219 Release Notes

• The syntax for "new" has been upgraded to mimic that of modern languages:

  new(type,args)

  ->

  new type(args)

  The compiler should warn on encounters of the old style, which will now most likely be erroneous.

• File input and output is now done symmetrically with the << and >> operators. Most notably, this means that savefile.Write() and savefile.Read() are no more:

  Val = savefile.Read(Dir)	->	savefile >> Val
  savefile.Write(Val,Dir)	->	savefile << Val

• The file() function now returns a valid file reference when given a text path on the server. For example, if there is a file called "help.html" in the same directory that the world is being run off, the server could refer to it as a file by doing var/F = file("help.html"). This could then be passed to a user through one of a number of output functions, such as:

  usr << run(F)	::	Execute F with the appropriate program (requires client permission)
  usr << ftp(F)	::	Download F to the user's machine
  usr << browse(F)	::	Display F in the internal client browser

  Normal files can also be written and read using the aforementioned << and >> operators:

  F >> Val	::	Read contents of F into Val as a text string
  F << Val	::	Write Val to F as a text string

• A number of internal compiler bugs have been squashed, thanks to the helpful reports of the forum members. Slowly but surely, the system is getting stable...

• The map editor now takes measures to ensure that data will not be lost on incorrect compilations. Map warnings are given when there are pending compilation errors, and the map is backed up when it contains prototypes that no longer correspond with the code.