2 #+TITLE: Mes NEWS – history of user-visible changes
3 #+STARTUP: content hidestars
5 Copyright © 2016 Jan Nieuwenhuizen <janneke@gnu.org>
7 Copying and distribution of this file, with or without modification,
8 are permitted in any medium without royalty provided the copyright
9 notice and this notice are preserved.
11 Please send Mes bug reports to janneke@gnu.org.
13 * Changes in 0.4 since 0.3
16 The C-reader needs only support reading of words and lists
17 (s-expressions), line-comments. Quoting, characters, strings,
18 block-comments are all handled by the Scheme reader later.
20 *** Keywords are supported.
21 *** Cond now supports =>.
22 * Changes in 0.3 since 0.2
24 *** Number-based rather than pointer-based cells.
25 *** Garbage collector aka Jam scraper.
26 A variant on SICP's stop and copy Garbage Colletor (Jam Scraper?)
27 algorithm has been implemented.
28 *** The reader has been moved to Scheme.
30 *** Simple loadable modules.
31 *** Srfi-9 and match use handwritten syntax-rules (mes-use-module (mes syntax)).
32 *** Optional syntax-case using psyntax (mes-use-module (mes psyntax)).
33 ** Noteworthy bug fixes
34 *** Srfi-0 has been fixed.
35 * Changes in 0.2 since 0.1
37 *** Names of symbols and strings are list of characters [WAS: c-string].
38 *** Sc-expand from pre-R6RS's psyntax has been integrated.
39 *** Undefined variable error now shows the name of the undefined variable.
40 *** There is now only one SCM type for builtin functions.
41 *** Macro expansion has been cleaned-up.
43 *** Mes now provides a subset of R6RS.
44 *** Mes now provides syntax-case.
45 *** Mes now provides `load'.
46 ** Noteworthy bug fixes
47 *** Using values as second parameter of builtin function yields first value.
48 *** Quoted internals (e.g. 'if 'lambda) are now symbols.
49 *** Syntax error now exits.
50 *** Make+Bash voodoo has been replaced by build-aux/mes-snarf.scm.
51 *** Apply now accepts multiple list arguments.
52 *** Apply of character, inernal, number, string is an error.
53 *** Quasisyntax reading
55 * Changes in 0.1 (since progress report #2)
57 *** expand_macro is now a separate function.
58 *** A smaller core can now compiled using BOOT=1.
59 The smaller core does not provide define, define-macro, or quasiquote;
60 these are provided from a Scheme version of implemented eval/apply.
62 *** Mes now provides a subset of R5RS.
63 *** Mes now provides let-syntax.
64 *** Mes now provides match.
65 *** Mes now provides quasisyntax, unsyntax and unsyntax-splicing.
67 *** Mes now provides a REPL, run:
69 *** Mes compiler can be run as a script:
70 scripts/mescc.mes doc/examples/main.c
71 *** Macro expansion can be inspected in the REPL, e.g.:
73 ** Noteworthy bug fixes
74 *** Performance: scripts/mescc.mes now takes 2s to compile main.c (was 1'20").
75 *** Symbols are now truly unique.
76 * '(), #t, #f are no longer symbols.