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-rw-r--r--README69
1 files changed, 34 insertions, 35 deletions
diff --git a/README b/README
index 1fb3e64..5f8a5c8 100644
--- a/README
+++ b/README
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-This is Python release 1.5 alpha 2
+This is Python release 1.5 alpha 3
==================================
******************************************
@@ -8,16 +8,37 @@ This is Python release 1.5 alpha 2
What's new in this release?
---------------------------
-Ehm, I'll be more complete later. Som highlights: I've completed the
-Grand Renaming. It's much faster (almost twice for pystone.py -- see
-Tools/scripts.) There's an assert statement, and a -O option that
-squeezes SET_LINENO instructions and if __debug__ code. It's much
-smarter (only on Unix, so far) about the initial value for sys.path.
-See the usage message (python -h). There's an explicit structure that
-maintains all per-thread globals.
+Too much has changed to list it all; I'll be more complete later.
-Unfinished projects: documentation; multiple independent interpreters;
-better embedding support; more Windows support.
+The most important changes since Python 1.4 include:
+
+- Many previously undocumented modules are now documented; some are
+now officially obsolete or deprecated.
+
+- It's much faster (almost twice for pystone.py -- see Tools/scripts.)
+
+- There's an assert statement.
+
+- There's a -O option that removes SET_LINENO instructions and code
+prefixed with ``if __debug__: ...''.
+
+- It's much smarter about the initial value for sys.path; you can
+control it easier using $PYTHONHOME (see the usage message, e.g. try
+``python -h'').
+
+- The Grand Renaming is completed: all linker-visible symbols defined
+by Python now have a "Py" or "_Py" prefix, and the same is true for
+most macros and typedefs.
+
+- The build strategy now uses a single library (libpython1.5.a) which
+contains everything except for the main() entry point. This makes
+life much easier for applications that want to embed Python.
+
+- There is also much better support for embedding Python in
+applications that use threads.
+
+- Unfinished projects: documentation; multiple independent
+interpreters; more Windows support.
What is Python anyway?
@@ -328,9 +349,7 @@ script.
WARNING: if you rerun the configure script with different options, you
must run "make clean" before rebuilding. Exceptions to this rule:
after changing --prefix or --exec-prefix, all you need to do is remove
-Modules/getpath.o; after changing --with-readline, just remove
-Parser/myreadline.o (but if it doesn't seem to work, always try "make
-clean" before giving up or complaining!).
+Modules/getpath.o.
--with(out)-gcc: The configure script uses gcc (the GNU C compiler) if
it finds it. If you don't want this, or if this compiler is
@@ -356,28 +375,8 @@ clean" before giving up or complaining!).
than re-running the configure script if you change your mind
about the install prefix...
---with-readline: You can use the GNU readline library to improve the
- interactive user interface. This gives you line editing and
- command history when calling Python interactively. Unless GNU
- readline is a standard part of your system (it is on Linux),
- you need to configure build the GNU readline library before
- running the configure script. Its sources are not distributed
- with Python; you can ftp them from any GNU mirror site, or
- from its home site:
- ftp://slc2.ins.cwru.edu/pub/dist/readline-2.0.tar.gz (or
- a higher version number -- using version 1.x is not
- recommended).
-
- A GPL-free version was posted to comp.sources.misc in volume
- 31 and is widely available from FTP archive sites, e.g.
- ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/.
-
- Pass the Python configure script the option
- --with-readline=DIRECTORY where DIRECTORY is the absolute
- pathname of the directory where you've built the readline
- library. If GNU readline is a standard part of your system,
- don't pass '=DIRECTORY'. Some hints on building and using the
- readline library are in the FAQ (file Misc/FAQ).
+--with-readline: This option is no longer supported. To use GNU
+ readline, enable module "readline" in the Modules/Setup file.
--with-thread: On most Unix systems, you can now use multiple threads.
To enable this, pass --with-thread. (--with-threads is an