File: notes,  Node: Release 2.4,  Next: Change 2.4,  Prev: Release 2.3,  Up: Top

Changes from Version 2.3.0 to Version 2.4
*****************************************

*
     (This one is actually a change for 2.3.0). You can no longer
     choose your own prefix for SM graphics calls.(1)

*
     You can specify a pattern to restrict the output of the LIST
     DEVICE command.

*
     You can say IMAGE CURSOR WORD WORD WORD to get intensities into a
     vector.

*
     An argument of 4 to BOX stops that axis from being drawn.

*
     VERSION is now implemented as a macro, printing `$version'.

*
     The algorithm for choosing axis labels now checks that there is
     enough room for the labels that is has chosen and acts accordingly.

*
     Searches are now by default case in-sensitive. You can still use
     `$case-fold-search' to change this behaviour.

*
     You can specify `:tc=...:' or  `:TC=...:' as part of a DEVICE
     command.

*
     You can set the maximum size of string-valued vector elements in
     `options.h'.

*
     Removed restrictions on number of vectors in READ and PRINT
     commands.

*
     Added atof to convert string-valued vectors to arithmetic.

*
     LIST DEFINE | will list internal variables (such as $fx1).

*
     You can use READ ! to continue reading past lines that don't match
     what SM expects (either the wrong number or types of columns, or a
     mismatch with the format)

*
     There is a new format %n that returns the number of fields
     correctly matched in the line being READ.

*
     You can now specify the minimum and maximum number of arguments
     that a macro expects (but see the change notes (*note Change
     2.4::.) for a slight inconsistency). Note that you cannot declare
     macros that expect zero -- n arguments with a `macro name nargs
     {...}' command.

*
     Most of the behaviour that is influenced by values in your `.sm'
     file will now look at a variable of the same name rather than the
     `.sm' file directly (they are defined from `.sm' when SM is
     started).

*
     There is now support for a wider range of fonts; the changes were
     introduced to support Japanese. Details in the fonts appendix
     (*note Fonts: (sm)Fonts.).

*
     Shading with a solid colour on hardware that supports area fills
     is now done using the hardware support; this currently means X11
     and postscript.

*
     The `-f' command line option can now be used to name the `.sm'
     file instead of specifying a full path.

*
     Startup files can be called `.sm' or `sm.rc'; the latter is looked
     for first on non-unix machines.

*
     You can now specify the slant and condensation of fonts with
     `\slant' and `\condense'.

*
     Support for reading tables, in particular FITS binary tables.

*
     The WINDOW command can handle ranges of windows (e.g. WINDOW 1 4 1
     2:3) (n.b. for a while this was written as WINDOW 1 4 1 2.3).

*
     You can now create vectors and variables with local (actually
     nested) scope with the commands DEFINE var LOCAL and SET vec LOCAL.

*
     PRINT now supports the integer formats 'd', 'o', and 'x'.

*
     Added colour to the raster devices

*
     Added new devices to generate pbm, ppm, and gif files.

*
     Added a compile-time option to use `double's rather than `float's
     for vectors.

*
     Understand hex integers (of the form 0x...).

*
     The X11 driver now puts up the current cursor position when in
     cursor mode; this can be disabled with the -nocurswindow flag to
     the DEVICE x11 command.

*
     SM now supports the syntax FOREACH `var name' { ... } to iterate
     over each element of a vector `name'.

*
     You can access the help string associated with a vector `name' as
     the string-valued expression HELP(name); useful in labels as
     $(HELP(name)).

*
     (This isn't really new, but it's little known). The devices tpic
     and gpic can be used to generate figures that TeX can pass to
     dvips and xdvi.

*
     You can now use %o and %x formats in READ 'format' ... commands.

*
     You can now declare a macro `abort_handler' to trap USER ABORTs.

*
     Added command DITHER to do Floyd-Steinberg dithering of images.

*
     Added expressions DO(s_expr, s_expr) and  DO(s_expr, s_expr,
     s_expr) to allow implicit DO loops within expressions.

*
     You can now extract values from images by index as well as by
     coordinate; furthermore you can specify entire rows or columns
     (e.g. set r=image[*,0] to read the entire first row of an image).

*
     You can refer to an entire image as image[*,*] (e.g. set
     image[*,*] = 2*image[*,*]).

*
     Commands like "list device" now work even if device is overloaded.

*
     Added "list table" to list columns in (fits binary) tables

*
     When reading tables, you can now say "read table { name[0-4] }" to
     read an array from the table into (in this case) 5 vectors.

*
     Added "while { expr } { commands }".

*
     Added break to escape from WHILE loops.

*
     Added modulus operator, %.

*
     Added bitwise operators, | and &.

*
     You can define the variable `print_noheader' to stop the PRINT
     command printing the vectors' names.

*
     Expressions are now allowed among the arguments of macros used as
     functions

*
     The default is now to save the read pointer (see READ).

*
     Added incomplete Gamma functions (useful for, e.g., chi^2
     probabilities)

*
     SM is now able to open an arbitrary number of X11 devices
     simultaneously (e.g. `dev x11 -dev 1').

*
     You can request a private colour map for X11 devices; allocating
     (e.g.) 256 colours should work with this option.

*
     The connect function for callable SM is now `sm_connect' (`sm_conn'
     is still supported for backwards compatibility).

*
     Added `sm_ctype_i' and `sm_set_ctypes' to manipulate colour maps
     from callable SM.


Inconsistent Changes from Version 2.3.0 to Version 2.4
******************************************************

*
     The changes to macros with variable numbers of arguments means
     that you'll have to declare macros with zero to one arguments as
     having 01 arguments; the old form (11) means between one and one
     arguments.

*
     Italic fonts are now *not* toggled off again by a second `\it' in
     TeX mode; rather you must use explicit grouping with {}.

*
     In callable SM, `sm_window' now expects 6 arguments, not 4.

*
     The macro `is_set' now does what it says; it doesn't do an implicit
     WHATIS. You probably want to use `is_macro' or `is_vector' rather
     than `is_set'.

*
     The command "set image(expr,expr) = expr" is now deprecated;
     please say "set image[expr,expr] = expr".

*
     The command to use ranges of windows is of the form "WINDOW 1 4 1
     2:3", but for a while it was "WINDOW 1 4 1 2.3" (it was changed as
     "WINDOW 1 12 1 8.10" is indistinguishable from "WINDOW 1 12 1
     8.1").

*
     For devices with strange aspect ratios, points are now expanded to
     preserve shape rather than compressed (this is now consistent with
     the behaviour of characters). Axis ticks are also suitable scaled.