Annotation of src/usr.bin/less/NEWS, Revision 1.2
1.2 ! mbalmer 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 381 and 382
! 17:
! 18: * Removed some old copyrighted code.
! 19: This probably breaks OS/9 support.
! 20:
! 21: ======================================================================
! 22:
! 23: Major changes between "less" versions 378 and 381
! 24:
! 25: * New -L option to disable LESSOPEN processing.
! 26:
! 27: * Further support for large (64 bit) file addressing.
! 28: Large file support is now set up by the configure script.
! 29:
! 30: * Use autoconf 2.54.
! 31: Replace configure.in, acconfig.h, defines.h.top with configure.ac.
! 32:
! 33: * Overstriking underscore with underscore is now bold or underlined
! 34: depending on context.
! 35:
! 36: * Use only 7 spaces for line numbers in -N mode, if possible.
! 37:
! 38: * Fix some bugs in handling overstriking in UTF-8 files.
! 39:
! 40: * Fix some nroff issues in the man page.
! 41:
! 42: ======================================================================
! 43:
! 44: Major changes between "less" versions 376 and 378
! 45:
! 46: * Bug fixes:
! 47: Default buffer space is now 64K as documented.
! 48: Search highlighting works properly when used with -R.
! 49: Windows version works properly when input file contains carriage returns.
! 50: Clean up some compiler warnings.
! 51:
! 52: ======================================================================
! 53:
! 54: Major changes between "less" versions 358 and 376
! 55:
! 56: * -x option can now specify multiple variable-width tab stops.
! 57:
! 58: * -X option no longer disables keypad initialization.
! 59: New option --no-keypad disables keypad initialization.
! 60:
! 61: * New commands t and T step through multiple tag matches.
! 62: Added support for "global(1)" tags
! 63: (see http://www.gnu.org/software/global/global.html).
! 64:
! 65: * New prompt style set by option -Pw defines the message printed
! 66: while waiting for data in the F command.
! 67:
! 68: * System-wide lesskey file now defaults to sysless in etc directory
! 69: instead of .sysless in bin directory.
! 70: Use "configure --sysconfdir=..." to change it.
! 71: (For backwards compatibility, .sysless in bin is still recognized.)
! 72:
! 73: * Pressing RightArrow or LeftArrow while entering a number now shifts
! 74: the display N columns rather than editing the number itself.
! 75:
! 76: * Status column (enabled with -J) now shows search results.
! 77:
! 78: * Windows version sets window title.
! 79:
! 80: * Default LESSCHARSET for MS-DOS versions is now "dos".
! 81:
! 82: * Searching works better with ANSI (SGR) escape sequences.
! 83: ANSI color escape sequences are now supported in the MS-DOS (DJGPP) version.
! 84:
! 85: * Improved performance in reading very large pipes.
! 86:
! 87: * Eliminated some dependencies on file offets being 32 bits.
! 88:
! 89: * Fixed problems when viewing files with very long lines.
! 90:
! 91: * Fixed overstriking in UTF-8 mode, and overstriking tabs.
! 92:
! 93: * Improved horizontal shifting of text using -R option with ANSI color.
! 94:
! 95: * Improved handling of filenames containing shell metacharacters.
! 96:
! 97: * Some fixes for EBCDIC systems.
! 98:
! 99: * Some fixes for OS/2 systems.
! 100:
! 101: ======================================================================
! 102:
! 103: Major changes between "less" versions 354 and 358
! 104:
! 105: * Add -J (--status-column) option to display a status column.
! 106:
! 107: * Add -# (--shift) option to set default horizontal shift distance.
! 108: Default horizontal shift distance is now one-half screen width.
! 109:
! 110: * Horizontal shifting does not shift line numbers if -N is in effect.
! 111:
! 112: * Horizontal shifting acts as though -S were set, to avoid confusion.
! 113:
! 114: ======================================================================
! 115:
! 116:
! 117: Major changes between "less" versions 352 and 354
! 118:
! 119: * Allow space after numeric-valued command line options.
! 120:
! 121: * Fix problem with configuring terminal libraries on some systems.
! 122:
! 123: * Add support for PCRE regular expression library.
! 124:
! 125: * Add --with-regex option to configure to allow manually selecting
! 126: a regular expression library.
! 127:
! 128: * Fix bug compiling with SECURE = 1.
! 129:
! 130: ======================================================================
! 131:
! 132:
! 133: Major changes between "less" versions 346 and 352
! 134:
! 135: * Enable UTF-8 if "UTF-8" appears in locale-related environment variables.
! 136:
! 137: * Add --with-editor option to configure script.
! 138:
! 139: * The -M prompt and = message now show the top and bottom line number.
! 140:
! 141: * Fix bug in running the editor on a file whose name contains quotes, etc.
! 142:
! 143: * Fix bug in horizontal scrolling of long lines.
! 144:
! 145: * Fix bug in doing :d on a file which contains marks.
! 146:
! 147: * Fix bug causing cleared lines to sometimes be filled with standout,
! 148: bold, underline, etc. on certain terminals.
! 149:
! 150: * Fixes for MS-DOS (DJGPP) version.
! 151:
! 152: ======================================================================
! 153:
! 154:
! 155: Major changes between "less" versions 340 and 346
! 156:
! 157: * The UTF-8 character set is now supported.
! 158:
! 159: * The default character set is now latin1 rather than ascii.
! 160:
! 161: * New option -R (--RAW-CONTROL-CHARS) is like -r but handles
! 162: long (wrapped) lines correctly, as long as the input contains only
! 163: normal text and ANSI color escape sequences.
! 164:
! 165: * New option -F (--quit-if-one-screen) quits if the text fits on
! 166: the first screen.
! 167:
! 168: * The -w option now highlights the target line of a g or p command.
! 169:
! 170: * A system-wide lesskey file is supported (LESSKEY_SYSTEM).
! 171:
! 172: * New escape for prompt strings: %c is replaced by column number.
! 173:
! 174: * New escape for prompt strings: %P is replaced by percentage into
! 175: file, based on line number rather than byte offset.
! 176:
! 177: * HOME and END keys now jump to beginning of file or end of file.
! 178:
! 179: ======================================================================
! 180:
! 181:
! 182: Major changes between "less" versions 337 and 340
! 183:
! 184: * Command line options for less may now be given in either the old
! 185: single-letter form, or a new long name form (--option-name).
! 186: See the less man page or "less --help" for the list of long option names.
! 187:
! 188: * Command line options for lesskey may now be given in a new long name
! 189: form. See the lesskey man page for the list of long option names.
! 190:
! 191: * New command -- toggles an option using the long option name.
! 192:
! 193: * New command __ queries an option using the long option name.
! 194:
! 195: * The old -- command is renamed as -!.
! 196:
! 197: * If a ^P is entered between the dash and the option letter of the -
! 198: command, the message describing the new setting is suppressed.
! 199:
! 200: * Lesskey files may now contain \k escape sequences to represent the
! 201: "special" keys (arrows, PAGE-UP/PAGE-DOWN, HOME, END, INSERT, DELETE).
! 202:
! 203: * New command :d removes the current file from the list of files.
! 204:
! 205: * New option -~ (like -w before version 335)
! 206: suppresses tildes after end-of-file.
! 207:
! 208: * Less is now released under the GNU General Public License.
! 209:
! 210: ======================================================================
! 211:
! 212:
! 213: Major changes between "less" versions 335 and 337
! 214:
! 215: * Fixed bugs in "make install".
! 216:
! 217: ======================================================================
! 218:
! 219:
! 220: Major changes between "less" versions 332 and 335
! 221:
! 222: * The old -w flag (suppress tildes after end-of-file) has been removed.
! 223:
! 224: * New -w flag highlights the first new line after a forward-screen.
! 225:
! 226: * New -W flag highlights the first new line after any forward movement.
! 227:
! 228: * Window resize works even if LINES and/or COLUMNS environment
! 229: variables are incorrect.
! 230:
! 231: * New percent escapes for prompt strings:
! 232: %d is replaced by the page number, and
! 233: %D is replaced by the number of pages in the file.
! 234:
! 235: * Added charsets "iso8859" and "ebcdic".
! 236:
! 237: * In Windows version, uses HOMEDRIVE and HOMEPATH if HOME is not defined.
! 238:
! 239: * Fixed some bugs causing incorrect display on DOS/Windows.
! 240:
! 241: ======================================================================
! 242:
! 243:
! 244: Major changes between "less" versions 330 and 332
! 245:
! 246: * Filenames from the command line are entered into the command history,
! 247: so UPARROW/DOWNARROW can be used to retrieve them from the :e command.
! 248:
! 249: * Now works correctly on Windows when using a scrolling terminal
! 250: window (buffer larger than display window).
! 251:
! 252: * On Windows, now restores the console screen on exit.
! 253: Use -X to get the old behavior.
! 254:
! 255: * Fixed bug on Windows when CAPS-LOCK or NUM-LOCK is pressed.
! 256:
! 257: * Fixed bug on Windows when piping output of an interactive program.
! 258:
! 259: * Fixed bug in tags file processing when tags file has DOS-style
! 260: line terminators (CR/LF).
! 261:
! 262: * Fixed compilation problem on OS/2.
! 263:
! 264: ======================================================================
! 265:
! 266:
! 267: Major changes between "less" versions 321 and 330
! 268:
! 269: * Now supports filenames containing spaces (in double quotes).
! 270: New option -" can be used to change the quoting characters.
! 271:
! 272: * In filename completion, a slash is appended to a directory name.
! 273: If the environment variable LESSSEPARATOR is set, the value of
! 274: that variable, rather than a slash, is appended.
! 275:
! 276: * LeftArrow and RightArrow are same as ESC-[ and ESC-].
! 277:
! 278: * Added commands ESC-( and ESC-), same as ESC-[ and ESC-].
! 279:
! 280: * A "quit" command defined in a lesskey file may now have an "extra"
! 281: string, which is used to return an exit code from less when it quits.
! 282:
! 283: * New environment variables LESSMETACHARS and LESSMETAESCAPE provide
! 284: more control over how less interfaces to the shell.
! 285:
! 286: * Ported to Microsoft Visual C compiler for Windows.
! 287:
! 288: * Ported to DJGPP compiler for MS-DOS.
! 289:
! 290: * Bug fixes.
! 291:
! 292: ======================================================================
! 293:
! 294:
! 295: Major changes between "less" versions 291 and 321
! 296:
! 297: * Command line at bottom of screen now scrolls, so it can be longer
! 298: than the screen width.
! 299:
! 300: * New commands ESC-] and ESC-[ scroll the display horizontally.
! 301:
! 302: * New command ESC-SPACE scrolls forward a full screen, even if it
! 303: hits end-of-file.
! 304:
! 305: * Alternate modifiers for search commands: ^N is same as !,
! 306: ^F is same as @, and ^E is same as *.
! 307:
! 308: * New modifier for search commands: ^K means highlight the matches
! 309: currently on-screen, but don't move to the first match.
! 310:
! 311: * New modifier for search commands: ^R means don't use regular
! 312: expressions in the search.
! 313:
! 314: * Environment variable LESSKEY gives name of default lesskey file.
! 315:
! 316: * Environment variable LESSSECURE will force less to run in
! 317: "secure" mode.
! 318:
! 319: * Command line argument "--" signals that the rest of the arguments
! 320: are files (not option flags).
! 321:
! 322: * Help file (less.hlp) is no longer installed. Help text is now
! 323: embedded in the less executable itself.
! 324:
! 325: * Added -Ph to change the prompt for the help text.
! 326: Added -Ps to change the default short prompt (same as plain -P).
! 327:
! 328: * Ported to the Borland C compiler for MS-DOS.
! 329:
! 330: * Ported to Windows 95 & Windows NT.
! 331:
! 332: * Ported to OS-9.
! 333:
! 334: * Ported to GNU Hurd.
! 335:
! 336: ======================================================================
! 337:
! 338:
! 339: Major changes between "less" versions 290 and 291
! 340:
! 341: * Less environment variables can be specified in lesskey files.
! 342:
! 343: * Fixed MS-DOS build.
! 344:
! 345: ======================================================================
! 346:
! 347:
1.1 etheisen 348: Major changes between "less" versions 278 and 290
349:
350: * Accepts GNU-style options "--help" and "--version".
351:
352: * OS/2 version looks for less.ini in $HOME before $INIT and $PATH.
353:
354: * Bug fixes
355:
356: ======================================================================
357:
358:
359: Major changes between "less" versions 252 and 278
360:
361: * A LESSOPEN preprocessor may now pipe the converted file data to less,
362: rather than writing it to a temporary file.
363:
364: * Search pattern highlighting has been fixed. It now highlights
365: reliably, even if a string is split across two screen lines,
366: contains TABs, etc.
367:
368: * The -F flag (which suppress search highlighting) has been changed
369: to -G. A new flag, -g, changes search highlighting to highlight
370: only the string found by the last search command, instead of all
371: strings which match the last search command.
372:
373: * New flag -I acts like -i, but ignores case even if the search
374: pattern contains uppercase letters.
375:
376: * Less now checks for the environment variable VISUAL before EDITOR.
377:
378: * Ported to OS/2.
379:
380: ======================================================================
381:
382:
383: Major changes between "less" versions 237 and 252
384:
385: * Changes in line-editing keys:
386: The literal key is now ^V or ^A rather than \ (backslash).
387: Filename completion commands (TAB and ^L) are disabled
388: when typing a search pattern.
389:
390: * Line-editing command keys can be redefined using lesskey.
391:
392: * Lesskey with no input file defaults to $HOME/.lesskey
393: rather than standard input.
394:
395: * New option -V displays version number of less.
396:
397: * New option -V displays version number of lesskey.
398:
399: * Help file less.hlp is now installed by default in /usr/local/share
400: rather than /usr/local/lib.
401:
402:
403: ======================================================================
404:
405:
406: Major changes between "less" versions 170 and 237
407:
408: * By popular demand, text which matches the current search pattern
409: is highlighted. New -F flag disables this feature.
410:
411: * Henry Spencer's regexp.c is now included, for systems which do not
412: have a regular expression library.
413: regexp.c is Copyright (c) 1986 by University of Toronto.
414:
415: * New line-editing keys, including command history (arrow keys) and
416: filename completion (TAB).
417:
418: * Input preprocessor allows modification of input files (e.g. uncompress)
419: via LESSOPEN/LESSCLOSE environment variables.
420:
421: * New -X flag disables sending termcap "ti" and "te" (initialize and
422: deinitialize) strings to the terminal.
423:
424: * Changing -i from within less now correctly affects a subsequent
425: repeated search.
426:
427: * Searching for underlined or overstruck text now works when the -u
428: flag is in effect, rather than the -i flag.
429:
430: * Use setlocale (LANG and LC_CTYPE environment variables) to determine
431: the character set if LESSCHARSET/LESSCHARDEF are not set.
432:
433: * The default format for displaying binary characters is now standout
434: (reverse video) rather than blinking. This can still be changed by
435: setting the LESSBINFMT environment variable.
436:
437: * Use autoconf installation technology.
438:
439: * Ported to MS-DOS.
440:
441: ********************************
442: Things that may surprise you
443: ********************************
444:
445: * When you enter text at the bottom of the screen (search string,
446: filename, etc.), some keys act different than previously.
447: Specifically, \ (backslash), ESC, TAB, BACKTAB, and control-L
448: now have line editing functions.
449:
450: * Some previous unofficial versions of less were able to display
451: compressed files. The new LESSOPEN/LESSCLOSE feature now provides
452: this functionality in a different way.
453:
454: * Some previous unofficial versions of less provided a -Z flag to
455: set the number of lines of text to retain between full screen scrolls.
456: The -z-n flag (that is, -z with a negative number) provides this
457: functionality.
458:
459:
460: ======================================================================
461:
462:
463: Major changes between "less" versions 123 and 170
464:
465: * New option -j allows target lines to be positioned anywhere on screen.
466:
467: * New option -S truncates displayed line at the screen width,
468: rather than wrapping onto the next line.
469:
470: * New option -y limits amount of forward scroll.
471:
472: * New option -T specifies a "tags" file.
473:
474: * Non-printable, non-control characters are displayed in octal.
475: Such characters, as well as control characters, are displayed
476: in blinking mode.
477:
478: * New command -+ sets an option to its default.
479: * New command -- sets an option to the opposite of its default.
480:
481: * Lesskey file may have a string appended to a key's action,
482: which acts as though typed in after the command.
483:
484: * New commands ESC-^F and ESC-^B match arbitrary types of brackets.
485:
486: * New command F monitors a growing file (like "tail -f").
487:
488: * New command | pipes a section of the input file into a shell command.
489:
490: * New command :x directly jumps to a file in the command line list.
491:
492: * Search commands have been enhanced and reorganized:
493: n Repeat search, same direction.
494: N Repeat search, opposite direction.
495: ESC-/ Search forward thru file boundaries
496: ESC-? Search backward thru file boundaries
497: ESC-n Repeat search thru file boundaries, same direction.
498: ESC-N Repeat search thru file boundaries, opposite direction.
499: Special character * causes search to search thru file boundaries.
500: Special character @ causes search to begin at start/end of file list.
501:
502: * Examining a new file adds it to the command line list.
503: A list of files, or an expression which matches more than one file,
504: may be examined; all of them are added to the command line list.
505:
506: * Environment variables LESSCHARSET and LESSCHARDEF can define
507: a non-ASCII character set.
508:
509: * Partial support for MSDOS, including options -R for repainting screen
510: on quit, -v/-V to select video mode, and -W to change window size.
511:
512:
513: ======================================================================
514:
515:
516: Major changes between "less" versions 97 and 123
517:
518: * New option (-N) causes line numbers to be displayed in the
519: text of the file (like vi "set nu").
520:
521: * New option (-?) prints help message immediately.
522:
523: * New option (-r) displays "raw" control characters, without
524: mapping them to ^X notation.
525:
526: * New option (-f) forces less to open non-regular files
527: (directories, etc).
528:
529: * New option (-k) can be used to specify lesskey files by name.
530:
531: * New option (-y) can be used to set a forward scroll limit
532: (like -h sets a backward scroll limit).
533:
534: * File marks (set by the m command) are now preserved when a new
535: file is edited. The ' command can thus be used to switch files.
536:
537: * New command ESC-/ searches all files (on the command line)
538: for a pattern.
539:
540: * New command ESC-n repeats previous search, spanning files.
541:
542: * The N command has been changed to repeat the previous search
543: in the reverse direction. The old N command is still available
544: via :n.
545:
546: * New command ESC-N repeats previous search in the reverse
547: direction and spanning files.
548:
549: * 8 bit characters are now supported. A new option (-g) can be
550: used to strip off the eighth bit (the previous behavior).
551:
552: * Options which take a following string (like -t) may now
553: optionally have a space between the option letter and the string.
554:
555: * Six new commands { } ( ) [ and ] can be used to match
556: brackets of specific types, similar to vi % command.
557:
558: * New commands z and w move forward/backward one window and
559: simultaneously set the window size.
560:
561: * Prompt string expansion now has %L for line number of the last
562: line in the file, and %E for the name of the editor.
563: Also, % escapes which refer to a line (b=bottom, t=top, etc.)
564: can use j for the jump target line.
565:
566: * New environment variable LESSEDIT can be used to tailor the
567: command string passed to the editor by the v command.
568:
569: * Examining a file which was previously examined will return
570: to the same position in the file.
571:
572: * A "%" is expanded to the current filename and a "#" to the
573: previous filename, in both shell commands and the E command.
574: (Previously % worked only in shell commands and # worked
575: only in the E command.)
576:
577: * New command ":ta" is equivalent to "-t".
578:
579: * New command "s" is equivalent to "-l".
580:
581: * The - command may be followed by "+X" to revert to the default
582: for option X, or "-X" to get the opposite of the default.
583:
584: * Lesskey files may now include characters after the action as
585: extra input to be parsed after the action; for example:
586: "toggle-option X" to toggle a specific option X.
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