Mercurial > octave
changeset 28077:f47f9493cb37
NEWS: Update for version 7 development.
* NEWS.6: New file with NEWS from version 6.
* NEWS: Reset to be ready to record changes for version 7.
| author | Rik <rik@octave.org> |
|---|---|
| date | Mon, 17 Feb 2020 12:45:58 -0800 |
| parents | 2bf76050cb75 |
| children | 376ca9022b7e |
| files | NEWS etc/NEWS.6 |
| diffstat | 2 files changed, 304 insertions(+), 243 deletions(-) [+] |
line wrap: on
line diff
--- a/NEWS Mon Feb 17 12:31:52 2020 -0800 +++ b/NEWS Mon Feb 17 12:45:58 2020 -0800 @@ -1,239 +1,32 @@ -Summary of important user-visible changes for version 6 (yyyy-mm-dd): +Summary of important user-visible changes for version 7 (yyyy-mm-dd): ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ### General improvements -- The `intersect`, `setdiff`, `setxor`, `union`, and `unique` functions - accept a new sorting option `"stable"` which will return output values - in the same order as the input, rather than in ascending order. - -- Complex RESTful web services can now be accessed by the `webread` and - `webwrite` functions alongside with the `weboptions` structure. One - major feature is the support for cookies to enable RESTful - communication with the web service. - - Additionally, the system web browser can be opened by the `web` function. - -- The `linspace` function now produces symmetrical sequences when the - endpoints are symmetric. This is more intuitive and also compatible - with recent changes made in Matlab R2019b. - -- The underlying algorithm of the `rand` function has been changed. - For single precision outputs, the algorithm has been fixed so that it - produces values strictly in the range (0, 1). Previously, it could - occasionally generate the right endpoint value of 1 (See bug #41742). - In addition, the new implementation uses a uniform interval between - floating point values in the range (0, 1) rather than targeting a - uniform density (# of random integers / length along real number - line). - -- Numerical integration has been improved. The `quadv` function has - been re-written so that it can compute integrands of periodic - functions. At the same time, performance is better with ~3.5X fewer - function evaluations required. A bug in `quadgk` that caused complex - path integrals specified with `"Waypoints"` to occasionally be - calculated in the opposite direction was fixed. - -- The `edit` function option `"editinplace"` now defaults to `true` and - the option `"home"` now defaults to the empty matrix `[]`. Files will - no longer be copied to the user's HOME directory for editing. The old - behavior can be restored by setting `"editinplace"` to `false` and - `"home"` to `"~/octave"`. - -- The `format` command supports two new options: `uppercase` and - `lowercase` (default). With the default, print a lowercase 'e' for - the exponent character in scientific notation and lowercase 'a-f' for - the hex digits representing 10-15. With `uppercase`, print 'E' and - 'A-F' instead. The previous uppercase formats, `E` and `G`, no longer - control the case of the output. - - Additionally, the `format` command can be called with multiple options - for controlling the format, spacing, and case in arbitrary order. - For example: - - format long e uppercase loose - - Note, in the case of multiple competing format options the rightmost - one is used, and, in case of an error, the previous format remains - unchanged. - -- L-value references (e.g., increment (++), decrement (--), and all - in-place assignment operators (+=, -=, *=, /=, etc.)) are no longer - allowed in anonymous functions. - -- New warnings have been added about questionable uses of the colon ':' - range operator. Each has a new warning ID so that it can be disabled - if desired. - - > `Octave:colon-complex-argument` : when any arg is complex - > `Octave:colon-nonscalar-argument` : when any arg is non-scalar -- The `regexp` and related functions now correctly handle and *require* - strings in UTF-8 encoding. As with any other function that requires - strings to be encoded in Octave's native encoding, you can use - `native2unicode` to convert from your preferred locale. For example, - the copyright symbol in UTF-8 is `native2unicode (169, "latin1")`. - -- The startup file `octaverc` now can be located in the platform - dependent location for user local configuration files (e.g. - ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/octave/octaverc on Unix-like operating systems or - %APPDATA%\octave\octaverc on Windows). - -- `pkg describe` now lists dependencies and inverse dependencies - (i.e., other installed packages that depend on the package in - question). - -- When unloading a package, `pkg` now checks if any remaining loaded - packages depend on the one to be removed. If this is the case `pkg` - aborts with an explanatory error message. This behavior can be - overridden with the `-nodeps` option. - -#### Graphics backend - -- The use of Qt4 for graphics and the GUI is deprecated in Octave - version 6 and no further bug fixes will be made. Qt4 support will be - removed completely in Octave version 7. - -- The `legend` function has been entirely rewritten. This fixes a - number of historical bugs, but also implements new properties such as - `"AutoUpdate"` and `"NumColumns"`. The gnuplot toolkit---which is no - longer actively maintained---still uses the old legend function. - -- The `axis` function was updated which resolved 10 bugs affecting - axes to which `"equal"` had been applied. +### Graphics backend -- Graphic primitives now accept a color property value of `"none"` - which is useful when a particular primitive needs to be hidden - (for example, the Y-axis of an axes object with `"ycolor" = "none"`) - without hiding the entire primitive `"visibility" = "off"`. - -- A new property `"FontSmoothing"` has been added to text and axes - objects that controls whether anti-aliasing is used during the - rendering of characters. The default is `"on"` which produces smooth, - more visually appealing text. - -- The figure property `"windowscrollwheelfcn"`is now implemented. - This makes it possible to provide a callback function to be executed - when users manipulate the mouse wheel on a given figure. - -- The figure properties `"pointer"`, `"pointershapecdata"`, and - `"pointershapehotspot"` are now implemented. This makes it possible - to change the shape of the cursor (pointer in Matlab-speak) displayed - in a plot window. - -- The figure property `"paperpositionmode"` now has the default `"auto"` - rather than `"manual"`. This change is more intuitive and is - Matlab compatible. - -- The appearance of patterned lines `"LineStyle" = ":"|"--"|"-."` has - been improved for small widths (`"LineWidth"` less than 1.5 pixels) - which is a common scenario. - -- Printing to EPS files now uses a tight bounding box (`"-tight"` - argument to print) by default. This makes more sense for EPS - files which are normally embedded within other documents, and is - Matlab compatible. If necessary use the `"-loose"` option to - reproduce figures as they appeared in previous versions of Octave. - -- The following print devices are no longer officially supported: cdr, - corel, aifm, ill, cgm, hpgl, mf and dxf. A warning will be thrown - when using those devices, and the code for supporting those formats - will eventually be removed from a future version of Octave. +- Support for Qt4 for graphics and the GUI has been removed. ### Matlab compatibility -- The function `unique` now returns column index vectors for the second - and third outputs. When duplicate values are present, the default - index to return is now the `"first"` occurrence. The previous Octave - behavior, or Matlab behavior from releases prior to R2012b, can be - obtained by using the `"legacy"` flag. - -- The function `setdiff` with the `"rows"` argument now returns Matlab - compatible results. The previous Octave behavior, or Matlab behavior - from releases prior to R2012b, can be obtained by using the `"legacy"` - flag. - -- The functions `intersect`, `setxor`, and `union` now accept a - `"legacy"` flag which changes the index values (second and third - outputs) as well as the orientation of all outputs to match Matlab - releases prior to R2012b. - -- The interpreter now supports handles to nested functions. - -- The graphics properties `"LineWidth"` and `"MarkerSize"` are now - measured in points, *not* pixels. Compared to previous versions - of Octave, some lines and markers will appear 4/3 larger. - -- The meta.class property "SuperClassList" has been renamed - "Superclasslist" for Matlab compatibility. The original name will - exist as an alias until Octave version 8.1. - -- The function `javaaddpath` now prepends new directories to the - existing dynamic classpath by default. To append them instead, use - the new `"-end"` argument. Multiple directories may now be specified - in a cell array of strings. - -- An undocumented function `gui_mainfcn` has been added, for compatibility - with figures created with Matlab's GUIDE. - -- Several validator functions of type `mustBe*` have been added. See - the list of new functions below. - -### Alphabetical list of new functions added in Octave 6 -* `commandhistory` -* `commandwindow` -* `filebrowser` -* `is_same_file` -* `lightangle` -* `mustBeFinite` -* `mustBeGreaterThan` -* `mustBeGreaterThanOrEqual` -* `mustBeInteger` -* `mustBeLessThan` -* `mustBeLessThanOrEqual` -* `mustBeMember` -* `mustBeNegative` -* `mustBeNonempty` -* `mustBeNonNan` -* `mustBeNonnegative` -* `mustBeNonpositive` -* `mustBeNonsparse` -* `mustBeNonzero` -* `mustBeNumeric` -* `mustBeNumericOrLogical` -* `mustBePositive` -* `mustBeReal` -* `namedargs2cell` -* `newline` -* `rescale` -* `rotx` -* `roty` -* `rotz` -* `stream2` -* `stream3` -* `streamline` -* `streamtube` -* `uisetfont` -* `verLessThan` -* `web` -* `weboptions` -* `webread` -* `webwrite` -* `workspace` +### Alphabetical list of new functions added in Octave 7 + +* `XXX` ### Deprecated functions and properties -The following functions and properties have been deprecated in Octave 6 -and will be removed from Octave 8 (or whatever version is the second -major release after 6): +The following functions and properties have been deprecated in Octave 7 +and will be removed from Octave 9 (or whatever version is the second +major release after 7): - Functions Function | Replacement -----------------------|------------------ - `runtests` | `oruntests` + | - Properties @@ -241,47 +34,26 @@ -----------------|---------------|------------ | | - ### Removed functions and properties -The following functions and properties were deprecated in Octave 4.4 -and have been removed from Octave 6. +The following functions and properties were deprecated in Octave 5 +and have been removed from Octave 7. - Functions Function | Replacement ---------------------|------------------ - `chop` | `sprintf` for visual results - `desktop` | `isguirunning` - `tmpnam` | `tempname` - `toascii` | `double` - `java2mat` | `__java2mat__` + | - Properties Object | Property | Value ---------------------|---------------------------|----------------------- - `annotation` | `edgecolor ("rectangle")` | - `axes` | `drawmode` | - `figure` | `doublebuffer` | - | `mincolormap` | - | `wvisual` | - | `wvisualmode` | - | `xdisplay` | - | `xvisual` | - | `xvisualmode` | - `line` | `interpreter` | - `patch` | `interpreter` | - `surface` | `interpreter` | - `text` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` - `uibuttongroup` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` - `uicontrol` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` - `uipanel` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` - `uitable` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` - + | | ### Old release news +- [Octave 6.x](etc/NEWS.6) - [Octave 5.x](etc/NEWS.5) - [Octave 4.x](etc/NEWS.4) - [Octave 3.x](etc/NEWS.3)
--- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/etc/NEWS.6 Mon Feb 17 12:45:58 2020 -0800 @@ -0,0 +1,289 @@ +Summary of important user-visible changes for version 6 (yyyy-mm-dd): +---------------------------------------------------------------------- + +### General improvements + +- The `intersect`, `setdiff`, `setxor`, `union`, and `unique` functions + accept a new sorting option `"stable"` which will return output values + in the same order as the input, rather than in ascending order. + +- Complex RESTful web services can now be accessed by the `webread` and + `webwrite` functions alongside with the `weboptions` structure. One + major feature is the support for cookies to enable RESTful + communication with the web service. + + Additionally, the system web browser can be opened by the `web` function. + +- The `linspace` function now produces symmetrical sequences when the + endpoints are symmetric. This is more intuitive and also compatible + with recent changes made in Matlab R2019b. + +- The underlying algorithm of the `rand` function has been changed. + For single precision outputs, the algorithm has been fixed so that it + produces values strictly in the range (0, 1). Previously, it could + occasionally generate the right endpoint value of 1 (See bug #41742). + In addition, the new implementation uses a uniform interval between + floating point values in the range (0, 1) rather than targeting a + uniform density (# of random integers / length along real number + line). + +- Numerical integration has been improved. The `quadv` function has + been re-written so that it can compute integrands of periodic + functions. At the same time, performance is better with ~3.5X fewer + function evaluations required. A bug in `quadgk` that caused complex + path integrals specified with `"Waypoints"` to occasionally be + calculated in the opposite direction was fixed. + +- The `edit` function option `"editinplace"` now defaults to `true` and + the option `"home"` now defaults to the empty matrix `[]`. Files will + no longer be copied to the user's HOME directory for editing. The old + behavior can be restored by setting `"editinplace"` to `false` and + `"home"` to `"~/octave"`. + +- The `format` command supports two new options: `uppercase` and + `lowercase` (default). With the default, print a lowercase 'e' for + the exponent character in scientific notation and lowercase 'a-f' for + the hex digits representing 10-15. With `uppercase`, print 'E' and + 'A-F' instead. The previous uppercase formats, `E` and `G`, no longer + control the case of the output. + + Additionally, the `format` command can be called with multiple options + for controlling the format, spacing, and case in arbitrary order. + For example: + + format long e uppercase loose + + Note, in the case of multiple competing format options the rightmost + one is used, and, in case of an error, the previous format remains + unchanged. + +- L-value references (e.g., increment (++), decrement (--), and all + in-place assignment operators (+=, -=, *=, /=, etc.)) are no longer + allowed in anonymous functions. + +- New warnings have been added about questionable uses of the colon ':' + range operator. Each has a new warning ID so that it can be disabled + if desired. + + > `Octave:colon-complex-argument` : when any arg is complex + > `Octave:colon-nonscalar-argument` : when any arg is non-scalar + +- The `regexp` and related functions now correctly handle and *require* + strings in UTF-8 encoding. As with any other function that requires + strings to be encoded in Octave's native encoding, you can use + `native2unicode` to convert from your preferred locale. For example, + the copyright symbol in UTF-8 is `native2unicode (169, "latin1")`. + +- The startup file `octaverc` now can be located in the platform + dependent location for user local configuration files (e.g. + ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME}/octave/octaverc on Unix-like operating systems or + %APPDATA%\octave\octaverc on Windows). + +- `pkg describe` now lists dependencies and inverse dependencies + (i.e., other installed packages that depend on the package in + question). + +- When unloading a package, `pkg` now checks if any remaining loaded + packages depend on the one to be removed. If this is the case `pkg` + aborts with an explanatory error message. This behavior can be + overridden with the `-nodeps` option. + +#### Graphics backend + +- The use of Qt4 for graphics and the GUI is deprecated in Octave + version 6 and no further bug fixes will be made. Qt4 support will be + removed completely in Octave version 7. + +- The `legend` function has been entirely rewritten. This fixes a + number of historical bugs, but also implements new properties such as + `"AutoUpdate"` and `"NumColumns"`. The gnuplot toolkit---which is no + longer actively maintained---still uses the old legend function. + +- The `axis` function was updated which resolved 10 bugs affecting + axes to which `"equal"` had been applied. + +- Graphic primitives now accept a color property value of `"none"` + which is useful when a particular primitive needs to be hidden + (for example, the Y-axis of an axes object with `"ycolor" = "none"`) + without hiding the entire primitive `"visibility" = "off"`. + +- A new property `"FontSmoothing"` has been added to text and axes + objects that controls whether anti-aliasing is used during the + rendering of characters. The default is `"on"` which produces smooth, + more visually appealing text. + +- The figure property `"windowscrollwheelfcn"`is now implemented. + This makes it possible to provide a callback function to be executed + when users manipulate the mouse wheel on a given figure. + +- The figure properties `"pointer"`, `"pointershapecdata"`, and + `"pointershapehotspot"` are now implemented. This makes it possible + to change the shape of the cursor (pointer in Matlab-speak) displayed + in a plot window. + +- The figure property `"paperpositionmode"` now has the default `"auto"` + rather than `"manual"`. This change is more intuitive and is + Matlab compatible. + +- The appearance of patterned lines `"LineStyle" = ":"|"--"|"-."` has + been improved for small widths (`"LineWidth"` less than 1.5 pixels) + which is a common scenario. + +- Printing to EPS files now uses a tight bounding box (`"-tight"` + argument to print) by default. This makes more sense for EPS + files which are normally embedded within other documents, and is + Matlab compatible. If necessary use the `"-loose"` option to + reproduce figures as they appeared in previous versions of Octave. + +- The following print devices are no longer officially supported: cdr, + corel, aifm, ill, cgm, hpgl, mf and dxf. A warning will be thrown + when using those devices, and the code for supporting those formats + will eventually be removed from a future version of Octave. + +### Matlab compatibility + +- The function `unique` now returns column index vectors for the second + and third outputs. When duplicate values are present, the default + index to return is now the `"first"` occurrence. The previous Octave + behavior, or Matlab behavior from releases prior to R2012b, can be + obtained by using the `"legacy"` flag. + +- The function `setdiff` with the `"rows"` argument now returns Matlab + compatible results. The previous Octave behavior, or Matlab behavior + from releases prior to R2012b, can be obtained by using the `"legacy"` + flag. + +- The functions `intersect`, `setxor`, and `union` now accept a + `"legacy"` flag which changes the index values (second and third + outputs) as well as the orientation of all outputs to match Matlab + releases prior to R2012b. + +- The interpreter now supports handles to nested functions. + +- The graphics properties `"LineWidth"` and `"MarkerSize"` are now + measured in points, *not* pixels. Compared to previous versions + of Octave, some lines and markers will appear 4/3 larger. + +- The meta.class property "SuperClassList" has been renamed + "Superclasslist" for Matlab compatibility. The original name will + exist as an alias until Octave version 8.1. + +- The function `javaaddpath` now prepends new directories to the + existing dynamic classpath by default. To append them instead, use + the new `"-end"` argument. Multiple directories may now be specified + in a cell array of strings. + +- An undocumented function `gui_mainfcn` has been added, for compatibility + with figures created with Matlab's GUIDE. + +- Several validator functions of type `mustBe*` have been added. See + the list of new functions below. + +### Alphabetical list of new functions added in Octave 6 + +* `commandhistory` +* `commandwindow` +* `filebrowser` +* `is_same_file` +* `lightangle` +* `mustBeFinite` +* `mustBeGreaterThan` +* `mustBeGreaterThanOrEqual` +* `mustBeInteger` +* `mustBeLessThan` +* `mustBeLessThanOrEqual` +* `mustBeMember` +* `mustBeNegative` +* `mustBeNonempty` +* `mustBeNonNan` +* `mustBeNonnegative` +* `mustBeNonpositive` +* `mustBeNonsparse` +* `mustBeNonzero` +* `mustBeNumeric` +* `mustBeNumericOrLogical` +* `mustBePositive` +* `mustBeReal` +* `namedargs2cell` +* `newline` +* `rescale` +* `rotx` +* `roty` +* `rotz` +* `stream2` +* `stream3` +* `streamline` +* `streamtube` +* `uisetfont` +* `verLessThan` +* `web` +* `weboptions` +* `webread` +* `webwrite` +* `workspace` + + +### Deprecated functions and properties + +The following functions and properties have been deprecated in Octave 6 +and will be removed from Octave 8 (or whatever version is the second +major release after 6): + +- Functions + + Function | Replacement + -----------------------|------------------ + `runtests` | `oruntests` + +- Properties + + Object | Property | Value + -----------------|---------------|------------ + | | + + +### Removed functions and properties + +The following functions and properties were deprecated in Octave 4.4 +and have been removed from Octave 6. + +- Functions + + Function | Replacement + ---------------------|------------------ + `chop` | `sprintf` for visual results + `desktop` | `isguirunning` + `tmpnam` | `tempname` + `toascii` | `double` + `java2mat` | `__java2mat__` + +- Properties + + Object | Property | Value + ---------------------|---------------------------|----------------------- + `annotation` | `edgecolor ("rectangle")` | + `axes` | `drawmode` | + `figure` | `doublebuffer` | + | `mincolormap` | + | `wvisual` | + | `wvisualmode` | + | `xdisplay` | + | `xvisual` | + | `xvisualmode` | + `line` | `interpreter` | + `patch` | `interpreter` | + `surface` | `interpreter` | + `text` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` + `uibuttongroup` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` + `uicontrol` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` + `uipanel` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` + `uitable` | `fontweight` | `"demi"` and `"light"` + + +### Old release news + +- [Octave 5.x](etc/NEWS.5) +- [Octave 4.x](etc/NEWS.4) +- [Octave 3.x](etc/NEWS.3) +- [Octave 2.x](etc/NEWS.2) +- [Octave 1.x](etc/NEWS.1)