The main command for loading dynamic libraries is the load_package
command. This adds on a new directory to the Tcl search path and dynamically
loads up a new C library. For programmers, the procedure of creating these
libraries is initially fairly complex. Once done, all the user requires is a
single load_package command adding to the application `rc' file to
extend the applications functionality.
The existing Tcl package system allows for the dynamic loading to be delayed until a command is needed. However this system does not satisfactorily deal with the case where libraries contain only C commands. Hence the package system utilised by the Staden Package dynamically links in libraries to the running executable at the time of the load_package call. This is typically done in the startup phase of programs.