@c Copyright (C) 2002-2005 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@c For copying conditions, see the file gpc.texi.
@c This file is part of the GPC Manual.
@c
@c Author: Frank Heckenbach <frank@pascal.gnu.de>
@c
@c Last modification: 2005-03-30 (file up to date)

@ifclear NEWSONLY
@node News
@chapter New Features of GNU Pascal.
@cindex news
@end ifclear

@ifset NEWSONLY
@include version.texi
@c Note: The following line gets inserted into the destination file,
@c       it does not apply to this Texinfo file!
This file was generated automatically from news.texi.@*
@sc{DO NOT CHANGE THIS FILE MANUALLY!}

@settitle GPC News
@node Top
@chapter GPC News
@paragraphindent 0
@end ifset

GPC's new or changed features since the last (non alpha/beta) GPC
release are listed here. Items without further description refer to
new routines, variables or options.

Features implemented for compatibility to other compilers are marked
with, e.g., @samp{(B)} for BP compatibility.

A few old and obsolete features have been dropped or replaced by
cleaner, more flexible or otherwise more useful ones. This might
lead to minor problems with old code, but we suppose they're rare
and easy to overcome. Backward-incompatible changes are marked with
@samp{(@@)}.

@itemize @bullet
@item new options @samp{--[no]-nonlocal-exit} (default in @samp{--ucsd-pascal} and @samp{--mac-pascal}) (fjf988[fijk].pas, fjf1062*.pas) (U) (M)
@item new options @samp{--[no]-object-checking} (on by default) to check on virtual method calls if VMT pointer is not nil and has matchin @samp{Size} and @samp{NegatedSize} entries, new options @samp{--[no]-range-and-object-checking} which are now equivalent to @samp{$R[+-]} (fjf1053*.pas) (B)
@item new options @samp{--[no]-pointer-checking}, @samp{--[no]-pointer-checking-user-defined}; new variable @samp{ValidatePointerPtr} (fjf1052*.pas, pcerrorc.pas) (these options are @emph{off} by default!)
@item new options @samp{--[no]-implicit-result} (fjf1022*.pas) (on by default @strong{only} in @samp{--delphi} mode!) (D) (@@)
@item new options @samp{--@{en,dis@}able-predefined-identifier} (fjf1037*.pas)

@item @samp{import} within a routine (mod15[c-e].pas)
@item the option @samp{--no-debug-info} was renamed to @samp{--disable-debug-info}, and @samp{--no-default-paths} was renamed to @samp{--disable-default-paths} (@@)
@item qualified identifiers (chief18.pas, fjf260*.pas, fjf921*.pas, grp1.pas, kurzw1.pas, mod@{9,10,13..17@}*.pas) (@@)
@item with @samp{-Wnested-comments} and without @samp{--nested-comments} warn about comment openers found within comments (fjf1017*.pas)
@item new options @samp{--[no-]case-value-checking} (fjf1012*.pas)
@item optimize arithmetic with a complex and a real operand <20020118143553.B28837@@artax.karlin.mff.cuni.cz>
@item range checking <Pine.LNX.4.21.0012091605570.8168-100000@@rusty.russwhit.com> (chuck5.pas, fjf446.pas, fjf989*.pas, fjf992*.pas, fsc@{01..37@}*.pas, miklos1[bc].pas, mir@{016,021..028,030..047@}*.pas, ole[12]*.pas, russ4*.pas)

@item @samp{Exit} with an argument (non-local exits not yet supported) (fjf988*.pas) (U) (M)
@item new options @samp{--[no-]propagate-units} (on by default with @samp{--mac-pascal}, off in other dialects) (fjf987*.pas) (M); this also covers the item ``unit inheritance''
@item enable @samp{Pointer} in @samp{--mac-pascal} mode (Mac Pascal has a @samp{Pointer} function which does the same as a type-cast to @samp{Pointer}; though adding @samp{Pointer} as a type allows more, it's backward-compatible) (M)
@item @samp{&} and @samp{|} (shortcut @samp{and} and @samp{or}) (fjf981*.pas) (M)
@item @samp{Leave} and @samp{Cycle} (equivalent to @samp{Break} and @samp{Continue}) (avo3.pas) (M)
@item optimize @samp{WriteLn (... @var{string_constant})} and @samp{Write (... @var{string_constant}, @var{string_constant} ...)}
@item @samp{BindingType} is now a packed record as EP demands (fjf975a.pas) (E)
@item EP structured initializers (fjf964*.pas, fjf967*.pas, fjf968*.pas) (E)
@item EP record, array, set values (constdef.pas, fjf966*.pas, fjf971*.pas) (E)
@item @file{gp}: @samp{PC} now sets the compiler for both Pascal and C unless @samp{CC} is set explicitly
@item @samp{Discard}
@item @samp{Integer}, @samp{Word}, @samp{Cardinal} are now equivalent to @samp{PtrInt}, @samp{PtrWord}, @samp{PtrCard}, no more (necessarily) to C's @samp{int} and @samp{unsigned int} (@@)
@item new types @samp{CInteger}, @samp{CWord}, @samp{CCardinal}
@item new make variable @samp{GPC_PAGESIZE} to set the page size when building the manual (PDF, PostScript, DVI)
@item @samp{qualified} and import lists are no more allowed after @samp{uses} (only after @samp{import}, as EP demands) (@@)
@item the @samp{GMP} unit doesn't support gmp-2.x anymore (if you used it, just upgrade to a newer GMP version) (@@)
@item conflicts between object fields/methods and ancestor type names are detected as required by OOE (fjf945*.pas) (@@) (O)
@item repeated function headings (in @samp{forward} declarations and interfaces) are checked stricter: if one has a result variable, so must the other (according to the OOE draft) (@@) (O)
@item the @samp{Pipe} unit was renamed to @samp{Pipes} because of a name conflict (@@)
@item empty parameter lists can be written as @samp{()} (chief54*.pas, delphi6*.pas) (D)
@item GMP unit: @samp{mpf_sin}, @samp{mpf_cos}
@item the test suite output is now by default stored in DejaGnu compatible files @file{gpc.log} and @file{gpc.sum} in the @file{p/test/} directory; other available test targets are @samp{pascal.check-short} and @samp{pascal.check-long} (@@)
@item new options @samp{-W[no-]dynamic-arrays} (fjf931*.pas)
@item new argument to @samp{_p_initialize} (@@)
@item @samp{UMask}
@item new option @samp{--no-debug-source}
@item new lexer (no directly user-visible difference, but should allow for better handling of lexer-based problems in the future)
@item @samp{CompilerAssert} (fjf904*.pas)
@item options @samp{--[no]-assert} renamed to @samp{--[no]-assertions} (necessary to avoid a conflict with GCC) (@@)
@item new options @samp{--[no-]range-checking}, also as short compiler directives @samp{@{$R+@}}/@samp{@{$R-@}} (default is on) (C, E, B, @@)
@item new options @samp{--[no-]methods-always-virtual} (fjf903*.pas) (M)
@item new options @samp{--[no-]pointer-arithmetic}, @samp{--[no-]cstrings-as-strings}, @samp{-W[no-]absolute} (all of which @samp{--[no-]extended-syntax} implies)
@item @samp{Integer2StringBase}, @samp{Integer2StringBaseExt}
@item new constants @samp{NumericBaseDigits}, @samp{NumericBaseDigitsUpper}
@item allow assigning, passing by value and returning objects, with assignments of an object of derived type to one of a base type (chief35[ab].pas, fjf451*.pas, fjf696[ef].pas, fjf884*.pas), BP compatible except for a bug in the BP feature itself (see the comment in @file{p/test/fjf451h.pas}) (B)
@item new options @samp{-W[no-]object-assignment}
@item warn (except in @samp{--borland-pascal}) if a virtual method overrides a non-virtual one (chief52*.pas)
@item warn when an non-abstract object type has virtual methods, but no constructor (chief51*.pas)
@item @samp{--maximum-field-alignment} does not apply to @samp{packed} records
@item @samp{ArcSin}, @samp{ArcCos}
@item trimming string relations as functions (@samp{EQPad} etc.) (fjf873.pas)
@item new options @samp{-W[no-]interface-file-name}
@item @samp{SeekEOF} and @samp{SeekEOLn} use @samp{Input} implicitly when no file is given (fjf871.pas) (B)
@item tagging feature for @samp{with} statements (tom6.pas) <200012022215.eB2MFD614424@@wsinpa16.win.tue.nl> (Sun Pascal)
@item new option @samp{--sun-pascal}
@item field names and array indices in initalizers are recognized (waldek5*.pas) (options @samp{-W[no-]field-name-problem} removed, @@)
@item object directives @samp{published}, @samp{public} (both equivalent), @samp{protected} (scope limited to object type and derived object types), @samp{private} (scope limited to current unit/module) (fjf864*.pas) (options @samp{-W[no-]object-directives} removed, @@)
@item the operator precedence and associativity of @samp{+} and @samp{-} is now as defined in EP by default (and as in BP with @samp{--borland-pascal}) <Pine.LNX.4.44.0210251249500.6181-100000@@duch.mimuw.edu.pl> (fjf863*.pas) (@@)
@item @samp{Integer (16)} etc. changed to @samp{Integer attribute (Size = 16)} (works for integer and Boolean types) (fjf861.pas) (@@)
@item types can have attributes (note: no preceding @samp{;}) (fjf860*.pas)
@item dynamic object methods (fjf859.pas) (B)
@item in @samp{--borland-pascal} mode, @samp{Assign} unconditionally (re-)initializes its file parameter (fjf858.pas) (B)
@item GPC doesn't use @file{gpm} files anymore (instead, each module has an implicit @file{@var{modulename}-all.gpi} interface which is a regular @file{gpi} file)
@item make the program/module/unit finalizers non-public (@samp{static} in C sense), omit them if easily possible
@item new options @samp{-W[no-]parentheses} (fjf848*.pas)
@item non-@samp{interface} modules with empty implementation part (pmod1.pas, fjf843.pas)
@item @samp{maximum-field-alignment} and @samp{[no-]field-widths} work as local compiler directives now (fjf842.pas)
@item dropped @samp{@{$debug-statement@}} (should not be necessary anymore, now that debug info mostly works)
@item new options @samp{--[no-]longjmp-all-nonlocal-labels}
@item object methods can have attributes (fjf826*.pas)
@item new attributes @samp{iocritical} (fjf824*.pas), @samp{ignorable} (fjf839*.pas) for routines
@item dropped computed @samp{goto} (never worked for nonlocal @samp{goto} into the main program, implementing it would be quite difficult, probably not worth it) (@@)
@item new type @samp{AnyFile} for parameters and pointer targets (fjf821*.pas)
@item @samp{TimeStamp} is now a packed record as EP demands (fjf975b.pas) (E)
@item Mac Pascal specific features are supported according to the dialect options (M)
@item @samp{--interface-only} does not require @samp{-S} or @samp{-c} anymore (and does not create an object file)
@item @samp{initialization}, @samp{finalization} (D)
@item @samp{TimeZone} in @samp{TimeStamp} counts seconds @emph{east} of UTC now (not west, as before) (datetimedemo.pas) (@@)
@item @samp{export @var{Foo} = all (@dots{})} (fjf811*.pas)
@item new options @samp{-W[no-]local-external} (implied by @samp{-Wall})
@item type-casts are BP compatible now, in particular, value type-casts between ordinal and real or complex types don't work anymore (B) (@@)
@item all non-ISO-7185 keywords can be used as identifiers (with two small exceptions) (fjf440.pas)
@item @samp{pack-struct} does not imply bit-level packing anymore (only explicit @samp{packed} records and arrays do) (@@)
@item new options @samp{--[no-]ignore-packed} (@samp{--ignore-packed} is the default in BP mode) (fjf796*.pas) (B) (@@)
@item new option @samp{--maximum-field-alignment=@var{N}}
@item new options @samp{@{$[no-]pack-struct@}} as a compiler directive
@item @samp{attribute} for routines doesn't imply @samp{forward} anymore (so you don't have to declare routines twice in a program or implementation part when setting the linker name or some other attribute) (@@)
@item @samp{static}, @samp{volatile} and @samp{register} for variables and @samp{inline} for routines are no prefix-directives anymore, but @samp{attribute}s (@@)
@item combining several dialect options (such as @samp{--extended-pascal --borland-pascal}) doesn't work anymore (what should this mean, anyway? Combine the features, but also the warnings from both!?!?!?) (@@)
@item @samp{external} without @samp{name} defaults to all-lowercase now (@@)
@item @samp{c}, @samp{c_language} and @samp{asmname} are deprecated (@@)
@item @samp{external name 'foo'} (fjf780.pas), @samp{external 'libname' name 'foo'} (where @samp{libname} is ignored) (B)
@item Mac Pascal directives @samp{definec}, @samp{macro}, @samp{undefc}, @samp{ifc}, @samp{ifoptc}, @samp{elsec}, @samp{elifc}, @samp{endc}, @samp{errorc} (treated as equivalent to the corresponding existing ones) (M)
@item units without @samp{implementation} part (M)
@item new options @samp{--vax-pascal}, @samp{--mac-pascal}
@item attributes @samp{const} for variables and @samp{name} for variables, routines and modules; assembler names and module/unit file names can now be expressions (which must yield string constants) (fjf781*.pas, fjf809*.pas)
@item the utilities @samp{gpidump} and @samp{binobj} are installed with GPC (B)
@item new options @samp{-W[no-]identifier-case}, @samp{-W[no-]identifier-case-local} (fjf751*.pas)
@item new compiler directive @samp{$R foo}, equivalent to @samp{$L foo.resource} (B)
@item dropped @samp{--[no-]borland-char-constants} (now simply coupled to dialect options) (@@)
@item test suite: support progress messages (@samp{TEST_RUN_FLAGS=-p} from the Makefile; @samp{-p} in testgpc); see @uref{http://fjf.gnu.de/misc/progress-messages.tar.gz}
@item @samp{=} and @samp{<>} comparisons of structures (arrays, records, ...) except strings and sets are forbidden now (@@) (E)
@item irrelevant operands and arguments (e.g.: @samp{foo in []}; @samp{bar * []}; @samp{Im (baz)} if @samp{baz} is of real type) are not necessarily evaluated anymore (which is allowed by the standard); instead, a warning is given if they have side-effects (@@)
@item accept only one program, unit, module interface or implementation or a module interface and the implementation of the same module in one file; new options @samp{--[no-]ignore-garbage-after-dot} (fjf735*.pas) (@@)
@item new options @samp{-W[no-]implicit-io} (fjf734*.pas)
@item new options @samp{--enable-keyword}, @samp{--disable-keyword} (fjf733*.pas)
@item @samp{CBoolean} (fjf727.pas)
@item dropped the usage of @samp{GetMem} as a function with one parameter (only the BP compatible usage as a procedure with two parameters remains) (@@)
@item accessing the variable @samp{FileMode} now requires using the @samp{GPC} (or, for BP compatibility, the @samp{System}) unit (@@)
@item @samp{DupHandle}
@item dropped the predefined dialect symbols @samp{__CLASSIC_PASCAL__}, @samp{__STANDARD_PASCAL__}, @samp{__EXTENDED_PASCAL__}, @samp{__OBJECT_PASCAL__}, @samp{__UCSD_PASCAL__}, @samp{__BORLAND_PASCAL__}, @samp{__DELPHI__}, @samp{__PASCAL_SC__} and @samp{__GNU_PASCAL__} (one can use @samp{@{$ifopt borland-pascal@}} etc. instead) (@@)
@item @samp{Succ}, @samp{Pred}, @samp{Inc}, @samp{Dec} for real numbers (fjf714*.pas)
@item use environment variables @samp{GPC_UNIT_PATH}, @samp{GPC_OBJECT_PATH}
@item new options @samp{-W[no-]float-equal}
@item new option @samp{--ucsd-pascal}
@item dropped the syntax @samp{type foo = procedure (Integer, Real)} (i.e., without parameter names) (@@)
@item CRT: new argument @samp{On} to @samp{CRTSavePreviousScreen}
@item @samp{SetUserID}, @samp{SetGroupID}
@item @samp{HeapChecking}
@item new built-in procedure @samp{Assert}; new options @samp{--[no]-assert} (also @samp{@{$C+@}}, @samp{@{$C-@}} for Delphi compatibility) (fjf665*.pas) (D)
@item @samp{ProcessGroup}
@item StringUtils: @samp{QuoteEnum}
@item @samp{CurrentRoutineName} (fjf752.pas)
@item TFDD: new unit
@item gpc-run: new options @samp{-e FILE} and @samp{-E FILE} (redirect/append standard error)
@end itemize

Have fun,

The GNU Pascal Development Team
