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texinfo-6.0.90 pretest


From: Gavin Smith
Subject: texinfo-6.0.90 pretest
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 2015 09:59:24 +0000

The first pretest for the next Texinfo release has been uploaded to

http://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/texinfo/texinfo-6.0.90.tar.xz
ftp://alpha.gnu.org/gnu/texinfo/texinfo-6.0.90.tar.xz

Please send bug reports and general feedback to address@hidden

The main change since the last release that is likely to cause
problems is the use of extension modules for the Perl interpreter in
the implementation of the 'makeinfo' program. These extension modules
are intended to speed the program up by replacing parts of the program
written in Perl with fast, compiled code (written in C), in order to
compensate for the increase in program run time after Texinfo 5.0
featured a rewrite of 'makeinfo' in Perl. If this approach is a
success, it will be possible to obtain further speed-ups in the future
by replacing more of the program with code written in a compiled
language.

Detailed list of changes:

* Language:
  . You can now optionally miss out the @menu from nodes with other
    nodes below them in the document structure.  If you use
    "@validatemenus off" near the start of a Texinfo file,
    makeinfo will, where needed, create a menu for nodes lacking one
    given explicitly.
  . An @setfilename line is no longer required at the start of a
    Texinfo file.  (Be aware, though, that some other tools may require
    it, for example Automake.)
  . For processing with TeX, a comma is automatically provided following
    a @ref command when needed to separate the page number from
    following text, so you don't need to add one yourself.  This gives
    you the choice of whether to have a comma there in Info or HTML
    output.  For example "@xref{Another Section} for more information"
    produces "See Another Section, page NN, for more information" in the
    printed output, and "*Note Another Section:: for more information"
    in the Info output.

* texinfo.tex:
  . You may explicity specify a sort key for an index entry by preceding
    the text of the entry with the @sortas commmand with the sort key
    desired as a braced argument.   Additionally, you may choose to
    ignore all occurences of the characters \, @, <, and - using new
    flags you can specify with @set: `txiindexbackslashignore',
    `txiindexatsignignore', `txiindexlessthanignore', and
    `txiindexhyphenignore' respectively.
  . Changes to macro handling to more closely match makeinfo.  Ends of
    lines are preserved in an argument to a macro taking a single
    argument.
  . By default, suppress heading line on a page with a chapter on it, to
    avoid having the chapter title repeated.
  . Use a larger font for arguments in a @deffn line and similar.
  . The default indices (cp, ky and so on) now don't get a file opened
    for them unless they are actually used.  This reduces the number of
    files that a run of TeX produces, and also allows for a greater
    number of user-defined indices, as you will not bump into TeX's limit
    of 16 open files at once so soon.
  . For initials in indices that are non-alphanumeric characters (for
    example, backslash, or braces), avoid use of a typewriter font.
    This gives a more consistent appearance.
  . Have a stronger preference for breaking a column in an index before
    a letter heading.
  . Formatting improvements in tables of contents and indices.  Entries
    can extend slightly into the margin instead of being broken across
    two lines, and text is split more evenly across lines.  Reduce
    chance of an orphaned index entry appearing at the top of a column.

* texi2dvi
  . Support of getting output files using the `-recorder' option to TeX,
    to try to support more TeX engines.

* makeinfo
  . Some Perl modules have been rewritten in C to increase speed.
    Disable at build time with "configure --disable-perl-xs".  The
    environment variable `TEXINFO_XS' controls how they are used by
    makeinfo.
  . Quotation marks are left out for node names and index entries in
    Info output where they would have been produced by commands such
    as @file or @option.
  . New customization variable INFO_SPECIAL_CHARS_QUOTE to allow use of
    a quoting mechanism for problematic constructs in Info output, for
    example node names containing colons or commas.
  . Commands like @heading are affected by @lowersections and @raisesections
    again, as was the case before Texinfo 5.0.

* info
  . New user variables `link-style', `active-link-style', and
    `match-style' enable customization of how cross-references and search
    matches are highlighted.
  . By default only the node pointers are displayed at the top of a node.
    Customize this with the `nodeline' variable.
  . New command M-x tree-search to search all subnodes of a node
  . Now tries to find referenced manuals in the same directory as the
    current file first, before looking in search path.  Customize this
    with new variable `follow-strategy'.
  . The `mouse' variable is now off by default, in order not to
    interfere with the selection of text in a terminal emulator window.
  . `q' closes a window instead of quitting altogether if there's more
    than one, for example if a help window is open.
  . Several bug fixes, including:
      . one causing the wrong position in a node to be shown when
        following an "anchor" cross-reference
      . one causing a test failure in the t/c-u-m-x-scroll-forward.sh
        test on some platforms
  . Internal changes to reduce memory use and increase speed of
    searches, relative to last release
  . The meaning of the `key-time' variable has changed when its value
    is 0.  This value meant to wait forever in the last release, but now
    it means that the next byte must be available immediately.

* Miscellaneous
  . The `info.info' file is no longer distributed with Texinfo.

* Distribution:
  . automake-1.15, gettext-0.19.6



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