path: root/web/news.txt

====
News
====

2011-XX-XX Version 0.8.14 released
==================================

Version 0.8.14 has been released! Get it `here <download.html>`_. 

Bugfixes
--------

- Boehm GC now works with ``--threads:on``.
- Fixed a serious memory corruption concerning message passing.
- Fixed a serious bug concerning different instantiations of a generic proc.


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------

- Removed deprecated ``os.AppendFileExt``, ``os.executeShellCommand``, 
  ``os.iterOverEnvironment``, ``os.pcDirectory``, ``os.pcLinkToDirectory``,
  ``os.SplitPath``, ``os.extractDir``, ``os.SplitFilename``, 
  ``os.extractFileTrunk``, ``os.extractFileExt``, ``osproc.executeProcess``,
  ``osproc.executeCommand``. 
- Removed deprecated ``parseopt.init``, ``parseopt.getRestOfCommandLine``.
- Moved ``strutils.validEmailAddress`` to ``matchers.validEmailAddress``.


Language Additions
------------------

Compiler Additions
------------------

Library Additions
-----------------

- Added ``system.mainThreadId``.
- Added ``system.allocShared``, ``system.allocShared0``, 
  ``system.deallocShared``, ``system.reallocShared``.
- Added explicit channels for thread communication.
- Added ``matchers`` module for email address etc. matching.
- Added ``strutils.unindent``.


2011-07-10 Version 0.8.12 released
==================================

Bugfixes
--------

- Bugfix: ``httpclient`` correct passes the path starting with ``/``.
- Bugfixes for the ``htmlparser`` module.
- Bugfix: ``pegs.find`` did not respect ``start`` parameter.
- Bugfix: ``dialogs.ChooseFilesToOpen`` did not work if only one file is
  selected.
- Bugfix: niminst: ``nimrod`` is not default dir for *every* project.
- Bugfix: Multiple yield statements in iterators did not cause local vars to be
  copied.
- Bugfix: The compiler does not emit very inaccurate floating point literals
  anymore.
- Bugfix: Subclasses are taken into account for ``try except`` matching.
- Bugfix: Generics and macros are more stable. There are still known bugs left
  though.
- Bugfix: Generated type information for tuples was sometimes wrong, causing
  random crashes.
- Lots of other bugfixes: Too many to list them all.


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------

- Operators starting with ``^`` are now right-associative and have the highest 
  priority.
- Deprecated ``os.getApplicationFilename``: Use ``os.getAppFilename`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.getApplicationDir``: Use ``os.getAppDir`` instead.
- Deprecated ``system.copy``: Use ``substr`` or string slicing instead.
- Changed and documented how generalized string literals work: The syntax
  ``module.re"abc"`` is now supported.
- Changed the behaviour of ``strutils.%``, ``ropes.%`` 
  if both notations ``$#`` and ``$i`` are involved.
- The ``pegs`` and ``re`` modules distinguish between ``replace`` 
  and ``replacef`` operations.
- The pointer dereference operation ``p^`` is deprecated and might become
  ``^p`` in later versions or be dropped entirely since it is rarely used. 
  Use the new notation ``p[]`` in the rare cases where you need to 
  dereference a pointer explicitely.
- ``system.readFile`` does not return ``nil`` anymore but raises an ``EIO``
  exception instead.
- Unsound co-/contravariance for procvars has been removed.


Language Additions
------------------

- Source code filters are now documented.
- Added the ``linearScanEnd``, ``unroll``, ``shallow`` pragmas.
- Added ``emit`` pragma for direct code generator control.
- Case statement branches support constant sets for programming convenience.
- Tuple unpacking is not enforced in ``for`` loops anymore.
- The compiler now supports array, sequence and string slicing.
- A field in an ``enum`` may be given an explicit string representation. 
  This yields more maintainable code than using a constant 
  ``array[TMyEnum, string]`` mapping.
- Indices in array literals may be explicitly given, enhancing readability:
  ``[enumValueA: "a", enumValueB: "b"]``.
- Added thread support via the ``threads`` core module and 
  the ``--threads:on`` command line switch.
- The built-in iterators ``system.fields`` and ``system.fieldPairs`` can be
  used to iterate over any field of a tuple. With this mechanism operations 
  like ``==`` and ``hash`` are lifted to tuples.
- The slice ``..`` is now a first-class operator, allowing code like:
  ``x in 1000..100_000``.


Compiler Additions
------------------

- The compiler supports IDEs via the new group of ``idetools`` command line
  options. 
- The *interactive mode* (REPL) has been improved and documented for the 
  first time.
- The compiler now might use hashing for string case statements depending
  on the number of string literals in the case statement.
  

Library Additions
-----------------

- Added ``lists`` module which contains generic linked lists.
- Added ``sets`` module which contains generic hash sets.
- Added ``tables`` module which contains generic hash tables.
- Added ``queues`` module which contains generic sequence based queues.
- Added ``intsets`` module which contains a specialized int set data type.
- Added ``scgi`` module.
- Added ``smtp`` module.
- Added ``encodings`` module.
- Added ``re.findAll``, ``pegs.findAll``.
- Added ``os.findExe``.
- Added ``parseutils.parseUntil`` and ``parseutils.parseWhile``.
- Added ``strutils.align``, ``strutils.tokenize``, ``strutils.wordWrap``.
- Pegs support a *captured search loop operator* ``{@}``.
- Pegs support new built-ins: ``\letter``, ``\upper``, ``\lower``,
  ``\title``, ``\white``.
- Pegs support the new built-in ``\skip`` operation.
- Pegs support the ``$`` and ``^`` anchors.
- Additional operations were added to the ``complex`` module. 
- Added ``strutils.formatFloat``,  ``strutils.formatBiggestFloat``.
- Added unary ``<`` for nice looking excluding upper bounds in ranges.
- Added ``math.floor``.
- Added ``system.reset`` and a version of ``system.open`` that 
  returns a ``TFile`` and raises an exception in case of an error.
- Added a wrapper for ``redis``.
- Added a wrapper for ``0mq`` via the ``zmq`` module.
- Added a wrapper for ``sphinx``.
- Added ``system.newStringOfCap``.
- Added ``system.raiseHook`` and ``system.outOfMemHook``.
- Added ``system.writeFile``.
- Added ``system.shallowCopy``.
- ``system.echo`` is guaranteed to be thread-safe.
- Added ``prelude`` include file for scripting convenience.
- Added ``typeinfo`` core module for access to runtime type information.
- Added ``marshal`` module for JSON serialization.


2010-10-20 Version 0.8.10 released
==================================

Bugfixes
--------

- Bugfix: Command line parsing on Windows and ``os.parseCmdLine`` now adheres
  to the same parsing rules as Microsoft's C/C++ startup code.
- Bugfix: Passing a ``ref`` pointer to the untyped ``pointer`` type is invalid.
- Bugfix: Updated ``keyval`` example.
- Bugfix: ``system.splitChunk`` still contained code for debug output.
- Bugfix: ``dialogs.ChooseFileToSave`` uses ``STOCK_SAVE`` instead of 
  ``STOCK_OPEN`` for the GTK backend.
- Bugfix: Various bugs concerning exception handling fixed.
- Bugfix: ``low(somestring)`` crashed the compiler.
- Bugfix: ``strutils.endsWith`` lacked range checking.
- Bugfix: Better detection for AMD64 on Mac OS X. 


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------

- Reversed parameter order for ``os.copyFile`` and ``os.moveFile``!!!
- Procs not marked as ``procvar`` cannot only be passed to a procvar anymore,
  unless they are used in the same module.
- Deprecated ``times.getStartMilsecs``: Use ``epochTime`` or ``cpuTime`` 
  instead.
- Removed ``system.OpenFile``.
- Removed ``system.CloseFile``.
- Removed ``strutils.replaceStr``.
- Removed ``strutils.deleteStr``.
- Removed ``strutils.splitLinesSeq``.
- Removed ``strutils.splitSeq``.
- Removed ``strutils.toString``.
- If a DLL cannot be loaded (via the ``dynlib`` pragma) ``EInvalidLibrary`` 
  is not raised anymore. Instead ``system.quit()`` is called. This is because
  raising an exception requires heap allocations. However the memory manager
  might be contained in the DLL that failed to load.
- The ``re`` module (and the ``pcre`` wrapper) now depend on the pcre dll.


Additions
---------

- The ``{.compile: "file.c".}`` pragma uses a CRC check to see if the file 
  needs to be recompiled.
- Added ``system.reopen``. 
- Added ``system.getCurrentException``.
- Added ``system.appType``.
- Added ``system.compileOption``. 
- Added ``times.epochTime`` and ``times.cpuTime``. 
- Implemented explicit type arguments for generics.
- Implemented ``{.size: sizeof(cint).}`` pragma for enum types. This is useful
  for interfacing with C.
- Implemented ``{.pragma.}`` pragma for user defined pragmas.
- Implemented ``{.extern.}`` pragma for better control of name mangling.
- The ``importc`` and ``exportc`` pragmas support format strings: 
  ``proc p{.exportc: "nim_$1".}`` exports ``p`` as ``nim_p``. This is useful
  for user defined pragmas.
- The standard library can be built as a DLL. Generating DLLs has been
  improved.
- Added ``expat`` module.
- Added ``json`` module.
- Added support for a *Tiny C* backend. Currently this only works on Linux.
  You need to bootstrap with ``-d:tinyc`` to enable Tiny C support. Nimrod 
  can then execute code directly via ``nimrod run myfile``.


2010-03-14 Version 0.8.8 released
=================================

Bugfixes
--------
- The Posix version of ``os.copyFile`` has better error handling.
- Fixed bug #502670 (underscores in identifiers).
- Fixed a bug in the ``parsexml`` module concerning the parsing of
  ``<tag attr="value" />``.
- Fixed a bug in the ``parsexml`` module concerning the parsing of
  enities like ``&ltXX``.
- ``system.write(f: TFile, s: string)`` now works even if ``s`` contains binary
  zeros.
- Fixed a bug in ``os.setFilePermissions`` for Windows.
- An overloadable symbol can now have the same name as an imported module.
- Fixed a serious bug in ``strutils.cmpIgnoreCase``. 
- Fixed ``unicode.toUTF8``. 
- The compiler now rejects ``'\n'`` (use ``"\n"`` instead). 
- ``times.getStartMilsecs()`` now works on Mac OS X.
- Fixed a bug in ``pegs.match`` concerning start offsets.
- Lots of other little bugfixes.


Additions
---------
- Added ``system.cstringArrayToSeq``.
- Added ``system.lines(f: TFile)`` iterator.
- Added ``system.delete``, ``system.del`` and ``system.insert`` for sequences.
- Added ``system./`` for int.
- Exported ``system.newException`` template.
- Added ``cgi.decodeData(data: string): tuple[key, value: string]``.
- Added ``strutils.insertSep``.
- Added ``math.trunc``.
- Added ``ropes`` module.
- Added ``sockets`` module.
- Added ``browsers`` module.
- Added ``httpserver`` module.
- Added ``httpclient`` module.
- Added ``parseutils`` module.
- Added ``unidecode`` module.
- Added ``xmldom`` module.
- Added ``xmldomparser`` module.
- Added ``xmltree`` module.
- Added ``xmlparser`` module.
- Added ``htmlparser`` module.
- Added ``re`` module.
- Added ``graphics`` module.
- Added ``colors`` module.
- Many wrappers now do not contain redundant name prefixes (like ``GTK_``,
  ``lua``). The old wrappers are still available in ``lib/oldwrappers``. 
  You can change your configuration file to use these.
- Triple quoted strings allow for ``"`` in more contexts.
- ``""`` within raw string literals stands for a single quotation mark.
- Arguments to ``openArray`` parameters can be left out.
- More extensive subscript operator overloading. (To be documented.)
- The documentation generator supports the ``.. raw:: html`` directive.
- The Pegs module supports back references via the notation ``$capture_index``. 


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------

- Overloading of the subscript operator only works if the type does not provide
  a built-in one.
- The search order for libraries which is affected by the ``path`` option 
  has been reversed, so that the project's path is searched before 
  the standard library's path. 
- The compiler does not include a Pascal parser for bootstrapping purposes any
  more. Instead there is a ``pas2nim`` tool that contains the old functionality.
- The procs ``os.copyFile`` and ``os.moveFile`` have been deprecated
  temporarily, so that the compiler warns about their usage. Use them with
  named arguments only, because the parameter order will change the next
  version!
- ``atomic`` and ``let`` are now keywords.
- The ``\w`` character class for pegs now includes the digits ``'0'..'9'``.
- Many wrappers now do not contain redundant name prefixes (like ``GTK_``,
  ``lua``) anymore.
- Arguments to ``openArray`` parameters can be left out.


2009-12-21 Version 0.8.6 released
=================================

The version jump from 0.8.2 to 0.8.6 acknowledges the fact that all development
of the compiler is now done in Nimrod.


Bugfixes
--------
- The pragmas ``hint[X]:off`` and ``warning[X]:off`` now work.
- Method call syntax for iterators works again (``for x in lines.split()``).
- Fixed a typo in ``removeDir`` for POSIX that lead to an infinite recursion.
- The compiler now checks that module filenames are valid identifiers.
- Empty patterns for the ``dynlib`` pragma are now possible. 
- ``os.parseCmdLine`` returned wrong results for trailing whitespace.
- Inconsequent tuple usage (using the same tuple with and without named fields)
  does not crash the code generator anymore.
- A better error message is provided when the loading of a proc within a
  dynamic lib fails.


Additions
---------
- Added ``system.contains`` for open arrays.
- The PEG module now supports the *search loop operator* ``@``.
- Grammar/parser: ``SAD|IND`` is allowed before any kind of closing bracket.
  This allows for more flexible source code formating.
- The compiler now uses a *bind* table for symbol lookup within a ``bind``
  context. (See `<manual.html#templates>`_ for details.)
- ``discard """my long comment"""`` is now optimized away.
- New ``--floatChecks: on|off`` switches and pragmas for better debugging
  of floating point operations. (See
  `<manual.html#pre-defined-floating-point-types>`_ for details.)
- The manual has been improved. (Many thanks to Philippe Lhoste!)


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------
- The compiler does not skip the linking step anymore even if no file
  has changed.
- ``os.splitFile(".xyz")`` now returns ``("", ".xyz", "")`` instead of
  ``("", "", ".xyz")``. So filenames starting with a dot are handled
  differently. 
- ``strutils.split(s: string, seps: set[char])`` never yields the empty string
  anymore. This behaviour is probably more appropriate for whitespace splitting. 
- The compiler now stops after the ``--version`` command line switch.
- Removed support for enum inheritance in the parser; enum inheritance has 
  never been documented anyway.
- The ``msg`` field of ``system.E_base`` has now the type ``string``, instead
  of ``cstring``. This improves memory safety.


2009-10-21 Version 0.8.2 released
=================================

Bugfixes
--------
- Passing ``--hint[X]:off`` or ``--warning[X]:off`` as command line arguments 
  to the compiler now works.
- Default parameters for templates now work.
- Fixed security issue in ``system.copy``.
- String case without an ``else`` part generated wrong code.
- Various fixes for the ``osproc`` module; it now works on Windows.


Additions
---------
- Implemented multi-methods.
- The compiler now detects the number of available processors and
  executes the C compiler concurrently. This can be adjusted by the
  ``--parallel_build: number_of_processors`` command line switch.
- PEG-based pattern matching via the `pegs <pegs.html>`_ module.
- Added ``system.definedInScope``.
- Added ``system.accumulateResult``.
- Added ``os.walkDirRec``.
- Added ``osproc.countProcessors``.
- Added ``osproc.execProcesses``.
- The configuration system now supports ``$cc.options.linker``.
- Merged ``expr`` and ``typeDesc`` in the grammar/parser: this will allow for
  anonymous procs without ``lambda``.
- Many scripts have no need for a GC: The new ``--gc:none`` command line switch
  can be used to exclude the GC from the executable.


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------
- Taking the address of an object discriminant is now invalid.
- Passing a proc to a proc var is only allowed for procs marked with 
  ``procvar`` or a calling convention != ``nimcall``. For now this only causes 
  a warning, but this will turn into an error soon.
- ``system.&`` and ``system.add`` now receive ``openArray`` instead of ``seq``
  parameters.
- Removed ``strutils.findSubStr`` and ``strutils.findChars``. They have been 
  deprecated for 3 versions.
- The unicode module uses a distinct type for ``TRune``.
- Deprecated ``strutils.toString``: use ``$`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.splitPath``: use ``os.splitPath`` that returns a tuple 
  instead.
- Deprecated ``os.extractDir``: use ``splitFile(path).dir`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.splitFilename``: use ``splitFile`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.extractFileExt``: use ``splitFile`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.extractFileTrunk``: use ``splitFile`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.appendFileExt``: use ``os.addFileExt`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.executeShellCommand``: use ``os.execShellCmd`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.iterOverEnvironment``: use ``os.envPairs`` instead.
- Deprecated ``parseopt.init``: use ``parseopt.initOptParser`` instead.
- Deprecated ``parseopt.getRestOfCommandLine``: use ``parseopt.cmdLineRest``
  instead.
- Deprecated ``os.pcDirectory``: use ``os.pcDir`` instead.
- Deprecated ``os.pcLinkToDirectory``: use ``os.pcLinkToDir`` instead.
- Deprecated ``osproc.executeProcess``: use ``osproc.execProcess`` instead.
- Deprecated ``osproc.executeCommand``: use ``osproc.execCmd`` instead.


2009-09-12 Version 0.8.0 released
=================================

Bugfixes
--------
- fixed a small bug that caused the compiler to not report unused
  overloaded symbols
- fixed a small bug concerning symbol overloading
- fixed a typo: it's "ambiguous", not "ambigious" ;-)
- the compiler now detects recursive include files
- ``system.card`` should work again
- ``items`` for ``set[char]`` and ``array[char, T]`` should work now


Additions
---------

- implemented generic types and two phase symbol lookup in generic routines 
- template parameters can now have real types
- implemented generalized raw string literals: ``ident"abc"`` is a shortcut for
  ``ident(r"abc")``
- in overloading resolution iterators are separated from procs; iterators now
  can have the same name+signature as procs
- symbol lookup in templates can be affected by the new ``bind`` keyword
- the compiler now accepts a ``--no_main`` switch for better link
  interoperability with other compiled languages
- implemented tuple unpacking in ``var`` sections
- the code generator emits ``default: __assume(0);`` for Visual C++
  (for optimization)
- the compiler now checks if a proc has side effects; procs that are declared
  to have no side effects are rejected if the compiler cannot verify this
- the format operator ``strutils.%`` now supports ``$#`` for automatic argument
  counting
- implemented ``strutils.join``


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------

- two phase symbol lookup is performed in generic routines
- ``bind`` is now a reserved word; ``exception`` is no reserved word anymore
- abstract types have been renamed to distinct types; thus
  ``distinct`` is now a reserved word; ``abstract`` is no reserved word anymore
- ``system.openFile`` deprecated: use ``system.open`` instead
- ``system.closeFile`` deprecated: use ``system.close`` instead
- ``strutils.replaceStr`` deprecated: use ``strutils.replace`` instead
- ``strutils.deleteStr`` deprecated: use ``strutils.delete`` instead
- ``strutils.splitSeq`` deprecated: use ``strutils.split`` instead
- ``strutils.splitLinesSeq`` deprecated: use ``strutils.splitLines`` instead
- ``strutils.parseFloat`` does not accept an additional ``start`` parameter 
  anymore


Documentation
-------------

- the manual has been improved



2009-06-08 Version 0.7.10 released
==================================

Nimrod version 0.7.10 has been released! 

Bugfixes
--------

- fixed bug #374441, #376113
- the posix module works for Mac OS X again
- returning an array should now work
- fixed a serious bug in several parsers: the cached buf pointer 
  must be updated after a reallocation of the buffer
- fixed a CSS bug that kept Firefox from rendering parts of
  the generated documentation properly
- fixed a bug concerning evaluation of command statements
- overloading of ``inc``, ``dec``, ``pred``, ``succ`` should now work
- ``removeDir`` now works as the documentation says: it even removes
  directories that are not empty
 

Additions
---------

* zero argument templates/macros can now be invoked without ``()``,
  because this is not ambiguous
* new modules in the library:
  - ``dynlib``: load symbols from a shared library
  - ``python``: wrapper for the Python programming language
  - ``tcl``: wrapper for the TCL programming language
* added ``system.max``, ``system.min`` for open arrays
* added ``system.each`` built-in
* added ``os.getFilePermissions``, ``os.setFilePermissions``, 
  ``os.inclFilePermissions``, ``os.exclFilePermissions``
* the ``dynlib`` import mechanism now supports a flexible versioning scheme: 

  .. code-block:: nimrod 
  
    proc Tcl_Eval(interp: pTcl_Interp, script: cstring): int {.cdecl, 
      importc, dynlib: "libtcl(8.5|8.4|8.3|8.2|8.1).so.(1|0)".}

* implemented ``abstract`` types


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------

- the organization within the ``lib`` folder now reflects the documentation;
  as a result old configuration files need to be updated
- ``abstract`` is now a reserved keyword
- ``echo`` is now a built-in macro that accepts a variable numer of 
  arguments of different types (and calls ``$`` for the arguments that need 
  it); as a result it cannot be overloaded anymore
- ``where`` is no keyword anymore
- installation on UNIX produces a release version of the compiler


2009-05-08 Version 0.7.8 released
=================================

Nimrod version 0.7.8 has been released!
Apart from bugfixes and added libraries the biggest change is that Nimrod
now has a new memory manager which: 

- interacts much better with the GC
- uses less memory
- is faster than the old memory manager (``dlmalloc``)
- releases memory back to the operating system


Bugfixes
--------

- generics are now processed earlier in the pipeline; thus 
  generics can be used within macros
- changed bootstrapping in ``koch.py`` and ``boot.nim`` to fix 
  bug #369607
- the compiler now checks that ``yield`` is used inside a loop
- fixed a bug in the evaluation code for ``system.len``, 
  ``system.setlen`` and ``system.newSeq``
- overflow checking for ``newSeq`` fixes a security issue


Additions
---------

- new module: ``parsecsv`` for parsing CSV files
- new module: ``xmlgen`` for generating XML or HTML
- new module: ``osproc`` for OS process communication
- added ``math.TRunningStat`` object and its methods
- added ``strutils.validIdentifier``
- the reStructuredText parser now supports the ``container`` directive that
  translates to the HTML ``div`` element
- the ``cgi`` module registers a handler, so that stack traces contain the
  HTML ``<br />`` element making CGI applications easier to debug
- added the ``cgi.decodeData`` iterator
- ``copy`` and ``newString`` can now be evaluated at compile time. As a 
  result more procedures from the ``strutils`` module can be evaluated at
  compile time.
- ``macros.error`` now prints a stack trace
- Nimrod now supports the Boehm-Demers-Weiser conservative garbage collector: 
  The ``--gc:boehm`` command line switch activates it. However, the native 
  Nimrod collector is faster!
  

Documentation
-------------

- Nimrod's abstract syntax trees are now documented in the 
  `macros <macros.html>`_ module. Unfortunately the documentation is still
  incomplete.


2009-04-22 Version 0.7.6 released
=================================

Nimrod version 0.7.6 has been released! 
This is mostly a bugfix release. Some new features and libraries have 
also been implemented.

Bugfixes
--------

- installation on Windows Vista may now work out of the box; please try!
- fixed a bug that kept the "recursive modules" example from working
- mixing named and unnamed parameters in a procedure call now works
- octal numbers with the prefix ``0c`` are now properly supported
- enumerations now may start with negative values
- ``parseInt``, ``ParseBiggestInt`` now throw an exception if the
  string does not end after the parsed number
- the compiler now handles top-level statements correctly
- generated ``nimcache`` directory never ends in a slash
- ``createDir`` now works for global directories under UNIX ("/somepath/here")
- the compiler now executes the executable with a leading "./" under UNIX
- the compiler now supports constant arrays of procedure pointers
- ``elif`` in ``case`` statements now works
- iterators using an open array parameter now work
- fixed a bug where in some contexts ``$myEnum`` did not work


Additions
---------
- implemented the passing of a code-block to the last parameter of a 
  template/macro:
  
  .. code-block:: nimrod

    template withFile(f, filename, mode: expr, 
                      actions: stmt): stmt =
      block:
        var f: TFile
        if openFile(f, filename, mode):
          try:
            actions
          finally:
            closeFile(f)
        else:
          quit("cannot open: " & filename)
        
    withFile(txt, "ttempl3.txt", fmWrite):
      txt.writeln("line 1")
      txt.writeln("line 2")

- new pragma ``deprecated`` can be used to mark deprecated identifiers
- added ``system.pop`` built-in for sequences
- added ``addf``, ``addSep`` and ``validEmailAddress`` to the
  ``strutils`` module
- nice ``=~`` template operator for the ``regexprs`` module
- the scoping rules for ``for``, ``while``, ``if``, ``case`` changed
  in a subtle way to support the new ``=~`` template
- added common regular expressions for regexprs
- ``posix`` module now declares socket stuff
- new module: ``cgi`` for creating CGI applications
- new module: ``terminal`` for simple terminal output customization
- new module: ``parsexml`` for HTML/XML parsing with some support for
  parsing *dirty* HTML
- new module: ``web`` for retrieving web pages
- new module: ``md5`` for computation of MD5 checksums
- new wrappers: ``mysql``, ``sqlite3``, ``libcurl``


Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------

- ``strutils.findSubStr``, ``strutils.findChars`` deprecated: 
  use ``strutils.find`` instead


Documentation
-------------

- The library is now divided into *pure libraries*, *impure libraries* 
  and *wrappers*.


2009-01-22 Forum added
======================
We now have a `forum <http://www.ethexor.com/heimdall>`_ where you can discuss 
Nimrod. 


2009-01-07 Version 0.7.4 released
=================================

Nimrod version 0.7.4 has been released! 

Bugfixes
--------

- installation on Windows should work now if the directory contains spaces
- the documentation generator now only renders documentation comments
- ``\`` is allowed for operators as the manual says
- in rare cases, the index check has been optimized away, even though
  it would have been necessary
- several bugfixes for tuple types

Additions
---------

- added an ``unicode`` module for UTF-8 handling
- added ``hostOS`` and ``hostCPU`` magics to the ``system`` module
- ``system.echo`` now accepts multiple arguments
- added optimization: in some cases inlining of iterators now produces 
  substantially better code
- added whole program dead code elimination
- the magic ``$`` operator now works for enumerations
- in ``const`` sections advanced compile time evaluation is done: 

.. code-block:: nimrod
  proc fac(n: int): int = 
    if n <= 1: return 1
    else: return n*(fac(n-1))
    
  const
    z = fac(3)  # computes 6 at compile time

Changes affecting backwards compatibility
-----------------------------------------

- renamed ``in_Operator`` to ``contains``: ``in`` is now a template that 
  translates to ``contains``
- changed ``strutils.quoteIfSpaceExists`` to ``strutils.quoteIfContainsWhite``
- the parser is now much more picky about missings commas, etc. If this affects
  your code too much, try to run your code through the pretty printer.
- the ``macros`` API is no longer part of the ``system`` module, to use this
  API you now have to import the ``macros`` module

Documentation
-------------

- added a tutorial



2008-12-12 Version 0.7.2 released
=================================

Nimrod version 0.7.2 has been released! This is a bugfix release. This most 
important fix is that Nimrod now works again on AMD64 (x86_64) processors. No 
new features have been implemented.


2008-11-16 Version 0.7.0 released
=================================

Nimrod version 0.7.0 has been released!
Changes:
* various bug fixes, too many to list them here
* the installation for UNIX-based systems does not depend on Python any longer
* the ``koch.py`` script now works with older Python versions (including 1.5.2)
* changed integer operations and conversions rules
* added ``GC_ref`` and ``GC_unref`` procs
* sequences now need to be constructed with the ``@`` operator. This leads to
  less ambiguities.
* the compiler now uses less memory and is much faster
* the GC is now much faster
* new bindings: zlib, SDL, Xlib, OpenGL, ODBC, Lua
* the generated C code is much faster to optimize with GCC
* new libraries: streams, zipfiles
* the Nimrod compiler has been ported to FreeBSD: it should work on
  other BSD's too


2008-08-22 Version 0.6.0 released
=================================

Nimrod version 0.6.0 has been released!
**This is the first version of the compiler that is able to compile itself!**
A nice side-effect from this is that a source-based installation does not
depend on FreePascal any longer.

Changes:
* various bug fixes, too many to list them here
* cleaned up the type system: records are now superfluous and not
  supported anymore
* improved the performance of the garbage collector
* new modules in the library:
  - ``parseopt``: a simple to use command line parser
  - ``hashes``: efficient computation of hash values
  - ``strtabs``: efficient mapping from strings to strings
  - ``parsecfg``: an efficient configuration file parser
* macros and compile-time evaluation implemented (however, still experimental)
* generics implemented (however, still experimental)