.ig >>
<STYLE TYPE="text/css">
<!--
        A:link{text-decoration:none}
        A:visited{text-decoration:none}
        A:active{text-decoration:none}
        OL,UL,P,BODY,TD,TR,TH,FORM { font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;; font-size:small; color: #333333; }

        H1 { font-size: x-large; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; }
        H2 { font-size: large; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; }
        H3 { font-size: medium; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; }
        H4 { font-size: small; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; }
-->
</STYLE>
<title>ploticus: release notes and current issues</title>
<body bgcolor=D0D0EE vlink=0000FF>
<br>
<br>
<center>
<table cellpadding=2 bgcolor=FFFFFF width=550 ><tr>
<td>
  <table cellpadding=2 width=550><tr>
  <td><br><h2>Release notes and current issues</h2></td>
  <td align=right>
  <small>
  <a href="../doc/Welcome.html"><img src="../doc/ploticus.gif" border=0></a><br>
  <a href="../doc/Welcome.html">Welcome</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;
  <a href="../gallery/index.html">Gallery</a> &nbsp; &nbsp;
  <a href="../doc/Contents.html">Handbook</a> 
  <td></tr></table>
</td></tr>
<td>
<br>
<br>
.>>

.TH Release_notes_and_current_issues PL "20-MAY-2003   PL ploticus.sourceforge.net"

.ig >>

<li> <a href="../doc/Problems.html">Correspondence</a>: scg@jax.org
<li> <a href="../doc/Download.html">Download page</a>
<li> <a href="http://ploticus.sourceforge.net/doc/Versions.html">Latest version of this page</a> (ploticus.sourceforge.net)
<li> Upgrading from an old version?  Check the <a href="#breakers">list of changes that could break old scripts</a>.
</a>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<h2>Late fixes and issues arising since latest release:</h2>
- See also the <a href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ploticus">ploticus discussion group</a><br><br>
<br>
<br>
<h2>Version 2.11 - Released May __, 2003</h2>
<ul>
<li> New - <a href="swf.html">SWF</a> (flash) support - contributed by Bill Traill 
<br><br>
<li> New - Popup text bubbles can be displayed when the mouse pointer hovers over data points when viewing
ploticus-generated images in a web browser.  Support for both scripts and prefabs.  
Accomplished using <a href="clickmap.html">client-side imagemaps</a>, with or without a clickable URL.  
<a href="../gallery/cs_mouseover.htm">Click here to see an example</a>.
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - <a href="api.html">libploticus API</a> - now supports multiple plot jobs within one OS process.
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="vector.html">proc vector</a> - windbarbs support contributed by Andrew Phillips 
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="categories.html">proc categories</a> - supersedes specification of categories from within
proc areadef.  Categories are an entity independent of plotting area or current data set.
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="processdata.html">proc processdata</a> - new actions <tt>segment</tt> and <tt>segmentb</tt>
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="bars.html">proc bars</a> - new attributes <tt>exactcolorfield</tt>, <tt>constantlen</tt>, <tt>constantloc</tt>
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="clickmap.html">clickmap</a> support for <a href="rect.html">proc rect</a>
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="axis.html">axis</a> - new attribute <tt>stublen</tt>
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="pl.1.html">pl command line</a> - new option <tt>-echo</tt> to display interpreted, 
fully expanded script lines to stdout or stderr for debugging
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="curvefit.html">proc curvefit</a> -  sets ploticus variables XFINAL and YFINAL
<br><br>
<li> New - <a href="settings.html">proc settings</a> - new attribute <tt>svg_tagparms</tt> - allows you to insert additional
attributes into the &lt;svg&gt; tag.. eg. &lt;svg .. width="ww" height="hh"&gt;
<br><br>
<li> Improved - <a href="api.html">libploticus API</a> - improved the consistency of error return codes
<br><br>
<li> Improved - <a href="clickmap.html">clickmaps</a> - labels and URLs now use malloced storage
<br><br>
<li> Improved - <a href="categories.html">categories</a> - category labels now use malloced storage 
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - <a href="pie.html">proc pie</a> - percentages in labels weren't being converted to euro notation
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - <a href="axis.html">proc axis</a> - very large scale increments were causing race
(fix contributed by Dan Pelleg)
<br><br>
<li> Workaround - <a href="usedata.html">proc usedata</a> - fieldnames are lost when switching between data sets 
with proc usedata, due to a design flaw.  As a workaround, field names can be respecified from within proc usedata.
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - <a href="breakaxis.html">proc breakaxis</a> -  <tt>value</tt> now accepts category values containing embedded whitespace
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - <a href="axis.html">proc axis</a> -  self locating stubs were incorrect in Y axis
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - <a href="getdata.html">proc getdata</a> -  seg fault involving rejected data rows and filter processing 
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - <a href="pie.html">proc pie</a> - <tt>color: auto</tt> was not working with legend
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - unix builds now should handle dos text (script files and data files)
<br><br>
<li> Fixed - <a href="axis.html">proc axis</a> - fixed axis stub increment "hours" and "minutes" support for 
datetime scaling & datetime w/ windowing
<br><br>
<li> Changed - <a href="api.html">libploticus API</a> - <tt>ploticus_begin()</tt> is no longer necessary.
</ul>
<br>
<br>
<h3><a href="Changelog.html">Release notes for earlier versions</a></h3>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<a name=breakers></a>
<h2>Summary of changes likely to break old scripts & applications</h2>
Unless otherwise stated, ploticus versions are designed to be backward-compatible, meaning 
that a "well-behaved" script written for an earlier version of ploticus should work 
on any later version.  However there are several exceptions:
<ul>
<li> <b>version 2.10</b> - several obscure changes: 
config file parameters <tt>sid</tt>, <tt>gid</tt>, and <tt>filesizelimit</tt> dropped;
number display format settings dropped from proc page;
proc areadef <tt>catcompmethod: fuzzy</tt> no longer supported;
proc processdata <tt>stack</tt> is now <tt>no</tt> by default, which might be an issue in scripts that use 
<tt>originaldata</tt> to access processdata result data set;
<br><br>
<li> <b>version 2.03</b> - pltab no longer supported.
<br>
<br>
<li> <b>version 2.03</b> - proc rect (old name proc bevelrect) - bevelsize must now be specified
in order to get a bevelled rectangle.
<br>
<br>
<li> <b>version 2.02</b> - lines prefab - changed the way that the <tt> fill </tt> parameter works.  
Previously it had applied to all curves and line color was used.  Now it is specified
as a color, and separately for each curve (using fill2, fill3, and fill4).  This will 
break any existing applications that use the lines prefab to render multiple filled curves.
<br>
<br>
<li> <b>version 2.00</b> - New script interpreter resulted in some script syntax changes.
Concatenation of variables is done differently in <b>#set</b> and <b>#if</b> statements,
<b>#setifnotgiven</b> replaces <b>#declare soft</b>, and some other minor issues.
<a href="changes20.html">Here are the details.</a> 
</ul>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<h2>Areas of ongoing development</h2>
I can proceed with Ploticus development as my "day job" allows.
Because Ploticus is now covered under GPL, which allows code to
be freely used in other GPL projects, I am posting here the
areas that I hope to get to in the near future, so that other
developers know where I am headed.
<ul>
<li> additional prefabs, eg cumulative percent, heatmap
<br><br>
<li> overhaul of the gallery and examples, with more cross-references and an index
<br><br>
<li> XML script syntax option - the plotting procs fit the xml model easily enough
but not sure what to do about flow of control operators such as #if or #for .. #endloop.
<br><br>
<li> proc axis - when doing tics but no stubs, need a way to range the tics
<br><br>
<li> bee swarm plots
</ul>
<br>
<br>
<h2>Requested features not yet implemented</h2>
<ul>
<li>the ability to run as a persistent daemon and accept commands via named pipe
<li>a method for automatic annotation placement, including avoidance of annotation, label,
and plot object collisions.
<li>more 3-D plots and effects
<li>SVG - a way to display text messages on mouseover
</ul>
<br>
<br>


.>>

.ig >>
<br>
<br>
</td></tr>
<td align=right>
<a href="../doc/Welcome.html">
<img src="../doc/ploticus.gif" border=0></a><br><small>data display engine &nbsp; <br>
<a href="../doc/Copyright.html">Copyright Steve Grubb</a>
<br>
<br>
<center>
<img src="../gallery/all.gif">
</center>
</td></tr>
</table>
.>>
