X-Git-Url: https://git.saurik.com/bison.git/blobdiff_plain/cff03fb2b92a05f61c142783dd3b2e0103782869..d11ee647c32a0216902e8b4da5d9501c0fbc6d11:/NEWS

diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index ad7903cc..dcaa386d 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -1,7 +1,26 @@
 Bison News
 ----------
 
-Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
+Changes in version ?.? (????-??-??):
+
+*
+
+Changes in version 2.4 (2008-11-02):
+
+* %language is an experimental feature.
+
+  We first introduced this feature in test release 2.3b as a cleaner
+  alternative to %skeleton.  Since then, we have discussed the possibility of
+  modifying its effect on Bison's output file names.  Thus, in this release,
+  we consider %language to be an experimental feature that will likely evolve
+  in future releases.
+
+* Forward compatibility with GNU M4 has been improved.
+
+* Several bugs in the C++ skeleton and the experimental Java skeleton have been
+  fixed.
+
+Changes in version 2.3b (2008-05-27):
 
 * The quotes around NAME that used to be required in the following directive
   are now deprecated:
@@ -18,7 +37,7 @@ Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
 * Push Parsing
 
   Bison can now generate an LALR(1) parser in C with a push interface.  That
-  is, instead of invoking yyparse, which pulls tokens from `yylex', you can
+  is, instead of invoking `yyparse', which pulls tokens from `yylex', you can
   push one token at a time to the parser using `yypush_parse', which will
   return to the caller after processing each token.  By default, the push
   interface is disabled.  Either of the following directives will enable it:
@@ -28,22 +47,46 @@ Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
 
   See the new section `A Push Parser' in the Bison manual for details.
 
+  The current push parsing interface is experimental and may evolve.  More user
+  feedback will help to stabilize it.
+
 * The -g and --graph options now output graphs in Graphviz DOT format,
-  not VCG format.
+  not VCG format.  Like --graph, -g now also takes an optional FILE argument
+  and thus cannot be bundled with other short options.
+
+* Java
+
+  Bison can now generate an LALR(1) parser in Java.  The skeleton is
+  `data/lalr1.java'.  Consider using the new %language directive instead of
+  %skeleton to select it.
 
-* An experimental directive %language specifies the language of the
-  generated parser, which can be C (the default) or C++.  This
-  directive affects the skeleton used, and the names of the generated
-  files if the grammar file's name ends in ".y".
+  See the new section `Java Parsers' in the Bison manual for details.
+
+  The current Java interface is experimental and may evolve.  More user
+  feedback will help to stabilize it.
+
+* %language
+
+  This new directive specifies the programming language of the generated
+  parser, which can be C (the default), C++, or Java.  Besides the skeleton
+  that Bison uses, the directive affects the names of the generated files if
+  the grammar file's name ends in ".y".
+
+* XML Automaton Report
+
+  Bison can now generate an XML report of the LALR(1) automaton using the new
+  `--xml' option.  The current XML schema is experimental and may evolve.  More
+  user feedback will help to stabilize it.
 
 * The grammar file may now specify the name of the parser header file using
   %defines.  For example:
 
     %defines "parser.h"
 
-* When reporting useless rules and nonterminals, Bison now employs the term
-  "useless in grammar" instead of "useless" and employs the term "useless in
-  parser" instead of "never reduced".
+* When reporting useless rules, useless nonterminals, and unused terminals,
+  Bison now employs the terms "useless in grammar" instead of "useless",
+  "useless in parser" instead of "never reduced", and "unused in grammar"
+  instead of "unused".
 
 * Unreachable State Removal
 
@@ -68,7 +111,7 @@ Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
   for further discussion.
 
 * Lookahead Set Correction in the `.output' Report
-  
+
   When instructed to generate a `.output' file including lookahead sets
   (using `--report=lookahead', for example), Bison now prints each reduction's
   lookahead set only next to the associated state's one item that (1) is
@@ -78,6 +121,9 @@ Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
   bug affected only the `.output' file and not the generated parser source
   code.
 
+* --report-file=FILE is a new option to override the default `.output' file
+  name.
+
 * The `=' that used to be required in the following directives is now
   deprecated:
 
@@ -123,7 +169,7 @@ Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
   sometimes prove to be false alarms in existing grammars employing the Yacc
   constructs $0 or $-N (where N is some positive integer).
 
-  To enable these warnings, specify the flag `--warnings=midrule-values' or
+  To enable these warnings, specify the option `--warnings=midrule-values' or
   `-W', which is a synonym for `--warnings=all'.
 
 * Default %destructor or %printer with `<*>' or `<>'
@@ -151,6 +197,13 @@ Changes in version 2.3a+ (????-??-??):
   See the section `Freeing Discarded Symbols' in the Bison manual for further
   details.
 
+* %left, %right, and %nonassoc can now declare token numbers.  This is required
+  by POSIX.  However, see the end of section `Operator Precedence' in the Bison
+  manual for a caveat concerning the treatment of literal strings.
+
+* The nonfunctional --no-parser, -n, and %no-parser options have been
+  completely removed from Bison.
+
 Changes in version 2.3a, 2006-09-13:
 
 * Instead of %union, you can define and use your own union type
@@ -975,7 +1028,7 @@ End:
 -----
 
 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003,
-2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
+2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
 
 This file is part of Bison, the GNU Compiler Compiler.