GNU C Library NEWS -- history of user-visible changes.  1 September 1992

Copyright (C) 1992 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
See the end for copying conditions.

Please send GNU C library bug reports to bug-glibc@prep.ai.mit.edu.

Version 1.04

* The configuration process has changed quite a bit.  The `configure'
  script is now used just like the configuration scripts for other GNU
  packages.  The `sysdeps' directory hierarchy is much rearranged.
  The file `INSTALL' explains the new scheme in detail.

* The header files no longer need to be processed into ANSI C and
  traditional C versions.  There is just one set of files to install, and
  it will work with ANSI or old C compilers (including `gcc -traditional').

* Brendan Kehoe and Ian Lance Taylor have ported the library to the
  MIPS DECStation running Ultrix 4.

* The Sun 4 startup code (crt0) can now properly load SunOS 4 shared libraries.
  Tom Quinn contributed the initial code.  The GNU C library can NOT yet be
  made itself into a shared library.

* Yet further improved support for the i386, running 4.3 BSD-like systems
  (such as Mach 3 with the Unix single-server), or System V.

* New function `strncasecmp' to do case-insensitive string comparison
  with limited length.

* New function `strsep' is a reentrant alternative to `strtok'.

* New functions `scandir' and `alphasort' for searching directories.

* New function `setenv' is a better interface to `putenv'.

* Ian Lance Taylor has contributed an implementation of the SVID `ftw'
  function for traversing a directory tree.

* The GNU obstack package is now also part of the C library.
  The new function `open_obstack_stream' creates a stdio stream that
  writes onto an obstack; `obstack_printf' and `obstack_vprintf' do
  formatted output directly to an obstack.

* Miscellaneous new functions: reboot, nice, sigaltstack (4.4 BSD only),
  cfmakeraw, getusershell, getpass, swab, getttyent, seteuid, setegid.

* `FNM_FILE_NAME' is another name for `FNM_PATHNAME', used with `fnmatch'.

* The new functions `strfry' and `memfrob' do mysterious and wonderful
  things to your strings.

* There are some new test programs: test-fseek, testmb, and testrand.

* Some work has been done to begin porting the library to 4.4 BSD and Linux.
  These ports are not finished, but are a good starting place for really
  supporting those systems.

* `/etc/localtime' is now the standard location for the file that says what
  the local timezone is, rather than `/usr/local/lib/zoneinfo/localtime'.
  This follows the general principle that `/etc' is the place for all local
  configuration files.

* The C library header files now use `extern "C"' when used by the C++
  compiler, so the C library should now work with C++ code.

* The header file <bstring.h> is gone.  <string.h> now declares bcopy,
  bcmp, bzero, and ffs.  

* Mike Haertel (of GNU e?grep and malloc fame) has written a new sorting
  function which uses the `merge sort' algorithm, and is said to be
  significantly faster than the old GNU `qsort' function.  Merge sort is
  now the standard `qsort' function.  The new algorithm can require a lot
  of temporary storage; so, the old sorting function is called when the
  required storage is not available.

* The C library now includes Michael Glad's Ultra Fast Crypt, which
  provides the Unix `crypt' function, plus some other entry points.
  Because of the United States export restriction on DES implementations,
  we are distributing this code separately from the rest of the C library.
  There is an extra distribution tar file just for crypt; it is called
  `glibc-VERSION-crypt.tar.Z', e.g. `glibc-1.04-crypt.tar.Z'.  You can just
  unpack the crypt distribution along with the rest of the C library and
  build; you can also build the library without getting crypt.  Users
  outside the USA can get the crypt distribution via anonymous FTP from
  ftp.uni-c.dk [129.142.6.74], or another archive site outside the U.S.

* The code and header files taken from 4.4 BSD have been updated with the
  latest files released from Berkeley.

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Copyright information:

Copyright (C) 1992 Free Software Foundation, Inc.

   Permission is granted to anyone to make or distribute verbatim copies
   of this document as received, in any medium, provided that the
   copyright notice and this permission notice are preserved,
   thus giving the recipient permission to redistribute in turn.

   Permission is granted to distribute modified versions
   of this document, or of portions of it,
   under the above conditions, provided also that they
   carry prominent notices stating who last changed them.

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