Annotation of src/usr.bin/less/NEWS, Revision 1.1.1.2
1.1.1.2 ! millert 1:
! 2: NEWS about less
! 3:
! 4: ======================================================================
! 5:
! 6: For the latest news about less, see the "less" Web page:
! 7: http://www.greenwoodsoftware.com/less
! 8: You can also download the latest version of less from there.
! 9:
! 10: To report bugs, suggestions or comments, send email to
! 11: bug-less@gnu.org or markn@greenwoodsoftware.com.
! 12:
! 13: ======================================================================
! 14:
! 15:
! 16: Major changes between "less" versions 378 and 381
! 17:
! 18: * New -L option to disable LESSOPEN processing.
! 19:
! 20: * Further support for large (64 bit) file addressing.
! 21: Large file support is now set up by the configure script.
! 22:
! 23: * Use autoconf 2.54.
! 24: Replace configure.in, acconfig.h, defines.h.top with configure.ac.
! 25:
! 26: * Overstriking underscore with underscore is now bold or underlined
! 27: depending on context.
! 28:
! 29: * Use only 7 spaces for line numbers in -N mode, if possible.
! 30:
! 31: * Fix some bugs in handling overstriking in UTF-8 files.
! 32:
! 33: * Fix some nroff issues in the man page.
! 34:
! 35: ======================================================================
! 36:
! 37: Major changes between "less" versions 376 and 378
! 38:
! 39: * Bug fixes:
! 40: Default buffer space is now 64K as documented.
! 41: Search highlighting works properly when used with -R.
! 42: Windows version works properly when input file contains carriage returns.
! 43: Clean up some compiler warnings.
! 44:
! 45: ======================================================================
! 46:
! 47: Major changes between "less" versions 358 and 376
! 48:
! 49: * -x option can now specify multiple variable-width tab stops.
! 50:
! 51: * -X option no longer disables keypad initialization.
! 52: New option --no-keypad disables keypad initialization.
! 53:
! 54: * New commands t and T step through multiple tag matches.
! 55: Added support for "global(1)" tags
! 56: (see http://www.gnu.org/software/global/global.html).
! 57:
! 58: * New prompt style set by option -Pw defines the message printed
! 59: while waiting for data in the F command.
! 60:
! 61: * System-wide lesskey file now defaults to sysless in etc directory
! 62: instead of .sysless in bin directory.
! 63: Use "configure --sysconfdir=..." to change it.
! 64: (For backwards compatibility, .sysless in bin is still recognized.)
! 65:
! 66: * Pressing RightArrow or LeftArrow while entering a number now shifts
! 67: the display N columns rather than editing the number itself.
! 68:
! 69: * Status column (enabled with -J) now shows search results.
! 70:
! 71: * Windows version sets window title.
! 72:
! 73: * Default LESSCHARSET for MS-DOS versions is now "dos".
! 74:
! 75: * Searching works better with ANSI (SGR) escape sequences.
! 76: ANSI color escape sequences are now supported in the MS-DOS (DJGPP) version.
! 77:
! 78: * Improved performance in reading very large pipes.
! 79:
! 80: * Eliminated some dependencies on file offets being 32 bits.
! 81:
! 82: * Fixed problems when viewing files with very long lines.
! 83:
! 84: * Fixed overstriking in UTF-8 mode, and overstriking tabs.
! 85:
! 86: * Improved horizontal shifting of text using -R option with ANSI color.
! 87:
! 88: * Improved handling of filenames containing shell metacharacters.
! 89:
! 90: * Some fixes for EBCDIC systems.
! 91:
! 92: * Some fixes for OS/2 systems.
! 93:
! 94: ======================================================================
! 95:
! 96: Major changes between "less" versions 354 and 358
! 97:
! 98: * Add -J (--status-column) option to display a status column.
! 99:
! 100: * Add -# (--shift) option to set default horizontal shift distance.
! 101: Default horizontal shift distance is now one-half screen width.
! 102:
! 103: * Horizontal shifting does not shift line numbers if -N is in effect.
! 104:
! 105: * Horizontal shifting acts as though -S were set, to avoid confusion.
! 106:
! 107: ======================================================================
! 108:
! 109:
! 110: Major changes between "less" versions 352 and 354
! 111:
! 112: * Allow space after numeric-valued command line options.
! 113:
! 114: * Fix problem with configuring terminal libraries on some systems.
! 115:
! 116: * Add support for PCRE regular expression library.
! 117:
! 118: * Add --with-regex option to configure to allow manually selecting
! 119: a regular expression library.
! 120:
! 121: * Fix bug compiling with SECURE = 1.
! 122:
! 123: ======================================================================
! 124:
! 125:
! 126: Major changes between "less" versions 346 and 352
! 127:
! 128: * Enable UTF-8 if "UTF-8" appears in locale-related environment variables.
! 129:
! 130: * Add --with-editor option to configure script.
! 131:
! 132: * The -M prompt and = message now show the top and bottom line number.
! 133:
! 134: * Fix bug in running the editor on a file whose name contains quotes, etc.
! 135:
! 136: * Fix bug in horizontal scrolling of long lines.
! 137:
! 138: * Fix bug in doing :d on a file which contains marks.
! 139:
! 140: * Fix bug causing cleared lines to sometimes be filled with standout,
! 141: bold, underline, etc. on certain terminals.
! 142:
! 143: * Fixes for MS-DOS (DJGPP) version.
! 144:
! 145: ======================================================================
! 146:
! 147:
! 148: Major changes between "less" versions 340 and 346
! 149:
! 150: * The UTF-8 character set is now supported.
! 151:
! 152: * The default character set is now latin1 rather than ascii.
! 153:
! 154: * New option -R (--RAW-CONTROL-CHARS) is like -r but handles
! 155: long (wrapped) lines correctly, as long as the input contains only
! 156: normal text and ANSI color escape sequences.
! 157:
! 158: * New option -F (--quit-if-one-screen) quits if the text fits on
! 159: the first screen.
! 160:
! 161: * The -w option now highlights the target line of a g or p command.
! 162:
! 163: * A system-wide lesskey file is supported (LESSKEY_SYSTEM).
! 164:
! 165: * New escape for prompt strings: %c is replaced by column number.
! 166:
! 167: * New escape for prompt strings: %P is replaced by percentage into
! 168: file, based on line number rather than byte offset.
! 169:
! 170: * HOME and END keys now jump to beginning of file or end of file.
! 171:
! 172: ======================================================================
! 173:
! 174:
! 175: Major changes between "less" versions 337 and 340
! 176:
! 177: * Command line options for less may now be given in either the old
! 178: single-letter form, or a new long name form (--option-name).
! 179: See the less man page or "less --help" for the list of long option names.
! 180:
! 181: * Command line options for lesskey may now be given in a new long name
! 182: form. See the lesskey man page for the list of long option names.
! 183:
! 184: * New command -- toggles an option using the long option name.
! 185:
! 186: * New command __ queries an option using the long option name.
! 187:
! 188: * The old -- command is renamed as -!.
! 189:
! 190: * If a ^P is entered between the dash and the option letter of the -
! 191: command, the message describing the new setting is suppressed.
! 192:
! 193: * Lesskey files may now contain \k escape sequences to represent the
! 194: "special" keys (arrows, PAGE-UP/PAGE-DOWN, HOME, END, INSERT, DELETE).
! 195:
! 196: * New command :d removes the current file from the list of files.
! 197:
! 198: * New option -~ (like -w before version 335)
! 199: suppresses tildes after end-of-file.
! 200:
! 201: * Less is now released under the GNU General Public License.
! 202:
! 203: ======================================================================
! 204:
! 205:
! 206: Major changes between "less" versions 335 and 337
! 207:
! 208: * Fixed bugs in "make install".
! 209:
! 210: ======================================================================
! 211:
! 212:
! 213: Major changes between "less" versions 332 and 335
! 214:
! 215: * The old -w flag (suppress tildes after end-of-file) has been removed.
! 216:
! 217: * New -w flag highlights the first new line after a forward-screen.
! 218:
! 219: * New -W flag highlights the first new line after any forward movement.
! 220:
! 221: * Window resize works even if LINES and/or COLUMNS environment
! 222: variables are incorrect.
! 223:
! 224: * New percent escapes for prompt strings:
! 225: %d is replaced by the page number, and
! 226: %D is replaced by the number of pages in the file.
! 227:
! 228: * Added charsets "iso8859" and "ebcdic".
! 229:
! 230: * In Windows version, uses HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH if HOME is not defined.
! 231:
! 232: * Fixed some bugs causing incorrect display on DOS/Windows.
! 233:
! 234: ======================================================================
! 235:
! 236:
! 237: Major changes between "less" versions 330 and 332
! 238:
! 239: * Filenames from the command line are entered into the command history,
! 240: so UPARROW/DOWNARROW can be used to retrieve them from the :e command.
! 241:
! 242: * Now works correctly on Windows when using a scrolling terminal
! 243: window (buffer larger than display window).
! 244:
! 245: * On Windows, now restores the console screen on exit.
! 246: Use -X to get the old behavior.
! 247:
! 248: * Fixed bug on Windows when CAPS-LOCK or NUM-LOCK is pressed.
! 249:
! 250: * Fixed bug on Windows when piping output of an interactive program.
! 251:
! 252: * Fixed bug in tags file processing when tags file has DOS-style
! 253: line terminators (CR/LF).
! 254:
! 255: * Fixed compilation problem on OS/2.
! 256:
! 257: ======================================================================
! 258:
! 259:
! 260: Major changes between "less" versions 321 and 330
! 261:
! 262: * Now supports filenames containing spaces (in double quotes).
! 263: New option -" can be used to change the quoting characters.
! 264:
! 265: * In filename completion, a slash is appended to a directory name.
! 266: If the environment variable LESSSEPARATOR is set, the value of
! 267: that variable, rather than a slash, is appended.
! 268:
! 269: * LeftArrow and RightArrow are same as ESC-[ and ESC-].
! 270:
! 271: * Added commands ESC-( and ESC-), same as ESC-[ and ESC-].
! 272:
! 273: * A "quit" command defined in a lesskey file may now have an "extra"
! 274: string, which is used to return an exit code from less when it quits.
! 275:
! 276: * New environment variables LESSMETACHARS and LESSMETAESCAPE provide
! 277: more control over how less interfaces to the shell.
! 278:
! 279: * Ported to Microsoft Visual C compiler for Windows.
! 280:
! 281: * Ported to DJGPP compiler for MS-DOS.
! 282:
! 283: * Bug fixes.
! 284:
! 285: ======================================================================
! 286:
! 287:
! 288: Major changes between "less" versions 291 and 321
! 289:
! 290: * Command line at bottom of screen now scrolls, so it can be longer
! 291: than the screen width.
! 292:
! 293: * New commands ESC-] and ESC-[ scroll the display horizontally.
! 294:
! 295: * New command ESC-SPACE scrolls forward a full screen, even if it
! 296: hits end-of-file.
! 297:
! 298: * Alternate modifiers for search commands: ^N is same as !,
! 299: ^F is same as @, and ^E is same as *.
! 300:
! 301: * New modifier for search commands: ^K means highlight the matches
! 302: currently on-screen, but don't move to the first match.
! 303:
! 304: * New modifier for search commands: ^R means don't use regular
! 305: expressions in the search.
! 306:
! 307: * Environment variable LESSKEY gives name of default lesskey file.
! 308:
! 309: * Environment variable LESSSECURE will force less to run in
! 310: "secure" mode.
! 311:
! 312: * Command line argument "--" signals that the rest of the arguments
! 313: are files (not option flags).
! 314:
! 315: * Help file (less.hlp) is no longer installed. Help text is now
! 316: embedded in the less executable itself.
! 317:
! 318: * Added -Ph to change the prompt for the help text.
! 319: Added -Ps to change the default short prompt (same as plain -P).
! 320:
! 321: * Ported to the Borland C compiler for MS-DOS.
! 322:
! 323: * Ported to Windows 95 & Windows NT.
! 324:
! 325: * Ported to OS-9.
! 326:
! 327: * Ported to GNU Hurd.
! 328:
! 329: ======================================================================
! 330:
! 331:
! 332: Major changes between "less" versions 290 and 291
! 333:
! 334: * Less environment variables can be specified in lesskey files.
! 335:
! 336: * Fixed MS-DOS build.
! 337:
! 338: ======================================================================
! 339:
! 340:
1.1 etheisen 341: Major changes between "less" versions 278 and 290
342:
343: * Accepts GNU-style options "--help" and "--version".
344:
345: * OS/2 version looks for less.ini in $HOME before $INIT and $PATH.
346:
347: * Bug fixes
348:
349: ======================================================================
350:
351:
352: Major changes between "less" versions 252 and 278
353:
354: * A LESSOPEN preprocessor may now pipe the converted file data to less,
355: rather than writing it to a temporary file.
356:
357: * Search pattern highlighting has been fixed. It now highlights
358: reliably, even if a string is split across two screen lines,
359: contains TABs, etc.
360:
361: * The -F flag (which suppress search highlighting) has been changed
362: to -G. A new flag, -g, changes search highlighting to highlight
363: only the string found by the last search command, instead of all
364: strings which match the last search command.
365:
366: * New flag -I acts like -i, but ignores case even if the search
367: pattern contains uppercase letters.
368:
369: * Less now checks for the environment variable VISUAL before EDITOR.
370:
371: * Ported to OS/2.
372:
373: ======================================================================
374:
375:
376: Major changes between "less" versions 237 and 252
377:
378: * Changes in line-editing keys:
379: The literal key is now ^V or ^A rather than \ (backslash).
380: Filename completion commands (TAB and ^L) are disabled
381: when typing a search pattern.
382:
383: * Line-editing command keys can be redefined using lesskey.
384:
385: * Lesskey with no input file defaults to $HOME/.lesskey
386: rather than standard input.
387:
388: * New option -V displays version number of less.
389:
390: * New option -V displays version number of lesskey.
391:
392: * Help file less.hlp is now installed by default in /usr/local/share
393: rather than /usr/local/lib.
394:
395:
396: ======================================================================
397:
398:
399: Major changes between "less" versions 170 and 237
400:
401: * By popular demand, text which matches the current search pattern
402: is highlighted. New -F flag disables this feature.
403:
404: * Henry Spencer's regexp.c is now included, for systems which do not
405: have a regular expression library.
406: regexp.c is Copyright (c) 1986 by University of Toronto.
407:
408: * New line-editing keys, including command history (arrow keys) and
409: filename completion (TAB).
410:
411: * Input preprocessor allows modification of input files (e.g. uncompress)
412: via LESSOPEN/LESSCLOSE environment variables.
413:
414: * New -X flag disables sending termcap "ti" and "te" (initialize and
415: deinitialize) strings to the terminal.
416:
417: * Changing -i from within less now correctly affects a subsequent
418: repeated search.
419:
420: * Searching for underlined or overstruck text now works when the -u
421: flag is in effect, rather than the -i flag.
422:
423: * Use setlocale (LANG and LC_CTYPE environment variables) to determine
424: the character set if LESSCHARSET/LESSCHARDEF are not set.
425:
426: * The default format for displaying binary characters is now standout
427: (reverse video) rather than blinking. This can still be changed by
428: setting the LESSBINFMT environment variable.
429:
430: * Use autoconf installation technology.
431:
432: * Ported to MS-DOS.
433:
434: ********************************
435: Things that may surprise you
436: ********************************
437:
438: * When you enter text at the bottom of the screen (search string,
439: filename, etc.), some keys act different than previously.
440: Specifically, \ (backslash), ESC, TAB, BACKTAB, and control-L
441: now have line editing functions.
442:
443: * Some previous unofficial versions of less were able to display
444: compressed files. The new LESSOPEN/LESSCLOSE feature now provides
445: this functionality in a different way.
446:
447: * Some previous unofficial versions of less provided a -Z flag to
448: set the number of lines of text to retain between full screen scrolls.
449: The -z-n flag (that is, -z with a negative number) provides this
450: functionality.
451:
452:
453: ======================================================================
454:
455:
456: Major changes between "less" versions 123 and 170
457:
458: * New option -j allows target lines to be positioned anywhere on screen.
459:
460: * New option -S truncates displayed line at the screen width,
461: rather than wrapping onto the next line.
462:
463: * New option -y limits amount of forward scroll.
464:
465: * New option -T specifies a "tags" file.
466:
467: * Non-printable, non-control characters are displayed in octal.
468: Such characters, as well as control characters, are displayed
469: in blinking mode.
470:
471: * New command -+ sets an option to its default.
472: * New command -- sets an option to the opposite of its default.
473:
474: * Lesskey file may have a string appended to a key's action,
475: which acts as though typed in after the command.
476:
477: * New commands ESC-^F and ESC-^B match arbitrary types of brackets.
478:
479: * New command F monitors a growing file (like "tail -f").
480:
481: * New command | pipes a section of the input file into a shell command.
482:
483: * New command :x directly jumps to a file in the command line list.
484:
485: * Search commands have been enhanced and reorganized:
486: n Repeat search, same direction.
487: N Repeat search, opposite direction.
488: ESC-/ Search forward thru file boundaries
489: ESC-? Search backward thru file boundaries
490: ESC-n Repeat search thru file boundaries, same direction.
491: ESC-N Repeat search thru file boundaries, opposite direction.
492: Special character * causes search to search thru file boundaries.
493: Special character @ causes search to begin at start/end of file list.
494:
495: * Examining a new file adds it to the command line list.
496: A list of files, or an expression which matches more than one file,
497: may be examined; all of them are added to the command line list.
498:
499: * Environment variables LESSCHARSET and LESSCHARDEF can define
500: a non-ASCII character set.
501:
502: * Partial support for MSDOS, including options -R for repainting screen
503: on quit, -v/-V to select video mode, and -W to change window size.
504:
505:
506: ======================================================================
507:
508:
509: Major changes between "less" versions 97 and 123
510:
511: * New option (-N) causes line numbers to be displayed in the
512: text of the file (like vi "set nu").
513:
514: * New option (-?) prints help message immediately.
515:
516: * New option (-r) displays "raw" control characters, without
517: mapping them to ^X notation.
518:
519: * New option (-f) forces less to open non-regular files
520: (directories, etc).
521:
522: * New option (-k) can be used to specify lesskey files by name.
523:
524: * New option (-y) can be used to set a forward scroll limit
525: (like -h sets a backward scroll limit).
526:
527: * File marks (set by the m command) are now preserved when a new
528: file is edited. The ' command can thus be used to switch files.
529:
530: * New command ESC-/ searches all files (on the command line)
531: for a pattern.
532:
533: * New command ESC-n repeats previous search, spanning files.
534:
535: * The N command has been changed to repeat the previous search
536: in the reverse direction. The old N command is still available
537: via :n.
538:
539: * New command ESC-N repeats previous search in the reverse
540: direction and spanning files.
541:
542: * 8 bit characters are now supported. A new option (-g) can be
543: used to strip off the eighth bit (the previous behavior).
544:
545: * Options which take a following string (like -t) may now
546: optionally have a space between the option letter and the string.
547:
548: * Six new commands { } ( ) [ and ] can be used to match
549: brackets of specific types, similar to vi % command.
550:
551: * New commands z and w move forward/backward one window and
552: simultaneously set the window size.
553:
554: * Prompt string expansion now has %L for line number of the last
555: line in the file, and %E for the name of the editor.
556: Also, % escapes which refer to a line (b=bottom, t=top, etc.)
557: can use j for the jump target line.
558:
559: * New environment variable LESSEDIT can be used to tailor the
560: command string passed to the editor by the v command.
561:
562: * Examining a file which was previously examined will return
563: to the same position in the file.
564:
565: * A "%" is expanded to the current filename and a "#" to the
566: previous filename, in both shell commands and the E command.
567: (Previously % worked only in shell commands and # worked
568: only in the E command.)
569:
570: * New command ":ta" is equivalent to "-t".
571:
572: * New command "s" is equivalent to "-l".
573:
574: * The - command may be followed by "+X" to revert to the default
575: for option X, or "-X" to get the opposite of the default.
576:
577: * Lesskey files may now include characters after the action as
578: extra input to be parsed after the action; for example:
579: "toggle-option X" to toggle a specific option X.
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