1 PSPP NEWS -- history of user-visible changes.
2 Time-stamp: <2007-11-04 14:52:10 blp>
3 Copyright (C) 1996-9, 2000 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 0.4.0 to 0.4.3:
10 * The PSPP license is now version 3 or later of the GNU General
11 Public License. Previously, it was version 2 or later.
13 * PSPP now has a graphical interface, called PSPPIRE. This
14 interface allows you to enter data and variable definitions
15 interactively. Commands may be executed in syntax form, or by
16 using the interactive dialog boxes available from the dropdown
19 * A few sample syntax files are now included in the `examples'
22 * Numerous major and minor bugs have been fixed.
26 * The INSTALL file now reflects the details of how to install
27 PSPP. It is a tailored version of the generic installation
28 instructions, instead of a verbatim copy.
30 * iconv, which is ordinarily installed as part of a Unix-like
31 system, is now required. If you don't have it already, you can
32 install GNU libiconv (http://www.gnu.org/software/libiconv/).
34 * libxml2 and zlib are new optional dependencies. They are
35 required to use PSPP's support for reading Gnumeric files.
37 Statistical procedure changes:
39 * REGRESSION is a new procedure for fitting linear models to data
40 via least-squares estimation.
42 * NPAR TESTS is a new procedure for non-parametric tests. In this
43 release, it supports binomial and chi-square tests.
45 * RANK is a new procedure to rank variables. It supports numerous
48 * FREQUENCIES can now output histograms and pie charts. These
49 features were present in earlier releases, but not documented.
51 User interface changes:
53 * In many situations where PSPP once terminated with a fatal
54 error, PSPP now recovers and continues execution.
56 * PSPP is now able to start up and run even if it cannot find its
59 * Journaling of interactive commands to a disk file is now
60 implemented. By default, journaling is enabled, to a file named
61 `pspp.jnl' in the current directory. SET JOURNAL may be used to
64 * The use of `+' between syntax file names on the command line to
65 prevent the dictionary from being cleared between their
66 executions is no longer supported. All syntax files are now
67 executed as if `+' had been specified.
69 * The -d/--define and -u/--undef command line options are no
70 longer supported. Instead, use /usr/bin/env or shell primitives
71 to define or clear environment variables before invoking PSPP.
73 * If a syntax file named named `rc' is found in a configuration
74 directory (such as $HOME/.pspp), it is executed before any
75 syntax file specified on the command line. The -r or
76 --no-statrc command line option may be used to disable this
81 * Output configuration options have changed. Please refer to the
82 manual for a full description of the available options.
84 In consequence, you will need to reinstall your "devices" file.
85 "make install" will do this for you.
87 * Most error messages are now written to PSPP output files by
88 default. SET ERROR can be used to disable this behavior.
90 * When invoked interactively, PSPP now by default produces output
91 on the terminal, piping it through the "more" program.
92 Previously, by default output was written only to file
93 pspp.list. On most terminals, the page length used for output
94 automatically adapts to the terminal size, even if the terminal
99 - This driver now supports charts in output. Charts are written
100 as separate files that the main output file refers to. By
101 default, charts are written in PNG format to files named
102 pspp-1.png, pspp-2.png, and so on.
104 - Configurations are provided that use VT100 (and xterm)
105 line-drawing characters in tables. The option "-o list-vt100"
106 requests use of this device for output to pspp.list.
110 - The default paper size is now determined using the PAPERSIZE
111 environment variable, or the LC_PAPER locale category on
112 systems that support it. If these are not set, the default is
113 now A4, instead of US letter. To make US letter the default,
114 set PAPERSIZE to "letter" in your environment.
116 - Font metrics are now read from AFM files, instead of
117 Groff-format metrics files. PostScript fonts can now be
120 In consequence, you will need to install an AFM file for each
121 font used in PostScript output. "make install" will install
122 AFM files for the standard PostScript fonts, including the
123 ones that the PostScript driver uses by default.
125 - Standard paper sizes no longer need to be specified through a
126 configuration file. The "papersize" configuration file is no
127 longer needed, or supported.
129 - The PostScript prologue is no longer obtained from the
130 "ps-prologue" configuration file. This configuration file is
131 no longer needed, or supported.
135 - The HTML prologue is no longer obtained from the
136 "html-prologue" configuration file. This configuration file
137 is no longer needed, or supported.
139 Command language changes:
141 * The following commands are new:
143 - GET DATA, which currently supports reading Gnumeric files. It
144 will be extended later to read other types of foreign data.
146 - CD, to change the current directory.
148 - INSERT, to execute a syntax file.
150 - DELETE VARIABLES, to remove variables from the active file
153 - ADD DOCUMENT, to add text to active file documents.
155 - CLOSE FILE HANDLE (a PSPP extension; see below).
157 - XEXPORT, a PSPP extension that is a transformation equivalent
160 * The following functions for transformation expressions are new:
162 - DATEDIFF, for computing the difference of two dates.
164 - DATESUM, for advancing a date by a specified duration.
166 - VALUELABEL, to obtain the value label for a value.
168 * PSPP now supports very long string variables (over 255 bytes
171 * MATCH FILES now supports the FIRST and LAST subcommands.
173 * Previous versions of PSPP prohibited using commands to both read and
174 write a single file at the same time. Now, PSPP allows this, and
175 the new version of the file atomically replaces the old version.
177 * The following commands are no longer available. They will be
178 re-implemented in a later release:
180 - CLEAR TRANSFORMATIONS
186 * The PROCESS IF command, which was deprecated, has been removed.
187 You may replace any usage of it by SELECT IF following
188 TEMPORARY, which has the same effect.
190 * The output format for variables created by VECTOR may now be
191 specified as part of the VECTOR syntax.
193 "Scratch files", a new PSPP extension:
195 A scratch file, like a system file, consists of a dictionary and
196 any number of cases. Small scratch files are stored in memory;
197 one that grows too large is written to disk. By default, any file
198 handle whose name begins with # is assumed to refer to a scratch
201 Scratch files can be used just about anywhere a system or portable
202 file can be used. Also, portable files are now allowed in most
203 places that system files were allowed in previous PSPP version.
205 A new CLOSE FILE HANDLE command allows the storage associated with
206 scratch files to be freed. It also allows file handles to be
207 reassigned to new files.
209 For more information on scratch files, refer to the "File Handles"
210 section in the PSPP manual. For specifics of what commands now
211 allow what kinds of files to be specified, refer to the
212 documentation on those particular commands.
216 * Binary formats and IBM/360 formats, including ASCII/EBCDIC
217 translation, are now supported. Use FILE HANDLE to specify the
218 format of these files.
220 * Little-endian, big-endian, and VAX-endian formats are now
221 supported for integer binary formats when reading and writing
222 data files. The new RIB and WIB subcommands on the SET command
223 control endianness of integer data. The default is the host's
226 * IEEE 754, VAX, and IBM hexadecimal formats are now supported for
227 floating point binary formats when reading and writing data
228 files. The new RRB and WRB subcommands on the SET command
229 control the floating point format. The default is the host's
230 native floating point format.
232 * DATA LIST now supports the SKIP subcommand, to skip records at
233 the beginning of a file. For compatibility, DATA LIST now
234 treats N format as F format for FREE and LIST format input.
236 * The SAVE and XSAVE commands now support the UNSELECTED,
237 PERMISSIONS, NAMES, and MAP subcommands.
239 * The EXPORT command has been re-implemented to obtain better
240 results. Support for the UNSELECTED, DIGITS, and TYPE
241 subcommands has been added.
243 * For compatibility, PRINT now inserts a space at the beginning of
244 every output line, even lines that would otherwise be blank,
245 when OUTFILE is specified. (The behavior of WRITE is
248 * For compatibility, PRINT EJECT now inserts the digit `1' at the
249 beginning of each line that should begin a new page.
251 * For compatibility, WRITE now outputs the system-missing value as
252 a field filled with spaces. Binary formats are an exception.
253 (The behavior of PRINT is unchanged.)
257 * Input and output format descriptions have been rewritten. They
258 now precisely describe what is accepted on input and written on
261 * The descriptions of the PSPP system and portable file formats
262 have been extensively revised and improved.
264 For developers, the build system now requires Autoconf 2.60 and
267 Changes from 0.3.0 to 0.4.0:
269 Changes in build dependencies:
271 * The GNU Scientific Library (libgsl), version 1.6 or later, is
274 * libplot from GNU plotutils is optional. Without it, the new
275 graphing features will not work. If you do not have it
276 installed, you must run `configure' with --without-libplot.
278 * libgmp2 is no longer a dependency.
280 Newly implemented commands and statistical features:
282 * EXAMINE, including its graphing features.
284 * FREQUENCIES now supports percentiles.
292 * SORT CASES now sorts stably, that is, two cases with equal sort
293 criteria will be in the same relative order before and after the
296 * T-TEST (re-written).
298 * DATE and USE. These commands are parsed but otherwise ignored,
299 to enhance compatibility with certain command files that invoke
302 * VARIABLE WIDTH, VARIABLE ALIGNMENT, and VARIABLE LEVEL. These
303 currently have no effect on PSPP output, but their values are
304 written to and read from system files and thus may affect
305 third-party software.
307 * SET EPOCH implemented.
309 * DATA LIST FREE and DATA LIST LIST now support arbitrary field
312 * FILE HANDLE now supports custom tab widths.
314 Long variable names (and other identifiers) are now supported. Up
315 to the first 64 bytes of each identifier is significant. PSPP now
316 reads and writes system files compatible with SPSS version 12.
318 New --algorithm and --syntax command line options allow
319 SPSS-compatible or enhanced modes to be selected.
321 Support for transformation expressions has been rewritten and
322 significantly improved. Refer to the manual for details.
324 Calculation of moments (mean, standard deviation, kurtosis,
325 skewness) has been rewritten and should now be more accurate. In
326 --algorithm=enhanced mode moments may be more accurate than SPSS in
329 Numerous bugs have been fixed, too many to mention here. Many new
330 tests have been added, leading to the discovery and fixing of many
333 The ASCII output driver can now squeeze multiple blank lines into
336 Much of the code has been rewritten and refactored. It is now much
339 The FILE TYPE and REPEATING DATA commands have been disabled for
340 this release because their implementations were deemed too buggy to
341 be useful. They will be fixed and replaced in a future release.
343 New pspp-mode for Emacs (in pspp-mode.el).
345 Added rudimentary command-line completion for interactive input.
347 lib/julcal and lib/dcdflib are no longer used, so they have been
350 For developers, the build system now requires Autoconf 2.58 and
351 Automake 1.7. The included gettext has been updated to version
354 Some reports state that Texinfo 4.8, the latest version, may be
355 necessary to successfully format the documentation on some systems.
357 Version 0.3.0 changes since 0.2.3:
361 * Using alphanumeric variables in functions under AGGREGATE
364 * Under certain circumstances, the final case would be omitted
365 from the results of an AGGREGATE operation. Fixed.
367 * Undefined behavior was invoked by referencing a freed pointer
368 under certain circumstances. Fixed.
370 * A wrong record size was displayed when paging the active file to
373 * Not having enough temporary space for sorting caused a core
376 * Syntax errors in function descriptions on AGGREGATE caused core
379 * A null pointer was dereferenced, causing a core dump, when
380 PERCENTILES was specified on FREQUENCIES. This fixes the
381 problem, but PSPP still doesn't calculate percentiles.
383 * SORT always sorted in ascending order. Fixed.
385 * Some minor memory leaks in the expression parser were removed.
387 * Many assertions fixed for strict ANSI C compliance.
391 * SET ECHO ON now implemented, but turned off by default.
393 * PRINT specifier supported on END REPEAT.
397 * System libgmp2 library is used if installed instead of
398 unconditionally using the included libgmp2 subset.
400 * Extensive code cleanup, which continues.
402 * Added CORRELATIONS command parser, but not implemented.
404 Version 0.2.3 changes since 0.2.2:
408 * SPLIT FILE with a string variable caused a core dump. Fixed.
410 * Nested INCLUDEs didn't work. Fixed.
412 * The MATCH FILES procedure set the values of variables not present
413 to 0. It should have been SYSMIS. This is now fixed.
415 * The REMARK command was too aggressive about skipping lines. It
416 didn't like being the last command in a file.
418 * Comment parsing wasn't consistent with the rest of the code in its
419 idea of where one command ends and another starts. This meant
420 that sometimes commands would be mysteriously ignored. Thanks to
421 Dr. Dirk Melcher <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
423 * The TABLE subcommand on MATCH FILES worked only erratically at
424 best. This fixes it. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
425 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
427 * VARIABLE LABELS rejected a slash before the first variable
428 specification, contradicting the documentation. Thanks to Walter
429 M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for reporting this bug.
431 * Because of an incorrect optimization in memory allocation,
432 CROSSTABS sometimes segfaulted when asked to output multiple
433 tables. Thanks to Walter M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for
436 * CROSSTABS didn't display value labels for column and row
437 variables. Thanks to Walter M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for
440 * WRITE didn't write line ends. Fixed. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
441 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
443 * The TABLE subcommand on MATCH FILES worked only erratically at
444 best. This fixes it. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
445 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
447 * VARIABLE LABELS rejected a slash before the first variable
448 specification, contradicting the documentation. Thanks to Walter
449 M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for reporting this bug.
451 * Because of an incorrect optimization in memory allocation,
452 CROSSTABS sometimes segfaulted when asked to output multiple
453 tables. Thanks to Walter M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for
456 * CROSSTABS didn't display value labels for column and row
457 variables. Thanks to Walter M. Gray <graywm@northernc.on.ca> for
460 * WRITE didn't write line ends. Fixed. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
461 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
463 * MATCH FILES corrupted memory and dumped core on some syntax
466 * MATCH FILES should set numeric values not available to the
467 system-missing value, not to 0. Thanks to Dr. Dirk Melcher
468 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
470 * KEEP didn't work properly on the SAVE procedure. Fixed. Thanks
471 to Ralf Geschke <ralf@kuerbis.org> for reporting this bug.
475 * Some systems didn't like the way open_file was coded. Thanks to
476 Hankin <hankin@rogue.consultco.com> for pointing this out.
478 * The SAVE procedure didn't save long string variables properly.
479 Fixed by this patch. Thanks to Hankin
480 <hankin@rogue.consultco.com> for this patch.
482 * Minor documentation fixes for MATCH FILES.
484 Version 0.2.2 changes since 0.2.1:
488 * Fix behavior of PRINT SPACE for negative arguments.
490 * Fix reading some unusual system files.
492 * Fix LIST problems with very long variables. Thanks to Hankin
493 <hankin@dunno.com> for this bug report.
495 * Fix problems with some string format specifiers.
497 * Fix use of $CASENUM in expressions. Thanks to Dirk Melcher
498 <BZN-mdksh@t-online.de> for reporting this bug.
500 * Additional DATA LIST FREE and DATA LIST LIST fixes. Thanks to
501 Hankin <hankin@dunno.com> again on this one.
503 * Sometimes you may encounter a PSPP script that has to be
504 interpreted in interactive mode. Now you can use the -i flag to
507 * Warnings for egcs 1.1.1 cleaned up. (However you'll get lots of
508 `unused variable' warnings under gcc 2.7.2.3, fixing this will
513 * The files in gmp need the internationalization directory in
514 their include path. Thanks to OKUJI Yoshinori
515 <okuji@kuicr.kyoto-u.ac.jp> for pointing this out.
517 Version 0.2.1 changes since 0.2.0:
521 * Remember to include examples/ directory in distribution :-)
523 * Fixed gmp compile problems for some non-i386 architectures.
524 Thanks to Hans Olav Eggestad <olav@jordforsk.nlh.no> and others
527 * DATA LIST FREE and DATA LIST LIST parsing of input files is now
528 matches the documented behavior exactly, and error messages are
529 more helpful. Thanks to Mark H. Wood <mwood@IUPUI.Edu>.
531 Version 0.2.0 changes since 0.1.0:
533 Procedures now implemented:
534 * CROSSTABS. Please see documentation for caveats.
536 Transformations and utilities now implemented:
539 * CLEAR TRANSFORMATIONS
540 * DISPLAY (all subcommands).
551 Support for input and output through pipes: "|command" and
552 "command|" filenames; support for special filenames "-", "stdin",
555 New command-line features:
556 * New option --testing-mode: Invoke heuristics to assist testing.
557 * New option --safer, -s: Don't allow certain unsafe operations.
558 * New option --command=CMD, -c CMD: Perform literal command CMD.
559 * rc file ~/.pspp/rc is executed before any other files.
560 * Now multiple syntax files can be specified.
562 Operator LAG is now implemented.
564 Added missing FILE subcommand to REREAD.
566 Table output manager completely rewritten.
568 Device configuration file syntax changed. You will need to
569 reinstall your `devices' file.
571 New output driver for HTML.
573 PostScript driver and prologue simplified.
575 Many bugs fixed. General source-code cleanup.
577 Added Texinfo documentation for:
578 * PSPP system file format
579 * PSPP portable file format
580 * How to write input for q2c parser generator
583 PSPP language is now fully documented. Please report any
584 inaccuracies or omissions in the documentation.
586 Changes for version 0.1.0:
588 First public release. For changes from unreleased development
589 versions, please see ONEWS.
591 ----------------------------------------------------------------------
592 Copyright information:
594 Copyright (C) 1996-9, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
596 Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim
597 copies of this document as received, in any medium, provided that
598 the copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved, thus
599 giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.
601 Permission is granted to distribute modified versions of this
602 document, or of portions of it, under the above conditions,
603 provided also that they carry prominent notices stating who last
607 version-control: never