Version 3.13 of Lout now available

[Jeff Kingston]

Version 3.13 of Lout is now available from the usual place:

    ftp://ftp.cs.usyd.edu.au/jeff/lout/lout-3.13.tar.gz

There is a copy of the User's Guide put up separately:

    ftp://ftp.cs.usyd.edu.au/jeff/lout/lout-3.13.user.ps.gz

And there is a diff file from Version 3.12 to 3.13:

    ftp://ftp.cs.usyd.edu.au/jeff/lout/lout-3.12-to-3.13.gz

Please let me know of any problems with it.  I'm determined that this
version will soon replace 3.08 as the "current stable version", but
for that to happen I need some assurance that it is installing and
running smoothly.  And please keep your comments and suggestions
about Lout rolling in.

Jeff Kingston
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Changes and new features introduced in Version 3.13 [released February 1999]

    Bug fixes
    Gaps between galley components may have "u" (unbreakable) suffix, meaning
      that the galley may not be broken at this gap (for expert users)
    @StartHSpan, @StartVSpan, @StartHVSpan, @HSpan, @VSpan (spanning cols, rows)
    unbreakablefirst @Break and unbreakablelast @Break (stops widows, orphans)
    named parameters may import their parent, like body parameters (expert)
    definitions and named parameters may have multiple names (expert)
    @OneOf symbol chooses result that contains desired galley target (expert)
    @HLimited, @VLimited symbols for further control over use of space (expert)
    @ListInterruptItem and @ListNewPage: interrupts, page breaks between items
    @Verbatim symbol now built-in, so no longer limited to Unix
    @RawVerbatim like @Verbatim but preserves initial spaces on first line
    0rt gap for left justification of the preceding object (expert)
    @Background symbol for printing one object in the background of another
    Maximum depth of @Includes increased from 7 to 10
    New table formatting package, see User's Guide (old one is still there)
    New @Meld symbol for better melding of index entries (expert)
    Option to @FootNote for choosing your own footnote label
    Optional full-width abstracts in technical reports
    Hungarian language including Hungarian-specific heading formats

    *** IMPORTANT: TWO CHANGES THAT ARE NOT UPWARDLY COMPATIBLE ***

    (1)  The @Abstract symbol in technical reports now comes before the
         // symbol, not after it.  See User's Guide for details.

    (2)  Setup file arrangements have changed.  You now need to have one
         @SysInclude line for each package you use.  For example,

            Previous versions           Version 3.13
            ---------------------------------------------

            @SysInclude { eq }          @SysInclude { eq }
            @SysInclude { ddoc }        @SysInclude { diag }
                                        @SysInclude { doc }

         Import clauses in mydefs files also have to change:

            Previous versions           Version 3.13
            ---------------------------------------------

            import @DocumentLayout      import @BasicSetup
            import @CPrint              import @CPSetup
            import @DiagramPrint        import @DiagSetup

         Sorry for the inconvenience, but the old system was inconsistent
         and was tending towards an unsustainable combinatorial explosion
         of setup files.  No changes *within* documents are needed, and
         these new arrangements do not affect the content of the packages.
         The user's guide documents it all.

Things that ought to be done but haven't been done yet

    Review and possible inclusion of new @Eq symbol by Mark Shields
    pdfmark in PostScript output
    Review Uwe's proposal for moving word row marks to the baseline
    Implement Mark Burton's suggestion for "freshpage" as well as "newpage"
    Several suggestions for enhancing the overhead transparencies package