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* SICStus Prolog Release Notes: (relnotes).		SICStus Prolog Release Notes.
END-INFO-DIR-ENTRY
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File: relnotes.info,  Node: Top,  Next: Overview,  Prev: (dir),  Up: (dir)

SICStus Prolog Release Notes
****************************

Release notes for SICStus Prolog 3.12.11, May 2011.  Copyright (C)
1995-2011 SICS

   Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
these notes provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
are preserved on all copies.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of
these notes under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that
the entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
permission notice identical to this one.

   Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of these
notes into another language, under the above conditions for modified
versions, except that this permission notice may be stated in a
translation approved by SICS.

* Menu:

* Overview:: Overview.          Overview
* Platforms:: Platforms.  Platforms
* Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX:: Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX.  Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX
* Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows:: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows.  Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows
* Tcl/Tk Notes:: Tcl/Tk Notes.  Tcl/Tk Notes
* Jasper Notes:: Jasper Notes.  Jasper Notes
* Visual Basic Notes:: Visual Basic Notes.  Visual Basic Notes
* Berkeley DB Notes:: Berkeley DB Notes.  Berkeley DB Notes
* The Emacs Interface:: The Emacs Interface.  The Emacs Interface
* Revision history:: Revision history.  Revision history
* Generic Limitations:: Generic Limitations.  Generic Limitations
* Contact Information:: Contact Information.  Contact Information


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Overview,  Next: Platforms,  Prev: Top,  Up: Top

1 Overview
**********

These notes summarize the changes in release 3 wrt. previous SICStus
Prolog releases as well as changes introduced by minor releases and
their patch releases.  Platform specific information pertaining to
certain parts of the system are also documented herein.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Platforms,  Next: Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX,  Prev: Overview,  Up: Top

2 Platforms
***********

Binary distributions of Release 3.12 are available for many platforms;
see `http://www.sics.se/sicstus/' for an up-to-date list.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX,  Next: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows,  Prev: Platforms,  Up: Top

3 Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX
***********************************************

This chapter assumes that the environment variable `PATH' includes
`<prefix>/bin', where `<prefix>' points to the SICStus installation
directory. The installation directory is specified during installation;
*note UNIX installation::. For example:

     csh,tcsh> setenv PATH "/usr/local/bin:$PATH"
     sh,bash,ksh> export PATH="/usr/local/bin:$PATH"

* Menu:

* UNIX installation::           Installation
* Platform specific UNIX notes::  Platform Specific Notes


File: relnotes.info,  Node: UNIX installation,  Next: Platform specific UNIX notes,  Up: Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX

3.1 Installation
================

Installation of SICStus under UNIX is performed by an installation
(Shell) script `InstallSICStus', which interacts with the user to obtain
options such as where to install SICStus. As of SICStus 3.9.1, the Java
based "SICStus Installer Tool" is a graphical front-end to the
installation script, which automates downloading and installation. The
SICStus Installer Tool is available from the download page. Use of the
SICStus Installer Tool is strictly optional but may be convenient,
especially on platforms such as Mac OS X, that, by default, lack C
compiler.

* Menu:

* UNIX Installation Prerequisites::  Prerequisites
* The Installation Script:: The Installation Script.  The Installation Script
* The Uninstallation Script:: The Uninstallation Script.  The Uninstallation Script


File: relnotes.info,  Node: UNIX Installation Prerequisites,  Next: The Installation Script,  Up: UNIX installation

3.1.1 Prerequisites
-------------------

* Menu:

* C Compiler and Linker:: C Compiler and Linker.  C Compiler and Linker


File: relnotes.info,  Node: C Compiler and Linker,  Up: UNIX Installation Prerequisites

3.1.1.1 C Compiler and Linker
.............................

A full SICStus installation requires a C compiler and a linker to
perform final link steps on the installation machine.

   If a C compiler is not available, it is possible to use a "pre-built
installation" on some platforms.

   Pre-built installation is only recommended as a last resort; it is
available from the SICStus Installer Tool or by invoking
`InstallSICStus' with the `--all-questions' argument.

   A disadvantage with the pre-built installation is that SICStus
libraries that interface to third-party products (Tcl/Tk, Berkeley DB,
Java) may not work, or may require environment variables such as
`LD_LIBRARY_PATH' to be set.  Another disadvantage is that `spld' and
`splfr' may not work unless you manually adjust the `spld' configure
file. Of course, neither `spld' nor `splfr' will work anyway if you do
not have a C compiler.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: The Installation Script,  Next: The Uninstallation Script,  Prev: UNIX Installation Prerequisites,  Up: UNIX installation

3.1.2 The Installation Script
-----------------------------

Most users will install SICStus from a binary distribution. These are
available for all supported platforms. Information on how to download
and unpack the binary distribution is sent by email when ordering
SICStus.

   Binary distributions are installed by executing an interactive
installation script called `InstallSICStus'. Type

     % ./InstallSICStus

   and follow the instructions on the screen. As an alternative, the
SICStus Installer Tool can be used to download the SICStus files and
invoke the installation script.

   During installation, you will be required to enter your site-name
and license code. These are included in the download instructions.

   The installation program does not only copy files to their
destination, it also performs final link steps for some of the
executables and for the library modules requiring third-party software
support (currently `library(bdb)', `library(tcltk)', and
`library(jasper)'). This is done in order to adapt to local variations
in installation paths and versions.

   Invoke `InstallSICStus' with the `--help' argument to get a list of
options.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: The Uninstallation Script,  Prev: The Installation Script,  Up: UNIX installation

3.1.3 The Uninstallation Script
-------------------------------

To uninstall SICStus the script `UnInstallSICStus' can be run. It is
created during installation in the same directory as `InstallSICStus'.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Platform specific UNIX notes,  Prev: UNIX installation,  Up: Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX

3.2 Platform Specific Notes
===========================

This section contains some installation notes that are platform
specific under UNIX.

*Mac OS X*
     If you intend to use the Jasper Java interface you need the latest
     Java development tools. These are downloadable from Apple at
     `http://developer.apple.com/java'.  As an alternative, you can use
     the "pre-built installation".  Most easily by using the SICStus
     Installer Tool or by invoking `InstallSICStus' with the
     `--all-questions' argument.

     An executable built with `spld' will only work if there is a
     properly configured subdirectory `sp-3.12.11' in the same
     directory as the executable; see *Note Runtime Systems on UNIX
     Target Machines: (sicstus)Runtime Systems on UNIX Target Machines.
     Alternatively, the option `--wrapper' can be passed to `spld'.  In
     this case a wrapper script is created that will set up various
     environment variables and invoke the real executable.

     It is not possible to prelink dynamic foreign resources into a
     dynamically linked Prolog executable. That is, except for data
     resources, `spld --resources ...' does not work, whereas `spld
     --static --resources ...' will. This is no great loss; pre-linking
     dynamic foreign resources is pointless, at best.

     When using third-party products like `BDB', you may need to set up
     `DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH' so that the Mac OS X dynamic linker can find
     them. When using the SICStus development executable (`sicstus'),
     this should happen automatically.

     File names are encoded in UTF-8 on Mac OS X. This is handled
     correctly by SICStus. If SICStus encounters a file name that is
     not encoded in UTF-8, it will interpret the name as Latin 1 (ISO
     8859/1) instead. This can happen on file systems where files have
     been created by some other OS than Mac OS X, e.g. on network file
     servers accessed by other UNIX flavors or Windows.

     Sometimes, the default limit on the process's data-segment is
     unreasonably small, which may lead to unexpected memory allocation
     failures. To check this limit, do
          tcsh> limit data
          datasize 	6144 kbytes
          bash> ulimit -d
          6144
     This indicates that the maximum size of the data-segment is
     only 6 Mb. To remove the limit, do
          tcsh> limit datasize unlimited
          datasize 	unlimited
          bash> ulimit -d unlimited
          bash> ulimit -d
          unlimited

          *Please note*: `limit' (`ulimit') is a shell built-in in
          `csh'/`tcsh' (`sh'/`bash'). It may have a different name in
          other shells.

          *Please note*: The limit will also affect SICStus when started
          from within Emacs, e.g. with `M-x run-prolog'. To change the
          limit used by Emacs and its sub-processes (such as SICStus)
          you will need to change the limit in the shell used to start
          Emacs. Alternatively you can create a shell wrapper for the
          `emacs' command.

     As of SICStus 3.12.7 SICStus will set the data segment size of
     itself according to the value of the environment variable
     `SP_ULIMIT_DATA_SEGMENT_SIZE'. If you set this variable in the
     initialization file for your shell you do not have to use the
     `ulimit' command.

     The default character encoding for SICStus is Latin1 (ISO-8859-1)
     (*note WCX Environment Variables: (sicstus)WCX Environment
     Variables.). This will come in conflict with the default character
     encoding for the Terminal application which is UTF-8. A clickable
     launcher for SICStus is optionally installed in the Applications
     folder. This launcher will set the character encoding to Latin1
     for both the Terminal and SICStus.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows,  Next: Tcl/Tk Notes,  Prev: Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX,  Up: Top

4 Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows
**************************************************

This chapter assumes that the environment variable `PATH' includes
`%SP_PATH%\bin', where `SP_PATH' points to the SICStus installation
directory (typically `C:\Program Files\SICStus Prolog VC10 3.12.11'.
Here, `%SP_PATH%' is just a place-holder; you usually do not need to
set the environment variable `SP_PATH', but see *Note CPL Notes:
(sicstus)CPL Notes.  For example:

     C:\> set PATH=C:\Program Files\SICStus Prolog VC10 3.12.11\bin;%PATH%

   To use `splfr' and `spld', you must also include Microsoft Visual
Studio (or at least its C compiler and linker).  The easiest way is to
run `vcvars32.bat' from the Visual Studio 6 distribution, or the
`vcvarsall.bat' from the Visual Studio 2010 distribution.

   To use the respective library modules, you must also include the
paths to Tcl/Tk (*note Tcl/Tk Notes::), Java (*note Getting Started::),
and Berkeley DB (*note Berkeley DB Notes::).

* Menu:

* Windows Requirements::        Requirements
* Windows Installation::        Installation
* Windows Notes:: Windows Notes.  Windows Notes
* Command Line Editing:: Command Line Editing.  Command Line Editing
* The Console Window:: The Console Window.  The Console Window
* Windows limitations:: Windows limitations.  Windows Limitations


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Windows Requirements,  Next: Windows Installation,  Up: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows

4.1 Requirements
================

   * Operating environment: Microsoft Windows XP or later.

   * For interfacing with C or C++, or for using `spld' or `splfr':
     Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 or Visual C++ 2010 SP1, depending on the
     version of SICStus.

     Microsoft Visual C++ 6.0 is no longer available from Microsoft.
     However, for backwards compatibility, a version of SICStus is
     still available that uses that C compiler and its corresponding C
     librarues.

     Visual C++ 2010 SP1, is the latest C compiler from Microsoft. A
     separate version of SICStus Prolog 3 is built for use with this C
     compiler. Applications built with this C compiler, e.g. SICStus
     Prolog runtime systems, requires that the corresponding C
     libraries have been installed. If you distribute runtime systems
     to machines where SICStus Prolog is not installed then you need to
     ensure that the C libraries are installed by your installer, e.g.
     using the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package
     (x86)
     (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=c32f406a-f8fc-4164-b6eb-5328b8578f03).

     It may also be possible to use Visual C++ 2010 Express, availale
     for free from Microsoft, but this has not been tested.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Windows Installation,  Next: Windows Notes,  Prev: Windows Requirements,  Up: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows

4.2 Installation
================

The development system comes in two flavors:

  1. A console-based executable suitable to run from a DOS-prompt, from
     batch files, or under Emacs. *Note Command Line Editing::.

  2. A windowed executable providing command line editing and menus.

   The distribution consists of a single, self-installing executable
(`InstallSICStus.exe') containing development system, runtime support
files, library sources, and manuals. Note that the installer itself
asks for a password, when started. This is different from the license
code.

   Installed files on a shared drive can be reused for installation on
other machines.

   SICStus Prolog requires a license code to run. You should have
received from SICS your site name, the expiration date and the code.
This information is normally entered during installation:

     Expiration date: EXPIRATIONDATE
     Site: SITE
     License Code: CODE

but it can also be entered later on by executing the following commands
at a command prompt (sicstus3.12_linux differs between platforms):

     % splm -i SITE
     % splm -a sicstus3.12_linux EXPIRATIONDATE CODE
You need to invoke `splm' with elevated privileges to ensure it
can write the license information. under Windows XP, `splm' must be run
by a user with Administrative rights, on Windows Vista and later you
need to use `Run As' to ensure that the command is run with
administrative rights.  Alternatively, the windowed version of SICStus
(`spwin.exe') has a menu item for license entry, making `splm'
unnecessary under Windows. Note that you may need to start the windowed
version of SICStus with administrative rights, as described above, in
order to successfully change the license information.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Windows Notes,  Next: Command Line Editing,  Prev: Windows Installation,  Up: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows

4.3 Windows Notes
=================

   * The file name arguments to `splfr' and `spld' should not have
     embedded spaces. For file names with spaces, you can use the
     corresponding short file name.

   * Selecting the `Manual' or `Release Notes' item in the `Help' menu
     may give an error message similar to `... \!Help\100#!Manual.lnk
     could not be found'. This happens when Adobe Acrobat Reader is not
     installed or if it has not been installed for the current user.
     Open `C:\Program Files\SICStus Prolog VC10 3.12.11\doc\pdf\' in the
     explorer and try opening `relnotes.pdf'. If this brings up a
     configuration dialog for Adobe Acrobat, configure Acrobat and try
     the `Help' menu again. Alternatively, you may have to obtain Adobe
     Acrobat. It is available for free from `http://www.adobe.com/'.

   * We recommend that SICStus be installed by a user with
     administrative privileges and that the installation is made `For
     All Users'.

     If SICStus is installed for a single user, then SICStus will not
     find the license information when started by another user.  In
     this case, the windowed version of SICStus (`spwin') will put up a
     dialog where a license can be entered.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Command Line Editing,  Next: The Console Window,  Prev: Windows Notes,  Up: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows

4.4 Command Line Editing
========================

Command line editing supporting Emacs-like commands and IBM PC arrow
keys is provided in the console-based executable.  The following
commands are available:

`^h'
     erase previous char

`^d'
     erase next char

`^u'
     kill line

`^f'
     forward char

`^b'
     backward char

`^a'
     begin of line

`^e'
     end of line

`^p'
     previous line

`^n'
     next line

`^i'
     insert space

`^s'
     forward search

`^r'
     reverse search

`^v'
     view history

`^q'
     input next char blindly

`^k'
     kill to end of line

   Options may be specified in the file `%HOME%\spcmd.ini' as:

     OPTION VALUE

on separate lines.  Recognized options are:

`lines'
     VALUE is the number of lines in the history buffer. 1-100 is
     accepted; the default is 30.

`save'
     VALUE is either 0 (don't save or restore history buffer) or 1
     (save history buffer in `%HOME%\spcmd.hst' on exit, restore
     history from the same file on start up.

   The command line editing is switched off by giving the option
`-nocmd' when starting SICStus.  Command line editing will be
automatically turned off if SICStus is run with piped input (e.g. from
Emacs).


File: relnotes.info,  Node: The Console Window,  Next: Windows limitations,  Prev: Command Line Editing,  Up: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows

4.5 The Console Window
======================

The console window used for the windowed executable is based on code
written by Jan Wielemaker `<jan@swi.psy.uva.nl>'.

   In SICStus 3.8 the console was enhanced with menu access to common
Prolog flags and file operations. Most of these should be self
explanatory. The `Reconsult' item in the `File' menu reconsults the
last file consulted with use of the `File' menu. It will probably be
replaced in the future with something more powerful.

   Note that the menus work by simulating user input to the Prolog top
level or debugger. For this reason, it is recommended that the menus
only be used when SICStus is waiting for a goal at the top-level (or in
a break level) or when the debugger is waiting for a command.

* Menu:

* Console Preferences:: Console Preferences.  Console Preferences


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Console Preferences,  Up: The Console Window

4.5.1 Console Preferences
-------------------------

The stream-based console window is a completely separate library, using
its own configuration info. It will look at the environment variable
`CONSOLE', which should contain a string of the form
NAME:VALUE{,NAME:VALUE} where NAME is one of:

`sl'
     The number of lines you can scroll back.  There is no limit, but
     the more you specify the more memory will be used.  Memory is
     allocated when data becomes available.  The default is 200.

`rows'
     The initial number of lines.  The default is 24.

`cols'
     The initial number of columns.  The default is 80.

`x'
     The X coordinate of the top-left corner.  The default is
     determined by the system.

`y'
     The Y coordinate of the top-left corner.  The default is
     determined by the system.


   Many of these settings are also accessible from the menu `Settings'
of the console.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Windows limitations,  Prev: The Console Window,  Up: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows

4.6 Windows Limitations
=======================

   * File paths with both `/' and `\' as separator are accepted. SICStus
     returns paths using `/'. Note that `\', since it is escape
     character, must be given as `\\' unless the Prolog flag
     `character_escapes' is set to `off'.

   * All file names and paths are converted to lowercase when expanded
     by `absolute_file_name/3'.

   * Interruption by `C-c' only works in certain circumstances

        - `C-c' always works while Prolog code is executing. This is
          true for both `sicstus' and `spwin'.

        - `C-c' always works while `spwin' is in a  blocking read from
          the GUI window.

        - `C-c' will interrupt a blocking read from the (default)
          standard input if `sicstus' is attached to a console window.
          That is, if it is started from a command prompt window.

        - `C-c' will not interrupt a blocking read from a pipe or other
          non-terminal. In particular, it will not interrupt a blocking
          read in SICStus if SICStus gets its input from a pipe, such
          as when running SICStus within Emacs.

        - Blocking system calls, such as those used by
          `library(sockets)', are not interruptible by `C-c' in any kind
          of SICStus executable.

   * In the windowed executable, the `user_error' stream is line
     buffered.

   * Emacs Issues:

        - In both GNU Emacs and XEmacs `C-c C-c'
          (`comint-interrupt-subprocess') will _not_ interrupt a
          blocking read from standard input. The interrupt will be
          noted as soon as some character is sent to SICStus. The
          characters typed will not be discarded but will instead be
          used as debugger commands, sometimes leading to undesirable
          results.

        - Choosing `Send EOF' from the menu, i.e. `comint-send-eof'),
          closes the connection to the SICStus process. This will cause
          SICStus to exit. This problem cannot be fixed in SICStus; it
          is a limitation of current versions of FSF Emacs and XEmacs
          (at least up to FSF Emacs 20.7 and XEmacs 21.5).

          Instead of sending and end of file, you can enter the symbol
          `end_of_file' followed by a period. Alternatively, a `C-z' can
          be generated by typing `C-q C-z'.

   * As of SICStus 3.10, `statistics(runtime, ...)' measures user time
     of the thread running SICStus (the main thread) instead of process
     user time. This makes `statistics(runtime, ...)' meaningful also
     in a multi-threaded program. For a single-threaded program this is
     the same as process user time.

   * Tcl/Tk: The `top_level_events' option to `tk_new/2' is not
     supported.

   * `library(timeout)' is supported.  As of SICStus 3.10, the time is
     user time of the main thread under Windows NT/2000/XP.

   * `library(sockets)': The `AF_UNIX' address family is
     (unsurprisingly) not supported; `socket_select/[5,6]' support only
     socket streams for arg 4(5).

   * `library(system)': `popen/3' is not supported.  `kill/2' attempts
     to terminate the requested process irrespectively of the 2nd arg.
     You should not use it as it bypasses the killed process cleanup
     routines.

   * `library(system)': `shell/[1,2]' does not work reliably except for
     the simples cases of a single command with no embedded spaces or
     quote characters. This is because of limitations of agument
     passing in Windows. A possible workaround is to create a temporary
     file and invoke that instead.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Tcl/Tk Notes,  Next: Jasper Notes,  Prev: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows,  Up: Top

5 Tcl/Tk Notes
**************

Tcl/Tk itself is not included in the SICStus distribution. It must be
installed in order to use the interface. It can be downloaded from the
Tcl/Tk primary website:

     `http://tcl.sourceforge.net'

   SICStus for Mac OS X use the version of Tcl/Tk that comes with Mac
OS X.

   The Tcl/Tk interface module included in SICStus Prolog 3.12.11
(`library(tcltk)') is verified to work with Tcl/Tk 8.4. The current
version of the interface is expected to work with version 8.1 and newer.

   Under UNIX, the installation program automatically detects the Tcl/Tk
version (if the user does not specify it explicitly). Except as noted
above, the distributed files are compiled for Tcl/Tk 8.4.

   Under Windows, the binary distribution is compiled against Tcl/Tk
8.4. If you need to use another version of Tcl/Tk, you have to recompile
`library(tcltk)'; *note Configuring the Tcl/Tk Library Module under
Windows: (faq)Configuring the Tcl/Tk Library Module under Windows.

     *Please note*: You need to have the Tcl/Tk binaries accessible
     from your `PATH' environment variable, e.g.
     `C:\Program Files\Tcl\bin"'.

   The GUI version of SICStus `spwin', like all Windows non-console
applications, lacks the C standard streams (`stdin',`stdout',`stderr')
and the Tcl command `puts' and others that use these streams will
therefore give errors. The solution is to use `sicstus' instead of
`spwin' if the standard streams are required.

* Menu:

* The Tcl/Tk Terminal::         The Tcl/Tk Terminal Window


File: relnotes.info,  Node: The Tcl/Tk Terminal,  Up: Tcl/Tk Notes

5.1 The Tcl/Tk Terminal Window
==============================

The Tcl/Tk interface includes an experimental terminal window based on
Tcl/Tk. It is opened by using the (undocumented) predicate:

`tk_terminal(Interp, TextWidget, InStream, OutStream, ErrStream)'
     Given a TextWidget, e.g. `.top.myterm', this predicate opens three
     Prolog streams for which the text widget acts as a terminal.

   There is also a `library(tkconsol)', making use of `tk_terminal/5',
which switches the Prolog top level to a Tk window.  This is done by
simply loading the library module.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Jasper Notes,  Next: Visual Basic Notes,  Prev: Tcl/Tk Notes,  Up: Top

6 Jasper Notes
**************

* Menu:

* Supported Java Versions:: Supported Java Versions.  Supported Java Versions
* Getting Started:: Getting Started.  Getting Started
* Jasper Package Options:: Jasper Package Options.  Jasper Package Options
* Multi Threading:: Multi Threading.  Multi Threading
* Known Bugs and Limitations:: Known Bugs and Limitations.  Known Bugs and Limitations
* Java Examples Directory:: Java Examples Directory.  Java Examples Directory


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Supported Java Versions,  Next: Getting Started,  Up: Jasper Notes

6.1 Supported Java Versions
===========================

Jasper requires at least Java 2 to run. Except under Windows the full
development kit, not just the JRE, is needed. Unless indicated
otherwise, you can download the JDK from `http://java.sun.com'.

   Except where indicated, Jasper is built with JDK 1.3.1 and is
expected to work with JDK 1.4 or later. JDK 1.5 or later is recommended.

   Jasper is _only_ supported under the following configurations:

Linux (x86)

    JDK 1.5.0
          32-bit and 64-bit Linux x86 is built and tested with JDK 1.5.

Mac OS X
     For Mac OS X 10.6 Jasper is built and tested with JDK 1.6, that
     comes with the OS. It does not work well when SICStus is the
     top-level application, e.g. when using the SICStus development
     system. In particular, opening GUI components such as Swing, may
     hang.

Mac OS X
     Using Jasper from Java may require that `DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH' be set
     up so that Java can find the SICStus run-time library. That is, you
     may need to set `DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH' to the location of the SICStus
     run-time `libsprt312.dylib'.

Windows
     Verified using Sun's JDK 1.3.1. Later versions are expected to
     work.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Getting Started,  Next: Jasper Package Options,  Prev: Supported Java Versions,  Up: Jasper Notes

6.2 Getting Started
===================

This section describes some tips and hints on how to get the interface
started. This is actually where most problems occur.

* Menu:

* Windows:: Windows.            Windows
* UNIX:: UNIX.                  UNIX
* Running Java from SICStus:: Running Java from SICStus.  Running Java from SICStus
* Running SICStus from Java:: Running SICStus from Java.  Running SICStus from Java


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Windows,  Next: UNIX,  Up: Getting Started

6.2.1 Windows
-------------

Under Windows, you should add SICStus Prolog's and Java's DLL
directories to your `%PATH%'. This will enable Windows library search
method to locate all relevant DLLs. For SICStus, this is the same as
where `sicstus.exe' is located, usually
`C:\Program Files\SICStus Prolog VC10 3.12.11\bin'.  For Java, it is
usually `C:\jdk1.3.1\jre\bin\hotspot' (for JDK 1.6 it might be
something like `C:\Program Files\Java\jdk1.6.0_25\bin').

   For example:

     C:\> set PATH=C:\jdk1.3.1\jre\bin\hotspot;%PATH%
     C:\> set PATH=C:\Program Files\SICStus Prolog VC10 3.12.11\bin;%PATH%

   To make this change permanent you would use the `Advanced' tab in
the `System' Control Panel. Consult your OS documentation for details.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: UNIX,  Next: Running Java from SICStus,  Prev: Windows,  Up: Getting Started

6.2.2 UNIX
----------

When `library(jasper)' is used to embed Java in a SICStus development
system or run-time system, the run-time linker needs to be told where
to find the Java libraries (e.g.  `libjvm.so'). During installation,
`InstallSICStus' will build either the `sicstus' executable or the
`jasper' foreign resource so that it contains the necessary
information; the details are platform dependent.

   If you use `spld' to relink SICStus or to build a run-time system,
you can use the command line option `--resource=-jasper' (note the
minus sign).  This tells `spld' to include the search path (_rpath_) in
the executable needed to ensure that `library(jasper)' can find the
Java libraries.

   If you want to run `sicstus' with another Java than what was
specified during installation, you can use `spld' without the
`--resources' option to get a SICStus executable without any embedded
Java paths. In this case, you need to set the environment variable
`LD_LIBRARY_PATH' (or similar) appropriately. One example of this is to
use the JDK 1.3 server version instead of the default (client) version.

   Alternatively, you can use `spld' with the `--resource=-jasper' and
`--with-jdk=DIR' options to generate a development system with embedded
paths to another Java directory tree. This will only work if the
alternative directory tree has the same structure as the JDK directory
seen by `InstallSICStus'.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Running Java from SICStus,  Next: Running SICStus from Java,  Prev: UNIX,  Up: Getting Started

6.2.3 Running Java from SICStus
-------------------------------

If SICStus is used as parent application, things are usually really
simple. Just execute the query
     | ?- use_module(library(jasper)).
After that, it is possible to perform meta-calls as described in
*Note Jasper Library Predicates: (sicstus)Jasper Library Predicates.

   When Jasper is used in run-time systems, additional constraints
apply as described in *Note Runtime Systems on Target Machines:
(sicstus)Runtime Systems on Target Machines.  The Java to SICStus
interface relies on dynamically loading the SICStus run-time system.
For this reason, it is not possible to use `library(jasper)' from an
executable that links statically with the SICStus run-time.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Running SICStus from Java,  Prev: Running Java from SICStus,  Up: Getting Started

6.2.4 Running SICStus from Java
-------------------------------

If Java is used as parent application, things are a little more
complicated. There are a couple of things that need to be taken care
of. The first is to specify the correct class path so that Java can find
the Jasper classes (`SICStus', `SPTerm', and so on). This is done by
specifying the pathname of the file `jasper.jar':

     % java -classpath $SP_PATH/bin/jasper.jar ...

   `SP_PATH' does not need to be set; it is only used here as a
placeholder. See the documentation of the Java implementation for more
info on how to set classpaths.

   The second is to specify where Java should find the Jasper native
library (`libspnative.so' or `spnative.dll'), which the `SICStus' class
loads into the JVM by invoking the method
`System.loadLibrary("spnative")'. Under UNIX, Jasper can usually figure
this out by itself, but in the event that Jasper is used in a
non-standard installation, this will most likely fail. A typical
example of such a failure looks like:

     % java -classpath [...]/jasper.jar se.sics.jasper.SICStus
     Trying to load SICStus.
     Exception in thread "main" java.lang.UnsatisfiedLinkError: no spnative
     in java.library.path
     	at java.lang.ClassLoader.loadLibrary(ClassLoader.java:1133)
     	at java.lang.Runtime.loadLibrary0(Runtime.java:470)
     	at java.lang.System.loadLibrary(System.java:745)
     	at se.sics.jasper.SICStus.loadNativeCode(SICStus.java:37)
     	at se.sics.jasper.SICStus.initSICStus(SICStus.java:80)
     	at se.sics.jasper.SICStus.<init>(SICStus.java:111)
     	at se.sics.jasper.SICStus.main(SICStus.java:25)

   Under UNIX, this can be fixed by explicitly setting the Java property
`java.library.path' to the location of `libspnative.so', like this:

     % java -Djava.library.path=/usr/local/lib [...]

   Under Windows, Java must be able to find `spnative.dll' through the
`PATH' environment variable (*note Windows::). Setting
`-Djava.library.path' under Windows can lead to problems if multiple
versions of SICStus has been installed.

   If this works properly, SICStus should have been loaded into the JVM
address space.  The only thing left is to tell SICStus where the
(extended) runtime library, `sprt.sav' (`spre.sav'), is located. On
those platforms where the SICStus run-time system can determine its own
location, e.g. Windows, Solaris and Linux, the run-time system will
find the runtime library automatically. Otherwise, you may choose to
specify this explicitly by either giving a second argument when
initializing the `SICStus' object or by specifying the property
`sicstus.path':

   Example (UNIX):
     % java -Dsicstus.path=/usr/local/lib/sicstus-3.12.11

   If you do not specify any explicit path, SICStus will search for the
runtime library itself.

   If everything is set up correctly, you should be able to call `main'
(which contains a short piece of test-code) in the SICStus root class,
something like this:

     % java -Djava.library.path="/usr/local/lib" \
            -Dsicstus.path="/usr/local/lib/sicstus-3.12.11" \
            -classpath "/usr/local/lib/sicstus-3.12.11/bin/jasper.jar" \
             se.sics.jasper.SICStus
     Trying to load SICStus.
     If you see this message, you have successfully
     initialized the SICStus Prolog engine.

   Under Windows, it would look something like this, depending on the
shell used:
     % java -classpath "C:/Program Files/SICStus Prolog VC10 3.12.11/bin/jasper.jar" se.sics.jasper.SICStus
     Trying to load SICStus.
     If you see this message, you have successfully
     initialized the SICStus Prolog engine.

   If more than one `se.sics.jasper.SICStus' instance will be created,
then the SICStus run-times named e.g.  `sprt312_instance_01_.dll', need
to be available as well. *Note Runtime Systems on Target Machines:
(sicstus)Runtime Systems on Target Machines.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Jasper Package Options,  Next: Multi Threading,  Prev: Getting Started,  Up: Jasper Notes

6.3 Jasper Package Options
==========================

The following Java system properties can be set to control some
features of the Jasper package:
`se.sics.jasper.SICStus.checkSPTermAge'
     *This flag is unsupported*.

     A boolean, _true_ by default. If `true', then run-time checks are
     performed that attempt to detect potentially dangerous use of the
     `SPTerm.putXXX' family of functions. The value of this flag can be
     set and read with `SICStus.setShouldCheckAge()' and
     `SICStus.shouldCheckAge()'. This flag was _false_ by default in
     SICStus 3.8.

     The run-time checks throws an `IllegalTermException' when there is
     risk that a `SPTerm' is set to point to a Prolog term _strictly
     newer_ than the `SPTerm'. In this context _strictly newer_ means
     that there exists an open query that was opened after the `SPTerm'
     object was created but before the Prolog term. *Note SPTerm and
     Memory: (sicstus)SPTerm and Memory, for more information.

          % java -Dse.sics.jasper.SICStus.checkSPTermAge=true ...
     or, from Prolog:
          jasper_initialize(
             ['-Dse.sics.jasper.SICStus.checkSPTermAge=true'],
             JVM)

`se.sics.jasper.SICStus.reuseTermRefs'
     *This flag is unsupported*.

     A boolean, _on_ by default. If `false', then `SPTerm.delete()'
     will only invalidate the `SPTerm' object, it will _not_ make the
     Prolog side SP_term_ref available for re-use.  The value of this
     flag can be set and read with `SICStus.setReuseTermRefs()' and
     `SICStus.reuseTermRefs()'. There should be no reason to turn it
     _off_.

     To set this flag do:
          % java -Dse.sics.jasper.SICStus.reuseTermRefs=true ...
     or, from Prolog:
          jasper_initialize(
             ['-Dse.sics.jasper.SICStus.reuseTermRefs=true'],
             JVM)

`se.sics.jasper.SICStus.debugLevel'
     *This flag is unsupported*.

     You probably should not use it in production code. It may be
     removed or change meaning in future releases.

     An integer, zero by default. If larger than zero, then some debug
     info is output to `System.out'. Larger values produce more info.
     The value of this flag can be set and read with
     `SICStus.setDebugLevel()' and `SICStus.debugLevel()'.

          % java -Dse.sics.jasper.SICStus.debugLevel=1 ...
     or, from Prolog:
          jasper_initialize(
             ['-Dse.sics.jasper.SICStus.debugLevel=1'],
             JVM)



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Multi Threading,  Next: Known Bugs and Limitations,  Prev: Jasper Package Options,  Up: Jasper Notes

6.4 Multi Threading
===================

Some exceptions thrown in multi threaded mode may be removed in the
future. The user should never catch specific exceptions, but instead
catch instances of `PrologException'.

   *Note Known Bugs and Limitations::, for details on the limitations
of multi threaded Jasper.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Known Bugs and Limitations,  Next: Java Examples Directory,  Prev: Multi Threading,  Up: Jasper Notes

6.5 Known Bugs and Limitations
==============================

   * Jasper cannot be used from within applets, since Jasper relies on
     calling methods declared as `native'. This is due to a
     security-restriction enforced on applets by Java; they are not
     allowed to call native code.

     [PM] 3.12.11 green threads is no more

   * Some uses of `SPTerm' will leak memory on the Prolog side. This is
     not really a bug but may come as a surprise to the unwary. *Note
     SPTerm and Memory: (sicstus)SPTerm and Memory.

   * On some combinations of C-compilers and JDKs (specifically GCC with
     Sun's JDK), the following warning may occur:

          % splfr simple.pl
          SICStus 3.8.7 (sparc-solaris-5.7): Mon Feb 21 10:43:17 MET 2000
          Licensed to SICS
          {spk.ai82.c generated, 20 msec}

          In file included from /usr/local/jdk1.2/include/jni.h:35,
                           from spk.ai82.c:94:
          /usr/local/jdk1.2/include/solaris/jni_md.h:20: warning: \
             ignoring pragma: "@(#)jni_md.h      1.11    99/02/01 SMI

     The warning can be safely ignored. You can suppress the warnings
     when using `gcc' by passing the options
     `--cflag=-Wno-unknown-pragmas' to `splfr'.

   * Loading multiple SICStus runtimes has not been very well tested
     with multi threaded Jasper.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Java Examples Directory,  Prev: Known Bugs and Limitations,  Up: Jasper Notes

6.6 Java Examples Directory
===========================

There is an examples directory available in
`$SP_PATH/library/jasper/examples'. See the file `README' for more info.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Visual Basic Notes,  Next: Berkeley DB Notes,  Prev: Jasper Notes,  Up: Top

7 Visual Basic Notes
********************

The Visual Basic interface supports the old version of Visual Basic,
i.e. VB6, not the newer .NET variant of the VB language.

   The Visual Basic - SICStus Prolog interface consists of the
following files:

   * `vbsp.dll' (installed as `SICStus Prolog VC10
     3.12.11\bin\vbsp.dll')

   * `vbsp.bas' (installed as `SICStus Prolog VC10
     3.12.11\library\vbsp.bas')

   In order to use the interface, perform the following steps:

   * Include the file `vbsp.bas' in your Visual Basic project.

   * During development, the easiest way is to put e.g.
     `C:\Program Files\SICStus Prolog VC10 3.12.11\bin' in the `PATH'
     environment variable (*note Windows::). `PATH' is set in the
     control panel `System'. Consult your OS documentation for details.

     Note that when running your Visual Basic project in the Visual
     Basic debugger, the directory of the current application is the
     directory that contains the Visual Basic debugger and not the
     directory that contains your Visual Basic project.

     In a target system, you need to make the SICStus runtime DLL etc.
     available; *note Runtime Systems on Windows Target Machines:
     (sicstus)Runtime Systems on Windows Target Machines. In this case,
     `vbsp.dll' should be located at the same place as the SICStus
     run-time (`sprt312.dll').

     If VB cannot find the SICStus run-time files, it will report
     something similar to
          File not found: VBSP

          *Please note*: Never move or copy SICStus-related files to the
          Windows system folder.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Berkeley DB Notes,  Next: The Emacs Interface,  Prev: Visual Basic Notes,  Up: Top

8 Berkeley DB Notes
*******************

As of SICStus 3.8, the library module `library(db)' has been replaced
by `library(bdb)'. The functionality is similar, but `library(bdb)' is
built on top of Berkeley DB. Berkeley DB can be downloaded from:

     `http://www.oracle.com'

   The recommended way to install Berkeley DB for Mac OS X 10.6 is to
install it from source code. To build a universal version of Berkeley DB
4.1.25, and install it in the default location on Mac OS X 10.6, you
would do something like the following from a command prompt after
unpacking the source archive:

     cd db-4.1.25/build_unix/
     env LDFLAGS='-arch x86_64 -arch i386' CFLAGS='-arch x86_64 -arch i386' ../dist/configure
     make LDFLAGS=-Wl,-arch,x86_64,-arch,i386
     sudo make install

   `library(bdb)' has been verified to work using Berkeley DB version
4.1.25. It does not work with earlier versions.

   When using Berkeley DB under Windows, you should set the `PATH'
environment variable to contain the path to `libdb41.dll' (*note
Windows::). Consult the Berkeley DB documentation for further info.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: The Emacs Interface,  Next: Revision history,  Prev: Berkeley DB Notes,  Up: Top

9 The Emacs Interface
*********************

The Emacs Interface was originally developed for GNU Emacs 19.34 and is
presently being maintained using XEmacs 21.1 and tested with GNU Emacs
21.2. For best performance and compatibility and to enable all features
we recommend that the latest versions of GNU Emacs or XEmacs be used.
For information on obtaining GNU Emacs or XEmacs; see
`http://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/' and `http://www.xemacs.org',
respectively.

* Menu:

* Emacs Installation:: Emacs Installation.  Emacs Installation


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Emacs Installation,  Up: The Emacs Interface

9.1 Installation
================

Starting with SICStus 3.8, the Emacs interface is distributed with
SICStus and installed by default. The default installation location for
the emacs files is `<prefix>/lib/sicstus-3.12.11/emacs/' on UNIX
platforms and `C:\Program Files\SICStus Prolog VC10 3.12.11\emacs\'
under Windows.

   For maximum performance the Emacs Lisp files (extension .el) should
be compiled. This, completely optional step, can be done from within
Emacs with the command `M-x byte-compile-file'. *Note Installation:
(sicstus)Installation, for further details.

   The easiest way to configure the Emacs interface is to load the file
`sicstus_emacs_init.el' from your `.emacs' file. It will find the
SICStus executable and do all initialization needed to use the SICStus
Emacs interface.

* Menu:

* Installing On-Line Documentation:: Installing On-Line Documentation.  Installing On-Line Documentation


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Installing On-Line Documentation,  Up: Emacs Installation

9.1.1 Installing On-Line Documentation
--------------------------------------

It is possible to look up the documentation for any built in or library
predicate from within Emacs (using `C-c ?' or the menu). For this to
work Emacs must be told about the location of the `info'-files that
make up the documentation.

   If you load the file `sicstus_emacs_init.el' from your `.emacs' file
then Emacs should be able to find the SICStus documentation
automatically; *note Installation: (sicstus)Installation, for further
details.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Revision history,  Next: Generic Limitations,  Prev: The Emacs Interface,  Up: Top

10 Revision history
*******************

This chapter summarizes the changes in release 3 wrt. previous SICStus
Prolog releases as well as changes introduced by patch releases.

* Menu:

* Changes in release 3:: Changes in release 3.  Changes in Release 3
* Changes introduced in 3#4:: Changes introduced in 3#4.  Changes Introduced in 3#4
* Changes introduced in 3#5:: Changes introduced in 3#5.  Changes Introduced in 3#5
* Changes introduced in 3#6:: Changes introduced in 3#6.  Changes Introduced in 3#6
* Changes introduced in version 3.7:: Changes introduced in version 3.7.  Changes Introduced in Version 3.7
* Changes introduced in version 3.7.1:: Changes introduced in version 3.7.1.  Changes Introduced in Version 3.7.1
* 3.8 Changes::                 Changes Introduced in Version 3.8
* 3.8.1 Changes::               Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.1
* 3.8.2 Changes::               Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.2
* 3.8.3 Changes::               Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.3
* 3.8.4 Changes::               Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.4
* 3.8.5 Changes::               Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.5
* 3.8.6 Changes::               Changes introduced in version 3.8.6
* 3.8.7 Changes::               Changes introduced in version 3.8.7
* 3.9 Changes::                 Changes Introduced in Version 3.9
* 3.9.1 Changes::               Changes Introduced in Version 3.9.1
* 3.10 Changes::                Changes Introduced in Version 3.10
* 3.10.1 Changes ::             Changes Introduced in Version 3.10.1
* 3.11.0 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.11.0
* 3.11.1 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.11.1
* 3.11.2 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.11.2
* 3.12.0 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.0
* 3.12.1 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.1
* 3.12.2 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.2
* 3.12.3 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.3
* 3.12.4 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.4
* 3.12.5 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.5
* 3.12.6 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.6
* 3.12.7 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.7
* 3.12.8 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.8
* 3.12.9 Changes::              Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.9
* 3.12.10 Changes::             Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.10
* 3.12.11 Changes::             Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.11


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Changes in release 3,  Next: Changes introduced in 3#4,  Up: Revision history

10.1 Changes in Release 3
=========================

   * Backslashes (`\') in strings, quoted atoms, and integers written
     in `0'' notation denote escape sequences.  Character escaping can
     be switched off.

   * Multifile declarations are required in _all_ files where clauses
     to a multifile predicate are defined.  This complies with the ISO
     Prolog Standard.

   * The built-in predicate `call_residue/2' has been modified so that
     goals that are disjunctively blocked on several variables are
     returned correctly in the second argument.

   * The built-in predicate `setarg/3' has been removed.  Its
     functionality is provided by the new built-in predicates
     `create_mutable/2', `get_mutable/2', `update_mutable/2', and
     `is_mutable/2', which implement a timestamp technique for
     value-trailing with low-level support.

   * The built-in predicates `unix/1' and `plsys/1' have been removed.
     Their functionality is provided by `prolog_flag(argv,X)', by the
     new `halt/1' built-in predicate, and by the new `library(system)'
     module, which also contains several new predicates.

   * The socket I/O built-in predicates have been moved to the new
     `library(sockets)' module.

   * The built-in predicate `time_out/3' has been moved to the new
     `library(timeout)' module.

   * The built-in predicates `term_hash/[2,4]', `subsumes_chk/2', and
     `term_subsumer/3' have been moved to the new `library(terms)'
     module, which also contains operations for unification with
     occurs-check, testing acyclicity, and getting the variables of a
     term.

   * The foreign language interface (Prolog-to-C) has been extended
     with the types `+chars', `-chars' and `[-chars]' for fast
     conversion between C strings and Prolog code-lists.  Several new
     interface functions are available.

   * The memory handling of the C-to-Prolog interface has been
     simplified by passing each Prolog term as a "handle" object,
     called an "SP_term_ref", making the functions `SP_show_term()' and
     `SP_hide_term()' obsolete.

   * The InterViews 2.6 based GUI module `library(gmlib)' has been
     replaced by the Tcl/Tk based `library(tcltk)'.  A version of
     `library(gmlib)' converted to SICStus Prolog release 3 is
     available from `ftp://ftp.sics.se/archive/sicstus3/gmlib.tar.gz'.

   * The `library(objects)' module has been enhanced.

        - Inheritance is static, i.e. determined at object creation
          time, and is implemented as module importation.

        - A new, very light-weight, type of object: "instance".

        - "Attributes", efficient storage of terms in objects.

        - Unprefixed goals in methods denote message passing to `self'.
          Prolog goals in methods must be prefixed by `:'.

   * In `library(charsio)', the `open_chars_stream/[3,4]' predicates
     have been replaced by `open_chars_stream/2' and
     `with_output_to_chars/[2,3]'.

   * The `library(assoc)' module now implements AVL trees instead of
     unbalanced binary trees.

   * The new `library(atts)' implements attributed variables, a general
     mechanism for associating logical variables with arbitrary
     attributes. Comes with a number of hooks that make it convenient
     to define and interface to constraint solvers.

   * The Boolean constraint solver has been moved to the new
     `library(clpb)' and is implemented on top of `library(atts)'.

   * New constraint solvers for rationals (`library(clpq)') and reals
     (`library(clpr)'), implemented on top of `library(atts)'.

   * `user:goal_expansion/3' is a new hook predicate for
     macro-expansion.

   * `bb_put/2', `bb_get/2', `bb_delete/2', and `bb_update/3' are new
     built-in predicates implementing blackboard primitives.

   * `prolog_load_context/2' is a new built-in predicate for accessing
     aspects of the context of files being loaded.

   * `user:file_search_path/2' is a new hook predicate providing a path
     expansion mechanism for filenames.

   * `gcd/2' is a new built-in function.

   * The statistics keyword `walltime' measures elapsed absolute time.

   * In runtime systems, `ensure_loaded/1' and `use_module/[1,2,3]'
     have the same semantics as in development systems.

   * Native code compilation available for MIPS platforms.

   * Problems in native code compilation for certain SPARC models have
     been eliminated.

   * Performance improvements include emulated code speed, native code
     speed, and the foreign language interface.

   * The system has been ported to the DEC OSF/1 Alpha (a 64-bit
     platform).



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Changes introduced in 3#4,  Next: Changes introduced in 3#5,  Prev: Changes in release 3,  Up: Revision history

10.2 Changes Introduced in 3#4
==============================

   * New built-in predicates and command line tools for creating and
     loading foreign language modules and creating customized
     development and runtime systems.

   * Slight changes in the C interface: hook variables are set by
     function calls, `SP_foreign_reinit_hook()' is not supported.

   * The system has been ported to the Microsoft Win32 platform (Intel
     x86).

   * The system has been ported to the Macintosh.

   * The system has been ported to the OS/2 (32-bit) platform (Intel
     x86).

   * If the init file `~/.sicstusrc' is not found, SICStus looks for
     `~/sicstus.ini'.

   * `library(sockets): socket_select/5' arg 1 may be a, possibly empty,
     list of passive sockets, arg 3 returns a, possibly empty, list of
     new streams.

   * `library(system)': The following new predicates are provided:
     `tmpnam/1', `directory_files/2', `file_property/2',
     `delete_file/2', `make_directory/1'.

   * A new constraint solver for finite domains (`library(clpfd)'),
     implemented on top of `library(atts)'.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Changes introduced in 3#5,  Next: Changes introduced in 3#6,  Prev: Changes introduced in 3#4,  Up: Revision history

10.3 Changes Introduced in 3#5
==============================

   * New built-in predicate `open/4', enables opening files in binary
     mode.

   * `library(charsio)': New predicate `with_output_to_chars/4'.

   * `library(heaps)': New predicates `delete_from_heap/4',
     `empty_heap/1', `is_heap/1'.

   * `library(queues)': New predicate `is_queue/1'.

   * `library(sockets)': New predicates: `socket_accept/3', and
     `socket_select/6' provide address of connecting client.
     `hostname_address/2' resolves name/ip-number.

   * `SP_atom_length()' returns the print name length of a Prolog atom.

   * Modification time instead of current time stored for loaded files.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Changes introduced in 3#6,  Next: Changes introduced in version 3.7,  Prev: Changes introduced in 3#5,  Up: Revision history

10.4 Changes Introduced in 3#6
==============================

   * `toplevel_print_options' and `debugger_print_options' are new
     Prolog flags controlling the toplevel's and debugger's printing
     behavior.

   * `is_mutable/1' is a new built-in predicate, which is true for
     mutables.

   * `~@' is a new spec in `format/[2,3]' for arbitrary goals.

   * Mutables are initialized correctly when read in.

   * The finite domain constraint solver (`library(clpfd)') has been
     enhanced by a programming interface for global constraints,
     improved compilation to library constraints and other performance
     enhancements, and by a number of new exported constraints.

   * `library(objects)': New hook predicate `user:method_expansion/3'.

   * `library(sockets)': `socket_select/5' has extended functionality.

   * Efficiency bugs in `format/[2,3]' fixed.

   * Bug in `save_program/[1,2]' with native code fixed.

   * Bugs in `library(chr)' fixed, and a couple of new constraint
     handlers fixed.

   * A problem with source-linked debugging of grammar rules fixed.

   * Prevent looping on duplicates in `module/2' decl.

   * Prevent memory overrun in `library(tcltk)'.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Changes introduced in version 3.7,  Next: Changes introduced in version 3.7.1,  Prev: Changes introduced in 3#6,  Up: Revision history

10.5 Changes Introduced in Version 3.7
======================================

   * The concept of patchlevels removed and replaced by versions.

   * `library(chr)': A new library module providing Constraint Handling
     Rules; see
          `http://www.pst.informatik.uni-muenchen.de/~fruehwir/chr-solver.html'

   * _Jasper_, a bi-directional Java-interface, consisting of extensions
     to the existing FLI and a new library module `library(jasper)'.

   * Atom garbage collection, invoked by `garbage_collect_atoms/0', and
     controlled by the `agc_margin' Prolog flag.  New statistics
     options: `atoms', `atom_garbage_collection'.  New interface
     functions: `SP_register_atom()', `SP_unregister_atom()'.

   * Calls with clean-up guaranteed, provided by `call_cleanup/2', which
     replaces `undo/1'.

   * Source-linked debugging, controlled by the `source_info' Prolog
     flag.

   * Debugger enhancements: tracing of compiled code; a new debugger
     mode `zip' and built-in predicates `zip/0', `nozip/0'; new debugger
     commands _out_ N, _skip_ I, _quasi-skip_ I, _zip_, _backtrace_ N,
     _raise exception_.  Modules can be declared as "hidden", which
     disables tracing of their predicates.

   * Saved-states are available in runtime systems, and are portable
     across platforms and between development and runtime systems.
     `save/[1,2]' are gone.  In most cases, `save_program/2' can be
     used in their place, with a little rearrangement of your code.
     Predicates can be declared as "volatile".

   * An interface function `SP_restore()' is the C equivalent of
     `restore/1', which now only restores the program state, leaving the
     Prolog execution stacks unchanged.

   * The GNU Emacs interface was enhanced: source-linked debugging, new
     menus, speed, help functions, electric functions, indentation,
     portability, bug fixes.

   * The reader can return layout information about terms read in.  New
     `read_term/3' option: `layout(-LAYOUT)'.  New hook predicate:
     `user:term_expansion/4'.

   * Module name expansion of goals is done prior to execution of
     meta-calls.

   * Imported predicates can be spied and abolished.

   * `random:randset/3' returns a set in standard order.

   * `db:db_canonical/[2,3]' are new; can be used to check whether two
     TERMREFS refer to the same term.

   * `clpfd:serialized_precedence/3' and
     `clpfd:serialized_precedence_resource/4' are new; model
     non-overlapping tasks with precedence constraints or
     sequence-dependent setup times.

   * In object method bodies, goals of the form `:GOAL' are translated
     according to the manual.  Earlier versions treated arguments
     occurring in the `:' position of meta-predicates specially.

   * A new interface function `SP_raise_fault()' and interface macro
     `SP_on_fault()' are available for handling runtime faults that
     cannot be caught as exceptions.

   * A new interface function `SP_set_memalloc_hooks()' is available for
     redefining the memory manager's bottom layer.  Related to that,
     there is a new command-line option `-m'.

   * Development and runtime systems have been reorganized internally.
     All use a runtime kernel shared object or DLL, and are initialized
     by restoring saved-states.  Development systems additionally use a
     development kernel shared object or DLL.

   * The `-B' command-line option is gone in the start-up script, and
     some new options have appeared.

   * Under UNIX: new option `-base' to override the executable used by
     the start-script.

   * Under UNIX: improvements in the configure-script; better options to
     specify Tcl/Tk versions and paths.

   * Hookable standard streams.

   * Floating-point operations on Digital Alpha are now IEEE-conformant.

   * `reinitialise/0' does not load any initialization files given in
     `-i' or `-l' command line flags.

   * Under UNIX: New option `-S' to `spmkrs' and `spmkds' to link the
     SICStus Runtime Kernel (and development extensions for `spmkds')
     statically into the executable.

   * `[FILE1,FILE2,...]' was broken.

   * `require/1' did not find all directories.

   * Runtime systems could crash after GC.

   * Bugs in `clp[qr]:dump/3', `clp[qr]:expand/0', `clp[qr]:noexpand/0'.

   * The garbage collector reported too many bytes collected.

   * Memory overflows were not handled gracefully.

   * Imported predicates couldn't be abolished.

   * `arrays:arefa/3', `arrays:arefl/3', `heaps:min_of_heap/5' are now
     steadfast.

   * Most `library(clpfd)' predicates now check the type of their
     arguments.  Bugs fixed in `relation/3', `serialized/2',
     `all_distinct/1'.

   * `frozen/2' could crash on an argument of the wrong type.

   * `SP_get_list_n_chars()' does not require a proper list.

   * Problems with exceptions in embedded commands in source files.

   * Problems with `load_files(FILES, [compilation_mode(assert_all)])'.

   * For `load_files(FILES, [if(changed)])', a non-module-file is not
     considered to have been previously loaded if it was loaded into a
     different module.

   * Incorrect translation of `if/3' goals in grammar rules.

   * On Win32, `system:mktemp/2' sometimes returned filenames with
     backslashes in them.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: Changes introduced in version 3.7.1,  Next: 3.8 Changes,  Prev: Changes introduced in version 3.7,  Up: Revision history

10.6 Changes Introduced in Version 3.7.1
========================================

   * The type-specifier `object' in Jasper has changed to
     `object(Class)'.

   * Under UNIX: Error-handling in `splfr', `spmkrs', `spmkds'.

   * Jasper did not convert return values correctly when calling Java
     from Prolog.

   * Jasper did not handle instance methods correctly.

   * Some of the legal type-specifiers in Jasper were rejected by the
     glue code generator.

   * Efficiency bugs in `format/[2,3]' fixed.

   * Bug in `save_program/[1,2]' with native code fixed.

   * Bugs in `library(chr)' fixed, and a couple of new constraint
     handlers fixed.

   * A problem with source-linked debugging of grammar rules fixed.

   * Prevent looping on duplicates in `module/2' declaration.

   * Prevent memory overrun in `library(tcltk)'.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8 Changes,  Next: 3.8.1 Changes,  Prev: Changes introduced in version 3.7.1,  Up: Revision history

10.7 Changes Introduced in Version 3.8
======================================

* Menu:

* 3.8 WCX::                     Wide Character Support
* 3.8 Debugger::                Breakpointing Debugger
* 3.8 ISO::                     ISO Compliance
* 3.8 Generic::                 Generic New Features
* 3.8 Jasper::                  New Features in library(jasper)
* 3.8 CLPFD::                   New Features in library(clpfd)
* 3.8 Bugs::                    Bugs Fixed in Version 3.8


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8 WCX,  Next: 3.8 Debugger,  Up: 3.8 Changes

10.7.1 Wide Character Support
-----------------------------

Wide character handling is introduced, with the following highlights:

   *  character code sets up to 31 bit wide;

   *  three built-in wide character modes (ISO_8859_1, UTF8, EUC),
     selectable  via environment flags;

   *  complete control over the external encoding via hook functions.

   For programs using the default ISO_8859_1 character set, the
introduction of wide characters is transparent, except for the string
format change in the foreign language interface; see below.

   In programs using the EUC character set, the multibyte EUC characters
are now input as a single, up to 23 bit wide, character code. This
character code can be easily decomposed into its constituent bytes, if
needed. The encoding function is described in detail in the SICStus
manual.

   To support wide characters, the foreign language interface now uses
UTF-8 encoding for strings containing non-ASCII characters (codes >=
128). This affects programs with strings that contain e.g. accented
characters and that transfer such strings between Prolog and C. If such
a string is created on the C side, it should be converted to UTF-8,
before passing it to Prolog. Similarly for a string passed from Prolog
to C, if it is to be decomposed into characters on the C side, the
inverse transformation has to be applied.

   Utility functions `SP_code_wci()' and `SP_wci_code()' are provided
to support the conversion of strings between the WCI (Wide Character
Internal encoding, i.e. UTF-8) format and wide character codes.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8 Debugger,  Next: 3.8 ISO,  Prev: 3.8 WCX,  Up: 3.8 Changes

10.7.2 Breakpointing Debugger
-----------------------------

A new general debugger is introduced, with advanced debugging features
and an advice facility. It generalizes the notion of spypoint to that
of the breakpoint. Breakpoints make it possible to e.g. stop the
program at a specified line, or in a specified line range, or to call
arbitrary Prolog goals at specified ports, etc.  Highlights:

   * Advice facility -- useful for non-interactive debugging, such as
     checking of program invariants, collecting information, profiling,
     etc.

   * Debugger hook predicate -- new interactive tracer commands can be
     defined.

   * Tracer information access -- data on current and past execution
     states, such as those contained in the ancestor list, or the
     backtrace, is now accessible to the program.

   * The following built-in predicates have been added:
     `add_breakpoint/2', `spy/2', `current_breakpoint/4',
     `remove_breakpoints/1', `disable_breakpoints/1',
     `enable_breakpoints/1', and `execution_state/[1,2]'.
     `user:debugger_command_hook/2' is a new hook predicate.

     The predicates `nospy/1' and `nospyall/0' have slighty changed
     meaning.

     The predicate `spypoint_condition/3' has been removed.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8 ISO,  Next: 3.8 Generic,  Prev: 3.8 Debugger,  Up: 3.8 Changes

10.7.3 ISO Compliance
---------------------

SICStus 3.8 supports standard Prolog, adhering to the International
Standard ISO/IEC 13211-1 (PROLOG: Part 1--General Core)
(`http://webstore.ansi.org/ansidocstore/product.asp?sku=INCITS%2FISO%2FIEC+13211%2D1%2D1995').
At the same time it also supports programs written in earlier versions
of SICStus.  This is achieved by introducing two execution modes `iso'
and `sicstus'. Users can change between the modes using the Prolog flag
`language'.  Main issues:

   * The `sicstus' execution mode is practically identical to 3.7.1,
     except for minor changes in error term format.

   * The `iso' mode is fully compliant with ISO standard, but no strict
     conformance mode is provided.

   * The dual mode system supports the gradual transition from legacy
     SICStus code to ISO Prolog compliant programs.

   * Note that the built-in predicates, functions and Prolog flags,
     required by the ISO standard, are also available in `sicstus'
     execution mode, unless they conflict with existing SICStus
     predicates or functions. This expansion of the language carries a
     remote risk of name clashes with user code.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8 Generic,  Next: 3.8 Jasper,  Prev: 3.8 ISO,  Up: 3.8 Changes

10.7.4 Generic New Features
---------------------------

   * The `spmkds' and `spmkrs' tools for creating stand-alone
     executables have been replaced by a common `spld' tool, which
     takes several new options.  Runtime systems do not always need a
     main program in C.  Under Windows, the resulting executable can
     optionally be windowed.  The `splfr' tool takes several new
     options.  The development and runtime kernels have been merged
     into a single one.

   * Partial saved-states corresponding to a set of source files,
     modules, and predicates can be created by the new built-in
     predicates `save_files/2', `save_modules/2', and
     `save_predicates/2' respectively.  These predicates create files
     in a binary format, by default with the prefix `.po' (for Prolog
     object file), which can be loaded by `load_files/[1,2]'.  The
     `load_type(Type)' option of `load_files/2' has been extended.
     Partial saved-states render `.ql' files obsolescent.

   * The new built-in predicate `trimcore/0' reclaims any dead clauses
     and predicates, defragmentizes Prolog's memory, and attempts to
     return unused memory to the operating system.  It is called
     automatically at every top level query.

   * The value of the new read-only Prolog flag `host_type' is an atom
     identifying the platform, such as `'x86-linux-glibc2.1''.

   * The functionality of the `source_info' Prolog flag, introduced in
     release 3.7, has been extended beyond the Emacs interface.  Line
     number information is now included in error exceptions whenever
     possible.  This information is displayed in debugging and error
     messages (outside Emacs) or causes Emacs to highlight the culprit
     line of code.  Valid values are `off', `on', and `emacs'.

   * Predicate indicators can take the form NAME/[ARITY,...,ARITY] in
     `spy/[1,2]', `nospy/1', `listing/1', `abolish/1',
     `profile_data/4', `profile_reset/1', `save_predicates/2', and
     `gauge:view/1'.

   * The new interface functions `SP_chdir()' and `SP_getcwd()' provide
     access to the current working directory.

   * The interface function `SP_load()' has been generalized to
     correspond to `load_files/1'.

   * The interface function `SP_deinitialize()' is now documented.

   * Windows: the registry is no longer used by SICStus itself. The
     SICStus Runtime Library is located based on the location of
     `sprt<xx>.dll'. `SP_PATH' is only used as a last resort. *Note
     Windows Notes::.

   * Source code compilation and installation procedure has been
     improved and simplified. See `README' and `INSTALL' in the source
     code distribution for documentation.

   * The layout of the Gauge graphical user interface has been improved.

   * The new `library(bdb)' provides an interface to the Berkeley DB
     toolset for persistent storage, and replaces `library(db)'.  The
     programming interface of the new module is similar to that of the
     old one, with some new concepts added such as "iterators".  The
     sources of the old library module are available from:
          ftp://ftp.sics.se/archive/sicstus3/libdb.tgz

   * `library(db)' is obsolete and will be removed in the next major
     release.

   * Generic runtime systems under Windows are built using `spld' and
     exist in three flavors: generic character based (`sprt'), generic
     character based interactive (`sprti'), and generic windowed
     (`sprtw'). *Note Generic Runtime Systems under Windows:
     (sicstus)Generic Runtime Systems under Windows.

   * The manual chapter for `library(tcltk)' has been rewritten and
     greatly expanded.

   * `library(clpq)' and `library(clpr)': new predicates `inf/4' and
     `sup/4'.

   * Code fragments loaded via the Emacs interface are imported into the
     type-in module, unless the source file has an explicit mode line.

   * `library(gcla)' has been removed.

   * `initialization/[0,1]' have been replaced by ISO compliant
     initializations.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8 Jasper,  Next: 3.8 CLPFD,  Prev: 3.8 Generic,  Up: 3.8 Changes

10.7.5 New Features in library(jasper)
--------------------------------------

   * Java 2 (a.k.a. JDK 1.2) is now required. `library(jasper)' will not
     work using JDK 1.1.x.

   * Support for native threads JDKs.

   * Changed package name from `jasper' to `se.sics.jasper', according
     to JavaSoft guidelines.  *Note Getting Started::.

   * Classfiles are now placed in `jasper.jar', which is located in
     `$SP_PATH/bin'. *Note Getting Started::.

   * The shared library for Jasper (`jasper.dll' or `libjasper.so') is
     now located in the same directory as the runtime kernel (default
     `<installdir>/lib' under UNIX, `<installdir>/bin' under Windows).
     *Note Getting Started::.

   * Meta-call functionality added (`jasper_call_instance/6',
     `jasper_call_static/6', etc.). This makes it possible to call Java
     without having to generate any glue code (i.e. without a
     C-compiler).

   * Support for handling local global references from Prolog
     (`jasper_create_global_ref/3', `jasper_delete_global_ref/2',
     `jasper_delete_local_ref/2').

   * `SPException.term' declared `protected' instead of `private'.

   * New class `SPCanonicalAtom' to handle canonical representations of
     atoms and to make sure that they are safe with atom garbage
     collection. New methods `getCanonicalAtom' and `putCanonicalAtom'.
     New constructor for `SPPredicate'. `getAtom' and `putAtom'
     deprecated.

   * New exception: `IllegalCallerException' is thrown if the current
     thread is not allowed to call SICStus.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8 CLPFD,  Next: 3.8 Bugs,  Prev: 3.8 Jasper,  Up: 3.8 Changes

10.7.6 New Features in library(clpfd)
-------------------------------------

   * `fd_degree/2' is new; returns the number of constraints attached to
     a variable.

   * `labeling/2' requires the list of domain variables to have bounded
     domains.  User-defined variable and value choice heuristics can be
     provided.

   * `element/3' is interval-consistent in its second and third
     arguments.  Use `relation/3' if domain-consistency is required.

   * `serialized/3' is new and replaces `serialized_precedence/3' and
     `serialized_precedence_resource/4'.  A number of new options
     control the algorithm.  The space complexity no longer depends on
     the domain size.

   * `cumulative/5' is new and takes the same options as `serialized/3'.

   * `all_different/2', `all_distinct/2' and `assignment/3' are new and
     take options controlling the algorithms.

   * Generally, performance and error checking have been improved.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8 Bugs,  Prev: 3.8 CLPFD,  Up: 3.8 Changes

10.7.7 Bugs Fixed in Version 3.8
--------------------------------

   * `absolute_file_name/2': could crash under IRIX; nested compound
     terms allowed

   * `call_cleanup/2': efficiency

   * `close/1': efficiency; handling the standard streams

   * `format/[2,3]': `~N' didn't work as expected; are now
     meta-predicates--needed by the `~@' format spec

   * `load_files/[1,2]': avoid changing directory; don't loop on
     duplicate exports

   * `load_foreign_resource/1': filenames containing periods under
     Windows NT

   * `print_message/2': in runtime systems

   * `prolog_load_context/2': value of `term_position'

   * `reinitialise/0': sequencing of events

   * `save_program/[1,2]': fastcode handling; file mode creation masks;
     in runtime systems

   * `write_term/[1,2]': the `indented(true)' option and non-ground
     terms

   * `library(db)': efficiency of term deletion

   * `library(heaps)': `delete_from_heap/4'

   * `library(objects)': the `new/2' method; cyclic dependencies

   * `library(random)': determinacy and efficiency

   * `library(sockets)': noisy startup under Windows; block buffering
     is now the default; `socket_buffering/4' added

   * `library(system)': `sleep/1' admits floats as well as integers

   * `library(terms)': `subsumes_chk/2' and `variant/2' now don't
     unblock goals

   * glue code generator: incorrect translation of `+chars'; syntax
     error messages were suppressed

   * all system messages go via the `print_message/2' interface

   * input argument checking is generally stricter

   * resources are unloaded in LIFO order but loaded in FIFO order at
     save/restore

   * CLP(Q,R): answer constraint projection

   * problems with large integers and large terms in `.ql' files

   * detecting invalid goals in meta-calls, asserts, `load_files/[1,2]'

   * spurious redefinition warnings

   * bignum quotient/remainder on 64-bit architectures

   * compiler: complexity of compiling multiple clauses with same key,
     code generation quality for inline goals

   * memory manager: avoiding dangling pointers under Windows, better
     reclamation of dead clauses and predicates, using dynamic hashing
     and "hashpjw" for atoms, keeping predicate tables as small as
     possible, avoiding stack overflow if multiple goals get
     simultaneously unblocked, better reuse of free memory blocks

   * garbage collector: removing redundant trail entries for mutables,
     improved scope and speed of generational garbage collection

   * callbacks to Prolog while reading from the terminal

   * printing atoms with character codes in 27...31

   * reading atoms with `\c'

   * Floating point NaN (Not a Number). Now behaves consistently across
     platforms. In particular, fixed Windows related bugs with
     arithmetic on and printing of NaN.
        - Arithmetic comparisons involving NaN now fails (except
          `=\='). Note that `X is nan, X =:= X' fails.

        - Term order for NaN is now defined and the same for all
          platforms. There is a single NaN and it lies between (the
          float) `+inf' and the integers.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8.1 Changes,  Next: 3.8.2 Changes,  Prev: 3.8 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.8 Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.1
========================================

Version 3.8.1 is a bugfix release only, no new features has been added.

   * `configure.in': Removed multiple occurences of the `-n32' flag
     under IRIX if `cc' is used instead of `gcc'.

   * `configure.in': FreeBSD 3.x is now handled correctly.

   * `configure.in': On Linux and Solaris, SICStus is now always linked
     with the POSIX thread library.

   * `InstallSICStus': `spld' did not log verbose output to logfile.

   * `spld', `splfr': Eliminated use of `..' to specify relative paths.
     Caused problems under Windows 95/98.

   * `library(jasper)': Green threads JDKs not supported any longer.

   * `library(tcltk)': `Tcl_FindExecutable("")' is called when the
     `tcltk' library is loaded, before any Tcl/Tk interpreter is
     created. This should fix errors related to not finding `init.tcl'
     and also improve support for international character sets.

   * `multifile' + `discontiguous' combination fix

   * redefinition warning for multifile predicates fix

   * `listing/[0,1]', `tell/1', `see/1' fixes

   * avoid bogus line number info for native code

   * trail compression fix

   * `stack_shifts' (`statistics/2' option) manual fix

   * `load_foreign_resource/1' search algorithm fix

   * atom/number handling fixes

   * raise error for `a =.. [b|c]'

   * avoid SP_term_ref leaks in some functions

   * prevent dangling pointer problem in displaying line number info

   * check representability of compiled clauses

   * prevent looping at halt and elsewhere if advice has been given

   * CHR: initialization fix

   * CLPFD: fixes and corrections to `all_distinct/[1,2]',
     `assignment/[2,3]', `circuit/[1,2]', `serialized/[2,3]',
     `cumulative/[4,5]', `fdset_member/2', arithmetic

   * LINDA: buffering fix


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8.2 Changes,  Next: 3.8.3 Changes,  Prev: 3.8.1 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.9 Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.2
========================================

Version 3.8.2 is a bugfix release only, no new features has been added.

   * `call_residue/2': fix bug when the goal called `copy_term/2'.

   * `listing/[1,2], portray_clause/[1,2]', top-level: cope with
     constrained/attributed variables.

   * `portray_clause/[1,2]', `write_term/[2,3]' with `indented(true)':
     do not juggle module prefixes.

   * Foreign resources: problems with prelinked resources and with
     `clpfd'

   * Foreign resources: The returned arguments from a foreign function
     are now properly ignored if an exception was raised with
     `SP_raise_exception()'.

   * Foreign resources: Added some, for now, undocumented callbacks to
     `<sicstus/sicstus.h>'.  Documented `SP_to_os()', `SP_from_os()'.

   * Atom garbage collector: don't reclaim undefined predicates that
     have pointers to them; some atom locations were not traced.

   * Local stack shifter bug.

   * Source info management: ensure expansion of the compiled file
     table.

   * Backtracking from fastcode to compactcode special case.

   * Bytecode relocation bug after restore.

   * Compiler bug on very large clauses.

   * `SP_WcxOpenHook': incorrect prototype.

   * Emulator kernel: performance bugs.

   * 64-bit portability bugs.

   * `library(bdb)': a relative filename given in `db_open/5' was
     treated by SICStus as relative to the current working directory,
     but should be relative to the given BDB environment.

   * `library(clpfd)': somewhat faster arithmetic, lingering bugs in
     `serialized/[2,3]' and `cumulative/[4,5]', `labeling/2' options
     `value/1', `variable/1'

   * The configure script did not specify the correct Irix/MIPS ABI/ISA
     level building with GCC.

   * Added `--with=<package>' options to `spld' and `splfr' to override
     default installation path for third-party software packages.

   * `spld': Fixed bugs in argument handling.  `.pl' file arguments are
     no longer compiled at `spld' time, but passed directly to
     `SP_load()'.

   * `library(jasper)': Multiple threads are allowed to call SICStus
     without `IllegalCallerException' being thrown.  *Note Java
     Threads: (sicstus)Java Threads.

   * `library(jasper)': Argument-checking bug in `jasper_call_static/6'
     and `jasper_call_instance/6'.

   * Recover properly from memory allocation failures.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8.3 Changes,  Next: 3.8.4 Changes,  Prev: 3.8.2 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.10 Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.3
=========================================

Version 3.8.3 is mainly a bugfix release.  New features:

   * New interface functions `SP_calloc()' and `SP_strdup()'.

   * The Windows version is now up to twice as fast (measured on the
     benchmarks in `http://www.sics.se/sicstus/benchmarks.html'). In
     particular, SICStus ought to be as fast under Windows as under
     Linux given the same hardware. This will only affect `pure' Prolog
     code, built-in predicates such as `assert' are not affected
     although the Prolog part of libraries are affected. (The change is
     in the byte code dispatch mechanism).

   * The Windows console (`spwin') can now save a transcript of the
     interaction with the Prolog top-level.  The command is under the
     `File' menu. You may wish to increase the number of `save lines'
     in the `Windows Settings' (under the `Settings' menu).

   * `library(clpfd)': new constraints `disjoint1/[1,2]',
     `disjoint2/[1,2]' model non-overlapping lines and rectangles.


   Bug fixes:

   * The Windows console: `All Files' should now work in file selection
     dialogs.

   * A problem that prevented `spld' and `splfr' from working under
     Windows 95/98 has been fixed.

   * Fixed meta-quoting of regular expressions in `spld' and `splfr'.

   * `spld' warns when input files are ignored

   * Runtime system executables generated using `spld' return 0 when
     `user:runtime_entry/1' succeeds and 1 on failure or exception.

   * `SP_chdir()' declares its first argument as `const char *'.

   * Restore fixes for native code.

   * Atom garbage collection during restore fix.

   * Listing fix for disjunctions.

   * Integer range manual fix.

   * Avoid doing initializations twice for `-l' and `-r' files.

   * Compiler fix for `once/1'.

   * Buffering fix for Linda.

   * Wide character handling bug fixes.

   * `prolog_flag/[2,3]': fix for runtime systems.

   * `SP_unify()': undo any bindings on failure.

   * `library(bdb)': relative filename handling fix.

   * `library(clpfd)': GC interaction, overflow detection, performance
     fixes.

   * A problem where multiple copies of the Jasper library were loaded
     has been fixed. This affects all platforms. Now there is exactly
     one version of the Jasper shared library (`libjasper.so' or
     `jasper.dll').

   * Jasper: `+atom' maps to `SPCanonicalAtom' instead of `SPTerm'.

   * Jasper: the `+double' specifier did not work.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8.4 Changes,  Next: 3.8.5 Changes,  Prev: 3.8.3 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.11 Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.4
=========================================

Version 3.8.4 is mainly a bugfix release.  New features:

   * `abort/0' returns to the innermost top-level, and does not switch
     off the debugger.

   * `library(clpfd)': Given TERM containing domain variables,
     `fd_copy_term(TERM,TEMPLATE,BODY)' will compute TEMPLATE and BODY
     where TEMPLATE is a copy of the same term with all variables
     renamed to new variables such that executing BODY will post
     constraints equivalent to those that TERM is attached to.

   * `library(tcltk))':
        - Added `list(CommandList)' to the possible command formats. It
          creates a TCL list by, in effect, calling the TCL command
          `list' with the result of converting each element of
          COMMANDLIST. The result is that Tcl will treat the result as
          a list with the same length as COMMANDLIST even if the
          elements contains spaces or other special characters.

          Current code that uses `ListOfCommands' should probably often
          be better off using `list(ListOfCommands)'.  See the manual
          for details.

        - Added `writeq(Command)' and `write_canonical(Command)' as
          legal command specifications. Documented that
          `write_canonical' is the preferred way of passing Prolog
          terms from Prolog to Tcl and back.

        - More error checking and reporting. In particular, the output
          of a Prolog goal must now be in the special command format.
          It used to just silently generate garbage. *Potential backward
          compatibility issue.*

          Now the value of variables named `_' are ignored. This makes
          it possible to avoid errors if some uninteresting result is
          not in the special command format. This used to be less of a
          problem since such errors were silently ignored. (*Please
          note*: in SICStus 3.8.5 this was changed to ignore all
          variables with names _starting_ with underscore `_'.)

        - International (UNICODE) character now passed between Tcl/Tk
          and Prolog. Made the stream used internally by
          `library(tcltk)' always use UTF8 so that non seven bit
          characters gets recognized by Tcl. This transfers character
          codes unchanged between SICStus and Tcl so it assumes that
          SICStus interprets character codes as UNICODE (as this is
          what Tcl does).

        - `tk_num_main_windows/2' and `tk_main_window/2' no longer
          segfaults under Windows if `tk_new/2' has not been called.
          Added a "tk_new called" check to some other routines as well.
          The segfault occurred when, due to a bug in Tk, Tk uses stubs
          to access Tcl. Presently Tk uses Tcl stubs by default only
          under Windows.

        - The empty string resulting from an empty `CommandList' now
          becomes properly NUL terminated.

        - `prolog_call' now resets the FLI stack to avoid space leaks
          when Tcl/tk is the master and Prolog the slave.

        - Corrected some bugs in the Tcl/Tk documentation. Added
          examples of using the new command specifications.

   * `library('linda/client')': New predicate `shutdown_server/0'.  The
     server keeps running after receiving this signal, until such time
     as all the clients have closed their connections.  Courtesy of
     Malcolm Ryan.

   * Some more options are available when the user is asked about
     redefining predicates.

   Bug fixes:

   * `skip_line/1', `at_end_of_file/0', `tab/2'.

   * Asserting, copying or throwing terms with domain variables now
     raises an exception instead of crashing.

   * Non-existent files and the `include/1' directive.

   * GC and BDD interaction.

   * `save_program/[1,2], save_files/[1,2]': check for I/O errors;
     problems with `'$ref'/2' terms; problems with SICStus Objects.

   * `unload_foreign_resource/1': false alarm in prelinked binaries.

   * Jasper: glue code sometimes crashed when returning from a Java
     method that throwed an exception.

   * Jasper: glue code reported errors for bogus argument numbers.

   * `library(tcltk))': Bug fixes and enhancements; see the `New
     Features' section above for details.

   * `spld'/`splfr' under Windows: Errors are now properly reflected in
     the exit code from these tools.

   * Error handling determining current directory.

   * `library(clpfd)': disequations speeded up, bugs in
     `disjoint1/[1,2]', `disjoint2/[1,2]', `element/3', propagation,
     entailment detection, backward compatibility.

   * Workaround for crashes when static SICStus executables, i.e. built
     with `spld --static', load (non-prelinked) dynamic foreign
     resources. With this workaround loading a dynamic foreign resource
     into a static SICStus executable will still, unnecessarily, load
     the shared version of the SICStus runtime system (`libsprt312.so')
     but the shared runtime system will not be used. This will be fixed
     in a forthcoming release.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8.5 Changes,  Next: 3.8.6 Changes,  Prev: 3.8.4 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.12 Changes Introduced in Version 3.8.5
=========================================

Version 3.8.5 is mainly a bugfix release.  New features:

   * `copy_term/2' and `call_residue/2' now support finite domain
     variables.

   * Representation errors due to illegal usage of finite domain
     variables have been replaced by more useful exceptions.

   * The new exported predicate `terms:term_variables_bag/2' is like
     `terms:term_variables/2', but its output argument is a list of
     variables in order of first occurrence.

   * `bdb:db_open/5' is generalized so that a cache size can be
     provided.

   * `clpfd:fd_neighbors/2' is a new exported predicates.  It is the
     relation that `clpfd:fd_closure/2' is the transitive closure of.

   * The Java interface has been improved; see below for new features.


   Bug fixes:

   * `current_atom/1' now terminates correctly.

   * `once/1' is now handled correctly in ISO mode.

   * `predicate_property/2' now handles built-in predicates correctly.

   * `prolog_flag/2' alias `current_prolog_flag/2' now behave as pure
     relations in SICStus execution mode.

   * `read/[1,2]' now handle character code 0 correctly.

   * `save_files/2', `save_predicates/2', and `save_modules/2' do not
     replace given output file extensions.  A `.po' extension will be
     added if none is given.  Note, however, that `load_files/[1,2]'
     will only recognize files with a `.po' extension as `.po' files.

   * `statistics(trail,L)' and `statistics(choice,L)' are more accurate.

   * `stream_code/2' now handles errors correctly.

   * `stream_interrupt/3' raises an existence error under Windows.

   * `stream_property/2' now handles `alias/1' property for standard
     streams correctly.

   * `stream_select/3' now returns a valid list of streams, and raises
     an existence error under Windows.

   * The tokenizer now does not read too far ahead on non-float tokens
     that start like floats.

   * The `s' answer to redefinition queries is now handled correctly.

   * Worked around a C compiler bug affecting garbage collection under
     Windows (MS bug Q263609
     (http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q263/6/09.ASP)).

   * A compiler bug fixed.

   * Repeated restoring caused a memory leak, now sealed.

   * SP_pred_refs cannot become dangling.

   * Calls from C to Prolog now undergo module name expansion and goal
     expansion, just like calls to `call/1'.

   * Bug fixes in `SP_cons_list()' and `SP_cons_functor()'.

   * Memory overflows after `SP_open_query()' are safe.

   * Stream position terms now preserve after end of stream conditions.

   * Cyclic terms are detected in arithmetic function arguments.

   * Predicates defined by goal expansion only can be exported.

   * The `character_escapes' flag is obeyed in ISO execution mode.

   * Debugger bugs fixed: showing source code in Emacs; the `a', `o',
     and `r' commands.

   * The Emacs interface function `prolog-comment-region' now uses
     triple percent signs, to cater for `indent-region'.

   * The `clpfd:full_answer' functionality has been repaired, affecting
     `frozen/2', `clpfd:attribute_goal/2' and `clpfd:fd_copy_term/3'.
     `clpfd:fd_global/3' is now a meta-predicate.

   * `sockets:socket_select/[5,6]' are now steadfast; better error
     handling.

   * `sockets:socket_select/[5,6]' now work correctly with non-socket
     streams that use file descriptors on systems where sockets and file
     descriptors are treated the same (i.e. not Windows).

   * `system:working_directory/2' is now insensitive to any loads in
     progress.  Its arguments are not subject to `absolute_file_name/2'
     processing--that was never intended.

   * `timeout:time_out/3' now cleans up properly after abort.

   * `library(bdb)' now handles wide characters, e.g. in error messages.

   * `library(clpfd)' now cleans up properly after integer overflows,
     and does not assume a 32-bit architecture.

   * `clpfd:cumulative/[4,5]' now check that the resource limit is not
     exceeded by any single task.

   * Glue code generated for foreign resources (C and Java) did the
     wrong thing for `[-term]'. The problem occurred if the foreign
     function did many calls to `SP_new_term_ref()' or if it raised an
     exception.

   * Fixed a problem with `spld' and `splfr' under Windows 95/98.

   * On AIX `spld' and `splfr' tried to use a nonexisting file. The
     file (`sprt.exp') is now included in the distribution.

   * `halt/0' and `abort/0' are handled better in runtime systems of
     type `--main=load' and `--main=restore'.

   * The Java interface (`library(jasper)' and `se/sics/jasper/SICStus'
     etc.) has been improved:

        - Fixed lots of bugs.

        - The Prolog runtime system is no longer de-initialized at
          random by the Java garbage collector.

        - All Java methods now properly synchronize with the Prolog
          runtime system to ensure thread safety.

        - There are no longer any known memory leaks when calling Java
          from Prolog or vice versa.

        - `SPTerm' and `SPQuery' now properly detect improper usage and
          raise exceptions instead of crashing in the Prolog runtime
          system.

        - Enhanced meta-call interface `jasper_call/4' makes foreign
          resources and `splfr' strictly optional when calling Java from
          Prolog.

        - The constructor `SPTerm()' is no longer public, it was always
          documented as "should really have been private". Use the
          contructor `SPTerm(SICStus)' instead.

        - The exception `IllegalCallerException' is no longer used. You
          should change your code to reflect this. One possible change
          is to change `throws IllegalCallerException' into `throws
          SPException', this works for the 3.8.4 version as well.

        - The exception `IllegalTermException' is new. It is signalled
          when attempting to use a SPTerm where the corresponding
          SP_term_ref is no longer valid. You need to update your code
          (typically adding `throws IllegalTermException'). One
          possible change is to use the less specific `throws
          SPException' instead of `throws IllegalTermException', this
          should work for the 3.8.4 version as well.

        - It is now possible to create terms and queries by reading
          from a string. See `SICStus.readFromString()' and new
          versions of `SICStus.openQuery()' etc.

        - `SPPredicate' is now deprecated. The preferred method is to
          supply module and predicate name explicitly.

        - All calls to Prolog now behave as if wrapped in `call(M:Goal)'
          where `M' is the module specified when creating the query.
          This makes goal expansion and module name expansion do the
          right thing, i.e. behave as if entered interactively.

        - It is now possible to explicitly delete a `SPTerm' object,
          making the Prolog side SP_term-ref available for re-use. See
          `SPTerm.delete()'.

        - The documentation has been improved and expanded.

        - The examples have been updated and new examples added,
          notably a Swing demo with a Prolog top-level. The Prolog
          top-level is useful when debugging applications where Java is
          the top-level application.

        - `JavaServer' etc. is now more clearly marked as unsupported
          example code. It represents an unfinished sockets based
          Jasper interface. It does not belong in the `se.sics.jasper'
          package and will be removed at a later date.


   * `library(tcltk)'. When Tcl/Tk calls Prolog, it now ignores the
     returned values of all unbound variables and variables with names
     _starting_ with underscore `_'.  In 3.8.4, it used to ignore only
     anonymous variables.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8.6 Changes,  Next: 3.8.7 Changes,  Prev: 3.8.5 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.13 Changes introduced in version 3.8.6
=========================================

Version 3.8.6 is mainly a bugfix release.  New features:

   * `SP_atom' documented as a data type.

   * `library(jasper)' and Java foreign resources now support null
     object references.  *Note Jasper Library Predicates:
     (sicstus)Jasper Library Predicates.

   * `library(jasper)' now works with JDK 1.3 (with some restrictions)
     and JDK 1.3.1 as well as JDK 1.2.2. *Note Supported Java
     Versions::.

   * On Linux, the path to the JDK libraries is now embedded (rpath) in
     the SICStus executable instead of in the Jasper foreign resource
     (libjasper.so). In most cases this should not be a user visible
     change. This was necessary due to differences between the Linux
     (glibc) and the Solaris dynamic loader.

   * `InstallSICStus' should now understand TclPro directory structure
     when configuring Tcl/Tk.


   Bug fixes:

   * `splfr' code generation bug for `[-term]' and `+boolean'.

   * `spld --sicstus=<PATH>' now works. You are unlikely to need it
     though.

   * Better error reporting for incorrect type signatures to old style
     calls to `library(jasper)'.

   * Jasper: `SPTerm.delete()' sometimes did not enable reuse of the
     deleted SP_term_ref.

   * Under some versions of Windows (NT 4 but not Windows 2000) Java
     would crash under the following circumstances. `java' is the main
     application, Java tries to do `use_module(library(jasper))', the
     _short_ pathname of the `SICStus Prolog\bin' folder is on the
     `PATH' environment variable. As a work-around for the underlying
     Win32 `LoadLibrary' bug SICStus will now always use the long
     pathname when loading foreign resources.

   * Under Windows, you can sometimes get a floating point divide by
     zero exception when embeding SICStus into other applications. The
     symptom was a crash with something like `"Exception: 0xc000008e
     (EXCEPTION_FLT_DIVIDE_BY_ZERO)"'. This also happened for some
     applications that use Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) with the
     SICStus Visual Basic module (vbsp.dll). A thorough discussion of
     this issue and a solution is available in
     `library/vbsp/sp_fpwrap.h'. This solution is now used by the
     SICStus Visual Basic module. We have had reports of this issue
     affecting FileMaker, Rational Rose and Visio.

   * `library(bdb)' now complains if run with a different version of
     Berkeley DB than what was used for building it (BDB 2.7.7).

   * Now uses `malloc()' for memory allocation when invoking SICStus
     from Java, also on Linux. The default memory allocation method
     (using `sbrk'/`brk') is not thread safe on any platform.

   * Avoid spurious error message after `C-c a'.

   * Loading `.po' files and saved-states: work around GCC bug
     affecting endianness conversion.

   * Standard term comparison on stream position terms didn't work
     after `seek/4'.

   * `dif/2' and friends: memory management bug.

   * `format/[2,3]': avoid spurious time-out exceptions.

   * `freeze(V,V)' behavior bug.

   * `number_chars/2, number_codes/2': bug affecting empty lists.

   * `library(bdb)' now verifies that BDB version 2.7.7 is used.

   * `library(clpfd)': missing distribution files; buggy action handling
     of user-defined global constraints; wrong answers in
     `disjoint1/[1,2]', `disjoint2/[1,2]', `serialized/[2,3]', and
     `cumulative/[4,5]'; integer overflow checks; error detection in FD
     set operations; complexity of `fd_closure/2' and `fd_copy_term/3';
     entailment action in `element/3'.

   * `library(clpq,clpr)': bug affecting `bb_inf/3' and strict
     inequalities.

   * `library(jasper)' now enforces the use of `malloc' for memory
     management, also on Linux.

   * `sockets:socket_buffering/4': bug handling 3rd arg.

   * `library(tcltk)': some demos depended on current working directory.

   * `library(xref)': handling of `catch/3'.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.8.7 Changes,  Next: 3.9 Changes,  Prev: 3.8.6 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.14 Changes introduced in version 3.8.7
=========================================

Version 3.8.7 is mainly a bugfix release.  New features:

   * Support for Mac OS X 10.x. This includes support for Tcl/Tk (*note
     Tcl/Tk Notes::).

   * Made the Windows version faster using an improved version of the
     tweaks used in 3.8.3.

   Bugs fixed:

   * Performance problems in meta-calls, exception handling,
     `findall/3' and friends, `sort/2', `keysort/2'.

   * `atom_codes/2', `atom_chars/2', `number_codes/2', and
     `number_chars/2' were not steadfast.

   * `library(timeout)': Some timeouts were ignored if they occurred
     during exception handling.

   * `library(timeout)': If the timer cannot be set up (using
     `setitimer'), then a system error exception is raised. This
     happens on Solaris in multi-threaded applications, e.g. when using
     SICStus with Java.

   * `SP_deinitialize()' not working properly.

   * Infinite loop in dynamic code memory management.

   * Arguments to format spec `~@' were not called as fully general
     goals.

   * Loading and unloading resources was vulnerable to changing file
     search paths.

   * `listing/[0,1]' did not module prefix bodies of imported
     predicates correctly.

   * `library(clpfd)': some Boolean constraints were incorrectly
     macro-expanded; some type errors merely failed; over-zealous
     integer overflow detection in arithmetic.

   * `sockets:socket_select/[5,6]' will work correctly also for input
     buffered socket streams. You no longer need to disable buffering
     with `sockets:socket_buffering/4' just to get
     `sockets:socket_select/[5,6]' to work.

   * `library(sockets)': A signal delivered to the process will no
     longer cause any socket predicates to give an error (proper `EINTR'
     handling). A downside to this is that SICStus no longer is
     interruptible with `^C' (`SIGINT') while blocking except in
     `sockets:socket_select/[5,6]'. In the case of
     `sockets:socket_select/[5,6]', signal delivery will be treated as
     if the `select()' call had a zero timeout.  Such spurious timeouts
     are a *potential backward compatibility issue.*

   * `sockets:socket_buffering/4': A crashing bug introduced in 3.8.6.
     Added argument validation so that it now fails on non-socket
     streams and other incorrect arguments. Note that the primary
     reason for changing socket buffering prior to 3.8.7 is gone since
     `sockets:socket_select/[5,6]' now work also for input buffered
     sockets.

   * `system:file_property/2' failed to recognize symbolic links as
     such.

   * Jasper: A Prolog side memory leak in `SPTerm.consFunctor'.  This
     also affected all read-from-string type methods.

   * Jasper: `SPTerm.getNumberChars' called an undefined native method.

   * Under UNIX, the Prolog run-time would temporarily unblock all OS
     signals. This could lead to unexpected behavior when linking
     SICStus with other applications that use signals (such as Java).

   * `library('clpqr/examples/mip')' would not load properly.

   * Solaris, `spld --static' used incorrect options when specifying
     static linking to Sun Workshop C-compiler.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Changes,  Next: 3.9.1 Changes,  Prev: 3.8.7 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.15 Changes Introduced in Version 3.9
=======================================

* Menu:

* 3.9 Message and Query System::  Message and Query System
* 3.9 Determinacy Checker::     Determinacy Checker
* 3.9 Cross-Referencer::        Cross-Referencer
* 3.9 Microsoft COM Client::    Common Object Model Client
* 3.9 PiLLoW Web Programming Library::  The PiLLoW Web Programming Library
* 3.9 New CLPFD Features::      New CLPFD Features
* 3.9 All-in-one Executables::  All-in-one Executables
* 3.9 Multiple SICStus in a Process::  Multiple SICStus Run-Times in a Process
* 3.9 Miscellaneous::           Miscellaneous
* 3.9 Incompatibilities::       Incompatibilities with Previous Versions
* 3.9 Bugs Fixed::              Bugs Fixed in 3.9
* 3.9 Known Problems::          Known Problems with This Release


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Message and Query System,  Next: 3.9 Determinacy Checker,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.1 Message and Query System
--------------------------------

Every message issued by the Prolog system is displayed using the
built-in predicate `print_message/2'.  Similarly, all user input is
handled by the new built-in predicate `ask_query/4'.  The behavior of
these predicates can be customized by a number of new hooks.  For
example, all I/O can be redirected from the standard streams to Tcl/Tk
or similar windows.  The default appearance of system messages has also
changed.

   The mapping from Prolog terms representing messages to printed
messages is now completely transparent and customizable.  The new
`library('SU_messages')' file defines the mapping rules.  Runtime
systems can display system messages in standard format by loading this
file.

   A number of new hooks have been added for the message and query
system: `generate_message_hook/3', `generate_message/3',
`message_hook/3', `print_message_lines/3', `query_hook/6',
`query_class_hook/5', `query_input_hook/3', `query_map_hook/4'.

   *Note Messages and Queries: (sicstus)Messages and Queries.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Determinacy Checker,  Next: 3.9 Cross-Referencer,  Prev: 3.9 Message and Query System,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.2 Determinacy Checker
---------------------------

The determinacy checker, `spdet', is a new, powerful tool originally
written by Dave Bowen and Peter Schachte.

   The determinacy checker can help you spot unwanted nondeterminacy in
your programs.  This tool examines your program source code and points
out places where unintended nondeterminacy may arise.  Unintended
nondeterminacy should be eradicated because

  1. it may give you wrong answers on backtracking

  2. it may cause a lot of memory to be wasted

   *Note The Determinacy Checker: (sicstus)The Determinacy Checker.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Cross-Referencer,  Next: 3.9 Microsoft COM Client,  Prev: 3.9 Determinacy Checker,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.3 Cross-Referencer
------------------------

`library(xref)' of previous releases has been replaced by a much more
powerful tool, `spxref', originally written by Tom Howland.

   The main purpose of the cross-referencer is to find unreachable
code.  To this end, it begins by looking for a definition for
`user:runtime_entry/1' and also looks for initializations, hooks,
module export lists and `public' directives to start tracing the
reachable code from.

   A second function is to aid in the formation of module statements.
It can list all of the required `module/2' and `use_module/2'
statements by file.

   *Note The Cross-Referencer: (sicstus)The Cross-Referencer.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Microsoft COM Client,  Next: 3.9 PiLLoW Web Programming Library,  Prev: 3.9 Cross-Referencer,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.4 Common Object Model Client
----------------------------------

Under Windows, `library(comclient)' makes it possible to control COM
Automation objects.  *Note Com Client: (sicstus)COM Client.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 PiLLoW Web Programming Library,  Next: 3.9 New CLPFD Features,  Prev: 3.9 Microsoft COM Client,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.5 The PiLLoW Web Programming Library
------------------------------------------

The PiLLoW library is a free Internet/WWW programming library, which
simplifies the process of writing applications for such environment.
The library provides facilities for generating HTML or XML structured
documents by handling them as Prolog terms, producing HTML forms,
writing form handlers, processing HTML templates, accessing and parsing
WWW documents (either HTML or XML), accessing code posted at HTTP
addresses, etc.  *Note PiLLoW: (sicstus)PiLLoW.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 New CLPFD Features,  Next: 3.9 All-in-one Executables,  Prev: 3.9 PiLLoW Web Programming Library,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.6 New CLPFD Features
--------------------------

Generally, performance has been improved, in terms of CPU time as well
as memory.  Specific new features:

   * The predicates `assert/1', `findall/3', `raise_exception/1' and
     friends are now safe to use on non-ground terms containing domain
     variables.

     `labeling/2' takes a new option, which supports limited discrepancy
     search.  To support this, the `apply_bound/1' API has been replaced
     by predicates called `first_bound/2' and `later_bound/2'.

   * The new constraint `knapsack/3' is a domain consistent special
     case of `scalar_product/4'.

   * The new constraint `global_cardinality/2' constrains the number of
     occurrences of given integers in a list.

   * Arbitrary N-ary relations can be defined with the new constraint
     `case/4'.

   * `disjoint2/2' takes a new option, which tells the constraint to
     perform stronger reasoning if some rectangles have the same origin
     and certain other conditions are fulfilled.

   * `serialized/3' and `cumulative/5' take a new option, which tells
     the constraint whether to only adjust domain bounds.  This is now
     the default.

   * The `precedences/1' option of the same constraints has a more
     general format.

   * The new constraint `cumulatives/[2,3]' generalizes
     `cumulative/[4,5]' by considering multiple resources, positive and
     negative resource consumption, and lower and upper bounds.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 All-in-one Executables,  Next: 3.9 Multiple SICStus in a Process,  Prev: 3.9 New CLPFD Features,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.7 All-in-one Executables
------------------------------

It is now possible to embed saved-states into an executable. Together
with static linking, this gives an executable that does not depend on
external SICStus files.  *Note All-in-one Executables:
(sicstus)All-in-one Executables.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Multiple SICStus in a Process,  Next: 3.9 Miscellaneous,  Prev: 3.9 All-in-one Executables,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.8 Multiple SICStus Run-Times in a Process
-----------------------------------------------

It is now possible to have more than one SICStus run-time in a single
process.  *Note Multiple SICStus Run-Times: (sicstus)Multiple SICStus
Run-Times, for details.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Miscellaneous,  Next: 3.9 Incompatibilities,  Prev: 3.9 Multiple SICStus in a Process,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.9 Miscellaneous
---------------------

   * The new built-in predicate `read_line/[1,2]' read one line of
     input into a code-list.

   * The new built-in predicate `stream_position_data/3' accesses the
     fields of a stream position term.

   * The new built-in predicate `goal_source_info/3' decomposes
     annotated goals into a goal proper and a source position.  Mostly
     used in displaying error messages.

   * The built-in predicate `undo/1', which posts a goal for execution
     on backtracking, has been revived.

   * `absolute_file_name/3' is a new variant of `absolute_file_name/2'
     taking a number of options to give full control over the
     conversion from relative to absolute filename.

   * `read_term/[2,3]' takes a new option, which controls whether the
     LAYOUT-TEXT-ITEM that follows the terminating `.' should be
     consumed.

   * A resource error exception is raised when there is insufficient
     memory to continue execution.  In previous versions, this
     condition caused SICStus Prolog to abort the computation and to
     reinitialize itself.

   * `trimcore/0' trims the Prolog stacks.

   * Debugger changes:
        - Breakpoint conditions now can contain the usual Prolog
          connectives `,', `;', `->', and `\+'.

        - A breakpoint for which the test conditions evaluated
          successfully is always applied, even if the action conditions
          fail.

        - A hook, `user:breakpoint_expansion/2', has been added for
          user defined breakpoint conditions.

        - Advice-points are now allowed to set all three action
          variables (mode, show, command).

   * `library(bdb)' provides a way to flush all modified records to
     disk after each operation.

   * `library(charsio)' provides the new predicates
     `read_term_from_chars/3' and `write_term_to_chars/[3,4]'.

   * `library(system)' provides the new predicates `now/1' and
     `datime/2'.

   * `library(clpq,clpr)' provides the new predicate
     `projecting_assert/1'.

   * `SP_set_read_hook()' is now obsolescent. *Note Hooks:
     (sicstus)Hooks.

   * `SP_event()' can now be called from arbitrary OS threads. *Note
     Calling Prolog Asynchronously: (sicstus)Calling Prolog
     Asynchronously.

   * `splfr' generates a header file from the `foreign/[2,3]'
     declarations. This file should be included in the corresponding C
     file to protect against incorrect `foreign' declarations and also
     to ensure compatibility with various compile time settings used by
     `splfr'.

     The name of the file can be specified with `--header=NAME'. To
     produce the file and nothing more, you can use the new
     `--nocompile' flag as in
          % splfr --header=foo.h --nocompile foo.pl
     This is especially useful when `foo.h' is a Makefile
     prerequisite.

   * `splfr' and `spld' now use descriptive names for generated files,
     especially when the flag `--keep' is specified.

   * Under Windows, it is now possible to link an application with a
     static version of the SICStus run-time. It is also possible to
     link with static versions of foreign resources.

   * A statically linked SICStus run-time can load foreign resources
     dynamically.

   * `spld --moveable' now produces an executable that can be moved,
     together with its directory tree (*note Runtime Systems on UNIX
     Target Machines: (sicstus)Runtime Systems on UNIX Target
     Machines.) on Solaris and Linux (it always worked under Windows).

   * New `spld' options,
    `--lang'
          Selects the Prolog dialect used for run-time systems created
          with `--main=load' and `--main=restore'.

    `--memhook'
          Selects memory allocation method (`SP_set_memalloc_hooks()').

     You can use `spld --help' to get details on these and other
     options.

   * The development system (`sicstus' and, under Windows, `spwin') now
     take option `--iso' and `--sicstus' to start up in ISO Prolog mode
     and SICStus Prolog mode respectively.

   * New C preprocessor macros with version info are now defined when
     including `<sicstus/sicstus.h>'. For SICStus 3.9.1, they were
     defined as:

          #define SICSTUS_MAJOR_VERSION 3
          #define SICSTUS_MINOR_VERSION 9
          #define SICSTUS_REVISION_VERSION 1
          #define SICSTUS_BETA_VERSION 0

          /* Two digit position for MAJOR, MINOR and REVISION */
          #define SICSTUS_VERSION 30901

   * New C API function `SP_read_from_string()' takes a string
     representation of a Prolog term and a table of variable values and
     creates a Prolog term. By reading a goal from a string and passing
     the resulting term to `call/1', this also gives a very simple way
     to call arbitrary goals from C.  *Note Mixing C and Prolog:
     (sicstus)Creating Prolog Terms.

   * New C API function `SP_define_c_predicate()' makes it possible to
     dynamically define a Prolog predicate that calls a C function.
     *Note Mixing C and Prolog: (sicstus)Calling C.

   * New C API functions `SP_mutex_lock()', `SP_mutex_unlock()', C type
     `SP_mutex' and static initializer `SP_MUTEX_INITIALIZER'. These
     provide a platform independant (recursive) mutual exclusion lock.
     These are mainly useful when more than one SICStus run-time is
     used (in different threads) in the same process.  *Note Operating
     System Services: (sicstus)Operating System Services.

   * The environment variables `SP_APP_DIR' and `SP_RT_DIR' are set (by
     `SP_initialize()') to the folder containing the executable and the
     folder containing the SICStus run-time, respectively. This provides
     a location independent way to locate files (such as saved-states)
     that are located together with the application.  Also available as
     the file search aliases `application' and `runtime'.  *Note Input
     Output: (sicstus)Input Output.

   * On Win32, the C signal `SIGBREAK' will cause `halt/0' to be called
     in a development system. This will ensure that `halt/0' is called
     in `sicstus' when the console window is closed or when the user
     logs off. The windowed version of SICStus (`spwin') also sends
     itself a `SIGBREAK' when the GUI window is closed, causing
     `halt/0' to be called.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Incompatibilities,  Next: 3.9 Bugs Fixed,  Prev: 3.9 Miscellaneous,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.10 Incompatibilities with Previous Versions
-------------------------------------------------

   * The semantics of `absolute_file_name/2' has changed slightly.  It
     no longer looks for an existing file with a `.pl' extension if the
     given relative file name has no extension.  The old behavior can
     be achieved with:

          old_absolute_file_name(RelFileSpec, AbsFileName) :-
             Options = [ file_type(source),
                         access(exist),
                         file_errors(fail) ],
             (  absolute_file_name(RelFileSpec, AbsFileName, Options)
             -> true
             ;  absolute_file_name(RelFileSpec, AbsFileName, [])
             ).

   * The hook `debugger_command_hook/2' takes a different first
     argument.

   * The built-in predicate `print_message/2' does not take a `force/1'
     severity.

   * The UNIX-specific built-in predicates `stream_interrupt/3' and
     `stream_select/3' were unsafe, and have been removed.  The latter
     can be replaced by the following equivalent definition, which
     works for file descriptor streams under UNIX and, for socket
     streams, under Windows as well:

          :- use_module(library(sockets)).
          stream_select(Streams, TimeOut, ReadStream) :-
                  socket_select([], _, TimeOut, Streams, ReadStream).

   * Exceptions in hooks are now caught locally instead of propagating
     into the calling code.

   * The Prolog predicates for generating glue code for the foreign
     language interface are no longer available. The only supported
     method for generating foreign resources are `splfr'. The removed
     predicates are `link_foreign_resource/6', are
     `prepare_resource_table/2', and `prepare_foreign_resource/3'.
     *Note The Foreign Resource Linker: (sicstus)The Foreign Resource
     Linker, for details on using `splfr'.

   * The predicate `reinitialise/0' is gone.

   * The `--import' flag to `splfr' is no longer supported.

   * The CLPFD `apply_bound/1' API for branch & bound search has been
     replaced by predicates called `first_bound/2' and `later_bound/2'.

   * The CLPFD constraints `all_different/[1,2]' and
     `all_distinct/[1,2]' require bounded domains.

   * The CLPFD constraints `serialized/[2,3]' and `cumulative/[4,5]'
     only prune the bounds of domains, not inside them, unless the
     `bounds_only(false)' option is given.

   * The Berkeley DB interface is now compatible with Berkeley DB 4.0.14
     instead of 2.7.7.

   * `library(db)' has been removed.

   * `library(xref)' has been replaced.

   * `library(flinkage)' is no longer supported. It is still present to
     help porting really old code.

   * The header file `<sicstus/sicstus.h>' now uses stricter function
     type prototypes. This may expose problems in code that used to
     compile without warnings in previous versions of SICStus.

   * Java foreign resources are no longer supported.  Java foreign
     resources offer no advantages compared to `jasper_call/4'
     introduced in SICStus 3.8.5 so you should migrate your code even
     if you are still using SICStus 3.8.

   * Java now loads `libspnative.so' (`spnative.dll' under Windows)
     where it used to load `libjasper.so'. This will probably be
     invisible to most users.

   * The Java methods in `se.sics.jasper' that operate on a SICStus
     object will now throw an error if called from a thread other than
     the one that created the SICStus object. This is similar to the
     behavior in early versions of 3.8.

     SICStus 3.9 introduces a new thread safe Jasper API, which is not
     backwards compatible with the Jasper API of 3.8. However, the old
     API has been amended to be compatible with the thread safe API,
     making it possible to write Java programs that can run in both
     modes.

   * Signal handlers installed by `SP_signal()' are now deferred until
     Prolog can call them safely. This makes `SP_signal()' unsuitable
     for handling synchronous signals such as `SIGSEGV'. *Note Signal
     Handling: (sicstus)Signal Handling.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.9 Known Problems,  Prev: 3.9 Incompatibilities,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.11 Bugs Fixed in 3.9
--------------------------

   * `at_end_of_stream/0', `get/1', `get0/1', `put/1', `skip/1',
     `tab/1' incorrectly required that the current input stream be a
     text stream.

   * `stream_property(S, end_of_stream(...))' now works for tty streams.

   * `user:goal_expansion/3' was called with the wrong second argument
     for imported and built-in predicates.

   * `require/1' was broken.

   * The escape sequence `\c' could be misread.

   * In ISO mode, terms were printed with non-ISO escape sequences.

   * `charsio:format_to_chars/[3,4]' are now meta-predicates.

   * `charsio:format_to_chars/[3,4]' is now re-entrant.

   * `library(clpfd)': some Boolean constraints were incorrectly
     macro-expanded; some type errors merely failed; over-zealous
     integer overflow detection in arithmetic; unifying domain
     variables did not work reliably and failed silently when type
     errors were intended.

   * `library(clpq,clpr)': Variables introduced via `ordering/1' were
     not initialized fully.

   * `library('linda/client')': `shutdown_server/0' now raises an
     existence error if there is no connection to the server available.

   * Emacs line break points now work for module-files.

   * Windows now always uses `^Z' where UNIX uses `^D' to signal end of
     file on input from the terminal.

   * Under Windows, when running SICStus under Emacs, the SICStus
     process sometimes got stuck in a tight loop when Emacs closed the
     connection to the SICStus sub-process. It will now exit instead;
     *note Windows limitations::.

   * Under Windows, `splfr' now converts the resource name to
     lowercase. This is to match the fact that SICStus converts path
     names to lowercase under Windows.

   * As of SICStus 3.8.7, for `sockets:socket_select/[5,6]', signal
     delivery will be treated as if the `select()' call had a zero
     timeout.  Such spurious timeouts are now handled invisibly within
     `library(sockets)' and will not be seen by user code.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9 Known Problems,  Prev: 3.9 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.9 Changes

10.15.12 Known Problems with This Release
-----------------------------------------

   * Some Prolog libraries that depend on foreign code (e.g.
     `library(bdb)', `library(tcltk)') can only be loaded by one
     SICStus run-time in the same process. The second run-time that
     attempts to load e.g.  `library(bdb)', will raise an exception.
     This only affects code that loads several SICStus run-times (e.g.
     using the Java interface).

   * The API for associating destructors with external objects is in
     place but is not documented. It is, at present, only used by the
     COM client library. Contact <sicstus-support@sics.se> if you have
     any questions about it.

   * *Note 3.9 Incompatibilities::.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.9.1 Changes,  Next: 3.10 Changes,  Prev: 3.9 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.16 Changes Introduced in Version 3.9.1
=========================================

Version 3.9.1 is mainly a bugfix release.  New features:

   * Support for Compaq Tru64 5.1, IRIX 6.5, Mac OS X 10.1 (Darwin),
     AIX 4.3.3 and HP-UX 11.

   * Jasper (the Java interface) is now supported on most platform.

   * `library('linda/server')' now also prints the address of connecting
     clients.

   * `library('linda/server')' can apply a user specified filter to
     reject or accept incoming connections; see *Note Server:
     (sicstus)Server.

   * Added `--moveable' option to `splfr'.

   * Added `--nocompile' option to `spld'.

   * `clpfd:case/4' takes a new option, which effectively extends the
     relation by one argument, corresponding to the ID of the leaf node
     reached by a particular tuple.  Every ID should be a unique
     integer.  Several consistency checks added.

   * `clpfd:all_different/1' takes a new option `consistency(C)' to
     control the level of consistency to be achieved.  This supersedes
     the old option `global(BOOL)'.

   * `clpfd:sorting/3' is a new constraint, capturing the relation
     between a list of values, a list of the values in ascending order,
     and their positions in the original list.

   * `clpfd:fd_var/1' is new; checks that the argument is currently an
     unbound variable that is known to the CLPFD solver.

   * `SP_get_integer_bytes()', `SP_put_integer_bytes()' can be used to
     pass arbitrarily sized integers (bignums) between C and Prolog.
     *Note Accessing Prolog Terms: (sicstus)Accessing Prolog Terms.


   Other changes:

   * Changed the name of the directory where run-time systems on target
     machines (*note Runtime Systems on UNIX Target Machines:
     (sicstus)Runtime Systems on UNIX Target Machines.)  can find
     supporting files. The directory name is now version specific, e.g.
     `$SP_APP_DIR/sp-3.9.1/'. If no such directory can be found, the
     old name (`$SP_APP_DIR/lib/') is tried as well.


   Bugs fixed:

   * Compiler bug affecting very large clauses.

   * Dangling pointer issue with suspended goals.

   * Native SPARC in-core compiler indexing bug.

   * Top-level problems: phoney goal shown in syntax error messages;
     blocked goals suppressed if no bindings to display.

   * `listing(_:_)' printing imported clauses multiple times.

   * Character code 160 (no-break space) is a layout-char in ISO
     8859/1, not a symbol-char.

   * CHR code transformation bug.

   * CLPFD: `knapsack/3' broken; problems with very large domain
     bounds; bugs in `disjoint2/2' with `wrap/4' option; missing
     solutions in `case/4'; `fd_copy_term/3' did not preserve all
     domain variables.

   * The `--output' option to `splfr' broken.

   * The global variable `sp_GlobalSICStus' is now defined also when
     `--main=none' is passed to `spld'.

   * `spxref': did not follow arbitrary directives; problem with
     absolute file name resolution.

   * `Jasper': client thread did not detect failure of server thread to
     create a SICStus object.

   * `Jasper': bugs in class `Jasper$JasperProlog': `consFunctor' and
     `consList' gave `NoSuchMethodException'.

   * `Jasper': `[-term]' in method meta-calls to Java from Prolog did
     not work.

   * `Jasper': Java longs (64-bit signed ints) passed between Java and
     Prolog are no longer truncated to 32 bits.

   * `Jasper': bugs in class `Jasper$JasperTerm': `compare', `getArg',
     `getDouble', `getFunctorArity', `getList', and `unify' did not
     work properly.

   * `Jasper': bugs in class `SICStus': `consFunctor(String, Term[])'
     and `newTerm(String, Term[])' gave `ClassCastException'.

   * `Jasper': Fixed bug causing `ClassCastException' when doing
     callbacks in thread safe Jasper. Jasper did not keep track of
     current caller properly.

   * Foreign resources and data resources could not have names
     containing `w' or `W'.

   * SICStus could crash in the deinit functions of `--multi-sp-aware'
     foreign resources.

   * Exception (`SP_raise_exception()') and failure (`SP_fail()') from
     foreign resource init or deinit functions are now handled; see
     *Note Init and Deinit Functions: (sicstus)Init and Deinit
     Functions.

   * `unload_foreign_resource(NAME)' now raises an existence error
     instead of merely failing if no foreign resource NAME is loaded.

   * Printing and reading floats was broken in locales redefining the
     radix character.

   * `library(fastrw)' now raises an existence error when reading a term
     from an already closed stream, similar to `get/1' etc. It used to
     give some arbitrary error in this case. The library still does not
     handle end of file within terms.

     `library(fastrw)' is an (undocumented) support library used by
     `library('linda/client')', `library('linda/server')' and
     `library(bdb)'.

   * `linda:linda/1' is now a meta-predicate.

   * `library(comclient)' would crash for in/out arguments passed as a
     mutable.

   * `system:mktemp/2', `system:tmpnam/1': Added error checking.

     On some platforms the linker would complain about possibly unsafe
     use of `mktemp()' when linking statically with the `system' foreign
     resource. This has been worked around by using `mkstemp()'
     internally when available. For this reason, file names created by
     `system:tmpnam/1' may differ from earlier releases.

     The robustness and security issues surrounding the use of the
     ANSI C `mktemp()' and `tmpnam()' routines also applies when using
     `system:mktemp/2' and `system:tmpnam/1'.

   * Under UNIX `library(sockets)' now ensures that `SIGPIPE' is
     ignored in run-time systems (It was always ignored on development
     systems).  This avoids having the process killed by SIGPIPE when
     SICStus writes to a socket where the other end has closed the
     connection.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10 Changes,  Next: 3.10.1 Changes,  Prev: 3.9.1 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.17 Changes Introduced in Version 3.10
========================================

* Menu:

* 3.10 New Features::           New Features
* 3.10 Bugs Fixed::             Bugs Fixed
* 3.10 Other Changes::          Other Changes


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10 New Features,  Next: 3.10 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.10 Changes

10.17.1 New Features
--------------------

   * On 32-bit architectures, prior to release 3.10, the total data
     space could not exceed 256 MB.  As of release 3.10, this limit
     only applies to the Prolog stacks, whereas other objects (static
     and dynamic code, symbol tables, etc.) can be stored anywhere in
     virtual memory.

     The fix involves a partial redesign of the memory allocator.  The
     API function `SP_set_memalloc_hooks()' has changed incompatibly.
     *Note Initializing the Prolog Engine: (sicstus)Initializing the
     Prolog Engine.

     As a consequence of the changes to the memory allocator, the
     `sicstus' option `-m' and the `spld' option `--memhook' are no
     longer meaningful. They are ignored for compatibility but will be
     removed in some future release.

     As another consequence of the changes, the "aligned pointer"
     concept and all such requirements in the foreign language
     interface have been dropped.

     Under Windows and Linux the memory for the Prolog stacks are now
     pre-allocated when initializing the SICStus run-time. This makes
     it less likely that the memory allocations of other parts of the
     application, such as Java, will conflict with the allocation needs
     of SICStus.

     This pre-allocation affects applications that use more than one
     SICStus run-time in the same process, e.g. from Java. The first
     initialized SICStus run-time will typically reserve all memory
     usable for Prolog stacks. This means that subsequent SICStus
     run-times initialized in the same process will fail. Set the
     environment variable `PROLOGMAXSIZE' to a suitable value to work
     around this problem. *Note Environment Variables:
     (sicstus)Environment Variables.

     As part of the memory manager re-design, the SICStus API functions
     `SP_malloc()', `SP_calloc()', `SP_realloc()' now take `size_t'
     size arguments instead of `unsigned int', just as their standard C
     equivalents.

   * `spld' option `--more-memory'. This option modifies the linker
     script on x86 Linux so that almost 256MB can be used by the Prolog
     stacks. It is ignored on other platform. This option should be
     considered experimental.

   * Support for AIX 5L 5.1 32-bit and 64-bit.

   * The Application Builder `spld' takes new options:

    `--resources-from-sav'
    `--no-resources-from-sav'
          Automatically extract foreign resource names from embedded
          `.sav' file. Thus you do not need to know what foreign
          resources are used by the loaded Prolog code. This is now the
          default for static executables when no other resources are
          specified apart from an embedded saved-state. To turn off
          this feature, use `--no-resources-from-sav'.

    `-E'
    `--extended-rt'
          Create an extended runtime system.  In addition to the normal
          set of built-in runtime system predicates, extended runtime
          systems include the compiler.  Extended runtime systems
          require the extended runtime library, available from SICS as
          an add-on product.
     *Note The Application Builder: (sicstus)The Application Builder.

   * A new environment variable `SP_LIBRARY_DIR' is set during SICStus
     initialization to the location of the SICStus library files. This
     is similar to `SP_APP_DIR' and `SP_RT_DIR'. *Note Environment
     Variables: (sicstus)Environment Variables.

   * In the Jasper package the interface `Term' has a new method
     `toString(Term options)'. The implementing class `SPTerm' calls
     `write_term/3'.

   * Under Windows NT/2000/XP, `library(timeout)' now measures the user
     mode time of the SICStus thread. Under Windows 95/98/ME, the time
     is still walltime.

   * Under Windows NT/2000/XP, `statistics(runtime, ...)' now measures
     the user time of the SICStus thread. This is the same as process
     user time for a single-threaded program but makes
     `statistics(runtime, ...)' meaningful also in a program with
     several threads (such as when using Java or multiple SICStus
     runtimes).

   * `library(bdb)': now requires Berkeley DB 4.1.24 instead of 4.0.14.
     The predicate `db_sync/1' is new.

   * `library(clpfd)':
        - The constraints `assignment/2' and `global_cardinality/2' take
          new options, associating with the constraint a cost, which is
          reflected into a domain variable.

        - The constraint `lex_chain/[1,2]' expresses the fact that
          several vectors of domain variables are in ascending
          lexicographic order.

        - The predicate `fd_global/3' has been extended with new
          options.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.10 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.10 New Features,  Up: 3.10 Changes

10.17.2 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Compiler bug affecting very large clauses if `profiledcode'.

   * Calling `restore/1' when `library(clpfd)' had been loaded would
     sometimes crash SICStus with a memory access error.

   * `library(comclient)' did not dispose of all references to COM
     objects. `comclient_garbage_collect/0' did not work correctly (but
     should not be needed if you use `comclient_release/1').

   * `SP_garbage_collect_external_objects()' would reclaim live
     objects. This affected `comclient_garbage_collect/0'.

   * The Java flag `-Dsicstus.path' should no longer be needed when
     using Jasper, except in exceptional circumstances. SICStus will
     use the location of the SICStus run-time library, e.g.
     `libsprt312.so' to set this up automatically.

   * `SP_initialize()' will now return an error code if memory could not
     be allocated. It used to terminate the process. Among other things
     this ensures that creating a `se.sics.jasper.SICStus' object will
     throw an exception instead of terminating Java if there is
     insufficient memory.

   * `library(timeout)' is now more precise, in particular when calls to
     `time_out/3' are nested. The resolution has not been improved, it
     is still on the order of a few tens of milliseconds.

   * `library(timeout)' under Windows could sometimes deadlock or
     otherwise behave erratically.

   * `format/[2,3]' reported errors inconsistently.

   * `undo/1': missing meta-predicate declaration.

   * `library(clpfd)': constraints without arguments handled
     incorrectly; inconsistent overflow handling; heap overflow
     detection; bugs in `element(X,L,Y)' with non-ground `L'; bugs in
     `disjoint2/2' with `margin/4' option.

   * `library(chr)': spurious error messages could occur when loading
     CHR files from all-in-one executables.

   * `library(objects)': Dangling pointer problems with instances if
     the class was asserted to after the instance had been created.

   * `library(jasper)': Memory leak when calling a Java method.
     Segmentation fault on Solaris when passing arguments declared as
     `+term'.

   * `library(gauge)': The help button did not work under Windows if
     SICStus was installed in the default location or other folder with
     a space in the path.

   * Foreign resources generated with `splfr --exclusive-access' could
     not be loaded more than once into the same process. The only
     SICStus library affected is `library(system)'.

   * Problems with loading and unloading foreign resources if the name
     was not unique or if file path facts had changed.

   * `unload_foreign_resource/1' now takes the _name_ of a foreign
     resource. For backward compatibility it still accepts a file name
     treated as for `load_foreign_resource/1'.  *Note Foreign
     Resources: (sicstus)Foreign Resources. `unload_foreign_resource/1'
     is still a meta-predicate but the module is ignored.

   * SPARC native code issues: flushing the instruction cache,
     redefining imported predicates.

   * The `spdet' and `spxref' tools now work also when installed as
     part of a pre-built binary installation.

   * The debugger command `t' (backtrace N) showed too much.

   * `SP_read_from_string()' would leak memory.

   * SICStus runtimes will work correctly for executables located at
     the root of a drive, e.g. as `D:\foo.exe'.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.10 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.10 Changes

10.17.3 Other Changes
---------------------

   * Under Windows, the name of the static SICStus run-time has changed
     from `sprt310.lib' to `sprt310_static.lib'. At the same time the
     import library for the dynamic SICStus run-time has changed to
     `sprt310.lib'. This change should only affect those that do not use
     `spld' to build executables.

   * Under Windows it is not longer possible to link with the SICStus
     run-time using MS Visual Studio 5. This has been unsupported for
     years but now it has really ceased to work.

   * Under Windows the windowed version of SICStus will put up a
     license entry dialog if the license has expired or is invalid.
     There is also a menu item for changing the license, e.g. when
     changing from a time limited license to a permanent license. This
     renders `splm' obsolete under Windows.

   * The Visual Basic interface no longer loads any supporting Prolog
     code, i.e. `vbsp.pl' and `vbsp.po' are gone. A side benefit of
     this is that you can call `restore/1' from Visual Basic, even
     though calling `load_files/2' may be better.

   * `user:file_search_path/2' and `user:library_directory/1' are
     undefined at startup, but behave as if they were dynamic, multifile
     predicates.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10.1 Changes,  Next: 3.11.0 Changes,  Prev: 3.10 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.18 Changes Introduced in Version 3.10.1
==========================================

Version 3.10.1 is mainly a bugfix release.

* Menu:

* 3.10.1 New Features::         New Features
* 3.10.1 Debugger Changes::     Debugger Changes
* 3.10.1 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed
* 3.10.1 Other Changes::        Other Changes


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10.1 New Features,  Next: 3.10.1 Debugger Changes,  Up: 3.10.1 Changes

10.18.1 New Features
--------------------

   * The Emacs interface is now easier to set up. The SICStus Emacs
     interface can now figure out the location of the SICStus
     executables etc. Simply load the new file `sicstus_emacs_init.el'
     located in the SICStus `emacs/' folder from your Emacs
     initialization file (`.emacs'). See `sicstus_emacs_init.el' for
     details.

   * `library(comclient)': It is now possible to pass objects as
     arguments to methods.

   * The new procedure `PrologDeInit' now makes it possible, and
     recommended, to deinitialize the Prolog engine from the Visual
     Basic interface. *Note Deinitializing the Prolog Engine From VB:
     (sicstus)Deinitializing the Prolog Engine From VB.

   * New one-letter top-level commands: `<' for setting the printdepth,
     and `^' for subterm navigation.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10.1 Debugger Changes,  Next: 3.10.1 Bugs Fixed,  Prev: 3.10.1 New Features,  Up: 3.10.1 Changes

10.18.2 Debugger Changes
------------------------

   * The meaning of the `goal(G)' breakpoint test has changed: it
     succeeds if the current goal is an instance of `G', instead of
     checking if the current goal unifies with `G'. Similarly for the
     `ancestor(A)' test.

   * Any variable instantiations introduced in the evaluation of the
     test part are undone before executing the action part.

   * The `parent_pred/[1,2]' tests perform module name expansion on
     their first argument.

   * The `proceed/2' and `flit/2' commands are allowed at non-call
     ports, too; their module name expansion rules have changed.

   * `current_breakpoint/4' is changed to `current_breakpoint/5'. It
     now returns the breakpoint conditions in exactly the same form as
     given to `add_breakpoint/2'.

   * The interpretation of the first argument of `execution_state/2' has
     changed; the order of list elements does not matter any more.

   * The new `get' condition allows to access action variables from
     within the action part.

   * Test `exited/1' replaces test `last_port/1'.

   * A breakpoint condition can be a variable at `add_breakpoint' time,
     as long as this variable gets instantiated by evaluation time.

   * Breakpoint macros are expanded at `add_breakpoint' time, rather
     than during evaluation.

   * It is not possible any more to redefine a built-in breakpoint
     condition using the breakpoint expansion mechanism.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10.1 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.10.1 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.10.1 Debugger Changes,  Up: 3.10.1 Changes

10.18.3 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * `format/[2,3]': bug affecting format specs `~g' and `~G'.

   * `read_line/2': was not steadfast.

   * `call_cleanup/2': the cleanup goal didn't preserve pending
     exceptions.

   * `load_files/[1,2]': could sometimes attempt to load a file of the
     wrong type.

   * Switching on the debugger in an embedded command in a file loaded
     with the `-l' option didn't work.

   * `save_program/[1,2]' would give a foreign resource existence error
     if called multiple times.

   * Problems with ISO mode and some library modules.

   * `library(comclient)': fixed several problems.

   * `system:file_property/2' now accepts terminating slash or backslash
     in directory names.

   * Fixed several problems when file-names, working directory or
     home-directory contains non-ASCII character.

   * `library(clpfd)': could fail to unblock blocked goals; indexical
     propagation bug; bugs in `disjoint1/2' and `disjoint2/2' with
     `margin/3' resp. `margin/4' option.

   * Win32 memory allocator could leak (uncommitted) memory in
     `SP_initialize()'.

   * `SP_deinitialize()' would not free all memory.

   * On AIX `spld' now builds executables with `-brtl -bnortllib'
     instead of just `-brtl'. This improves compatibility with Java. In
     particular the error `_XmGetDefaultDisplay cannot be used prior to
     VendorS.Initialize' when invoking AWT with `sicstus' as top level
     application.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.10.1 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.10.1 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.10.1 Changes

10.18.4 Other Changes
---------------------

   * Mac OS X: Support for the native Aqua version of Tcl/Tk (8.4.2).
     *Note Tcl/Tk Notes::. The interaction between SICStus Tcl/Tk and
     the Mac OS X `dock' is still rather primitive. There is, for
     instance, no way to specify an icon or to handle the dock `Quit'
     command.

   * The Visual Basic interface now passes UNICODE characters to
     `PrologOpenQuery', `PrologOpenQuery', `PrologQueryCutFail',
     `PrologGetString', `PrologGetStringQuoted', and
     `PrologGetException'. This improves the handling of international
     characters (characters outside the 7-bit ASCII range).

     This change should not affect your Visual Basic code but the
     `vbsp.bas' file has changed. This change also affects those that
     use the `vbsp.dll' from other languages than Visual Basic.

     Characters outside the 7-bit range may not work under Windows 95.

     The `library/vbsp/examples/train/' sample project now use
     characters outside the 7-bit range.

   * A better string hash function yielding faster atom lookup.

   * The `open_hook' of the default `wcx-box' no longer ignores the
     `option' argument. In particular it is now posible to read and
     write files using ISO 8859/1 (Latin 1) even if `SP_CTYPE' is
     `utf8'; see *Note WCX Hooks: (sicstus)WCX Hooks.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.0 Changes,  Next: 3.11.1 Changes,  Prev: 3.10.1 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.19 Changes Introduced in Version 3.11.0
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.11.0 New Features::         New Features
* 3.11.0 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed
* 3.11.0 Other Changes::        Other Changes


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.0 New Features,  Next: 3.11.0 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.11.0 Changes

10.19.1 New Features
--------------------

   * `library(spaceout)' limit the amount of memory used while running a
     goal; see *Note Meta-call with Limit on Memory Use:
     (sicstus)Spaceout.

   * `library(prologbeans)' is a package for issuing Prolog queries
     from a separate Java process, so as to avoid the memory conflicts
     and other undesirable interaction that can occur with Java and
     Prolog in the same process.  See *Note Access SICStus from Java:
     (sicstus)PrologBeans.  *Please note:* Feedback is solicited on
     this first release.  Future API changes are likely.

   * `library(xml)' is an unsupported package for parsing XML.  See
     *Note Parsing and Generating XML: (sicstus)XML.

   * There is now an uninstallation script for UNIX; see *Note The
     Uninstallation Script::.

   * Jasper: The method `Term.getObject()' is no longer a no-op in
     multi-threaded Jasper.

   * Jasper: In `class SPException' the method `toString' returns a
     printed representation of the underlying Prolog exception term (if
     one exists) limited by a print depth of 5. The method `getTerm'
     returns a `SPTerm' instance representing the Prolog exception term.

   * Support for HP-UX 1.6i (B.11.22) on Itanium 64-bit (IPF64).



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.0 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.11.0 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.11.0 New Features,  Up: 3.11.0 Changes

10.19.2 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * The Windows installer would not install the Emacs setup file.

   * Under Windows and x86 Linux, a number of problems related to
     floating point processing caused by non-standard C compiler
     floating point optimizations.  Symptoms include memory access
     errors and incorrect printing of some numbers, e.g. `3.1E11'.

   * Ill-formatted output in response to the debugger's `g' (print
     ancestor goals) command.

   * Memory allocation bug in the Visual Basic interface.

   * Due to a change in Linux kernels newer than 2.4.9 it was not
     possible to start more than one SICStus run-time in the same
     process.  Linux distributions affected include Red Hat 7.3 and
     later (but not Red Hat 7.2).

   * Under UNIX, a blocking `socket:socket_accept/[2,3]' is now
     interruptible with `^C' (`SIGINT').  Other signal handlers
     installed with `SP_signal()' will also run immediately if the
     signal arrives during a blocking socket accept operation.

   * Work around a problem with the system call `inet_ntoa' that
     affected several predicates in `library(sockets)'. The problem
     affected IRIX and on 64-bit AIX.

   * `format/[2,3]' could intercept resource errors and report them as
     consistency errors; the "print float" formats were poorly
     documented.

   * `save_program/[1,2]' had a memory leak, which could cause crashes.

   * `library(clpfd)':
        - Arithmetic constraints could cause infinite loops.

        - `in/2' and `in_set/2' could silently fail or succeed when they
          should raise a type or representation error.

        - `fdbg_start_labeling/1' was missing.

        - Bad Prolog term could arise from very large domains.

   * `library(chr)':
        - Attempted removal of attribute or constraint that is already
          gone would cause failure.

   * Jasper: The implementation of `newObjectTerm(Object obj)' in
     multi-threaded Jasper caused a _NullPointerException: Creating or
     accessing SPTerm in wrong thread. (IllegalCallerException in
     disguise.)_

   * Jasper: Exceptions are now propagated properly from Prolog to Java.
     This has never worked as intended before.

   * The Gauge profiling tool was broken.

   * `library(fastrw)': `fast_read/2' after `peek_byte/2' and friends
     on the same stream did not work.

   * Mac OS X `load_foreign_resource/1' would report run-time linker
     errors incorrectly.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.0 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.11.0 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.11.0 Changes

10.19.3 Other Changes
---------------------

   * The most general case of `retractall/1' runs in time proportional
     to the number of clauses.

   * When the reader sees a bad token, it reads up to the end of the
     token and terminates the sentence being read.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.1 Changes,  Next: 3.11.2 Changes,  Prev: 3.11.0 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.20 Changes Introduced in Version 3.11.1
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.11.1 New Features::         New Features
* 3.11.1 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed
* 3.11.1 Other Changes::        Other Changes


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.1 New Features,  Next: 3.11.1 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.11.1 Changes

10.20.1 New Features
--------------------

   * New `format/[2,3]' format sequences:

    `~Nh'
    `~NH'
          (Print float precisely.)  The argument is a float, which will
          be printed in `f' or `e' (or `E' if `H' is used) notation
          with D significant digits, where D is the smallest number of
          digits that will yield the same float when read in.  `E'
          notation is used if N<0 or if the exponent is less than -N-1
          or greater than or equal to N+D, otherwise `f' notation.  N
          defaults to 3.

   * New `write_term/[2,3]' options:

    `character_escapes(+BOOLEAN)'
          If selected, quoted atoms containing special characters will
          be printed using escape sequences.  The default value depends
          on the `character_escapes' Prolog flag.

    `float_format(+SPEC)'
          How to print floats.  SPEC should be an atom of the form
          `~NC', like one of the format sequences for printing floats.
          The default is `~H'.

    `priority(+PRIO)'
          The term is printed as if in the context of an associative
          operator of precedence PRIO, where PRIO is an integer.  The
          default is 1200.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.1 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.11.1 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.11.1 New Features,  Up: 3.11.1 Changes

10.20.2 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Timestamp overflows in updating dynamic code were not handled
     gracefully.

   * `restore/1' and `load_files/[1,2]': preserving block properties,
     interaction with atom garbage collection.

   * Atom garbage collection bugs: address space dependency, statistics,
     error handling, interaction with `restore/1' and
     `load_files/[1,2]'.

   * The UNIX installer did not install `library(spaceout)'.

   * The Windows installer did not install `library(debugger_examples)'.

   * Visual Basic interface: `PrologGetException' and `PrologGetString'
     did not work.

   * `library(spaceout)': if space-out was interrupted, e.g. with `^C',
     then the space-out limit was not reset.

   * `library(fdbg)': `fdbg_on/[0,1]' was broken.

   * `library(objects)': Operations not permitted on instances now raise
     permission errors.

   * `library(gauge)': The meaning of ascending and descending `Sort'
     order was switched.

   * `library(clpfd)':
        - Exceptions raised by the output actions of global constraints
          were not honored, affecting in particular runs in the scope
          of a timeout.

        - Signals raising asynchronous exceptions could cause memory
          leaks, dangling pointers, and crashes.

        - The `among/3' option to `lex_chain/2' could misbehave.

        - The `precedences/1' option to `serialized/3' and
          `cumulative/5' could misbehave.

        - Integer division and modulus operations check types more
          eagerly.

   * Reporting system errors could crash on non-english Windows systems.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.1 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.11.1 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.11.1 Changes

10.20.3 Other Changes
---------------------

   * Jasper: `-Djava.library.path=[...]' is no longer necessary when
     Java is the parent application under Unix.

   * `library(gauge)': The default has been changed to show non-zero
     counts only.

   * `library(gauge)': New _Specification_:  _Calls+Backtracking_. This
     is especially meaningful when _Resolution_ is _Clause_.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.2 Changes,  Next: 3.12.0 Changes,  Prev: 3.11.1 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.21 Changes Introduced in Version 3.11.2
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.11.2 New Features::
* 3.11.2 Bugs Fixed::
* 3.11.2 Other Changes::


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.2 New Features,  Next: 3.11.2 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.11.2 Changes

10.21.1 New Features
--------------------

   * The CLPFD expressions `X / Y' and `X mod Y' no longer block until
     Y is ground.

   * The CLPFD predicate `fd_flag/3' is new.  Its main use if to
     determine the behavior on integer overflow conditions.
     Furthermore, representation errors raised by such conditions now
     mention the culprit constraint.

   * A new option to `spld', `--embed-sav-file' is now the default when
     using `--static'. Together with other default options this means
     that an all-in-one executable `main.exe' can be built from a saved
     state `main.sav' with the command line
          % spld --output=main.exe --static main.sav
     *Note All-in-one Executables: (sicstus)All-in-one Executables.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.2 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.11.2 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.11.2 New Features,  Up: 3.11.2 Changes

10.21.2 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Stream positions for `write' mode incompatible with those for
     `read' mode.

   * The format specs `~Nd', `~ND', `~Nr', and `~NR' don't work if the
     argument is a large integer.

   * `profile_data/4' could fail unexpectedly on large clauses.

   * Backtracking into interpreted code could cause crash later.

   * CLPFD: `cumulatives/3' could crash, `all_distinct/[1,2]' could
     misbehave, `serialized/[2,3]' and `cumulative/[4,5]' were treated
     incorrectly by the FDBG debugger.

   * Tcl/Tk: `library(tcltk)' now calls `Tcl_Finalize' explicitly when
     the tcltk foreign resource is unloaded. This prevents a hang on
     Windows when SICStus exits.

   * The "find this" (`.') debugger command now correctly displays the
     defining file also for imported predicates.

   * `source_file/2' now finds the defining file also for imported
     predicates.

   * Loading malformed clauses could cause crash.

   * `halt/0' could loop infinitely.

   * Inconsistent state upon memory resource error could cause crash.

   * Error reporting may crash with a memory access error on
     non-English Windows systems. One way this can happen is when
     trying to connect to a non-listening socket.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.11.2 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.11.2 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.11.2 Changes

10.21.3 Other Changes
---------------------

   * The "find this" (`.') debugger command now shows the home module
     for imported predicates.

   * On Linux, `spld' now defaults to using the `--more-memory' flag.
     This can be disabled with the new `--no-more-memory' flag.

   * Tcl/Tk: `library(tcltk)' is now compiled against Tcl/Tk 8.4 on all
     platforms, including Windows.

   * The last element of the `statistics/2' option `atoms' now says how
     many more atoms can be allocated.  *Note Information about the
     State of the Program: (sicstus)State Info.

   * `statistics/0' now reports atom statistics.

   * The `print_message/2' message for `statistics/0' has changed into
     a more extensible format.

   * Changes in supported platforms: Pocket PC 2003 is available.
     SICStus Prolog 3.11.2 is not available for Tru64, AIX prior to
     5.1, and Mac OS X prior to 10.3. SICStus Prolog 3.11.2 is the last
     release to support Windows 95/98/ME/NT4. *Note Platforms::.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.0 Changes,  Next: 3.12.1 Changes,  Prev: 3.11.2 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.22 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.0
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.0 New Features::
* 3.12.0 Bugs Fixed::
* 3.12.0 Other Changes::


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.0 New Features,  Next: 3.12.0 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.0 Changes

10.22.1 New Features
--------------------

   * CLPFD:
        - A new option to `labeling/2': `time_out(TIME,FLAG)', which
          imposes a time limit on the search.  Useful to combine with
          the `minimize(V)' or `maximize(V)' option.

   * The PrologBeans package now supports Microsoft .NET. See *Note
     Access SICStus from Java and .NET: (sicstus)PrologBeans.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.0 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.12.0 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.12.0 New Features,  Up: 3.12.0 Changes

10.22.2 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * `format/[2,3]' left choicepoints behind.

   * The functions `min/2' and `max/2' could fail on NaN.

   * The attributed variable unification handler could incorrectly
     remove attributes.

   * Under Windows, `spwin.exe' could not update the license
     information.

   * Under 64-bit AIX, executables built with `spld' (including the
     `sicstus' executable) could not allocate more than 256MB of memory.

   * `spxref' was unaware of some meta-predicates.

   * CLPFD:
        - The value returned by `fd_set/2' was not protected from
          destructive updates by the solver.

        - `global_cardinality/[2,3]' was vulnerable to garbage
          collections.

        - Propositional constraints could be expanded incorrectly.

        - Integer overflows in arithmetic could go undetected.

        - Overhead of posting `relation/3' sharply reduced.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.0 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.12.0 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.0 Changes

10.22.3 Other Changes
---------------------

   * SICStus Prolog can only be installed on Windows 2000 or later.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.1 Changes,  Next: 3.12.2 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.0 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.23 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.1
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.1 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.1 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.1 Changes

10.23.1 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * `library(objects)': Compound attribute values incorrectly handled
     by save/restore.

   * `SP_deinitialize' followed by `SP_initialize' would leave SICStus
     in an inconsistent state.  One symptom was crashes in the Visual
     Basic interface after a sequence of `PrologInit', `PrologDeInit',
     `PrologInit'.

   * Heap overflow check instruction bug.

   * `library(clpfd)':
        - Interaction with `call_residue/2'.

        - Wrong answer in e.g. `?- 1 in_set [] #<=> B.'

        - Wrong answer: `?- fdset_disjoint([[1|1]], []).'

        - Wrong answer: `?- fdset_intersect([[1|1]], []).'

        - Error handling in e.g. `?- X in 1..10000000000000000000.'

        - Memory management bug in `lex_chain/2'.

        - Propagation bug after variable-variable unification.

   * PrologBeans: Non-ASCII characters not handled correctly.

   * Some Emacs commands had inverted meaning, e.g.  `prolog-trace-on'
     turned _off_ trace.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.2 Changes,  Next: 3.12.3 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.1 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.24 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.2
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.2 New Features::         New Features
* 3.12.2 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed
* 3.12.2 Other Changes::        Other Changes


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.2 New Features,  Next: 3.12.2 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.2 Changes

10.24.1 New Features
--------------------

   * The new Prolog flag `informational' enables or disables the
     printing of informational messages.  Possible values are `on' and
     `off'.  Initially `on' (printing enabled) in development systems
     (but see below), `off' (printing disabled) in runtime systems.

   * The new command line option `--noinfo' sets the initial value of
     the `informational' Prolog flag to `off'.

   * The new command line option `--nologo' suppresses the printing of
     the initial version banner.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.2 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.12.2 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.12.2 New Features,  Up: 3.12.2 Changes

10.24.2 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Prevent `load_foreign_resource/1' from redefining built-ins.

   * A problem with `undo/1' could cause crashes.

   * `library(clpfd)':
        - Memory reclamation after `SP_close_query()'.

        - Over-estimated memory requirement in `domain/3'.

   * PrologBeans: Numeric lists were converted incorrectly.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.2 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.12.2 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.2 Changes

10.24.3 Other Changes
---------------------

   * The tools `spld' and `splfr' are now more silent by default.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.3 Changes,  Next: 3.12.4 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.2 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.25 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.3
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.3 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.3 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.3 Changes

10.25.1 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * If the goal specified to `save_program/2' calls `halt/0' and the
     sav-file is restored by an spld-generated executable then the
     executable now exits successfully. Such sav-files used to cause the
     executable to exit with a failure code and write an error message
     indicating that the sav-file could not be restored.

   * `initialization' directives did not work from included files.

   * Possible debugger crashes were incorrectly fixed in 3.12.2.  Now
     robustly fixed.

   * Memory management bug in very large processes.

   * `library(clpfd)':
        - Propagation bug due to multiple interacting solvers fixed.

        - Don't over-estimate memory need for domain variables.

   * PrologBeans: UTF8 encoding/decoding was not handled correctly.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.4 Changes,  Next: 3.12.5 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.3 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.26 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.4
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.4 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.4 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.4 Changes

10.26.1 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * `format/[2,3]': problem with `~N'.

   * `library(spaceout)' did not work if `iso' language mode was in
     effect.

   * `library(clpfd)': heap overflow hazard.

   * `spld' `splfr' did not delete all object files for compiled C/C++
     files.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.5 Changes,  Next: 3.12.6 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.4 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.27 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.5
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.5 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.5 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.5 Changes

10.27.1 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Potential memory leak when loading `.po' files.

   * Potential crash in source info management.

   * `spld' used a fixed name for the Linux linker script. This
     prevented the use of parallel make.

   * Prologbeans.NET (MS Windows): The communications protocol between
     C# and SICStus could be disrupted by culture dependent settings
     (aka "locale").


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.6 Changes,  Next: 3.12.7 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.5 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.28 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.6
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.6 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed
* 3.12.6 Known Issues::           Known Issues


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.6 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.12.6 Known Issues,  Up: 3.12.6 Changes

10.28.1 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Issue with `~@' in `format/[2,3]'.

   * Memory management issues: if memory in use is very large, reading
     `.ql' files.

   * Handle circular import dependencies.

   * `spld' generated some files that were incompatible with C++.

   * Embedded data resources would not be found if their name contained
     underscores. This affected all-in-one executables for filenames
     such as `my_code.sav'.

   * `library(objects)': bug in `object::retractall/1'.

   * `library(clpfd)': possible crash; noisy error handling; integer
     overflows, coreferences.

   * `seek/4' misbehaved after lookahead, e.g. after `peek_byte/2'.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.6 Known Issues,  Prev: 3.12.6 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.6 Changes

10.28.2 Known Issues
--------------------

The following are known issues with this release of SICStus. Unless
otherwise noted they will probably not be fixed in SICStus 3. This is
not a complete list, many more issues have been fixed in SICStus 4.

   * On Windows, `system:environ/2' will silently fail if it encounters
     an environment variable with a name or value that contains
     non-ASCII characters. Fixed in SICStus 4.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.7 Changes,  Next: 3.12.8 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.6 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.29 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.7
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.7 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed
* 3.12.7 Known Issues::           Known Issues


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.7 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.12.7 Known Issues,  Up: 3.12.7 Changes

10.29.1 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Bug handling `\'LAYOUT-CHAR in `sicstus' execution mode.

   * Bug in timestamp handling of dynamic clauses.

   * `library(system)': bug in `environ/2' on Mac OS X.

   * `library(fdbg)': labeling start notifications appeared twice every
     time.

   * `library('linda/server')': potential memory leak


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.7 Known Issues,  Prev: 3.12.7 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.7 Changes

10.29.2 Known Issues
--------------------

The following are known issues with this release of SICStus. Unless
otherwise noted they will probably not be fixed in SICStus 3. This is
not a complete list, many more issues have been fixed in SICStus 4.

   * On Windows, `system:environ/2' will silently fail if it encounters
     an environment variable with a name or value that contains
     non-ASCII characters. Fixed in SICStus 4.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.8 Changes,  Next: 3.12.9 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.7 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.30 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.8
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.8 New Features::         New Features
* 3.12.8 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed
* 3.12.8 Other Changes::        Other Changes


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.8 New Features,  Next: 3.12.8 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.8 Changes

10.30.1 New Features
--------------------

   * `SP_put_list_n_bytes()' and `SP_get_list_n_bytes()' are new API
     functions.  See *Note Creating Prolog Terms: (sicstus)Creating
     Prolog Terms.  and *Note Accessing Prolog Terms:
     (sicstus)Accessing Prolog Terms.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.8 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.12.8 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.12.8 New Features,  Up: 3.12.8 Changes

10.30.2 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Incorrect handling of stack overflow in `SP_close_query()'.

   * On Windows `system:exec/3' would leak memory (handles).

   * `library(objects)': handling of `'$fix_param'/2' methods

   * CLPFD: interaction of daemons and waking blocked goals;
     coreferences.

   * Very long strings caused stack overflow exception in Prologbeans.

   * Prologbeans and Prologbeans.NET: Executing a query with an empty
     Bindings caused en exception.

   * Source info of interpreted clauses.

   * Memory management issue with garbage collection + pending
     unblocked goals

   * The `spdet' utility did not automatically add `.pl' extensions to
     file name arguments.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.8 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.12.8 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.8 Changes

10.30.3 Other Changes
---------------------

   * `SP_put_list_n_chars()' and `SP_get_list_n_chars()' now use
     `size_t' instead of `long' (as do the new functions
     `SP_put_list_n_bytes()' and `SP_get_list_n_bytes()').

   * Environment variables with a name or a value that is not proper
     UTF-8 are silently ignored by `system:environ/2' etc.

   * On Mac OS X the environment variable `SP_APP_DIR' had the wrong
     value.



File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.9 Changes,  Next: 3.12.10 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.8 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.31 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.9
==========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.9 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.9 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.9 Changes

10.31.1 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Quoting of atoms when switching between `iso' and `sicstus' mode.

   * The `spld' option `-LD' did not work correctly.

   * `library(clpfd)' bugs: unbreakable infinite loop, `fd_set/2',
     `lex_chain/[1,2]', `#\=', waking suspended goal at a safe time.

   * `Prologbeans' did not fast_write variables correctly.

   * Relocation problem while reading `.po/.sav' files.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.10 Changes,  Next: 3.12.11 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.9 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.32 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.10
===========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.10 New Features::         New Features
* 3.12.10 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.10 New Features,  Next: 3.12.10 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.10 Changes

10.32.1 New Features
--------------------

   * The Emacs command `run-prolog' now prompts for a (Lisp) list of
     extra command line arguments, when invoked with a prefix argument,
     i.e. as `C-U M-x run-prolog'.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.10 Bugs Fixed,  Prev: 3.12.10 New Features,  Up: 3.12.10 Changes

10.32.2 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * Recovery problem upon memory resource error.

   * Relocation problem when loading large `.po/.sav' files.

   * Floating-point parse precision error on some architectures.

   * `library(clpfd)':
        - Handling domain variables with other attributes and/or
          suspended goals.

        - `count/4' could crash.

        - Incorrect reification in arithmetic relations involving
          division or modulo.

        - Output of `fd_copy_term/2' was sometimes incomplete or not
          correct.

        - Some data was not protected from garbage collection.

   * SPRM 11567 The Emacs mode did not work in recent Emacsen.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.11 Changes,  Prev: 3.12.10 Changes,  Up: Revision history

10.33 Changes Introduced in Version 3.12.11
===========================================

* Menu:

* 3.12.11 Bugs Fixed::           Bugs Fixed
* 3.12.11 Other Changes::        Other Changes


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.11 Bugs Fixed,  Next: 3.12.11 Other Changes,  Up: 3.12.11 Changes

10.33.1 Bugs Fixed
------------------

   * `write_term(X,[max_depth(D)])' did not always respect the depth
     limit.

   * Source_info bug for huge interpreted clauses.

   * Incorrect increment in some global stack expansions.

   * `restore/1' behavior while loading files fixed.

   * Foreign code that use the type `string(N)' could read from
     unallocated memory.

   * Character codes > 255 are now always classified as lower case, by
     default.  On Unix, the process locale could affect whether
     character codes > 255 were classified as lowercase or not. One
     symptom was that loading the Tcl/Tk library, which may change the
     process locale, changed the Prolog syntax.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: 3.12.11 Other Changes,  Prev: 3.12.11 Bugs Fixed,  Up: 3.12.11 Changes

10.33.2 Other Changes
---------------------

   * Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 is supported when building runtime
     systems and foreign resources with `spld' and `splfr'. There are
     different distributions for SICStus Prolog depending on whether
     Visual C++ 2010 SP1 or the legacy Visual C++ 6 should be
     supported. Both versions of SICStus Prolog can be installed on the
     same machine.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Generic Limitations,  Next: Contact Information,  Prev: Revision history,  Up: Top

11 Generic Limitations
**********************

On 32-bit architectures, the total size of the Prolog stacks cannot
exceed 256 MB.  Under Linux, the default placement of the `TEXT'
segment constrains the Prolog stack address range, so in practice the
limit there is 128 MB unless the `spld' option `--more-memory' (which
is the default) is used.

   The number of arguments of a compound term may not exceed 255.

   The number of atoms created may not exceed 262143 (33554431) on
32-bit (64-bit) architectures.

   The number of characters of an atom may not exceed 65535.

   NUL is not a legal character in atoms.

   There are 256 "temporary" and 256 "permanent" variables available
for compiled clauses.

   Saved-states are not portable between 32-bit and 64-bit
architectures, or from a system built with native code support to a
system without native code support for the same architecture.

   Indexing on large integers or floats is coarse.


File: relnotes.info,  Node: Contact Information,  Prev: Generic Limitations,  Up: Top

12 Contact Information
**********************

Current support status for the various platforms as well as a web
interface for reporting bugs can be found at the SICStus Prolog
homepage:

     `http://www.sics.se/sicstus/'

   Information about and fixes for bugs that have shown up since the
latest release can be found there as well.

   The mailing list <sicstus-users@sics.se> is a mailing list for
communication among users and implementors.  To subscribe, write a
message to <sympa@sics.se> with the following line in the message body:

     subscribe sicstus-users



Tag Table:
Node: Top256
Node: Overview1978
Node: Platforms2342
Node: Release Notes and Installation Guide for UNIX2619
Node: UNIX installation3343
Node: UNIX Installation Prerequisites4301
Node: C Compiler and Linker4543
Node: The Installation Script5540
Node: The Uninstallation Script6862
Node: Platform specific UNIX notes7181
Node: Release Notes and Installation Guide for Windows11134
Node: Windows Requirements12647
Node: Windows Installation14070
Node: Windows Notes15969
Node: Command Line Editing17371
Node: The Console Window18754
Node: Console Preferences19758
Node: Windows limitations20747
Node: Tcl/Tk Notes24463
Node: The Tcl/Tk Terminal26132
Node: Jasper Notes26778
Node: Supported Java Versions27347
Node: Getting Started28650
Node: Windows29200
Node: UNIX30022
Node: Running Java from SICStus31547
Node: Running SICStus from Java32407
Node: Jasper Package Options36412
Node: Multi Threading39014
Node: Known Bugs and Limitations39460
Node: Java Examples Directory40947
Node: Visual Basic Notes41231
Node: Berkeley DB Notes42947
Node: The Emacs Interface44162
Node: Emacs Installation44812
Node: Installing On-Line Documentation45806
Node: Revision history46423
Node: Changes in release 349117
Node: Changes introduced in 3#453857
Node: Changes introduced in 3#555117
Node: Changes introduced in 3#655948
Node: Changes introduced in version 3.757304
Node: Changes introduced in version 3.7.162776
Node: 3.8 Changes63775
Node: 3.8 WCX64391
Node: 3.8 Debugger66042
Node: 3.8 ISO67392
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Node: 3.9 PiLLoW Web Programming Library110491
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Node: 3.11.0 Other Changes153761
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End Tag Table