texinfo/NEWS

   1 This file records noteworthy changes.
   2
   3 3.11 (31 July 1997)
   4 * New commands:
   5   - @uref to make a reference to a url; @url now only indicates such.
   6   - @image to include graphics (epsf for TeX).
   7   - @deftypemethod and @deftypemethodx to document methods in strongly
   8     typed object-oriented languages, such as C++.
   9   - @html for raw HTML.
  10   - @ifnothtml @ifnotinfo @ifnottex for more precise conditionals.
  11   - @kbdinputstyle to control when @kbd uses the slanted typewriter font.
  12   - @email takes second optional argument.
  13 * texinfo.tex reads texinfo.cnf (if present) for site-wide TeX
  14   configuration; for example, A4 paper sizes.
  15 * info:
  16   - arrow keys supported.
  17   - trailing : in INFOPATH appends default path.
  18   - new option --index-search for online help support.
  19 * makeinfo:
  20   - output files removed if errors unless (new option) --force.
  21   - new option -P to prepend to search path.
  22   - macro expansion file can be standard output.
  23 * install-info creates a new dir file if necessary.
  24 * update-info script to create a dir file from all info files.
  25 * Elisp: texnfo-tex.el and detexinfo.el removed from the distribution;
  26   - texnfo-tex features are now part of standard TeX & Texinfo packages;
  27   - makeinfo --no-headers does a better job than detexinfo.el.
  28 * Documentation:
  29   - Updates, revisions, corrections in the manual.
  30   - makeinfo.texi removed, as it was a copy of what was in texinfo.texi.
  31 * gettext support in sources, French and German translations included.
  32 * info man page removed; use the Texinfo manual.
  33 * Automake used, other portability fixes.
  34
  35 3.10 (nonexistent)
  36
  37 3.9 (4 October 1996)
  38 * makeinfo:
  39   - Give a suppressible (with --no-validate) error for references
  40     outside of any node.
  41   - Keep track of multitable output correctly for split files; this
  42     caused nodes after the first multitable to be ``undefined''.
  43 * install-info:
  44   - Rename --infodir option to --info-dir.
  45   - More robust error checking to avoid various crashes.
  46 * configure: Include replacements for memcpy and memmove functions in
  47   the distribution, in case they are missing.
  48
  49 3.8 (30 September 1996)
  50 * Define and/or document new and/or previously existing commands:
  51   Accents: @" @' @, @" @= @^ @` @~ @H @d @dotaccent @dotless @ringaccent
  52     @tieaccent @u @ubaraccent @v
  53   Special characters: @AA @AE @L @O @OE @aa @ae @exclamdown @l @o @oe
  54     @pounds @questiondown @ss
  55   Special punctuation: @! @? @enddots
  56   dir file maintenance: @dircategory @direntry; also new program, install-info
  57   HTML support: @email @url @ifhtml...@end ifhtml
  58   Macros: @macro @unmacro
  59   Tables: @multitable @tab
  60   Hyphenation: @- @hyphenation
  61   Spacing: @  @<TAB> @<NEWLINE>
  62   Sectioning:
  63     @headings singleafter/doubleafter (change heading style after current page)
  64     @centerchap
  65     @setchapterstyle
  66   Other:
  67     @shorttitlepage (simple title pages)
  68     @detailmenu...@end detailmenu (help makeinfo parse master menus)
  69 * Makeinfo prefers an input file named `foo.texinfo' or `foo.texi' or
  70   `foo.txinfo' to just `foo' (the latter most likely being an executable).
  71 * Makeinfo implements @. @! @? correctly, as end-of-sentence punctuation.
  72 * @key marks its argument with a lozenge in TeX and <...> in Info.
  73 * TeX output has substantially decreased interline spacing and other
  74   formatting changes.
  75 * Remove these obsolete and never-documented commands:
  76     @infotop
  77     @infoappendix @infoappendixsec @infoappendixsubsec @infoappendixsubsubsec
  78     @infochapter @infosection @infosubsection @infosubsubsection
  79     @infounnumbered @infounnumberedsec @infounnumberedsubsec
  80       @infounnumberedsubsubsec
  81     @input
  82     @smallbreak @medbreak
  83     @overfullrule
  84     @br
  85 * Deprecate these obsolete commands, to be removed in the next release:
  86     @ctrl
  87     @infoinclude
  88     @iappendix @iappendixsection @iappendixsec @iappendixsubsec
  89       @iappendixsubsubsec
  90     @ichapter @isection @isubsection @isubsubsection
  91     @iunnumbered @iunnumberedsec @iunnumberedsubsec @iunnumberedsubsubsec
  92     @setchapterstyle
  93     @titlespec
  94
  95 3.7 (24 December 1995)
  96 * Have --version print texinfo release number as well as the individual
  97   program version.
  98 * Better man page cleaning.
  99 * Update Elisp files from current Emacs release.
 100
 101 3.6 (21 June 1995)
 102 * Unmatched brace error reporting improved.
 103 * Missing comment terminator prevented compilation.
 104
 105 3.5 (20 June 1995)
 106 * Autoconf update.
 107 * Support for parallel makes.
 108 * make install does not install Elisp files.
 109
 110 3.4 (19 June 1995)
 111 * Handle @ifhtml in Elisp.
 112 * Update FSF address.
 113
 114 3.3 (15 June 1995)
 115 * Portability changes.
 116 * Compile Elisp files.
 117 * Don't distribute .info* files.
 118
 119 3.2 (9 June 1995)
 120 * Standalone Info can read Unix man pages.
 121 * New commands: @! @? @^ @" @enddots.
 122 * makeinfo -E does macro expansion (and nothing else).
 123
 124 3.1 (23 May 1993)
 125 Just bug fixes, see ChangeLog for full details.
 126
 127 texinfo-3.0: first release of Texinfo version 2, with many new commands.
 128
 129
 130 Here is the separate NEWS for old releases of Info:
 131
 132 Version 2.11,     Sat Apr  1 09:15:21 1995
 133
 134 Changes since 2.7 beta:
 135
 136 Although the basic code remains the same, there are numerous nits
 137 fixed, including some display bugs, and a memory leak.  Some changes
 138 that have taken place with larger impact include the way in which the
 139 (dir) node is built; I have added in support for "localdir"
 140 directories among other things.  Info files may be stored in
 141 compressed formats, and in their own subdirectories; menu items which
 142 do not explicitly name the node to which they are attached have the
 143 menu item name looked up as an Info file if it is not found within the
 144 current document.  This means that the menu item:
 145
 146 * Info::                The Info documentation reader.
 147
 148 in (dir) refers to the info node "(info)Top".
 149
 150 Please see the ChangeLog and documentation for details on other
 151 changes.
 152
 153 Version 2.7 beta, Wed Dec 30 02:02:38 1992
 154 Version 2.6 beta, Tue Dec 22 03:58:07 1992
 155 Version 2.5 beta, Tue Dec  8 14:50:35 1992
 156 Version 2.4 beta, Sat Nov 28 14:34:02 1992
 157 Version 2.3 beta, Fri Nov 27 01:04:13 1992
 158 Version 2.2 beta, Tue Nov 24 09:36:08 1992
 159 Version 2.1 beta, Tue Nov 17 23:29:36 1992
 160
 161 Changes since 2.5 beta:
 162
 163 Note that versions 2.6 and 2.7 Beta were only released to a select group.
 164
 165 * "info-" removed from the front of M-x commands.
 166
 167 * Automatic footnote display.  When you enter a node which contains
 168   footnotes, and the variable "automatic-footnotes" is "On", Info pops
 169   up a window containing the footnotes.  Likewise, when you leave that
 170   node, the window containing the footnotes goes away.
 171
 172 * Cleaner built in documentation, and documentation functions.
 173
 174   Use:
 175     o `M-x describe-variable' to read a variable's documenation
 176     o `M-x describe-key' to find out what a particular keystroke does.
 177     o `M-x describe-function' to read a function's documentation.
 178     o `M-x where-is' to find out what keys invoke a particular function.
 179
 180 * Info can "tile" the displayed windows (via "M-x tile-windows").  If
 181   the variable "automatic-tiling" is "On", then splitting a window or
 182   deleting a window causes the remaining windows to be retiled.
 183
 184 * You can save every keystroke you type in a "dribble file" by using the
 185   `--dribble FILENAME' option.  You can initially read keystrokes from an
 186   alternate input stream with `--restore FILENAME', or by redirecting
 187   input on the command line `info < old-dribble'.
 188
 189 * New behaviour of menu items.  If the label is the same as the
 190   target node name, and the node couldn't be found in the current file,
 191   treat the label as a file name.  For example, a menu entry in "DIR"
 192   might contain:
 193
 194     * Emacs::           Cool text-editor.
 195
 196   Info would not find the node "(dir)Emacs", so just plain "(emacs)"
 197   would be tried.
 198
 199 * New variable "ISO-Latin" allows you to use European machines with
 200   8-bit character sets.
 201
 202 * Cleanups in echo area reading, and redisplay.  Cleanups in handling the
 203   window which shows possible completions.
 204
 205 * Info can now read files that have been compressed.  An array in filesys.c
 206   maps extensions to programs that can decompress stdin, and write the results
 207   to stdout.  Currently, ".Z"/uncompress, ".z"/gunzip, and ".Y"/unyabba are
 208   supported.  The modeline for a compressed file shows "zz" in it.
 209
 210 * There is a new variable "gc-compressed-files" which, if non-zero, says
 211   it is okay to reclaim the file buffer space allocated to a file which
 212   was compressed, if, and only if, that file's contents do not appear in
 213   any history node.
 214
 215 * New file `nodemenu.c' implements a few functions for manipulating
 216   previously visited nodes.  `C-x C-b' (list-visited-nodes) produces a
 217   menu of the nodes that could be reached by info-history-node in some
 218   window.  `C-x b' (select-visited-node) is similar, but reads one of
 219   the node names with completion.
 220
 221 * Keystroke `M-r' (move_to_screen_line) allows the user to place the cursor at
 222   the start of a specific screen line.  Without a numeric argument, place the
 223   cursor on the center line; with an arg, place the cursor on that line.
 224
 225 * Interruptible display implemented.  Basic display speedups and hacks.
 226 * The message "*** Tags Out of Date ***" now means what it says.
 227 * Index searching with `,' (info-index-next) has been improved.
 228 * When scrolling with C-v, C-M-v, or M-v, only "Page Only" scrolling
 229   will happen.
 230
 231 * Continous scrolling (along with `]' (info-global-next) and `['
 232   (info-global-prev) works better.  `]' and `[' accept numeric
 233   arguments, moving that many nodes in that case.
 234
 235 * `C-x w' (info-toggle-wrap) controls how lines wider than the width
 236   of the screen are displayed.  If a line is too long, a `$' is
 237   displayed in the rightmost column of the window.
 238
 239 * There are some new variables for controlling the behaviour of Info
 240   interactively.  The current list of variables is as follows:
 241
 242   Variable Name      Default Value  Description
 243   -------------      -------------  -----------
 244   `automatic-footnotes' On          When "On", footnotes appear and
 245                                     disappear automatically.
 246
 247   `automatic-tiling'    Off         When "On", creating of deleting a
 248                                     window resizes other windows.
 249
 250   `visible-bell'        Off         If non-zero, try to use a visible bell.
 251
 252   `errors-ring-bell'    On          If non-zero, errors cause a ring.
 253
 254   `show-index-match'    On          If non-zero, the portion of the string
 255                                     matched is highlighted by changing its
 256                                     case.
 257
 258   `scroll-behaviour'    Continuous  One of "Continuous", "Next Only", or
 259                                     "Page Only".  "Page Only" prevents you from
 260                                     scrolling past the bottom or top of a node.
 261                                     "Next Only" causes the Next or Prev node to
 262                                     be selected when you scroll past the bottom
 263                                     or top of a node.  "Continous" moves
 264                                     linearly through the files hierchichal
 265                                     structure.
 266
 267   `scroll-step'         0           Controls how scrolling is done for you when
 268                                     the cursor moves out of the current window.
 269                                     Non-zero means it is the number of lines
 270                                     you would like the screen to shift.  A
 271                                     value of 0 means to center the line
 272                                     containing the cursor in the window.
 273
 274   `gc-compressed-files' Off         If non-zero means it is okay to reclaim the
 275                                     file buffer space allocated to a file which
 276                                     was compressed, if, and only if, that
 277                                     file's contents do not appear in the node
 278                                     list of any window.
 279
 280   `ISO-Latin'           Off         Non-zero means that you are using an ISO
 281                                     Latin character set.  By default, standard
 282                                     ASCII characters are assumed.
 283 ________________________________________
 284 This release of Info is version 2.5 beta.
 285
 286 Changes since 2.4 beta:
 287
 288 * Index (i) and (,) commands fully implemented.
 289 * "configure" script now shipped with Info.
 290 * New function "set-variable" allows users to set various variables.
 291 * User-settable behaviour on end or beginning of node scrolling.  This
 292   supercedes the SPC and DEL changes in 2.3 beta.
 293
 294 ________________________________________
 295 This release of Info is version 2.4 beta.
 296
 297 Changes since 2.3 beta:
 298
 299 * info-last-node now means move to the last node of this info file.
 300 * info-history-node means move backwards through this window's node history.
 301 * info-first-node moves to the first node in the Info file.  This node is
 302   not necessarily "Top"!
 303 * SPC and DEL can select the Next or Prev node after printing an informative
 304   message when pressed at the end/beg of a node.
 305
 306 ----------------------------------------
 307 This release of Info is version 2.3 beta.
 308
 309 Changes since 2.2 beta:
 310
 311 * M-x command lines if NAMED_COMMANDS is #defined.  Variable in Makefile.
 312 * Screen height changes made quite robust.
 313 * Interactive function "set-screen-height" implements user height changes.
 314 * Scrolling on some terminals is faster now.
 315 * C-l with numeric arguement is fixed.
 316
 317 ----------------------------------------
 318 This release of Info is version 2.2 beta.
 319
 320 Changes since 2.0:
 321
 322 * C-g can now interrupt multi-file searches.
 323 * Incremental search is fully implemented.
 324 * Loading large tag tables is much faster now.
 325 * makedoc.c replaces shell script, speeding incremental builds.
 326 * Scrolling in redisplay is implemented.
 327 * Recursive uses of the echo area made more robust.
 328 * Garbage collection of unreferenced nodes.
 329