openscad/RELEASE_NOTES

OpenSCAD 20xx.yy
================

Features:
o The MCAD library is now bundled with OpenSCAD
o Added import and export of the OFF file format
o New import() statement reads the correct file format based on the filename extension
  (.stl, .dxf and .off is supported)
o The color() statement now supports an alpha parameter, e.g. color(c=[1,0,0], alpha=0.4)
o The color() statement now supports specifying colors as strings, e.g. color("Red")
o if() and else() can now take any value type as parameter. false, 0, empty string and empty vector or illegal value type will evaluate as false, everything else as true.
o Strings can now be lexographically compared using the <, <=, >, >= operators
o The version() function will return the OpenSCAD version as a vector, e.g. [2011, 09]
o The version_num() function will return the OpenSCAD version as a number, e.g. 20110923
o Added PI constant.

Bugfixes:
o square() crashed if any of the dimensions were zero
o Flush Caches didn't flush cached USE'd modules
o STL export should be a bit more robust
o Dropping a file into the editor under Windows didn't work (double C:/C:/ problem)
o On some platforms it was possible to insertion rich text in the editor, causing confusion.

Deprecations:
o dxf_linear_extrude() and dxf_rotate_extrude() are now deprecated.
  Use linear_extrude() and rotate_extrude() instead.
o The file, layer, origin and scale parameters to linear_extrude() and rotate_extrude()
  are now deprecated. Use an import() child instead.
o import_dxf(), import_stl() and import_off() are now deprecated. Use import() instead.
o When exporting geometry from the cmd-line, use the universal -o option. It will export to the correct file format based on the given suffix (dxf, stl, off).

OpenSCAD 2011.06
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o Added "Export as Image" menu.

Bugfixes:
o Cylinder tesselation broke existing models which are using cylinders
  for e.g. captured nut slots and are dependent on the orientation not
  changing.
o DXF output couldn't be imported into e.g. AutoCAD and Solidworks after updating
  to using the AutoCAD 2000 (AC1015) format. Reverted to the old entity-only output,
  causing LWPOLYLINES to not exported allowed anymore.



OpenSCAD 2011.04
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o Added hull() for convex hulls (2D object only)
o minkowski() now supports 2D objects
o Added functions: rands(), sign()
o Now supports escaping of the following characters in strings: \n, \t, \r, \\, \"
o Support nested includes
o Improved parsing of numbers
o DXF: output LWPOLYLINE instead of just LINE entities
o Bugfixes: More robust DXF export, setting $fs/$fa to 0 caused a crash
o Some bugs fixed, maybe some new bugs added

OpenSCAD 2010.05
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 o Added functions and statements
  - Added abs() function
  - Added exp(x), log(b, x), log(x) and ln(x) functions
  - Added minkowski() statement for 3d minkowski sums
 o Added 'include <filename>' and 'use <filename>' statements
  - Old implicit '<filename>' include statement is now obsolete
 o Some bugs fixed, maybe some new bugs added

OpenSCAD 2010.02
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 o Added functions and statements
  - Added sqrt() function
  - Added round(), ceil() and floor() functions
  - Added lookup() function for linear interpolation in value list
  - Added projection(cut = true/false) statement
  - Added child() statement for accessing child nodes of module instances
  - Added mirror() statement
 o Improved DXF import code (more entities and some bugs fixed)
 o Added feature for dumping animation as PNG files
 o Added a preferences dialog
 o Now using CGAL's delaunay tesselator
 o Now using eigen2 for linear algebra
 o Reorganisation of the source tree
 o Some bugs fixed, maybe some new bugs added

OpenSCAD 2010.01
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 o Added functions and statements
  - Added intersection_for()
  - Added str function
  - Added min and max function
  - Added color() statement
 o Added 2D Subsystem
  - New primitives: circle(), square() and polygon()
  - 2D->3D path: linear_extrude() and rotate_extrude()
  - Import of DXF to 2d subsystem: import_dxf()
  - Export of 2D data as DXF files
 o Some bugs fixed, maybe some new bugs added