
get_thread_info	Rate based performance options have been removed. Equivalent functionality is available through performance counters commands.
get_device_drivers	Changed to return record arrays.

System module

get_active_processor_mask	Removed. Use get_processor_group_configuration instead.
get_processor_info	Performance related options have been removed. Equivalent functionality is available through pdh_system_performance_query. The command now returns information about the current processor group, not the whole system.
get_system_info	Removed. Equivalent functionality is available through the pdh_system_performance_query, get_system_sid and get_system_uptime commands.
large_system_time_to_timelist	Returns an additional element - the day of the week.

Security and CryptoAPI

Password handling	Many commands which take a password as an argument now expect it to be passed in encrypted form as returned by read_credentials, credentials_dialog and conceal. Unencrypted forms of passwords are still accepted by existing commands but are deprecated and support will be dropped in a future release. Commands new in 4.0 will only work with the new encrypted password forms.
SSPI interface	API has been completely redone (post-4.0b23) and commands in older versions are no longer present.

Printers

enumerate_printers

Changed to return record arrays.

Version 3.1

Note: Make sure you read list of incompatible changes at the end of this section.

Added support for IPv6 network commands.
Added support for taskbar notification icons.
Added resource loading commands extract_resources, load_icon_from_file, load_cursor_from_file, load_bitmap_from_file, load_icon_from_module, load_cursor_from_module, load_bitmap_from_module, load_icon_from_system, load_cursor_from_system, load_bitmap_from_system, free_icon, free_cursor and free_bitmap.
get_module_handle and get_module_handle_from_address.
Added options -primarygroupsid, -groupattrs, -restrictedgroups, -restrictedgroupattrs, -enabledprivileges, -enabledprivileges and -integritylabel to get_process_info.
Added options -primarygroupsid, -groupattrs, -restrictedgroups, -restrictedgroupattrs, -enabledprivileges, -enabledprivileges to get_thread_info.
Added get_default_printer.
Enhancements to parseargs to map boolean true values.
INCOMPATIBILITY Windows 2000 is no longer supported.
INCOMPATIBILITY Tcl 8.4 is no longer supported.
INCOMPATIBILITY The values returned by the -type option to get_netif_info have changed.
INCOMPATIBILITY The values returned by the -type option to get_netif_info have changed.

Version 3.0

Note the list of IMCOMPATIBLE CHANGES at the end of this section.
Added support for 64-bit versions of Windows.
Added support for loading into multiple interpreters and multithreading.
Added single-file DLL distribution that replaces the Tclkit format distribution.
Added support for named pipe channels and impersonate_namedpipe_client.
COM support has been reworked and enhanced to include script level access to interfaces and type libraries.
Added synchronization commands.
Added shell_execute.
Added command for manipulating Windows resources.
Added UAC related commands get_process_elevation, get_process_integrity and, set_process_integrity and, virtualized_process, set_process_virtualization, get_token_elevation, get_token_integrity and set_token_integrity, get_token_integrity_policy and set_token_integrity_policy, get_token_virtualization and, set_token_virtualization, get_token_linked_token.
Added options -virtualized, -integrity and -elevation to get_process_info.
Enhanced enumeration of users and groups to support incremental mode of retrieval and to optionally include more account detail.
Enhanced get_shares and get_client_shares to optionally return additional details.
Added wow64_process.
Added get_pid_from_handle.
get_os_info enhanced to support newer operating systems and configurations.
Added eventlog_monitor_start for asynchronous notification of event log modifications. Enhanced formatting of event log messages to automatically retrieve parameter message file references.
Added flash_window.
Added SDDL support through security_descriptor_to_sddl and sddl_to_security_descriptor.
Added new_restricted_dacl.
Added process_in_administrators.
Added -hprocess and -hthread options to get_process_token and get_thread_token respectively.
Added the -attributes option to get_global_group_info.
Added -append option to register_hotkey to allow multiple scripts to register for the same hotkey.
Renamed try to trap and aliased it to prevent conflicts with Tcl 8.6 try.
Added debuglog command to log debug and trace messages.
INCOMPATIBILITY Removed the commands lock_scm_db, unlock_scm_db and query_scm_db_lock_status as they have no effect on Vista and later systems and were rarely used on older machines as well.
INCOMPATIBILITY The format of the data returned by commands that return the status of Windows services has changed.
INCOMPATIBILITY Removed the command get_mapped_share_info which was deprecated in favor of get_client_share_info in previous releases.
INCOMPATIBILITY The format of the lists returned by get_dependent_service_status and get_multiple_service_status has changed to make access simpler and faster.
INCOMPATIBILITY The format of the appended arguments to the callback invoked via begin_filesystem_monitor has changed.
INCOMPATIBILITY The format of expiration time of user accounts as returned by get_user_account_info has changed as have the formats accepted by set_user_account_info and set_user_expiration.
INCOMPATIBILITY This version supports Windows XP or later versions of Windows and version 8.5 or later of Tcl. It has also been tested on Windows 2000 and Tcl 8.4 but any bugs specific to these platforms will not be fixed.
INCOMPATIBILITY This version does not support the twapi_desktop and twapi_server package subsets of TWAPI and does not provide a Tclkit format distribution.
INCOMPATIBILITY The command set_user_priv_level and the -priv option to the get_user_account_info, set_user_account_info and new_user commands have been removed as their use was unsuitable for domain environments. Use specific group membership instead to control privileges.
INCOMPATIBILITY set_console_input_mode and set_console_output_mode are deprecated. Use modify_console_input_mode and modify_console_output_mode instead.

Version 2.2

Added commands comobj_object, progid_to_clsid, and clsid_to_progid.
Device notifications significantly enhanced. New commands start_device_notifier and stop_device_notifier for handling device event notifications. "INCOMPATIBILITY" Commands start_device_change_monitor and stop_device_change_monitor are no longer available.
Support for Tcl-based Windows services enhanced to handle additional control signals and system events.
Added GetSystemMetrics and GetSystemWow64Directory, but no Tcl wrappers.

Version 2.1

Built desktop and server specific TWAPI packages containing a subset of the TWAPI commands with a smaller footprint. Reduced footprint of full TWAPI package as well.
Added recycle_file.
Added error notifications to begin_filesystem_monitor.
Added options -foundcodepage, -foundlangid and -datetime to get_file_version_resource.
Added Wow64EnableWow64FsRedirection, Wow64DisableWow64FsRedirection, and Wow64RevertWow64FsRedirection.
Added new formats to get_current_user.
Added SHChangeNotify, CryptAcquireContext, CryptReleaseContext, and CryptGenRandom. No Tcl wrappers for these.

Version 2.0

INCOMPATIBILITY Windows NT 4.0 is no longer a supported platform.
Added support for distribution as a single file Tcl module for Tcl 8.5.
Added support for Tcl-based Windows services.
Added Microsoft Windows Installer interface support.
Added SSPI support (experimental).
Added Power Management module.
Added start_device_change_monitor and stop_device_change_monitor.
Added start_clipboard_monitor and stop_clipboard_monitor.
Added -patterns option to begin_filesystem_monitor.
Added get_priority_class, set_priority_class, get_thread_relative_priority and set_thread_relative_priority.
Added commands get_outgoing_interface, get_route and get_routing_table.
Added commands get_display_devices, get_display_monitors, get_display_monitor_from_window, get_display_monitor_from_point, get_display_monitor_from_rect, get_display_monitor_info.
Added commands find_physical_disks and get_physical_disk_info.
Added create_file.
Added device_ioctl.
Added -extents option to get_volume_info.
Added -isnull subcommand to COM objects.
Added get_input_idle_time.
Added large_system_time_to_timelist and timelist_to_large_system_time.
Added -modulename, -modulepath, -bindtime options to get_tcp_connections and get_udp_connections. Modified -matchremoteaddr and -matchlocaladdr options to allow DNS names and accept multiple addresses.
Added -messageonlywindow option to find_windows.
Added options -noexist and -noaccess to get_thread_info. INCOMPATIBILITY The command no longer raises an exception if a thread does not exist or cannot be accessed.
Additional performance optimizations.

Version 1.1

Added enhanced Windows task scheduler interface.
Added commands find_lm_sessions, end_lm_sessions, get_lm_session_info and find_lm_connections dealing with Lan Manager sessions and connections.
Added commands find_lm_open_files, close_lm_open_file and get_lm_open_file_info dealing with files opened in Lan Manager sessions.
Added find_domain_controller command.
Added get_file_times and set_file_times dealing with file timestamps.
Enhanced get_process_info and get_thread_info return additional process and thread information.
Enhanced get_processor_info to return additional processor information.
Enhanced get_memory_info to return additional swap file information.
Replaced Windows performance counter calls with native Win32 calls resulting in almost two orders of magnitude better performance in retrieving process, thread and system information.
Added get_system_time.
Added secs_since_1970_to_large_system_time.
Added variant_time_to_timelist and timelist_to_variant_time.
Added -handle option to get_resource_security_descriptor and options -handle, -unprotect_dacl and -unprotect_sacl to set_resource_security_descriptor.
Added -logonsession option to get_process_ids.
Include process id and attribute information (if available) in data returned by get_service_status and get_multiple_service_status.
INCOMPATIBILITY Changed default value of new_share option -secd.
Bug fixes.

Version 1.0

First official release.