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1 Summary of changes for version 2.0: |
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2 ---------------------------------- |
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3 |
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4 * New data types can be added to Octave by writing a C++ class. On |
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5 systems that support dynamic linking, new data types can be added |
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6 to an already running Octave binary. A simple example appears in |
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7 the file examples/make_int.cc. Other examples are the standard |
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8 Octave data types defined in the files src/ov*.{h,cc} and |
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9 src/op-*.cc. [This feature should be better documented by the |
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10 time 2.0 is released]. |
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11 |
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12 * The configure option --enable-bounds-check turns on bounds |
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13 checking on element references for Octave's internal array and |
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14 matrix classes. It's enabled by default. To disable this |
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15 feature, configure Octave with --disable-bounds-check. |
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16 |
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17 * The C-style I/O functions (fopen, fprintf, etc.) have been |
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18 rewritten to be more compatible with Matlab. The fputs function |
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19 has also been added. Usage of the *printf functions that was |
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20 allowed in previous versions of Octave should still work. |
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21 However, there is no way to make the new versions of the *scanf |
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22 functions compatible with Matlab *and* previous versions of |
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23 Octave. An optional argument to the *scanf functions is now |
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24 available to make them behave in a way that is compatible with |
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25 previous versions of Octave. |
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26 |
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27 * Octave can now read files that contain columns of numbers only, |
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28 with no header information. The name of the loaded variable is |
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29 constructed from the file name. Each line in the file must have |
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30 the same number of elements. |
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31 |
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32 * The interface to the pager has changed. The new built-in variable |
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33 `page_output_immediately' controls when Octave sends output to the |
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34 pager. If it is nonzero, Octave sends output to the pager as soon |
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35 as it is available. Otherwise, Octave buffers its output and |
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36 waits until just before the prompt is printed to flush it to the |
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37 pager. |
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38 |
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39 * Expressions of the form |
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40 |
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41 A(i,j) = x |
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42 |
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43 where X is a scalar and the indices i and j define a matrix of |
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44 elements now work as you would expect rather than giving an error. |
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45 I am told that this is how Matlab 5.0 will behave when it is |
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46 released. |
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47 |
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48 * Indexing of character strings now works. |
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49 |
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50 * The echo command has been implemented. |
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51 |
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52 * The document command is now a regular function. |
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53 |
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54 * New method for handling errors: |
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55 |
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56 try |
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57 BODY |
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58 catch |
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59 CLEANUP |
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60 end_try_catch |
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61 |
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62 Where BODY and CLEANUP are both optional and may contain any |
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63 Octave expressions or commands. The statements in CLEANUP are |
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64 only executed if an error occurs in BODY. |
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65 |
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66 No warnings or error messages are printed while BODY is |
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67 executing. If an error does occur during the execution of BODY, |
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68 CLEANUP can access the text of the message that would have been |
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69 printed in the builtin constant __error_text__. This is the same |
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70 as eval (TRY, CATCH) (which may now also use __error_text__) but |
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71 it is more efficient since the commands do not need to be parsed |
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72 each time the TRY and CATCH statements are evaluated. |
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73 |
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74 * Octave no longer parses the help command by grabbing everything |
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75 after the keyword `help' until a newline character is read. To |
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76 get help for `;' or `,', now, you need to use the command |
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77 `help semicolon' or `help comma'. |
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78 |
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79 * Octave's parser now does some simple constant folding. This means |
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80 that expressions like 3*i are now evaluated only once, when a |
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81 function is compiled, and the right hand side of expressions like |
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82 a = [1,2;3,4] are treated as true matrix constants rather than |
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83 lists of elements which must be evaluated each time they are |
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84 needed. |
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85 |
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86 * Built-in variables that can take values of "true" and "false" can |
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87 now also be set to any nonzero scalar value to indicate "true", |
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88 and 0 to indicate "false". |
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89 |
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90 * New built-in variables `history_file', `history_size', and |
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91 `saving_history'. |
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92 |
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93 * New built-in variable `string_fill_char' specifies the character |
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94 to fill with when creating arrays of strings. |
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95 |
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96 * If the new built-in variable `gnuplot_has_frames' is nonzero, |
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97 Octave assumes that your copy of gnuplot includes support for |
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98 multiple plot windows when using X11. |
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99 |
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100 If the new built-in variable `gnuplot_has_multiplot' is nonzero, |
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101 Octave assumes that your copy of gnuplot has the multiplot support |
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102 that is included in recent 3.6beta releases. |
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103 |
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104 The initial values of these variables are determined by configure, |
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105 but can be changed in your startup script or at the command line |
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106 in case configure got it wrong, or if you upgrade your gnuplot |
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107 installation. |
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108 |
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109 * The new plot function `figure' allows multiple plot windows when |
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110 using newer versions of gnuplot with X11. |
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111 |
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112 * Octave now notices when the plotter has exited unexpectedly. |
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113 |
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114 * New built-in variable `warn_missing_semicolon'. If nonzero, Octave |
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115 will warn when statements in function definitions don't end in |
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116 semicolons. The default value is 0. |
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117 |
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118 * Octave now attempts to continue after floating point exceptions |
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119 or out-of-memory errors. |
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120 |
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121 * If Octave crashes, it now attempts to save all user-defined |
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122 variables in a file named `octave-core' in the current directory |
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123 before exiting. |
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124 |
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125 * It is now possible to get the values of individual option settings |
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126 for the dassl, fsolve, lsode, npsol, qpsol, and quad functions |
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127 using commands like |
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128 |
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129 dassl_reltol = dassl_options ("relative tolerance"); |
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130 |
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131 * The svd() function no longer computes the left and right singular |
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132 matrices unnecessarily. This can significantly improve |
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133 performance for large matrices if you are just looking for the |
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134 singular values. |
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135 |
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136 * The filter() function is now a built-in function. |
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137 |
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138 * New function randn() returns a pseudo-random number from a normal |
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139 distribution. The rand() and randn() functions have separate |
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140 seeds and generators. |
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141 |
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142 * Octave's command-line arguments are now available in the built-in |
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143 variable `argv'. The program name is also available in the |
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144 variables `program_invocation_name' and `program_name'. If |
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145 executing a script from the command line (e.g., octave foo.m) or |
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146 using the `#! /bin/octave' hack, the program name is set to the |
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147 name of the script. |
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148 |
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149 * New built-in variable `completion_append_char' used as the |
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150 character to append to successful command-line completion |
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151 attempts. The default is " " (a single space). |
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152 |
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153 * Octave now uses a modified copy of the readline library from |
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154 version 1.14.5 of GNU bash. |
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155 |
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156 * In prompt strings, `\H' expands to the whole host name. |
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157 |
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158 * New built-in variable `beep_on_error'. If nonzero, Octave will try |
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159 to ring your terminal's bell before printing an error message. |
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160 The default value is 0. |
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161 |
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162 * New command-line argument --traditional sets the following |
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163 preference variables for compatibility with Matlab: |
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164 |
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165 PS1 = ">> " |
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166 PS2 = "" |
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167 beep_on_error = 1 |
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168 default_save_format = "mat-binary" |
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169 define_all_return_values = 1 |
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170 do_fortran_indexing = 1 |
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171 empty_list_elements_ok = 1 |
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172 implicit_str_to_num_ok = 1 |
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173 ok_to_lose_imaginary_part = 1 |
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174 page_screen_output = 0 |
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175 prefer_column_vectors = 0 |
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176 prefer_zero_one_indexing = 1 |
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177 print_empty_dimensions = 0 |
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178 treat_neg_dim_as_zero = 1 |
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179 warn_function_name_clash = 0 |
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180 whitespace_in_literal_matrix = "traditional" |
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181 |
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182 * New functions: |
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183 |
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184 readdir -- returns names of files in directory as array of strings |
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185 mkdir -- create a directory |
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186 rmdir -- remove a directory |
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187 rename -- rename a file |
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188 unlink -- delete a file |
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189 umask -- set permission mask for file creation |
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190 stat -- get information about a file |
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191 lstat -- get information about a symbolic link |
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192 glob -- perform filename globbing |
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193 fnmatch -- match strings with filename globbing patterns |
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194 more -- turn the pager on or off |
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195 gammaln -- alias for lgamma |
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196 |
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197 * New audio functions from Andreas Weingessel |
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198 <Andreas.Weingessel@ci.tuwien.ac.at>. |
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199 |
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200 lin2mu -- linear to mu-law encoding |
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201 loadaudio -- load an audio file to a vector |
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202 mu2lin -- mu-law to linear encoding |
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203 playaudio -- play an audio file |
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204 record -- record sound and store in vector |
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205 saveaudio -- save a vector as an audio file |
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206 setaudio -- executes mixer shell command |
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207 |
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208 * New plotting functions from Vinayak Dutt. Ones dealing with |
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209 multiple plots on one page require features from gnuplot 3.6beta |
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210 (or later). |
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211 |
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212 bottom_title -- put title at the bottom of the plot |
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213 mplot -- multiplot version of plot |
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214 multiplot -- switch multiple-plot mode on or off |
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215 oneplot -- return to one plot per page |
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216 plot_border -- put a border around plots |
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217 subplot -- position multiple plots on a single page |
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218 subwindow -- set subwindow position for next plot |
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219 top_title -- put title at the top of the plot |
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220 zlabel -- put a label on the z-axis |
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221 |
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222 * New string functions |
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223 |
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224 bin2dec -- convert a string of ones and zeros to an integer |
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225 blanks -- create a string of blanks |
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226 deblank -- delete trailing blanks |
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227 dec2bin -- convert an integer to a string of ones and zeros |
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228 dec2hex -- convert an integer to a hexadecimal string |
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229 findstr -- locate occurrences of one string in another |
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230 hex2dec -- convert a hexadecimal string to an integer |
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231 index -- return position of first occurrence a string in another |
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232 rindex -- return position of last occurrence a string in another |
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233 split -- divide one string into pieces separated by another |
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234 str2mat -- create a string matrix from a list of strings |
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235 strrep -- replace substrings in a string |
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236 substr -- extract a substring |
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237 |
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238 The following functions return a matrix of ones and zeros. |
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239 Elements that are nonzero indicate that the condition was true for |
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240 the corresponding character in the string array. |
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241 |
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242 isalnum -- letter or a digit |
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243 isalpha -- letter |
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244 isascii -- ascii |
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245 iscntrl -- control character |
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246 isdigit -- digit |
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247 isgraph -- printable (but not space character) |
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248 islower -- lower case |
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249 isprint -- printable (including space character) |
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250 ispunct -- punctuation |
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251 isspace -- whitespace |
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252 isupper -- upper case |
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253 isxdigit -- hexadecimal digit |
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254 |
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255 These functions return new strings. |
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256 |
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257 tolower -- convert to lower case |
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258 toupper -- convert to upper case |
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259 |
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260 * New function, fgetl. Both fgetl and fgets accept an optional |
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261 second argument that specifies a maximum number of characters to |
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262 read, and the function fgets is now compatible with Matlab. |
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263 |
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264 * Printing in hexadecimal format now works (format hex). It is also |
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265 possible to print the internal bit representation of a value |
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266 (format bit). Note that these formats are only implemented for |
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267 numeric values. |
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268 |
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269 * Additional structure features: |
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270 |
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271 -- Name completion now works for structures. |
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272 |
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273 -- Values and names of structure elements are now printed by |
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274 default. The new built-in variable `struct_levels_to_print' |
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275 controls the depth of nested structures to print. The default |
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276 value is 2. |
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277 |
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278 -- New functions: |
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279 |
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280 struct_contains (S, NAME) -- returns 1 if S is a structure with |
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281 element NAME; otherwise returns 0. |
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282 |
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283 struct_elements (S) -- returns the names of all elements |
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284 of structure S in an array of strings. |
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285 |
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286 * New io/subprocess functions: |
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287 |
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288 fputs -- write a string to a file with no formatting |
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289 popen2 -- start a subprocess with 2-way communication |
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290 mkfifo -- create a FIFO special file |
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291 popen -- open a pipe to a subprocess |
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292 pclose -- close a pipe from a subprocess |
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293 waitpid -- check the status of or wait for subprocesses |
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294 |
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295 * New time functions: |
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296 |
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297 asctime -- format time structure according to local format |
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298 ctime -- equivalent to `asctime (localtime (TMSTRUCT))' |
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299 gmtime -- return time structure corresponding to UTC |
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300 localtime -- return time structure corresponding to local time zone |
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301 strftime -- print given time structure using specified format |
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302 time -- return current time |
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303 |
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304 The `clock' and `date' functions are now implemented in M-files |
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305 using these basic functions. |
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306 |
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307 * Access to additional Unix system calls: |
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308 |
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309 dup2 -- duplicate a file descriptor |
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310 exec -- replace current process with a new process |
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311 fcntl -- control open file descriptors |
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312 fork -- create a copy of the current process |
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313 getpgrp -- return the process group id of the current process |
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314 getpid -- return the process id of the current process |
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315 getppid -- return the process id of the parent process |
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316 getuid -- return the real user id of the current process |
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317 getgid -- return the real group id of the current process |
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318 geteuid -- return the effective user id of the current process |
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319 getegid -- return the effective group id of the current process |
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320 pipe -- create an interprocess channel |
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321 |
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322 * Other new functions: |
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323 |
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324 tmpnam -- replaces octave_tmp_file_name |
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325 atexit -- register functions to be called when Octave exits |
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326 putenv -- define an environment variable |
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327 meshgrid -- compatible with Matlab's meshgrid function |
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328 tilde_expand -- perform tilde expansion on string |
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329 completion_matches -- perform command completion on string |
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330 |
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331 * Functions for getting info from the password database on Unix systems: |
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332 |
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333 getpwent -- read entry from password-file stream, opening if necessary |
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334 getpwuid -- search for password entry with matching user ID |
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335 getpwnam -- search for password entry with matching username |
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336 setpwent -- rewind the password-file stream |
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337 endpwent -- close the password-file stream |
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338 |
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339 * Functions for getting info from the group database on Unix systems: |
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340 |
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341 getgrent -- read entry from group-file stream, opening if necessary |
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342 getgrgid -- search for group entry with matching group ID |
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343 getgrnam -- search for group entry with matching group name |
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344 setgrent -- rewind the pgroup-file stream |
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345 endgrent -- close the group-file stream |
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346 |
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347 * The New function octave_config_info returns a structure containing |
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348 information about how Octave was configured and compiled. |
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349 |
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350 * New function getrusage returns a structure containing system |
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351 resource usage statistics. The `cputime' function is now defined |
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352 in an M-file using getrusage. |
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353 |
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354 * The info reader is now a separate binary that runs as a |
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355 subprocess. You still need the info reader distributed with |
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356 Octave though, because there are some new command-line arguments |
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357 that are not yet available in the public release of Info. |
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358 |
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359 * There is a new built-in variable, INFO_PROGRAM, which is used as |
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360 the name of the info program to run. Its initial value is |
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361 $OCTAVE_HOME/lib/octave/VERSION/exec/ARCH/info, but that value can |
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362 be overridden by the environment variable OCTAVE_INFO_PROGRAM, or |
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363 the command line argument --info-program NAME, or by setting the |
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364 value of INFO_PROGRAM in a startup script. |
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365 |
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366 * There is a new built-in variable, EXEC_PATH, which is used as |
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367 the list of directories to search when executing subprograms. Its |
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368 initial value is taken from the environment variable |
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369 OCTAVE_EXEC_PATH (if it exists) or PATH, but that value can be |
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370 overridden by the the command line argument --exec-path PATH, or |
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371 by setting the value of EXEC_PATH in a startup script. If the |
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372 EXEC_PATH begins (ends) with a colon, the directories |
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373 $OCTAVE_HOME/lib/octave/VERSION/exec/ARCH and $OCTAVE_HOME/bin are |
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374 prepended (appended) to EXEC_PATH (if you don't specify a value |
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375 for EXEC_PATH explicitly, these special directories are prepended |
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376 to your PATH). |
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377 |
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378 * If it is present, Octave will now use an `ls-R' database file to |
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379 speed up recursive path searching. Octave looks for a file called |
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380 ls-R in the directory specified by the environment variable |
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381 OCTAVE_DB_DIR. If that is not set but the environment variable |
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382 OCTAVE_HOME is set, Octave looks in $OCTAVE_HOME/lib/octave. |
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383 Otherwise, Octave looks in the directory $datadir/octave (normally |
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384 /usr/local/lib/octave). |
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385 |
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386 * New examples directory. |
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387 |
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388 * There is a new script, mkoctfile, that can be used to create .oct |
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389 files suitable for dynamic linking. |
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390 |
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391 * Many more bug fixes. |
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392 |
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393 * ChangeLogs are now kept in each subdirectory. |
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394 |
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395 See NEWS.1 for old news. |
