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Diffstat (limited to 'README')
| -rw-r--r-- | README | 69 |
1 files changed, 34 insertions, 35 deletions
@@ -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 |