[m-dev.] for review: update NEWS file in preparation for 0.9

[Fergus Henderson]

Comments welcome, particularly on the new inclusion of a short
summary at the top of the NEWS file.

----------

Estimated hours taken: 1

NEWS:
	- Add a short summary at the top.
	- Delete the "use at own risk" comment about the POSIX
	  bindings -- to be consistent, we'd have to apply that
	  comment to most of the stuff in extras.  The POSIX
	  bindings have been subject to our usual process of
	  code review, and I think they look OK, so there is
	  no particular reason to single them out, IMHO.
	- Mention the support for source line numbers in mdb.

Workspace: /d-drive/home/hg/fjh/mercury
Index: NEWS
===================================================================
RCS file: /home/mercury1/repository/mercury/NEWS,v
retrieving revision 1.152
diff -u -d -r1.152 NEWS
--- NEWS	1999/11/03 04:14:32	1.152
+++ NEWS	1999/11/23 06:52:11
@@ -1,5 +1,39 @@
-NEWS since Mercury release 0.8:
--------------------------------
+NEWS for Mercury release 0.9:
+-----------------------------
+
+HIGHLIGHTS
+==========
+
+Changes to the Mercury language:
+* The Mercury type system now supports existentially quantified types.
+* We now allow abstract instance declarations.
+* We now support a simple form of user-defined infix operators.
+
+Changes to the Mercury standard library:
+* Exception handling support is now part of the standard library.
+* There's a new standard library modules `time' and `gc'.
+* We've added function versions of many of the predicates in the
+  Mercury standard library.
+
+New library packages in the Mercury extras distribution:
+* We've added support for optional lazy evaluation.
+* The extras distribution now includes support for dynamic linking.
+* We've added some bindings to POSIX.3 functionality.
+
+Changes to the Mercury implementation:
+* Mmake, the Mercury make tool, now includes better support for
+  installing libraries.
+* The Mercury debugger (mdb) is much improved.
+  It now includes support for interactive queries, command-line editing
+  and command-line history, display of source line numbers, and
+  setting breakpoints on source line numbers.
+  The GNU Emacs interface provides a source-linked debugger.
+* We've removed the support for using a Prolog debugger on Mercury programs.
+* We've added support for user-guided type specialization.
+* Numerous bug fixes.
+
+DETAILED LISTING
+================
 
 Changes to the Mercury language:
 ********************************
@@ -145,7 +179,7 @@
   which are supported by most modern Unix systems.
   See the files in extras/dynamic_linking for details.
 
-* We've added some use-at-your-own-risk bindings to POSIX.3 functionality.
+* We've added some bindings to POSIX.3 functionality.
 
   At this stage it's quite incomplete.
   See the files in extras/posix for details.
@@ -175,7 +209,7 @@
   violating the strict sequential semantics (see the "Semantics" chapter
   of the Mercury Language Reference Manual).
 
-  To fix switches for which determinism errors are now reported simply
+  To fix switches for which determinism errors are now reported, simply
   reorder the goals in each disjunct so that only unifications occur
   before the test of the switched-on variable.
 
@@ -195,6 +229,12 @@
   need to install GNU readline in order to use the debugger.
 
   For information on where to obtain GNU Readline, see the INSTALL file.
+
+* The Mercury debugger (mdb) now displays source line numbers and allows
+  setting breakpoints on source line numbers.
+
+  The GNU Emacs interface takes advantage of this to provide a
+  source-linked debugger.
 
 * We've removed the support for using a Prolog debugger on Mercury programs.
 

-- 
Fergus Henderson <fjh at cs.mu.oz.au>  |  "I have always known that the pursuit
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>  |  of excellence is a lethal habit"
PGP: finger fjh at 128.250.37.3        |     -- the last words of T. S. Garp.
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