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v6.2

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Racket v6.2

With this release we are taking a major step forward to get our user
community even more involved than in the past. Over the past six months,
we have re-organized the Racket code base into a small core code repo
and many other package repos, all found on github. If you have time and
if you wish to get involved, please take a look at the github repos and
find your favorite places to learn, fix, and enhance our world.

The core repo is at https://github.com/plt/racket, and the
package repos are listed at https://github.com/racket/.

core repo

* The package manager supports a direct references to Git repositories
  via "git://[...]", "http://[...].git", and "https://[...].git" URLs.
  (Previously, only references to GitHub were supported.)

* A `--clone` option for `raco pkg install` or `raco pkg update`
  facilitates Git-based package development. If a package X has a Git
  repository source, installing and updating the package pulls from the
  repository in a read-only mode. Using `raco pkg update --clone X`
  switches the local installation to a repository checkout that is
  suitable for modifying the package implementation, issuing pull
  requests, pushing changes, and so on.

  Using `raco pkg update --lookup X` switches the package back to the
  default installation mode.

drracket

* Its on-line check syntax works with graphical content.

* Increased availability of DrRacket's blueboxes, including method and
  constructor information.

* The "Open Require Path" menu item supports ".." in relative pathnames.

data

* Added data/enumerate, a library that supports efficient enumeration of
  data structures

redex

* Its redex-check facility uses data (in addition to random) enumeration
  to try to find counter-examples.

* Its generate-term function accepts additional arguments to return the
  "i"-th member of a pattern using data/enumerate (meaning it
  efficiently supports very large values of "i").

* The examples collection includes Launchbury's 1993 big-step lazy semantics.

htdp

* 2htdp/image's polygon may be built out of bezier curves instead of
  just straight lines (see the docs for "pulled-point").

* 2htdp/abstraction is a teachpack for instructors and students who wish
  to use for/* loops, match, define-type and type-cases in ISL and ISL+.

* 2htdp/universe programs can be exported using DrRacket's executable
  creation mechanism and they behave properly when run independently.

typed-racket

* Typed Racket in DrRacket displays tooltips that show the types of
  expressions. Tooltips are also displayed for type errors.

* Typed Racket loads generated contracts only when needed. This reduces
  memory use and startup time for Typed Racket programs.

* Typed Racket has improved support for prefab structures, future
  semaphores, and async channels.

* Typed Racket understands when two different variables refer to the
  same thing, and updates types accordingly. This particularly improves
  the type checking of macros such as `match`.

v6.1.1

Toggle v6.1.1's commit message
Racket v6.1.1

* The MAC OS X YOSEMITE compatibility problems are fixed. We
  bundled a patched Pango text-drawing library with Racket.

* The WINDOWS [32-bit] releases fixes the window-update crashes.
  We bundled a patched Cairo drawing library with Racket.

* TYPED RACKET closes two safety holes in the exception system.
  The revised type system restricts `raise' to send only
  instances of the `exn' structure type and flat data to
  handlers. It also checks exception handlers properly.
  NOTE: Previously well-typed programs may fail to typecheck.

* TYPED RACKET'S typed regions support casts and predicates.

* 2HTDP/IMAGE'S notion of equality ignores an image's baseline.

* The PACKAGE MANAGER supports a binary library installation mode,
  which allows users to install packages without source or documentation.
  Use the `--binary-lib' option with `raco pkg install'.

* The new DRRACKET-TOOL-LIB package factors out parts of DrRacket's
  IDE so that they can be reused with other editors, such as Emacs.

* The COMPILER'S use-before-defined analysis has been repaired for
  certain forms of nested `letrec', some `let' forms, and some
  uses of `set!' or `with-continuation-mark'.

* The COMPILER performs additional bytecode optimizations.
  Thanks to Gustavo Massaccesi.

* The CML library comes with a new `replace-evt' event constructor.
  Thanks to Jan Dvořák.

* REDEX'S benchmark suite comes with a description of the benchmark
  programs.

* REDEX'S metafunctions can be typeset using the "large left brace"
  notation for conditionals.

* The CONTRACT library comes with an improved `contract-stronger?'.
  Its error messages note that the contract itself might be wrong.

* The GUI library is DPI-aware on Windows.

* The OPENSSL library supports Server Name Indication for servers.
  Thanks to Jay Kominek.

* The SYNTAX/PARSE library allows the definition of new pattern
  forms via pattern expanders, similar to match expanders.
  Thanks to Alex Knauth.

* OpenGL on Linux no longer depends on libgtkgl, and core profiles
  are supported (see `set-legacy?').

* The TEACHING LANGUAGES' unit test framework supports
  `check-satisfied', a construct for checking whether a result
  satisfies a predicate, e.g.: (check-satisfied (sort l) sorted?)

v6.1

Toggle v6.1's commit message
Racket v6.1

The MAJOR INNOVATION concerns local recursive variable definitions.
Instead of initializing variables with an `undefined' value, Racket
raises an exception when such a variable is used before its definition.
(Thanks to Claire Alvis for adapting Dybvig's "Fixing Letrec" work.)

Since programs are rarely intended to produce #<undefined>, raising an
exception provides early and improved feedback. Module-level variables
have always triggered such an exception when used too early, and this
change finally gives local bindings --- including class fields --- the
same meaning.

This change is backwards-incompatible with prior releases of Racket.
Aside from exposing a few bugs, the change will mainly affect programs
that include

(define undefined (letrec ([x x]) x))

to obtain the #<undefined> value. In its stead, Racket provides the same
value via the `racket/undefined' library (which was introduced in the
previous release). Programmers are encouraged to use it in place of the
pattern above to obtain the "undefined" value.

The release also includes the following SMALL CHANGES:

* PLUMBERS generalize the flush-on-exit capability of primitive output
  ports to enable arbitrary flushing actions and to give programmers
  control over the timing of flushes (i.e., a composable `atexit').  New
  functions include `current-plumber', `plumber-add-flush!', and
  `plumber-flush-all'.

* CONTRACTS: the contract system's random testing facility has been
  strengthened so that it can easily find simple mistakes in contracted
  data structure implementations (e.g. an accidental reverse of a
  conditional in a heap invariant check).

* REDEX: the semantics of mis-match patterns (variables followed by _!_)
  inside ellipses has changed in a backwards-incompatible way. This
  change simplifies the patterns' semantics and increases the usefulness
  of these patterns.

* TEACHING LANGUAGES: `check-random' is an addition to the preferred
  unit testing framework in the teaching languages. It enables the
  testing of students' functions that use random-number
  generation. (Thanks to David Van Horn (UMaryland) for proposing this
  idea.)

* Upgraded and normalized versions of GRAPHICS LIBRARIES and
  dependencies (Pango, Cairo, GLib, etc.) that are bundled with Racket
  on Windows and Mac OS X. For example, FreeType support is consistently
  enabled.

* TYPED RACKET: its standard library includes contracted exports from
  the Racket standard library, such as the formatting combinators of
  `racket/format'. It also supports Racket's asynchronous channels; see
  the `typed/racket/async-channel' library.

* SSL: The openssl library supports forward secrecy via DHE and ECDHE
  cipher suites (thanks to Edward Lee) and Server Name Indication
  (thanks to Jay Kominek).

* The `mzlib/class100' library has been REMOVED. Use `racket/class'
  instead.

v6.0.1

Toggle v6.0.1's commit message
Racket v6.0.1

* A new `racket/undefined` library exports `undefined` as the value
  currently produced by

    (letrec ([x x]) x)

  This library anticipates a future where that expression will raise
  an exception. The `racket/undefined` library will continue to offer
  the `undefined` value as a bridge between versions and as a last
  resort.

* The drawing and GUI libraries provide improved support for
  high-resolution bitmaps and their use on Retina displays. For
  example, `read-bitmap` includes a `#:try-@2x?` option to trigger
  substitutions through the usual "@2x" naming convention.

* Check Syntax cooperates with Typed Racket to show arrows and other
  Check Syntax highlighting even when there is a type error.

* Functions provided via contract-out that have first-order contracts
  perform better.

* The contract boundary between typed/untyped modules is much less
  expensive. Typed Racket now avoids generating contracts for places
  where contracts failures cannot happen.

* Occurrence typing now works better with when/unless. Example:

    (let ((x (read)))
      (unless (number? x) (error 'bad-input))
      (add1 x))

* Types in Typed Racket are now pretty-printed.

* Function types can now be written in prefix style, which is now
  preferred and is used for printing. Infix function types are still
  accepted for backwards compatibility.

* A new `->*' type constructor is used for writing types for functions
  with optional and keyword arguments. The notation is similar to the
  matching contract combinator.

* Typed Racket forms do not have a `:' suffix by default now. For
  example, the `struct' form replaces `struct:'. The suffixed versions
  are all provided for backwards compatibility.

* Typed Racket now has preliminary support for classes and
  objects. However, it is still experimental and the APIs are subject
  to change.

* Type aliases in Typed Racket now support recursion and mutual
  recursion. For example, `(define-type (MyList X) (U Null (Pair X
  (MyList X))))' is now a valid type alias.

* Plot correctly renders intersecting 3D graphs and non-grid-aligned
  3D rectangles.

* Elements in plots output in PDF/PS format have the same relative
  scale as in other formats. In particular, it is not necessary to
  adjust `plot-font-size` to make PDF plots look the same as PNG.

v6.0

Toggle v6.0's commit message
Racket v6.0

Racket 6.0 has a new package system, including a catalog of
hundreds of already-available packages. Please visit

   http://pkgs.racket-lang.org/

for an overview of the packages.

Racket versions 5.3.4 through 5.3.6 included "beta" versions of the
package system. Racket version 6.0 incorporates many improvements
suggested by preliminary experiences in those versions:

  * A package is treated as a single collection by default, so it is
    even easier to use a GitHub repository as a package. Get started
    quickly:
      http://docs.racket-lang.org/pkg/getting-started.html

  * DrRacket includes a new package manager GUI, available via the
    File|Package Manager ... menu item. The GUI is also available
    as a stand-alone program via the "gui-pkg-manager" package.

  * The main Racket distribution has been separated into about 200
    packages. The Racket installer combines the core system with
    bundled versions of these packages.

    Alternatively, you may now install a Minimal Racket distribution
    --- which is about 1/10 the size of the main distribution --- and
    add only those packages that you need.

  * Package installation supports pre-built packages that include
    compiled byte code and rendered documentation, meaning packages can
    be installed quickly when built versions are available. All
    packages in the main distribution are available in pre-built form.

The recent 5.92 and 5.93 releases served as release candidates for 6.0,
and 6.0 includes a few additional repairs related to the package
system.

Further improvements to the package system are in the works, notably
including package documentation on the package-catalog web site.

COMPATIBILITY NOTE: PLaneT, the previous Racket package system, will
remain in place for the foreseeable future, but we expect all package
work to shift to the new system.

Beyond the package system, this release brings a number of other
changes:

  * Racket's HTML documentation has a new and improved look, thanks to
    Matthew Butterick.

  * The documentation includes a style guide, "How to Program Racket"
    http://docs.racket-lang.org/style/

  * Racket's JIT compiler supports the ARM architecture.

  * Racket supports the Mac's Retina display mode.

  * The performance of the Typed Racket compiler improved by 50% on
    some typed programs; e.g., see http://bit.ly/1d0Ye4z

  * The profiler provides a new mode that uses the errortrace library
    to produce fine-grained profiles.

  * A new contract profiler reports how much time programs spend
    checking contracts, and which contracts are most expensive.

  * The math/flonum library exports fast 105-bit precision operations.

  * Check Syntax handles generated identifiers, especially those
    introduced by struct (e.g. field selectors) and Redex (e.g., e_1,
    e_2)

  * 2htdp/batch-io includes functions for dealing with html/xml in
    files and web sites as X-expressions plus conveniences for
    web-based graph traversals.

  * The `gen:set' generic interface extends set operations to work on
    user-defined types that implement set methods, as well as on other
    set-like built-in types, such as lists.

  * Picts support conversion to SVG format.

  * Under unix, Racket provides desktop entries (.desktop files) for
    its graphical executables.

v5.93

Toggle v5.93's commit message
Racket v5.93

Version 5.93 repairs a few problems with the recent v5.92 release (in
preparation for a v6.0 release):

 * fixed a low-level concurrency problem with the GUI library for Mac
   OS X, which especially affected 32-bit builds;

 * fixed GRacket-based launchers (such as `drracket`) in a Unix-style
   installation;

 * expanded the list of recognized OpenSSL library versions;

 * fixed small CSS problems and inconsistencies (relative to v5.3.6) in
   the new Scribble style as used by the Racket documentation; and

 * added the version number back to the "racket" directory within the
   source distribution bundle.

v5.92

Toggle v5.92's commit message
Racket v5.92

Racket 5.92 has a new package system, including a catalog of
hundreds of already-available packages. Please visit

  http://pkgs.racket-lang.org/

for an overview of the packages.

Recent releases included the "beta" versions of the package system.
Racket version 5.92 incorporates many improvements suggested by these
preliminary experiences:

 * A package is treated as a single collection by default, so it is
   even easier to use a Github repository as a package. Get started
   quickly:
     http://docs.racket-lang.org/pkg/getting-started.html

 * DrRacket includes a new package manager GUI, available via the
   File|Package Manager ... menu item. The GUI is also available
   as a stand-alone program via the "gui-pkg-manager" package.

 * The main Racket distribution has been separated into about 200
   packages. The Racket installer combines the core system with
   bundled versions of these packages.

   Alternatively, you may now install a Minimal Racket distribution
   --- which is about 1/10 the size of the main distribution --- and
   add only those packages that you need.

 * Package installation supports pre-built packages that include
   compiled byte code and rendered documentation, meaning packages can
   be installed quickly when built versions are available. All
   packages in the main distribution are available in pre-built form.

Further improvements are in the works, notably including package
documentation on the package-catalog web site.

COMPATIBILITY NOTE: PLaneT, the previous Racket package system, will
remain in place for the foreseeable future, but we expect all package
work to shift to the new system.

Beyond the package system, this release brings a number of other
changes:

 * Racket's HTML documentation has a new and improved look, thanks to
   Matthew Butterick.

 * The documentation includes a style guide, "How to Program Racket"
   http://docs.racket-lang.org/style/

 * Racket's JIT compiler supports the ARM architecture.

 * Racket supports the Mac's Retina display mode.

 * The performance of the Typed Racket compiler improved by 50% on
   some typed programs; e.g., see http://bit.ly/1d0Ye4z

 * The profiler provides a new mode that uses the errortrace library
   to produce fine-grained profiles.

 * A new contract profiler reports how much time programs spend
   checking contracts, and which contracts are most expensive.

 * The math/flonum library exports fast 105-bit precision operations.

 * Check Syntax handles generated identifiers, especially those
   introduced by struct (e.g. field selectors) and Redex (e.g., e_1,
   e_2)

 * 2htdp/batch-io includes functions for dealing with html/xml in
   files and web sites as X-expressions plus conveniences for
   web-based graph traversals.

 * The `gen:set' generic interface extends set operations to work on
   user-defined types that implement set methods, as well as on other
   set-like built-in types, such as lists.

 * Picts support conversion to SVG format.

 * Under unix, Racket provides desktop entries (.desktop files) for
   its graphical executables.

v5.3.6

Toggle v5.3.6's commit message
Racket v5.3.6

Racket v5.3.6 is a bug-fix release.  It eliminates errors from v5.3.5
that people have found over the summer.

v5.3.5

Toggle v5.3.5's commit message
Racket v5.3.5

This is a special-purpose release to match the arrival of "Realm of
Racket" in bookstores.  Racket v.5.3.5 adds a single `realm'
collection to the v5.3.4 release.  The new collection contains the
source code that readers of Realm may wish to use for experiments.

v5.3.4

Toggle v5.3.4's commit message
Racket v5.3.4

* Extflonums (80-bit floating-point numbers) are supported on some
  x86/x86_64 platforms -- including Windows, and including platforms
  where Racket is compiled to use SSE instructions for flonum
  arithmetic.  Thanks to Michael Filonenko.

* OS X: DrRacket and all of the other apps are now signed with an
  official key.

* Tally Maze: a new game based an enumeration of 2d mazes.

* The Optimization Coach, a DrRacket plugin, has been moved from the
  Racket distribution to the Racket package repository.  Install it
  with: raco pkg install optimization-coach

* Redex: `define-union-language' now merges productions when
  languages define the same nonterminals.  Thanks to William Bowman.

* The `srfi/19' library is now compatible with the date structure
  type exported by `racket/base'.