mirror of https://github.com/python/cpython
Reordered and slightly edited the highlights of changes.
This commit is contained in:
Guido van Rossum
parent
647738002c
commit
66d010ab3c
140
README
140
README
|
|
@ -4,16 +4,81 @@ This is Python release 1.5 beta 1
|
|||
What's new in this release?
|
||||
---------------------------
|
||||
|
||||
Too much has changed to list it all here. There's a loooong list of
|
||||
changes since release 1.4 in the file Misc/NEWS. If you were an alpha
|
||||
tester, the list of changes since 1.5a4 is presented at the end of
|
||||
that file.
|
||||
There's a loooong list of changes since release 1.4 in the file
|
||||
Misc/NEWS. Some highlights:
|
||||
|
||||
Most relevant changes since 1.5a4 (of course all known bugs have been
|
||||
fixed, leaks plugged, and documentation has been added):
|
||||
- It's much faster (almost twice for the Lib/test/pystone.py
|
||||
benchmark.)
|
||||
|
||||
- Package directories now *require* the presence of __init__.py.
|
||||
Packages can now contain shared libraries.
|
||||
- There is now an assert statement: ``assert <condition>'' or
|
||||
``assert <condition>, <errormessage>''. It raises AssertionError if
|
||||
the condition evaluates to false. The default error message is
|
||||
empty; the source text of the assertion statement is printed as part
|
||||
of the traceback.
|
||||
|
||||
- There is now built-in support for importing hierarchical module
|
||||
names (e.g. "import spam.ham.eggs"); ni is declared obsolete. Note
|
||||
that the built-in package support is somewhat simpler (no __ and
|
||||
__domain__) and differs in one crucial aspect: __init__.py is
|
||||
required, and loaded in the package's namespace instead of as a
|
||||
submodule. For more information, see
|
||||
http://grail.cnri.reston.va.us/python/essays/packages.html.
|
||||
|
||||
- The new "re" module (Perl style regular expressions) is here. It
|
||||
is based on Philip Hazel's pcre code; the Python interfaces were put
|
||||
together by Andrew Kuchling. The regex module is declared obsolete.
|
||||
|
||||
- In support of the re module, a new form of string literals is
|
||||
introduced, "raw strings": e.g. r"\n" is equal to "\\n".
|
||||
|
||||
- All standard exceptions and most exceptions defined in standard
|
||||
extension modules are now classes. Use python -X to revert back to
|
||||
string exceptions. See
|
||||
http://grail.cnri.reston.va.us/python/essays/stdexceptions.html
|
||||
for more info.
|
||||
|
||||
- Comparisons can now raise exceptions (previously, exceptions
|
||||
occuring during comparisons were swept under the rug).
|
||||
|
||||
- New dictionary methods: .clear(), .copy(), .update(), .get(). The
|
||||
first two are obvious; d1.update(d2) is equivalent to the for loop
|
||||
``for k in d2.keys(): d1[k] = d2[k]''; and d.get(k) returns d[k] if
|
||||
it exists and None (or the optional second argument) if not.
|
||||
|
||||
- There is a new regression test harness, which tests many more
|
||||
modules. (To run the tests, do "import tes.autotest".)
|
||||
|
||||
- The interpreter is much smarter about the initial value for
|
||||
sys.path; you can control it easier using $PYTHONHOME (see the usage
|
||||
message, e.g. try ``python -h''). In most situations, the
|
||||
interpreter can be installed at an arbitrary location without having
|
||||
to recompile.
|
||||
|
||||
- The build process now builds a single library (libpython1.5.a)
|
||||
which contains everything except for the main() entry point. This
|
||||
makes life much easier for applications that embed Python.
|
||||
|
||||
- There is much better support for embedding, including threads,
|
||||
multiple interpreters(!), uninitialization, and access to the global
|
||||
interpreter lock.
|
||||
|
||||
- There is a -O option that removes SET_LINENO instructions, assert
|
||||
statements and code prefixed with ``if __debug__: ...''. (It still
|
||||
only makes a few percent difference, so don't get all worked up
|
||||
about this.)
|
||||
|
||||
- The Grand Renaming is completed: all linker-visible symbols
|
||||
defined by Python now have a "Py" or "_Py" prefix, and the same is
|
||||
true for most macros and typedefs.
|
||||
|
||||
If you were an alpha tester, here are the most relevant changes since
|
||||
1.5a4 (of course all known bugs have been fixed, leaks plugged, and
|
||||
some documentation has been added). The full list of changes since
|
||||
1.5a4 is presented at the end of the Misc/NEWS file.
|
||||
|
||||
- Package directories now *require* the presence of __init__.py (or
|
||||
.pyc/.pyo as applicable). Packages can now contain shared
|
||||
library modules.
|
||||
|
||||
- New module 'fileinput' to iterate over the lines of a list of files.
|
||||
|
||||
|
|
@ -32,65 +97,6 @@ fixed, leaks plugged, and documentation has been added):
|
|||
|
||||
- OS/2 support.
|
||||
|
||||
Other important changes, if this is the first release you see since
|
||||
1.4:
|
||||
|
||||
- It's much faster (almost twice for the Lib/test/pystone.py
|
||||
benchmark.)
|
||||
|
||||
- There's an assert statement: assert <condition> or
|
||||
assert <condition>, <errormessage>. It raises AssertionError if the
|
||||
condition evaluates to false.
|
||||
|
||||
- There is now built-in support for importing hierarchical module
|
||||
names (e.g. "import spam.ham.eggs"); ni is declared obsolete. Note
|
||||
that the built-in package support is somewhat simpler (no __ and
|
||||
__domain__) and differs in one crucial aspect: __init__.py is loaded
|
||||
in the package's namespace instead of as a submodule. See
|
||||
http://grail.cnri.reston.va.us/python/essays/packages.html
|
||||
for more info.
|
||||
|
||||
- The new "re" module (Perl style regular expressions) is here. It
|
||||
is based on Philip Hazel's pcre code; the Python interfaces were put
|
||||
together by Andrew Kuchling. The regex module is declared obsolete.
|
||||
|
||||
- In support of the re module, a new form of string literals is
|
||||
introduced, "raw strings": e.g. r"\n" is equal to "\\n".
|
||||
|
||||
- All standard exceptions and most exceptions defined in standard
|
||||
extension modules are now classes. Use python -X to revert back to
|
||||
string exceptions. See
|
||||
http://grail.cnri.reston.va.us/python/essays/stdexceptions.html
|
||||
for more info.
|
||||
|
||||
- Comparisons can now raise exceptions.
|
||||
|
||||
- New dictionary methods: .clear(), .update(), .copy(), .get().
|
||||
|
||||
- New regression test harness tests more.
|
||||
|
||||
- It's much smarter about the initial value for sys.path; you can
|
||||
control it easier using $PYTHONHOME (see the usage message, e.g. try
|
||||
``python -h''). In most situations, the interpreter can be
|
||||
installed at an arbitrary location without having to recompile.
|
||||
|
||||
- The build process now builds a single library (libpython1.5.a)
|
||||
which contains everything except for the main() entry point. This
|
||||
makes life much easier for applications that embed Python.
|
||||
|
||||
- Much better support for embedding, including threads, multiple
|
||||
interpreters(!), uninitialization, and access to the global
|
||||
interpreter lock.
|
||||
|
||||
- There's a -O option that removes SET_LINENO instructions, assert
|
||||
statements and code prefixed with ``if __debug__: ...''. (It still
|
||||
only makes a few percent difference, so don't get all worked up
|
||||
about this.)
|
||||
|
||||
- The Grand Renaming is completed: all linker-visible symbols
|
||||
defined by Python now have a "Py" or "_Py" prefix, and the same is
|
||||
true for most macros and typedefs.
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
If you don't read instructions
|
||||
------------------------------
|
||||
|
|
|
|||
Loading…
Reference in New Issue