texinfo/NEWS

   1 This file records noteworthy changes.
   2
   3 3.12 (3 March 1998)
   4 * Elisp files removed, since they are only usefully distributed with Emacs.
   5 * Restore inclusion of compile-time $(infodir) to INFOPATH.
   6 * install-info creates a proper dir file.
   7 * Various portability fixes.
   8
   9 3.11 (31 July 1997)
  10 * New commands:
  11   - @uref to make a reference to a url; @url now only indicates such.
  12   - @image to include graphics (epsf for TeX).
  13   - @deftypemethod and @deftypemethodx to document methods in strongly
  14     typed object-oriented languages, such as C++.
  15   - @html for raw HTML.
  16   - @ifnothtml @ifnotinfo @ifnottex for more precise conditionals.
  17   - @kbdinputstyle to control when @kbd uses the slanted typewriter font.
  18   - @email takes second optional argument.
  19 * texinfo.tex reads texinfo.cnf (if present) for site-wide TeX
  20   configuration; for example, A4 paper sizes.
  21 * info:
  22   - arrow keys supported.
  23   - trailing : in INFOPATH appends default path.
  24   - new option --index-search for online help support.
  25 * makeinfo:
  26   - output files removed if errors unless (new option) --force.
  27   - new option -P to prepend to search path.
  28   - macro expansion file can be standard output.
  29 * install-info creates a new dir file if necessary.
  30 * update-info script to create a dir file from all info files.
  31 * Elisp: texnfo-tex.el and detexinfo.el removed from the distribution;
  32   - texnfo-tex features are now part of standard TeX & Texinfo packages;
  33   - makeinfo --no-headers does a better job than detexinfo.el.
  34 * Documentation:
  35   - Updates, revisions, corrections in the manual.
  36   - makeinfo.texi removed, as it was a copy of what was in texinfo.texi.
  37 * gettext support in sources, French and German translations included.
  38 * info man page removed; use the Texinfo manual.
  39 * Automake used, other portability fixes.
  40
  41 3.10 (nonexistent)
  42
  43 3.9 (4 October 1996)
  44 * makeinfo:
  45   - Give a suppressible (with --no-validate) error for references
  46     outside of any node.
  47   - Keep track of multitable output correctly for split files; this
  48     caused nodes after the first multitable to be ``undefined''.
  49 * install-info:
  50   - Rename --infodir option to --info-dir.
  51   - More robust error checking to avoid various crashes.
  52 * configure: Include replacements for memcpy and memmove functions in
  53   the distribution, in case they are missing.
  54
  55 3.8 (30 September 1996)
  56 * Define and/or document new and/or previously existing commands:
  57   Accents: @" @' @, @" @= @^ @` @~ @H @d @dotaccent @dotless @ringaccent
  58     @tieaccent @u @ubaraccent @v
  59   Special characters: @AA @AE @L @O @OE @aa @ae @exclamdown @l @o @oe
  60     @pounds @questiondown @ss
  61   Special punctuation: @! @? @enddots
  62   dir file maintenance: @dircategory @direntry; also new program, install-info
  63   HTML support: @email @url @ifhtml...@end ifhtml
  64   Macros: @macro @unmacro
  65   Tables: @multitable @tab
  66   Hyphenation: @- @hyphenation
  67   Spacing: @  @<TAB> @<NEWLINE>
  68   Sectioning:
  69     @headings singleafter/doubleafter (change heading style after current page)
  70     @centerchap
  71     @setchapterstyle
  72   Other:
  73     @shorttitlepage (simple title pages)
  74     @detailmenu...@end detailmenu (help makeinfo parse master menus)
  75 * Makeinfo prefers an input file named `foo.texinfo' or `foo.texi' or
  76   `foo.txinfo' to just `foo' (the latter most likely being an executable).
  77 * Makeinfo implements @. @! @? correctly, as end-of-sentence punctuation.
  78 * @key marks its argument with a lozenge in TeX and <...> in Info.
  79 * TeX output has substantially decreased interline spacing and other
  80   formatting changes.
  81 * Remove these obsolete and never-documented commands:
  82     @infotop
  83     @infoappendix @infoappendixsec @infoappendixsubsec @infoappendixsubsubsec
  84     @infochapter @infosection @infosubsection @infosubsubsection
  85     @infounnumbered @infounnumberedsec @infounnumberedsubsec
  86       @infounnumberedsubsubsec
  87     @input
  88     @smallbreak @medbreak
  89     @overfullrule
  90     @br
  91 * Deprecate these obsolete commands, to be removed in the next release:
  92     @ctrl
  93     @infoinclude
  94     @iappendix @iappendixsection @iappendixsec @iappendixsubsec
  95       @iappendixsubsubsec
  96     @ichapter @isection @isubsection @isubsubsection
  97     @iunnumbered @iunnumberedsec @iunnumberedsubsec @iunnumberedsubsubsec
  98     @setchapterstyle
  99     @titlespec
 100
 101 3.7 (24 December 1995)
 102 * Have --version print texinfo release number as well as the individual
 103   program version.
 104 * Better man page cleaning.
 105 * Update Elisp files from current Emacs release.
 106
 107 3.6 (21 June 1995)
 108 * Unmatched brace error reporting improved.
 109 * Missing comment terminator prevented compilation.
 110
 111 3.5 (20 June 1995)
 112 * Autoconf update.
 113 * Support for parallel makes.
 114 * make install does not install Elisp files.
 115
 116 3.4 (19 June 1995)
 117 * Handle @ifhtml in Elisp.
 118 * Update FSF address.
 119
 120 3.3 (15 June 1995)
 121 * Portability changes.
 122 * Compile Elisp files.
 123 * Don't distribute .info* files.
 124
 125 3.2 (9 June 1995)
 126 * Standalone Info can read Unix man pages.
 127 * New commands: @! @? @^ @" @enddots.
 128 * makeinfo -E does macro expansion (and nothing else).
 129
 130 3.1 (23 May 1993)
 131 Just bug fixes, see ChangeLog for full details.
 132
 133 texinfo-3.0: first release of Texinfo version 2, with many new commands.
 134
 135
 136 Here is the separate NEWS for old releases of Info:
 137
 138 Version 2.11,     Sat Apr  1 09:15:21 1995
 139
 140 Changes since 2.7 beta:
 141
 142 Although the basic code remains the same, there are numerous nits
 143 fixed, including some display bugs, and a memory leak.  Some changes
 144 that have taken place with larger impact include the way in which the
 145 (dir) node is built; I have added in support for "localdir"
 146 directories among other things.  Info files may be stored in
 147 compressed formats, and in their own subdirectories; menu items which
 148 do not explicitly name the node to which they are attached have the
 149 menu item name looked up as an Info file if it is not found within the
 150 current document.  This means that the menu item:
 151
 152 * Info::                The Info documentation reader.
 153
 154 in (dir) refers to the info node "(info)Top".
 155
 156 Please see the ChangeLog and documentation for details on other
 157 changes.
 158
 159 Version 2.7 beta, Wed Dec 30 02:02:38 1992
 160 Version 2.6 beta, Tue Dec 22 03:58:07 1992
 161 Version 2.5 beta, Tue Dec  8 14:50:35 1992
 162 Version 2.4 beta, Sat Nov 28 14:34:02 1992
 163 Version 2.3 beta, Fri Nov 27 01:04:13 1992
 164 Version 2.2 beta, Tue Nov 24 09:36:08 1992
 165 Version 2.1 beta, Tue Nov 17 23:29:36 1992
 166
 167 Changes since 2.5 beta:
 168
 169 Note that versions 2.6 and 2.7 Beta were only released to a select group.
 170
 171 * "info-" removed from the front of M-x commands.
 172
 173 * Automatic footnote display.  When you enter a node which contains
 174   footnotes, and the variable "automatic-footnotes" is "On", Info pops
 175   up a window containing the footnotes.  Likewise, when you leave that
 176   node, the window containing the footnotes goes away.
 177
 178 * Cleaner built in documentation, and documentation functions.
 179
 180   Use:
 181     o `M-x describe-variable' to read a variable's documenation
 182     o `M-x describe-key' to find out what a particular keystroke does.
 183     o `M-x describe-function' to read a function's documentation.
 184     o `M-x where-is' to find out what keys invoke a particular function.
 185
 186 * Info can "tile" the displayed windows (via "M-x tile-windows").  If
 187   the variable "automatic-tiling" is "On", then splitting a window or
 188   deleting a window causes the remaining windows to be retiled.
 189
 190 * You can save every keystroke you type in a "dribble file" by using the
 191   `--dribble FILENAME' option.  You can initially read keystrokes from an
 192   alternate input stream with `--restore FILENAME', or by redirecting
 193   input on the command line `info < old-dribble'.
 194
 195 * New behaviour of menu items.  If the label is the same as the
 196   target node name, and the node couldn't be found in the current file,
 197   treat the label as a file name.  For example, a menu entry in "DIR"
 198   might contain:
 199
 200     * Emacs::           Cool text-editor.
 201
 202   Info would not find the node "(dir)Emacs", so just plain "(emacs)"
 203   would be tried.
 204
 205 * New variable "ISO-Latin" allows you to use European machines with
 206   8-bit character sets.
 207
 208 * Cleanups in echo area reading, and redisplay.  Cleanups in handling the
 209   window which shows possible completions.
 210
 211 * Info can now read files that have been compressed.  An array in filesys.c
 212   maps extensions to programs that can decompress stdin, and write the results
 213   to stdout.  Currently, ".Z"/uncompress, ".z"/gunzip, and ".Y"/unyabba are
 214   supported.  The modeline for a compressed file shows "zz" in it.
 215
 216 * There is a new variable "gc-compressed-files" which, if non-zero, says
 217   it is okay to reclaim the file buffer space allocated to a file which
 218   was compressed, if, and only if, that file's contents do not appear in
 219   any history node.
 220
 221 * New file `nodemenu.c' implements a few functions for manipulating
 222   previously visited nodes.  `C-x C-b' (list-visited-nodes) produces a
 223   menu of the nodes that could be reached by info-history-node in some
 224   window.  `C-x b' (select-visited-node) is similar, but reads one of
 225   the node names with completion.
 226
 227 * Keystroke `M-r' (move_to_screen_line) allows the user to place the cursor at
 228   the start of a specific screen line.  Without a numeric argument, place the
 229   cursor on the center line; with an arg, place the cursor on that line.
 230
 231 * Interruptible display implemented.  Basic display speedups and hacks.
 232 * The message "*** Tags Out of Date ***" now means what it says.
 233 * Index searching with `,' (info-index-next) has been improved.
 234 * When scrolling with C-v, C-M-v, or M-v, only "Page Only" scrolling
 235   will happen.
 236
 237 * Continous scrolling (along with `]' (info-global-next) and `['
 238   (info-global-prev) works better.  `]' and `[' accept numeric
 239   arguments, moving that many nodes in that case.
 240
 241 * `C-x w' (info-toggle-wrap) controls how lines wider than the width
 242   of the screen are displayed.  If a line is too long, a `$' is
 243   displayed in the rightmost column of the window.
 244
 245 * There are some new variables for controlling the behaviour of Info
 246   interactively.  The current list of variables is as follows:
 247
 248   Variable Name      Default Value  Description
 249   -------------      -------------  -----------
 250   `automatic-footnotes' On          When "On", footnotes appear and
 251                                     disappear automatically.
 252
 253   `automatic-tiling'    Off         When "On", creating of deleting a
 254                                     window resizes other windows.
 255
 256   `visible-bell'        Off         If non-zero, try to use a visible bell.
 257
 258   `errors-ring-bell'    On          If non-zero, errors cause a ring.
 259
 260   `show-index-match'    On          If non-zero, the portion of the string
 261                                     matched is highlighted by changing its
 262                                     case.
 263
 264   `scroll-behaviour'    Continuous  One of "Continuous", "Next Only", or
 265                                     "Page Only".  "Page Only" prevents you from
 266                                     scrolling past the bottom or top of a node.
 267                                     "Next Only" causes the Next or Prev node to
 268                                     be selected when you scroll past the bottom
 269                                     or top of a node.  "Continous" moves
 270                                     linearly through the files hierchichal
 271                                     structure.
 272
 273   `scroll-step'         0           Controls how scrolling is done for you when
 274                                     the cursor moves out of the current window.
 275                                     Non-zero means it is the number of lines
 276                                     you would like the screen to shift.  A
 277                                     value of 0 means to center the line
 278                                     containing the cursor in the window.
 279
 280   `gc-compressed-files' Off         If non-zero means it is okay to reclaim the
 281                                     file buffer space allocated to a file which
 282                                     was compressed, if, and only if, that
 283                                     file's contents do not appear in the node
 284                                     list of any window.
 285
 286   `ISO-Latin'           Off         Non-zero means that you are using an ISO
 287                                     Latin character set.  By default, standard
 288                                     ASCII characters are assumed.
 289 ________________________________________
 290 This release of Info is version 2.5 beta.
 291
 292 Changes since 2.4 beta:
 293
 294 * Index (i) and (,) commands fully implemented.
 295 * "configure" script now shipped with Info.
 296 * New function "set-variable" allows users to set various variables.
 297 * User-settable behaviour on end or beginning of node scrolling.  This
 298   supercedes the SPC and DEL changes in 2.3 beta.
 299
 300 ________________________________________
 301 This release of Info is version 2.4 beta.
 302
 303 Changes since 2.3 beta:
 304
 305 * info-last-node now means move to the last node of this info file.
 306 * info-history-node means move backwards through this window's node history.
 307 * info-first-node moves to the first node in the Info file.  This node is
 308   not necessarily "Top"!
 309 * SPC and DEL can select the Next or Prev node after printing an informative
 310   message when pressed at the end/beg of a node.
 311
 312 ----------------------------------------
 313 This release of Info is version 2.3 beta.
 314
 315 Changes since 2.2 beta:
 316
 317 * M-x command lines if NAMED_COMMANDS is #defined.  Variable in Makefile.
 318 * Screen height changes made quite robust.
 319 * Interactive function "set-screen-height" implements user height changes.
 320 * Scrolling on some terminals is faster now.
 321 * C-l with numeric arguement is fixed.
 322
 323 ----------------------------------------
 324 This release of Info is version 2.2 beta.
 325
 326 Changes since 2.0:
 327
 328 * C-g can now interrupt multi-file searches.
 329 * Incremental search is fully implemented.
 330 * Loading large tag tables is much faster now.
 331 * makedoc.c replaces shell script, speeding incremental builds.
 332 * Scrolling in redisplay is implemented.
 333 * Recursive uses of the echo area made more robust.
 334 * Garbage collection of unreferenced nodes.
 335