diff --git a/general-info/beta-release-notes.txt b/general-info/beta-release-notes.txt index ec98fe21116c2eb4cac439e8b8cbd51e24d214cc..4fb5144dc57c32a323e3efe93e0c490610cacf0e 100644 --- a/general-info/beta-release-notes.txt +++ b/general-info/beta-release-notes.txt @@ -1,4 +1,141 @@ - Release notes for CMU Common Lisp 15a, 17 October 91 + Release notes for CMU Common Lisp 15c, 23 January 92 + +These release notes cover changes since the beta release of version 15b on 6 +June 91. Execpt for Miles Bader's portable disassembler and a few minor +performance enhancements, this is mostly a bug-fix release. We've been +working on ANSI complaince, foreign function interface and more advanced +compiler optimizations, but we're not going to inflict that on the general +public just yet. + + + GENERAL SYSTEM CODE + +Bug fixes: + -- (SETF AREF) now checks to make sure that the new value is of the correct + type. + -- Improved checking for invalid syntax in DEFSTRUCT. In some cases, syntax + errors would cause cryptic internal errors due to inadequate type + checking. + -- DRIBBLE now monitors *ERROR-OUTPUT* (in addition to *STANDARD-OUTPUT*). + -- Bignum printing now works correctly in base 36. + -- Fixed EXPT to deal with SINGLE-FLOAT x SINGLE-FLOAT arg type combination. + -- Fixed TRUNCATE to handle the SINGLE-FLOAT/DOUBLE-FLOAT case. + +Enhancements: + -- A new retargetable disassembler provides DISASSEMBLE support on the SPARC, + and also greatly improved disassembly on the MIPS. The output is + annotated with source-code correspondences if debug-info permits. + -- Added INLINE MEMBER declarations in definitions of the set functions + (UNION, etc.) so that when the set functions are inlined, the MEMBER calls + will also. + -- Merged Lange's improved type declarations for nthcdr/butlast/nbutlast. + Also, NTH-VALUE now doesn't cons for non-constant N less than 3. + -- The loader now supports appending fasl files. You can: + cat a.fasl b.fasl c.fasl >all.fasl + -- Added :UNIX to the features list. + +The new variable EXT:*TOP-LEVEL-AUTO-DECLARE* controls whether assignments to +unknown variables at top-level (or in any other call to EVAL of SETQ) will +implicitly declare the variable SPECIAL. These values are meaningful: + :WARN -- Print a warning, but declare the variable special (the default.) + T -- Quietly declare the variable special. + NIL -- Never declare the variable, giving warnings on each use. (The + old behavior.) + +The reader now ignores undefined read macro errors when *read-suppress* is T. +All reader character lookup tables are now CHAR-CODE-LIMIT in size. Formerly, +some where only 128. In the standard readtable, these additional characters +are all undefined. + +There are various changes in the DEBUG-INTERNALS interface related to +breakpoint support, but we haven't yet implemented a satisfactory user +interface to breakpoints. Changed name of DI:DO-BLOCKS to +DI:DO-DEBUG-FUNCTION-BLOCKS. Added DI:FUNCTION-END-COOKIE-VALID-P and +DI:DEBUG-FUNCTION-START-LOCATION. + +This release fixes a few problems with Aliens, but they are still pretty +broken. In particular, Alien and C interface operations don't work at all in +interpreted code. We are in the process of integrating a new-and-improved +implementation of Aliens that works much more smoothly with C. + + + COMPILER + +Enhancements: + -- Various SPARC-specific reductions in spurious type checks and coercions. + -- FTYPE declarations on local functions are now propagated to the variables + of the local definition. + -- Improved representation selection by not totally ignoring references by + move VOPs. This is particularly useful for avoiding spurious number + consing of float arguments that are passed on as arguments. + -- The warning about assignments to the arguments of functions having FTYPE + declarations is now suppressed when the FTYPE declaration gives no useful + information. + -- Improved readability of *COMPILE-PROGRESS* output. + -- Fixed TYPES-INTERSECT to consider any supertype of T to definitely + intersect with anything (including unknown or not-yet-defined types.) + +Bug fixes: + -- Fixed some bugs in dead code deletion. + -- Lambdas with &KEY and no specified keywords are now compiled correctly + (instead of the &KEY being ignored.) + -- The compiler now knows that INTERN can return NIL as its second value. + -- Global FTYPE declarations on DEFSTRUCT slot accessors are now quietly + ignored, instead of causing the structure definition to be removed. + -- Fixed a problem with resulting from an interaction between block + compilation and global FTYPE declarations. + -- Fixed TAGBODY not to consider NIL to be a tag. + -- Fixed an internal error during register allocation which could happen when + compilation-speed > speed. + -- If we undefine a structure type, unfreeze it also. + -- Fixed TYPEP SATISFIES to always return T-or-NIL, regardless of what the + predicate returns. + +PCL/CLOS: + -- Added generalized source context parsing with EXT:DEF-SOURCE-CONTEXT. + Added a parser for DEFMETHOD that gets qualifiers and specializers. + -- FUNCALLABLE-INSTANCE-P is now compiled much more efficiently. + -- Fixed SET-FUNCTION-NAME to correctly set the name of interpreted methods, + instead of clobbering the name of an internal interpreter function. + + + HEMLOCK + +Bug fixes: + -- Changed X font specs in the generic site-init file to use point size + instead of pixel size so that they work on 100dpi devices. + -- Added :INPUT :ON wm-hints to Hemlock windows, which is necessary to + receive input in OpenLook windowing systems. + -- Fixed Lisp mode indentation for FLET&c to check that we are actually in + the first arg form before doing funny indentation. Generalized to + reference the variable "Lisp Indentation Local Definers", and also to + recognize LABELS (as well as MACROLET and FLET.) + -- When we reallocate string-table vectors to grow them, clear the old vector + so that it won't hold onto garbage (in case the vector was in static + space, but pointed to dynamic values.) This was a major cause of memory + leakage in Hemlock. + -- Fixed sentence motion to work at the end of the buffer. + +Enhancements: + -- The site file now contains a template for file directory translation (for + "Edit Definition"), and some of the comments have been improved. + -- There's a new "Buffer Modified Hook" function that raises the "Echo Area" + window when it becomes modified. You can control this with the Hemlock + variable: "Raise Echo Area When Modified". + -- In "Edit Definition" and related commands, before doing directory + translations, try a probe-file of the source file first. This can reduce + the number of translations needed. + -- Added DEFINDENT's for the "WIRE" package. + -- Made the X visual bell look less spastic by adding a finish-output. + -- The termcap parser now recognizes entries for things like begin/end bold, + underline, etc. Fixed a problem with font halding in TTY redisplay. + -- The MH interface now uses the correct name for the MailDrop profile + component. + -- The netnews interface has been improved in various ways, including the + addition of server timeouts, but should still be considered experimental. + + + Release notes for CMU Common Lisp 15b, 19 October 91 These release notes cover changes since the beta release of version 14c on 6 June 91. SPARCstations and Sun4's are now supported under SunOS (as well as