Hi Folks,
I am pleased to announce the release of version 2.3.3 of the slang
library. See<https://jedsoft.org/slang/download.html> for links to
the source code.
This version includes a number of backward-compatible enhancements to
the interpreter and its modules, as well as support for so-called
user-defined terminfo extensions. It is also binary compatible with
prior 2.x.y versions of the library. The 2.3.x NEWS file is appended
below.
I thank all those that contributed to this release.
Thanks,
--John
=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=
NEWS for version 2.3.x
24 bit color support (new for version 2.3.1)
============================================
The SLtt interface has been modified to support 24 bit (true)
colors. Until the next major release (version 3), this feature is
available for 64 bit Unix/VMS systems to keep binary compatibility.
Support for 32 bit systems will be added in version 3.
The library tries to detect the terminal's support for 24 bit true by
looking for the "RGB" terminfo flag. If this flag exists, and is
TRUE then true color will be enabled. Note that this this flag is a
relatively recent addition to terminfo and is defined by the
so-called user-defined terminfo extension. A list of terminals that
support true color may be found at<https://github.com/termstandard/colors>.
If the terminal supports 24 bit true color, but the library does not
detect it, then set the value of the environment variable COLORTERM
to either "24bit" or "truecolor", e.g.,
export COLORTERM=truecolor
To use 24 bit color in applications such as jed and slrn, use a
24bit RGB value in the form "#RRGGBB" as the name of the color.
For example, to set the color of the status line in jed to AliceBlue
(#F0F8FF) on a SlateGray (#708090) background, use
set_color ("status", "#F0F8FF", "#708090");
in the .jedrc file. In slrn, to set the color of the author name to
the above colors use
color author "#F0F8FF" "#708090"
in the .slrnrc file. Also note other character attributes may be
specified, e.g., "#F0F8FF;italics;underline".
New Modules
===========
1. base64: A base64 encoder/decoder module
2. chksum: A module for computing various checksums (md5, sha1, ...)
3. stats: A statistics module
4. histogram: A histogram module
5. json: Encode/decode json structures
Module Updates
==============
stats-module: Added Anderson-Darling normality and
k-sample tests (version 2.3.1)
Added a cumulant function (version 2.3.3)
chksum-module:
8, 16, and 32 bit CRCs were added (version 2.3.3)
sha224, sha256, sha384, and sha512 added (version 2.3.3)
HMAC added (version 2.3.3)
Intrinsic Functions
===================
The following intrinsic functions have been added for 2.3.x:
sincos : returns both sin and cos in one function call
get/setitimer: get/set an interval timer
wherefirstmin/max, wherelastmin/max: returns index for first/last
min/max values of an array
wherefirst_eq/ne/gt/lt/ge/le, where_last_eq/ne/gt/lt/ge/le:
returns first/last index of an array where the array value is
eq/ne/gt/lt/ge/le of a specified value. (version 2.3.1)
wherediff: returns indices where adjacient elements of an array
differ.
bstrjoin, bstrcat: like strjoin/strcat but for binary strings.
get_environ: returns an array of currently defined environment variables.
getrusage: Get resource usage
lchown: Change ownership of a symbolic link
get/set_printable_bstring_size: Get/set the length of the
printable representation of binary strings. (version 2.3.1)
statvfs: Intrinsic that wraps statvfs POSIX function that returns
file system statistics. (version 2.3.1)
_ftime: returns the number of (wallclock) seconds since an epoch
(version 2.3.1)
wchars_to_string/string_to_wchars: Convert a UTF-8 encoded string
to and from an array of Unicode characters. (version 2.3.1)
_array_byteswap: used to convert the values of an array from one
endianness to another (version 2.3.2)
fclock: Apply an advisory lock (version 2.3.3)
The following functions have been enhanced:
stat_file was modifed to accept an open file descriptor (version
2.3.3)
array_map modified to support multiple return values.
is_substrbytes: Added support for an optional offset into the
string.
_push_struct_field_values: An optional argument may be used to
specify the fields to be pushed. (version 2.3.1)
fgetslines: Added support for a "trim" qualifier to indicate how
leading/trailing whitespace is to be handled (version 2.3.3)
Interpreter Syntax
==================
The step parameter was made optional for the _for statement.
Struct field names may be an arbitrary string:
X = struct {"some-field", some_other_field };
X.some_other_field = 3;
X."some-field" = 4;
String literals now support \uABCD to specify a 32 bit unicode
character. Previously, the braces were required (\u{ABCD}).
(version 2.3.1)
A reserved word may be used for a struct field name without quoting
it (version 2.3.2)
slsh library (used by conforming slang apps such as jed, slrn, ...)
===================================================================
fswalk.sl: Functions that facilitate walking the filesystem.
listfuns.sl: Set of functions dealing with lists and list-based
structures (e.g., heaps).
rearrange: Performs an in-place arrangement of values in an array
or list (defined in arrayfuns.sl).
timestamp.sl: Parses timestamp strings such as Thu May 14 18:05:05
2020 and returns the number of seconds since the Unix epoch
(version 2.3.3)
slcov: produces an LCOV compatible code coverage data for slang
scripts (version 2.3.3). See<http://jedsoft.org/slang/slcov/>
for some examples
slsh
====
Using "who" at the slsh> prompt will list the names/values of
variables and functions defined at the prompt.
API News
========
Note: The slang 2.3.x API is backward binary compatible with slang
2.y.z.
The size of the interpreter's runtime stack is now dynamically
allocated and can grow up to a maximum configured size (version
2.3.3)
Added support for TERMINFO_DIR (version 2.3.3)
Font attributes (italics, bold, underline, ...) may be enabled for
terminals that support them by using a color name with a qualifier:
SLtt_set_color ("menu", "white;italics", "blue");
SLtt_set_color ("comment", "black;underline;italics", "cyan");
SLang_init_tty: if flow control parameter is negative, the
terminal's flow control setting will not be changed.
New functions:
Functions for dealing with qualifiers passed to intrinsic
functions:
SLang_qualifier_exists;
SLang_get_int_qualifier;
SLang_get_long_qualifier;
SLang_get_double_qualifier;
SLang_get_string_qualifier;
Callback functions that allow an app additional hooks into the
slang readline functions:
SLrline_set_free_update_cb;
SLrline_set_update_clear_cb;
SLrline_set_update_preread_cb;
SLrline_set_update_postread_cb;
SLrline_set_update_width_cb;
SLrline_get_update_client_data;
Functions for dealing with interpreter associative arrays:
SLang_create_assoc;
SLang_push_assoc;
SLang_pop_assoc;
SLang_free_assoc;
SLang_assoc_put;
SLang_assoc_get;
SLang_assoc_key_exists;
Functions for dealing with interpreter list objects:
SLang_create_list;
SLang_list_append;
SLang_list_insert;
SLang_push_list;
SLang_pop_list;
SLang_free_list;
Functions for dealing with interpreter structures:
SLang_create_struct;
SLang_push_struct_field;
SLang_pop_struct_field;
SLang_pop_struct_fields;
Miscellaneous Functions:
SLstack_exch;
SLcompute_string_hash;
SLpath_getcwd;
Unicode Support
===============
Unicode tables were updated to version 10.0.0 (version 2.3.2)
Miscellaneous
=============
Support was added to support 32-bit terminfo database entries
introduced by ncurses 6.1 (version 2.3.2), and (in version 2.3.3)
for so-called user-defined terminfo extensions. In particular, if
the terminfo file defines RGB=true, then truecolor support will be
enabled.
=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=
NEWS for version 2.2.x -*-text-*-
Interpreter Enhancements
========================
1. The ternary expression was added:
expression = condition ? val1 : val2
If condition is non-zero, then expression = val1,
otherwise expression = val2
2. The break and condition statements support an optional integer
that indicates how many loop levels the statement affects, e.g.,
the break statement in
while (1)
{
loop (10)
{
break 2;
}
}
will cause both loops to be terminated.
3. Multiline strings have been added:
"This is a \
multiline \
string"
`This is
another multiline
string that
does not require
a \ for continuation`
4. List_Type objects may be indexed using an array of indices
instead of just a single scalar index.
5. (v2.2.3) Binary literal integers of the form 0bxx...x are supported.
Here, x is 0 or 1. The printf "%B" format specifier was added
to format integers as binary.
6. (v2.2.3) The dereference operator (@) may be used in a structure
definition to include the fields from the dereferenced
structure, e.g.,
space = struct {x, y, z};
spacetime = struct {@space, t};
7. (v2.2.3) Dereferencing a scalar or vector class type now
results in duplication of the object, e.g, @7 will produce 7.
8. (v2.2.3) Mergesort was made the default sorting algorithm. See the
array_sort for details.
Modules
=======
1. zlib: A module that wraps the popular z compression library.
2. fork: A module that wraps the fork, exec*, and waitpid functions.
slsh/lib/process.sl utilizes this module to allow an
application to easily create subprocesses and pipelines.
3. sysconf: Module that implements interfaces to the posix
sysconf, pathconf, etc. functions.
4. (2.2.3) csv: A module that supports the reading and writing of
so-called Comma Separated Values files.
Intrinsic Functions
===================
The following intrinsic functions have been added for 2.2.x:
sumsq
equivalent to sum(x*x)
expm1
More accurate version of exp(x)-1 for x near 0.
log1p
More accurate version of log(1+x) for x near 0
list_to_array
Creates an array from a list.
string_matches
A convenient alternative to string_match and string_match_nth
functions.
strskipbytes (v2.2.3)
Skip a range of bytes in a byte string.
is_substrbytes (v2.2.3)
Like is_substr except this works with binary strings
containing embedded null characters.
strskipchar, strbskipchar (v2.2.3)
Analogous to C ch=*p++ and ch=*p-- for UTF-8 encoded strings.
_close
Close an integer descriptor
_fileno
Returns the descriptor as an integer
dup2, getsid, killpg, getpriority/setpriority
Wraps the corresponding system functions.
utime (v2.2.3)
Change a file's last access and modification time.
ldexp, frexp:
If x == a*2^b, where 0.5<=a<1.0 then (a,b)=frexp(x),
and x=ldexp(a,b).
islower, isupper, isxdigit, isalnum, isalpha, iscntrl, isprint,
isgraph, ispunct, isblank, isascii, isspace (v2.2.3):
Character classification functions.
list_append, list_join (v2.2.3)
Functions for merging two lists together.
ttyname (v2.2.3)
Get the name of the terminal
timegm (v2.2.3)
Inverse of gmtime
The following functions have been enhanced:
hypot
If given a single array argument, it returns the equivalent
of sqrt(sum(X*X)).
Support for N arrays added for e.g., the Euclidean norm in
an N dimensional space (v2.2.3)
_min, _max: (v2.2.3)
Added support for more than two elements.
polynom
The calling interface to this function was changed and
support added for arrays.
strjoin (v2.2.3)
delimiter made optional
strreplace (v2.2.3)
New usage designed to facilitate the most common case where
one wants to replace all the substrings.
strtrans (v2.2.3)
Additional character classes added (see documentation).
string_match, string_matches (v2.2.3)
The position argument made optional
The following string functions have been vectorized to act upon
arrays of strings (v2.2.3):
is_substr
str_delete_chars
strbytelen
strcharlen
strcmp
strcompress
strlen
strlow
strnbytecmp
strncharcmp
strncmp
strtrans
strtrim
strtrim_beg
strtrim_end
strup
slsh
====
slang readline enhancements:
New functions:
rline_up/down_hist
Behaves similar to zsh up/down-line-or-search functions (v2.2.3).
rline_call_editor
rline_edit_history
rline_edit_line
Call external editor for line/history editing. (v2.2.3)
Structure field completion. (v2.2.3)
Instead of scrolling horizontally when editing a line,
attempt to wrap the line. (v2.2.3)
setfuns.sl: Various set functions: unique, intersection,
complement,union (v2.2.3)
Misc
====
Unicode tables updated to version 5.1.
=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x=x
NEWS for version 2.1
Building the library
====================
`make install' installs the shared version of the library.
Previously `make install' installed just the static version and a
separate step (`make install-elf') was required to install the
shared version. Now, `make install-static' is necessary to install
the static one.
Interpreter News
=================
Syntax enhancements:
--------------------
1. Short circuiting boolean operators:
if ((x == y) || (y == 3) && (x != 4)) ...
(orelse and andelse are deprecated)
2. Structure definitions allow embdedded assignment expressions:
s = struct {x = 3, name="foo", a = [1:10]};
3. Qualifiers (aka "keywords") added to the language:
save_file ("foo.c"; overwrite=1);
plot_points ([1:10], sin([1:10]); color="red", style="solid");
3. Expressions such as (a < b < c) now interpreted to mean
(a<b)and(b<c).
4. New keywords: ifnot, then
ifnot may be used instead of !if, which has been deprecated.
For "then" see the next item.
5. Looping constructs support a "then" clause that will get
executed if the loop runs to completion, e.g.,
loop (20)
{
if (this ())
break; % The then clause will NOT get executed
}
then do_that ();
6. A floating point array of exactly N elements may be created
using the form [a:b:#N], where the elements are uniformly
spaced and run from a to b, inclusive.
7. References to array elements and structure fields are
supported, e.g., &A[3], &s.foo.
8. An exception may be rethrown by calling "throw" without any
arguments:
try { something (); }
catch AnyError: { do_this (); throw; }
New Intrinsic Functions:
------------------------
wherenot(x) :
Equivalent to where (not(x))
_$(str) :
Evaluates strings with embedded "dollar" variables, e.g.,
_$("$TERM");
__push_list/__pop_list :
Push list items onto the stack
prod(x) :
Computes the product of an array a[0]*a[1]*...
minabs(x), maxabs(x):
Equivalent to min(abs(x)) and max(abs(x))
getpgrp,setgid, getpgid:
Get and set the process group (Unix)
setsid :
Create a new session
API News
========
Although not new I feel that this point should be stressed now
because it was not emphasized earlier: The SLarray_* functions that
deal with indices or sizes use `SLindex_Type' instead of `int'.
Currently, `SLindex_Type' is typedefed to be an `int', but this will
change in a future version. So for future compatibility, use
`SLindex_Type' instead of `int' in functions that deal with slang
arrays. Similarly, instead of using SLang_pop_int for obtaining an
array index, use SLang_pop_array_index. See the array-specific
examples in the documentation for more information.
There have been significant enhancements to the slang readline
interface. The interface has been opened up to the interpreter
allowing for such features as completion and a persistent history
mechanism. Applications wishing to take advantage of these features
should use the new function `SLrline_open2' instead of
`SLrline_open'. For an example, see how this function is used in
slsh/src/readline.c.
SLclass_patch_intrin_fun_table was added to facilitiate the patching
of intrinsic tables during runtime. If you have created dynamically
loaded modules, then you may have a good idea what this function is
for.
The SLang_Traceback variable is now interpreted as a bitmapped
integer providing greater flexibility and control over traceback
messages.
SLerr_throw was added to permit applications to mimic the semantics
of the `throw' statement.
SLang_verror_va was added to support calling the error routines with
a va_list argument.
slsh enhancements
=================
When configured to use slang's readline routines, new features
include filename completion and persistent history.
The profiler was rewritten to be much more friendly, flexible, and
more accurate.
struct_filter and struct_combine defined in structfuns.sl have been
made more flxible. See their documentation for more information.
A new function called readascii may be used for reading
non-binary (or so-called "ascii") data files.
New modules
===========
The following modules have been added:
iconv: Performs character-set conversion using the iconv library.
onig: A regular expression module using oniguruma RE library.
rand: A random number module
_______________________________________________
For list information, visit<http://jedsoft.org/slang/mailinglists.html>.