Release Notes

Version 5.2 (June 14 2001)

Libraries

New Library: Interval Constraints (ic)

The new library ic implements arithmetic constraints over the domain of real and integers. It combines (and is intended to eventually replace) the functionality of the fd and ria libraries.

New Library: Probing for scheduling (probing_for_scheduling)

This is a complete search method for resource-constrained scheduling problems. The user interface is similar to the cumulative constraint, but includes a cost function to be minimised.

New Library: Generic source processor (source_processor)

A support library to facilitate the processing of ECLiPSe source code.

New Library: Pretty Printer (pretty_printer)

Converts ECLiPSe source files to coloured and hyperlinked html files.

New Library: Stable variable names (var_name)

User defined names for variables.

lib(eplex) enhancements

• Support for multiple linear solvers through multiple handles.
• Optional pruning of bounds based on the reduced costs: reduced_cost_pruning/2.
• Simplified handling of exceptional solver results by raising one of the events eplex_suboptimal, eplex_unbounded, eplex_unknown, eplex_abort instead of the old 'CPLEX_ABORT' event.
• Added lp_release_licence/0

lib(document) enhancements

Can be used more easily for standalone projects.

Enbedding and Interfaces

Remote Tcl Interface

Tcl/Tk interface using separate Tcl and ECLiPSe processes. See the new chapter in the Embedding and Interfacing Manual.

New Library: Remote tools attachment

Allows the Tk development tool set to be used with any ECLiPSe session.

Java/ECLiPSe Embedding Interface

Embed your ECLiPSe application into a Java host environment. See the new chapter in the Embedding and Interfacing Manual.

Development Environment

GUI enhancements (TkEclipse)

• New term observation facility - keep track of data modification
• Enhanced term inspection - better display of lists
• Conditional spy points - match goal templates and general conditions
• Failure analysis - quickly find the reason for a failure or abort
• Consistent use of buttons: double left-click now fires inspector, right click for popup menu
• Query matching on top-level windows moved to right mouse button; standard buttons/control-key sequences now supported for selection/movement.

Command Line Toplevel

• Toplevel now consistently displays the More-prompt when the query has left a choice point (this used to be suppressed when the query had no variables).
• Failure analysis - use the new debugger command 'q'

Kernel features

• Bounded real numbers - real numbers bounded by two floats are now a fully integrated numeric type
• Shelves - storing information across failure in a safe way
• update_struct/4 - copy and modify structures without knowing all the fields
• Spy - the spy/2 command is less fuzzy about predicate visibility
• get_event_handler/3 added
• Implemented syntax options for ISO-compatible escape sequences and base number notation. See User Manual, Appendix Syntax.
• The priority of delayed goals created via delay-clauses now corresponds to the priority setting of the goal predicate (see set_flag/3).
• On Windows, getenv/2 can now look up certain registry entries.
• Updated to version 3.1.1 of the GNU Multi Precision Arithmetic Library.

Incompatibilities

• The type name 'real' has been consistently renamed to 'float'. This affects:
• type_of/2 now returns 'float' rather than 'real' for floating point numbers
• type macro, portray and nonlogical array declarations: type(real) needs to be renamed to type(float)
• float/1 replaces real/1
• real/1 still exists and now succeeds for both floating point numbers and for bounded real numbers, i.e. real(X) :- float(X);breal(X).
• read_token/2,3 return 'float' rather than 'real' as the token class for floating point numbers.
• The toplevel interpreter has been moved from the kernel to lib(toplevel). This implies:
• The predicate break/0 is no longer a built-in and must be imported from lib(toplevel) if needed
• When running eclipse with the -e command line option, no toplevel interpreter is available by default.
• Programs using lib(eplex) which used to define a handler for the 'CPLEX_ABORT' event need to be changed to instead handle the more precise events eplex_suboptimal, eplex_unbounded, eplex_unknown, eplex_abort. However, the default behaviour may now be appropriate, e.g. the default for the eplex_unknown case (unbounded or infeasible) is now to fail. See lp_solve/2 for details.
• Syntax: inside single or double quoted items an escape character (backslash) followed by an invalid escape sequence is now a syntax error. Previously, the escape character was simply ignored. The number of recognised escape sequences has been increased to enhance compatibility.

Previous release notes

• 5.1
• 5.0
• 4.2
• 4.1
• 4.0
• 3.6 and 3.7
• 3.5.2

Interface to LP/MIP solvers

• Version overview