1 PSPP NEWS -- history of user-visible changes.
2 Time-stamp: <2008-10-02 20:40:21 blp>
3 Copyright (C) 1996-9, 2000, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
4 See the end for copying conditions.
6 Please send PSPP bug reports to bug-gnu-pspp@gnu.org.
8 Changes from 0.6.0 to 0.6.1:
10 * Bug fixes. At least the following bugs were fixed:
12 - Report correct standardized regression coefficients in linear
13 regression output (bug #23567).
15 - Work around bug in GSL that prevented build with recent GCC
16 versions without manually adding -fgnu89-inline to CFLAGS.
18 - Make it possible to reopen the output window on Windows (bug
21 - Avoid crash with pie charts (bug #24014).
23 - Don't append % to count totals (bug #24003).
25 - Don't crash on bad input (bug #24031).
27 - Don't crash if "end data." is not left aligned (bug #24115).
29 - Change default workspace value to 64 MB, to avoid unnecessary
30 disk accesses on modern machines.
32 - Distribute necessary files to allow users working from the
33 distributed tarball to configure with --enable-gui-tools.
35 - Remove poor German translations.
37 * GSL 1.8 or later is now required.
39 Changes from 0.4.0 to 0.6.0:
41 * The PSPP license is now version 3 or later of the GNU General
42 Public License. Previously, it was version 2 or later.
44 * PSPP now has a graphical interface, called PSPPIRE. This
45 interface allows you to enter data and variable definitions
46 interactively. Commands may be executed in syntax form, or by
47 using the interactive dialog boxes available from the dropdown
50 * A few sample syntax files are now included in the `examples'
53 * Numerous major and minor bugs have been fixed.
57 * The INSTALL file now reflects the details of how to install
58 PSPP. It is a tailored version of the generic installation
59 instructions, instead of a verbatim copy.
61 * iconv, which is ordinarily installed as part of a Unix-like
62 system, is now required. If you don't have it already, you can
63 install GNU libiconv (http://www.gnu.org/software/libiconv/).
65 * libxml2 and zlib are new optional dependencies. They are
66 required to use PSPP's support for reading Gnumeric files.
68 Statistical procedure changes:
70 * REGRESSION is a new procedure for fitting linear models to data
71 via least-squares estimation.
73 * NPAR TESTS is a new procedure for non-parametric tests. In this
74 release, it supports binomial and chi-square tests.
76 * RANK is a new procedure to rank variables. It supports numerous
79 * FREQUENCIES can now output histograms and pie charts. These
80 features were present in earlier releases, but not documented.
82 User interface changes:
84 * In many situations where PSPP once terminated with a fatal
85 error, PSPP now recovers and continues execution.
87 * PSPP is now able to start up and run even if it cannot find its
90 * Journaling of interactive commands to a disk file is now
91 implemented. By default, journaling is enabled, to a file named
92 `pspp.jnl' in the current directory. SET JOURNAL may be used to
95 * The use of `+' between syntax file names on the command line to
96 prevent the dictionary from being cleared between their
97 executions is no longer supported. All syntax files are now
98 executed as if `+' had been specified.
100 * The -d/--define and -u/--undef command line options are no
101 longer supported. Instead, use /usr/bin/env or shell primitives
102 to define or clear environment variables before invoking PSPP.
104 * If a syntax file named named `rc' is found in a configuration
105 directory (such as $HOME/.pspp), it is executed before any
106 syntax file specified on the command line. The -r or
107 --no-statrc command line option may be used to disable this
112 * Output configuration options have changed. Please refer to the
113 manual for a full description of the available options.
115 In consequence, you will need to reinstall your "devices" file.
116 "make install" will do this for you.
118 * Most error messages are now written to PSPP output files by
119 default. SET ERROR can be used to disable this behavior.
121 * When invoked interactively, PSPP now by default produces output
122 on the terminal, piping it through the "more" program.
123 Previously, by default output was written only to file
124 pspp.list. On most terminals, the page length used for output
125 automatically adapts to the terminal size, even if the terminal
130 - This driver now supports charts in output. Charts are written
131 as separate files that the main output file refers to. By
132 default, charts are written in PNG format to files named
133 pspp-1.png, pspp-2.png, and so on.
135 - Configurations are provided that use VT100 (and xterm)
136 line-drawing characters in tables. The option "-o list-vt100"
137 requests use of this device for output to pspp.list.
141 - The default paper size is now determined using the PAPERSIZE
142 environment variable, or the LC_PAPER locale category on
143 systems that support it. If these are not set, the default is
144 now A4, instead of US letter. To make US letter the default,
145 set PAPERSIZE to "letter" in your environment.
147 - Font metrics are now read from AFM files, instead of
148 Groff-format metrics files. PostScript fonts can now be
151 In consequence, you will need to install an AFM file for each
152 font used in PostScript output. "make install" will install
153 AFM files for the standard PostScript fonts, including the
154 ones that the PostScript driver uses by default.
156 - Standard paper sizes no longer need to be specified through a
157 configuration file. The "papersize" configuration file is no
158 longer needed, or supported.
160 - The PostScript prologue is no longer obtained from the
161 "ps-prologue" configuration file. This configuration file is
162 no longer needed, or supported.
166 - The HTML prologue is no longer obtained from the
167 "html-prologue" configuration file. This configuration file
168 is no longer needed, or supported.
170 Command language changes:
172 * The following commands are new:
174 - GET DATA, which currently supports reading Gnumeric files and
175 text data files. It will be extended later to read other
176 types of foreign data.
178 - CD, to change the current directory.
180 - INSERT, to execute a syntax file.
182 - DELETE VARIABLES, to remove variables from the active file
185 - ADD DOCUMENT, to add text to active file documents.
187 - CLOSE FILE HANDLE (a PSPP extension; see below).
189 - XEXPORT, a PSPP extension that is a transformation equivalent
192 * The following functions for transformation expressions are new:
194 - DATEDIFF, for computing the difference of two dates.
196 - DATESUM, for advancing a date by a specified duration.
198 - VALUELABEL, to obtain the value label for a value.
200 * PSPP now supports very long string variables (over 255 bytes
203 * MATCH FILES now supports the FIRST and LAST subcommands.
205 * Previous versions of PSPP prohibited using commands to both read and
206 write a single file at the same time. Now, PSPP allows this, and
207 the new version of the file atomically replaces the old version.
209 * The following commands are no longer available. They will be
210 re-implemented in a later release:
212 - CLEAR TRANSFORMATIONS
218 * The PROCESS IF command, which was deprecated, has been removed.
219 You may replace any usage of it by SELECT IF following
220 TEMPORARY, which has the same effect.
222 * The output format for variables created by VECTOR may now be
223 specified as part of the VECTOR syntax.
225 "Scratch files", a new PSPP extension:
227 A scratch file, like a system file, consists of a dictionary and
228 any number of cases. Small scratch files are stored in memory;
229 one that grows too large is written to disk. By default, any file
230 handle whose name begins with # is assumed to refer to a scratch
233 Scratch files can be used just about anywhere a system or portable
234 file can be used. Also, portable files are now allowed in most
235 places that system files were allowed in previous PSPP version.
237 A new CLOSE FILE HANDLE command allows the storage associated with
238 scratch files to be freed. It also allows file handles to be
239 reassigned to new files.
241 For more information on scratch files, refer to the "File Handles"
242 section in the PSPP manual. For specifics of what commands now
243 allow what kinds of files to be specified, refer to the
244 documentation on those particular commands.
248 * Binary formats and IBM/360 formats, including ASCII/EBCDIC
249 translation, are now supported. Use FILE HANDLE to specify the
250 format of these files.
252 * Little-endian, big-endian, and VAX-endian formats are now
253 supported for integer binary formats when reading and writing
254 data files. The new RIB and WIB subcommands on the SET command
255 control endianness of integer data. The default is the host's
258 * IEEE 754, VAX, and IBM hexadecimal formats are now supported for
259 floating point binary formats when reading and writing data
260 files. The new RRB and WRB subcommands on the SET command
261 control the floating point format. The default is the host's
262 native floating point format.
264 * DATA LIST now supports the SKIP subcommand, to skip records at
265 the beginning of a file. For compatibility, DATA LIST now
266 treats N format as F format for FREE and LIST format input.
268 * The SAVE and XSAVE commands now support the UNSELECTED,
269 PERMISSIONS, NAMES, and MAP subcommands.
271 * The EXPORT command has been re-implemented to obtain better
272 results. Support for the UNSELECTED, DIGITS, and TYPE
273 subcommands has been added.
275 * For compatibility, PRINT now inserts a space at the beginning of
276 every output line, even lines that would otherwise be blank,
277 when OUTFILE is specified. (The behavior of WRITE is
280 * For compatibility, PRINT EJECT now inserts the digit `1' at the
281 beginning of each line that should begin a new page.
283 * For compatibility, WRITE now outputs the system-missing value as
284 a field filled with spaces. Binary formats are an exception.
285 (The behavior of PRINT is unchanged.)
289 * Input and output format descriptions have been rewritten. They
290 now precisely describe what is accepted on input and written on
293 * The descriptions of the PSPP system and portable file formats
294 have been extensively revised and improved.
296 For developers, the build system now requires Autoconf 2.60 and
299 Changes from 0.3.0 to 0.4.0:
301 Changes in build dependencies:
303 * The GNU Scientific Library (libgsl), version 1.6 or later, is
306 * libplot from GNU plotutils is optional. Without it, the new
307 graphing features will not work. If you do not have it
308 installed, you must run `configure' with --without-libplot.
310 * libgmp2 is no longer a dependency.
312 Newly implemented commands and statistical features:
314 * EXAMINE, including its graphing features.
316 * FREQUENCIES now supports percentiles.
324 * SORT CASES now sorts stably, that is, two cases with equal sort
325 criteria will be in the same relative order before and after the
328 * T-TEST (re-written).
330 * DATE and USE. These commands are parsed but otherwise ignored,
331 to enhance compatibility with certain command files that invoke
334 * VARIABLE WIDTH, VARIABLE ALIGNMENT, and VARIABLE LEVEL. These
335 currently have no effect on PSPP output, but their values are
336 written to and read from system files and thus may affect
337 third-party software.
339 * SET EPOCH implemented.
341 * DATA LIST FREE and DATA LIST LIST now support arbitrary field
344 * FILE HANDLE now supports custom tab widths.
346 Long variable names (and other identifiers) are now supported. Up
347 to the first 64 bytes of each identifier is significant. PSPP now
348 reads and writes system files compatible with SPSS version 12.
350 New --algorithm and --syntax command line options allow
351 SPSS-compatible or enhanced modes to be selected.
353 Support for transformation expressions has been rewritten and
354 significantly improved. Refer to the manual for details.
356 Calculation of moments (mean, standard deviation, kurtosis,
357 skewness) has been rewritten and should now be more accurate. In
358 --algorithm=enhanced mode moments may be more accurate than SPSS in
361 Numerous bugs have been fixed, too many to mention here. Many new
362 tests have been added, leading to the discovery and fixing of many
365 The ASCII output driver can now squeeze multiple blank lines into
368 Much of the code has been rewritten and refactored. It is now much
371 The FILE TYPE and REPEATING DATA commands have been disabled for
372 this release because their implementations were deemed too buggy to
373 be useful. They will be fixed and replaced in a future release.
375 New pspp-mode for Emacs (in pspp-mode.el).
377 Added rudimentary command-line completion for interactive input.
379 lib/julcal and lib/dcdflib are no longer used, so they have been
382 For developers, the build system now requires Autoconf 2.58 and
383 Automake 1.7. The included gettext has been updated to version
386 Some reports state that Texinfo 4.8, the latest version, may be
387 necessary to successfully format the documentation on some systems.
389 Version 0.3.0 changes since 0.2.3:
393 * Using alphanumeric variables in functions under AGGREGATE
396 * Under certain circumstances, the final case would be omitted
397 from the results of an AGGREGATE operation. Fixed.
399 * Undefined behavior was invoked by referencing a freed pointer
400 under certain circumstances. Fixed.
402 * A wrong record size was displayed when paging the active file to
405 * Not having enough temporary space for sorting caused a core
408 * Syntax errors in function descriptions on AGGREGATE caused core
411 * A null pointer was dereferenced, causing a core dump, when
412 PERCENTILES was specified on FREQUENCIES. This fixes the
413 problem, but PSPP still doesn't calculate percentiles.
415 * SORT always sorted in ascending order. Fixed.
417 * Some minor memory leaks in the expression parser were removed.
419 * Many assertions fixed for strict ANSI C compliance.
423 * SET ECHO ON now implemented, but turned off by default.
425 * PRINT specifier supported on END REPEAT.
429 * System libgmp2 library is used if installed instead of
430 unconditionally using the included libgmp2 subset.
432 * Extensive code cleanup, which continues.
434 * Added CORRELATIONS command parser, but not implemented.
436 Version 0.2.3 changes since 0.2.2:
440 * SPLIT FILE with a string variable caused a core dump. Fixed.
442 * Nested INCLUDEs didn't work. Fixed.
444 * The MATCH FILES procedure set the values of variables not present
445 to 0. It should have been SYSMIS. This is now fixed.
447 * The REMARK command was too aggressive about skipping lines. It
448 didn't like being the last command in a file.
450 * Comment parsing wasn't consistent with the rest of the code in its
451 idea of where one command ends and another starts. This meant
452 that sometimes commands would be mysteriously ignored. Thanks to
453 Dr. Dirk Melcher <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
455 * The TABLE subcommand on MATCH FILES worked only erratically at
456 best. This fixes it. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
457 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
459 * VARIABLE LABELS rejected a slash before the first variable
460 specification, contradicting the documentation. Thanks to Walter
461 M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for reporting this bug.
463 * Because of an incorrect optimization in memory allocation,
464 CROSSTABS sometimes segfaulted when asked to output multiple
465 tables. Thanks to Walter M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for
468 * CROSSTABS didn't display value labels for column and row
469 variables. Thanks to Walter M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for
472 * WRITE didn't write line ends. Fixed. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
473 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
475 * The TABLE subcommand on MATCH FILES worked only erratically at
476 best. This fixes it. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
477 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
479 * VARIABLE LABELS rejected a slash before the first variable
480 specification, contradicting the documentation. Thanks to Walter
481 M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for reporting this bug.
483 * Because of an incorrect optimization in memory allocation,
484 CROSSTABS sometimes segfaulted when asked to output multiple
485 tables. Thanks to Walter M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for
488 * CROSSTABS didn't display value labels for column and row
489 variables. Thanks to Walter M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for
492 * WRITE didn't write line ends. Fixed. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
493 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
495 * MATCH FILES corrupted memory and dumped core on some syntax
498 * MATCH FILES should set numeric values not available to the
499 system-missing value, not to 0. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
500 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
502 * KEEP didn't work properly on the SAVE procedure. Fixed. Thanks
503 to Ralf Geschke <ralf@kuerbis.org> for reporting this bug.
507 * Some systems didn't like the way open_file was coded. Thanks to
508 Hankin <hankin@rogue.consultco.com> for pointing this out.
510 * The SAVE procedure didn't save long string variables properly.
511 Fixed by this patch. Thanks to Hankin
512 <hankin@rogue.consultco.com> for this patch.
514 * Minor documentation fixes for MATCH FILES.
516 Version 0.2.2 changes since 0.2.1:
520 * Fix behavior of PRINT SPACE for negative arguments.
522 * Fix reading some unusual system files.
524 * Fix LIST problems with very long variables. Thanks to Hankin
525 <hankin@dunno.com> for this bug report.
527 * Fix problems with some string format specifiers.
529 * Fix use of $CASENUM in expressions. Thanks to Dirk Melcher
530 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
532 * Additional DATA LIST FREE and DATA LIST LIST fixes. Thanks to
533 Hankin <hankin@dunno.com> again on this one.
535 * Sometimes you may encounter a PSPP script that has to be
536 interpreted in interactive mode. Now you can use the -i flag to
539 * Warnings for egcs 1.1.1 cleaned up. (However you'll get lots of
540 `unused variable' warnings under gcc 2.7.2.3, fixing this will
545 * The files in gmp need the internationalization directory in
546 their include path. Thanks to OKUJI Yoshinori
547 <okuji@kuicr.kyoto-u.ac.jp> for pointing this out.
549 Version 0.2.1 changes since 0.2.0:
553 * Remember to include examples/ directory in distribution :-)
555 * Fixed gmp compile problems for some non-i386 architectures.
556 Thanks to Hans Olav Eggestad <olav@jordforsk.nlh.no> and others
559 * DATA LIST FREE and DATA LIST LIST parsing of input files is now
560 matches the documented behavior exactly, and error messages are
561 more helpful. Thanks to Mark H. Wood <mwood@IUPUI.Edu>.
563 Version 0.2.0 changes since 0.1.0:
565 Procedures now implemented:
566 * CROSSTABS. Please see documentation for caveats.
568 Transformations and utilities now implemented:
571 * CLEAR TRANSFORMATIONS
572 * DISPLAY (all subcommands).
583 Support for input and output through pipes: "|command" and
584 "command|" filenames; support for special filenames "-", "stdin",
587 New command-line features:
588 * New option --testing-mode: Invoke heuristics to assist testing.
589 * New option --safer, -s: Don't allow certain unsafe operations.
590 * New option --command=CMD, -c CMD: Perform literal command CMD.
591 * rc file ~/.pspp/rc is executed before any other files.
592 * Now multiple syntax files can be specified.
594 Operator LAG is now implemented.
596 Added missing FILE subcommand to REREAD.
598 Table output manager completely rewritten.
600 Device configuration file syntax changed. You will need to
601 reinstall your `devices' file.
603 New output driver for HTML.
605 PostScript driver and prologue simplified.
607 Many bugs fixed. General source-code cleanup.
609 Added Texinfo documentation for:
610 * PSPP system file format
611 * PSPP portable file format
612 * How to write input for q2c parser generator
615 PSPP language is now fully documented. Please report any
616 inaccuracies or omissions in the documentation.
618 Changes for version 0.1.0:
620 First public release. For changes from unreleased development
621 versions, please see ONEWS.
623 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
624 Copyright information:
626 Copyright (C) 1996-9, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
628 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim
629 copies of this document as received, in any medium, provided that
630 the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved, thus
631 giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
633 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions of this
634 document, or of portions of it, under the above conditions,
635 provided also that they carry prominent notices stating who last
639 version-control: never