Add some news.

[pspp-builds.git] / NEWS

diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 62274009b4eab7e454cae6014c4f8acd02594de2..07b7ce068954abbfe549e0b3ca42113aba745ede 100644 (file)
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,22 +1,58 @@
 PSPP NEWS -- history of user-visible changes.
-Time-stamp: <2005-07-03 21:25:56 blp>
+Time-stamp: <2006-01-28 19:05:46 blp>
 Copyright (C) 1996-9, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 See the end for copying conditions.
 
 Please send PSPP bug reports to bug-gnu-pspp@gnu.org.
 \f
-Changes from 0.3.0 to 0.4.0:
+Changes since 0.4.0:
+
+  Newly implemented commands and statistical features:
+
+    * CLOSE FILE HANDLE (a PSPP extension; see below).
+
+    * REGRESSION.
+
+    * XEXPORT (a PSPP extension).
+
+  New PSPP extension:
+
+    A new PSPP extension called "scratch files" has been implemented.
+    A scratch file, like a system file, consists of a dictionary and
+    any number of cases.  A sufficiently small scratch file is stored
+    in memory; if it grows too large, it is written to disk.  By
+    default, any file handle whose name begins with # is assumed to
+    refer to a scratch file.  
 
-  New build dependencies:
+    Scratch files can be used just about anywhere a system or portable
+    file can be used.  Also, portable files are now allowed in most
+    places that system files were allowed in previous PSPP version.
 
-    * The GNU Scientific Library (libgsl), version 1.6 or later.
+    A new CLOSE FILE HANDLE command allows the storage associated with
+    scratch files to be freed.  It also allows file handles to be
+    reassigned to new files.
 
-    * The GNU multiprecision arithmetic library (libgmp).
+    For more information on scratch files, refer to the "File Handles"
+    section in the PSPP manual.  For specifics of what commands now
+    allow what kinds of files to be specified, refer to the
+    documentation on those particular commands.
+
+  PSPP is now able to start up and run even if it cannot find its
+  configuration files.
+
+Changes from 0.3.0 to 0.4.0:
+
+  Changes in build dependencies:
+
+    * The GNU Scientific Library (libgsl), version 1.6 or later, is
+      now required.
 
     * libplot from GNU plotutils is optional.  Without it, the new
       graphing features will not work.  If you do not have it
       installed, you must run `configure' with --without-libplot.
 
+    * libgmp2 is no longer a dependency.
+
   Newly implemented commands and statistical features:
 
     * EXAMINE, including its graphing features.
@@ -91,6 +127,9 @@ Changes from 0.3.0 to 0.4.0:
   Automake 1.7.  The included gettext has been updated to version
   0.12.1.
 
+  Some reports state that Texinfo 4.8, the latest version, may be
+  necessary to successfully format the documentation on some systems.
+
 Version 0.3.0 changes since 0.2.3:
 
   Bugs fixed: