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v6.1

Racket v6.1

The MAJOR INNOVATION concerns local recursive variable definitions.
Instead of initializing variables with an `undefined' value, Racket
raises an exception when such a variable is used before its definition.
(Thanks to Claire Alvis for adapting Dybvig's "Fixing Letrec" work.)

Since programs are rarely intended to produce #<undefined>, raising an
exception provides early and improved feedback. Module-level variables
have always triggered such an exception when used too early, and this
change finally gives local bindings --- including class fields --- the
same meaning.

This change is backwards-incompatible with prior releases of Racket.
Aside from exposing a few bugs, the change will mainly affect programs
that include

(define undefined (letrec ([x x]) x))

to obtain the #<undefined> value. In its stead, Racket provides the same
value via the `racket/undefined' library (which was introduced in the
previous release). Programmers are encouraged to use it in place of the
pattern above to obtain the "undefined" value.

The release also includes the following SMALL CHANGES:

* PLUMBERS generalize the flush-on-exit capability of primitive output
  ports to enable arbitrary flushing actions and to give programmers
  control over the timing of flushes (i.e., a composable `atexit').  New
  functions include `current-plumber', `plumber-add-flush!', and
  `plumber-flush-all'.

* CONTRACTS: the contract system's random testing facility has been
  strengthened so that it can easily find simple mistakes in contracted
  data structure implementations (e.g. an accidental reverse of a
  conditional in a heap invariant check).

* REDEX: the semantics of mis-match patterns (variables followed by _!_)
  inside ellipses has changed in a backwards-incompatible way. This
  change simplifies the patterns' semantics and increases the usefulness
  of these patterns.

* TEACHING LANGUAGES: `check-random' is an addition to the preferred
  unit testing framework in the teaching languages. It enables the
  testing of students' functions that use random-number
  generation. (Thanks to David Van Horn (UMaryland) for proposing this
  idea.)

* Upgraded and normalized versions of GRAPHICS LIBRARIES and
  dependencies (Pango, Cairo, GLib, etc.) that are bundled with Racket
  on Windows and Mac OS X. For example, FreeType support is consistently
  enabled.

* TYPED RACKET: its standard library includes contracted exports from
  the Racket standard library, such as the formatting combinators of
  `racket/format'. It also supports Racket's asynchronous channels; see
  the `typed/racket/async-channel' library.

* SSL: The openssl library supports forward secrecy via DHE and ECDHE
  cipher suites (thanks to Edward Lee) and Server Name Indication
  (thanks to Jay Kominek).

* The `mzlib/class100' library has been REMOVED. Use `racket/class'
  instead.

v6.0.1

Racket v6.0.1

* A new `racket/undefined` library exports `undefined` as the value
  currently produced by

    (letrec ([x x]) x)

  This library anticipates a future where that expression will raise
  an exception. The `racket/undefined` library will continue to offer
  the `undefined` value as a bridge between versions and as a last
  resort.

* The drawing and GUI libraries provide improved support for
  high-resolution bitmaps and their use on Retina displays. For
  example, `read-bitmap` includes a `#:try-@2x?` option to trigger
  substitutions through the usual "@2x" naming convention.

* Check Syntax cooperates with Typed Racket to show arrows and other
  Check Syntax highlighting even when there is a type error.

* Functions provided via contract-out that have first-order contracts
  perform better.

* The contract boundary between typed/untyped modules is much less
  expensive. Typed Racket now avoids generating contracts for places
  where contracts failures cannot happen.

* Occurrence typing now works better with when/unless. Example:

    (let ((x (read)))
      (unless (number? x) (error 'bad-input))
      (add1 x))

* Types in Typed Racket are now pretty-printed.

* Function types can now be written in prefix style, which is now
  preferred and is used for printing. Infix function types are still
  accepted for backwards compatibility.

* A new `->*' type constructor is used for writing types for functions
  with optional and keyword arguments. The notation is similar to the
  matching contract combinator.

* Typed Racket forms do not have a `:' suffix by default now. For
  example, the `struct' form replaces `struct:'. The suffixed versions
  are all provided for backwards compatibility.

* Typed Racket now has preliminary support for classes and
  objects. However, it is still experimental and the APIs are subject
  to change.

* Type aliases in Typed Racket now support recursion and mutual
  recursion. For example, `(define-type (MyList X) (U Null (Pair X
  (MyList X))))' is now a valid type alias.

* Plot correctly renders intersecting 3D graphs and non-grid-aligned
  3D rectangles.

* Elements in plots output in PDF/PS format have the same relative
  scale as in other formats. In particular, it is not necessary to
  adjust `plot-font-size` to make PDF plots look the same as PNG.

v6.0

Racket v6.0

Racket 6.0 has a new package system, including a catalog of
hundreds of already-available packages. Please visit

   http://pkgs.racket-lang.org/

for an overview of the packages.

Racket versions 5.3.4 through 5.3.6 included "beta" versions of the
package system. Racket version 6.0 incorporates many improvements
suggested by preliminary experiences in those versions:

  * A package is treated as a single collection by default, so it is
    even easier to use a GitHub repository as a package. Get started
    quickly:
      http://docs.racket-lang.org/pkg/getting-started.html

  * DrRacket includes a new package manager GUI, available via the
    File|Package Manager ... menu item. The GUI is also available
    as a stand-alone program via the "gui-pkg-manager" package.

  * The main Racket distribution has been separated into about 200
    packages. The Racket installer combines the core system with
    bundled versions of these packages.

    Alternatively, you may now install a Minimal Racket distribution
    --- which is about 1/10 the size of the main distribution --- and
    add only those packages that you need.

  * Package installation supports pre-built packages that include
    compiled byte code and rendered documentation, meaning packages can
    be installed quickly when built versions are available. All
    packages in the main distribution are available in pre-built form.

The recent 5.92 and 5.93 releases served as release candidates for 6.0,
and 6.0 includes a few additional repairs related to the package
system.

Further improvements to the package system are in the works, notably
including package documentation on the package-catalog web site.

COMPATIBILITY NOTE: PLaneT, the previous Racket package system, will
remain in place for the foreseeable future, but we expect all package
work to shift to the new system.

Beyond the package system, this release brings a number of other
changes:

  * Racket's HTML documentation has a new and improved look, thanks to
    Matthew Butterick.

  * The documentation includes a style guide, "How to Program Racket"
    http://docs.racket-lang.org/style/

  * Racket's JIT compiler supports the ARM architecture.

  * Racket supports the Mac's Retina display mode.

  * The performance of the Typed Racket compiler improved by 50% on
    some typed programs; e.g., see http://bit.ly/1d0Ye4z

  * The profiler provides a new mode that uses the errortrace library
    to produce fine-grained profiles.

  * A new contract profiler reports how much time programs spend
    checking contracts, and which contracts are most expensive.

  * The math/flonum library exports fast 105-bit precision operations.

  * Check Syntax handles generated identifiers, especially those
    introduced by struct (e.g. field selectors) and Redex (e.g., e_1,
    e_2)

  * 2htdp/batch-io includes functions for dealing with html/xml in
    files and web sites as X-expressions plus conveniences for
    web-based graph traversals.

  * The `gen:set' generic interface extends set operations to work on
    user-defined types that implement set methods, as well as on other
    set-like built-in types, such as lists.

  * Picts support conversion to SVG format.

  * Under unix, Racket provides desktop entries (.desktop files) for
    its graphical executables.

v5.93

Racket v5.93

Version 5.93 repairs a few problems with the recent v5.92 release (in
preparation for a v6.0 release):

 * fixed a low-level concurrency problem with the GUI library for Mac
   OS X, which especially affected 32-bit builds;

 * fixed GRacket-based launchers (such as `drracket`) in a Unix-style
   installation;

 * expanded the list of recognized OpenSSL library versions;

 * fixed small CSS problems and inconsistencies (relative to v5.3.6) in
   the new Scribble style as used by the Racket documentation; and

 * added the version number back to the "racket" directory within the
   source distribution bundle.

v5.92

Racket v5.92

Racket 5.92 has a new package system, including a catalog of
hundreds of already-available packages. Please visit

  http://pkgs.racket-lang.org/

for an overview of the packages.

Recent releases included the "beta" versions of the package system.
Racket version 5.92 incorporates many improvements suggested by these
preliminary experiences:

 * A package is treated as a single collection by default, so it is
   even easier to use a Github repository as a package. Get started
   quickly:
     http://docs.racket-lang.org/pkg/getting-started.html

 * DrRacket includes a new package manager GUI, available via the
   File|Package Manager ... menu item. The GUI is also available
   as a stand-alone program via the "gui-pkg-manager" package.

 * The main Racket distribution has been separated into about 200
   packages. The Racket installer combines the core system with
   bundled versions of these packages.

   Alternatively, you may now install a Minimal Racket distribution
   --- which is about 1/10 the size of the main distribution --- and
   add only those packages that you need.

 * Package installation supports pre-built packages that include
   compiled byte code and rendered documentation, meaning packages can
   be installed quickly when built versions are available. All
   packages in the main distribution are available in pre-built form.

Further improvements are in the works, notably including package
documentation on the package-catalog web site.

COMPATIBILITY NOTE: PLaneT, the previous Racket package system, will
remain in place for the foreseeable future, but we expect all package
work to shift to the new system.

Beyond the package system, this release brings a number of other
changes:

 * Racket's HTML documentation has a new and improved look, thanks to
   Matthew Butterick.

 * The documentation includes a style guide, "How to Program Racket"
   http://docs.racket-lang.org/style/

 * Racket's JIT compiler supports the ARM architecture.

 * Racket supports the Mac's Retina display mode.

 * The performance of the Typed Racket compiler improved by 50% on
   some typed programs; e.g., see http://bit.ly/1d0Ye4z

 * The profiler provides a new mode that uses the errortrace library
   to produce fine-grained profiles.

 * A new contract profiler reports how much time programs spend
   checking contracts, and which contracts are most expensive.

 * The math/flonum library exports fast 105-bit precision operations.

 * Check Syntax handles generated identifiers, especially those
   introduced by struct (e.g. field selectors) and Redex (e.g., e_1,
   e_2)

 * 2htdp/batch-io includes functions for dealing with html/xml in
   files and web sites as X-expressions plus conveniences for
   web-based graph traversals.

 * The `gen:set' generic interface extends set operations to work on
   user-defined types that implement set methods, as well as on other
   set-like built-in types, such as lists.

 * Picts support conversion to SVG format.

 * Under unix, Racket provides desktop entries (.desktop files) for
   its graphical executables.

v5.3.6

Racket v5.3.6

Racket v5.3.6 is a bug-fix release.  It eliminates errors from v5.3.5
that people have found over the summer.

v5.3.5

Racket v5.3.5

This is a special-purpose release to match the arrival of "Realm of
Racket" in bookstores.  Racket v.5.3.5 adds a single `realm'
collection to the v5.3.4 release.  The new collection contains the
source code that readers of Realm may wish to use for experiments.

v5.3.4

Racket v5.3.4

* Extflonums (80-bit floating-point numbers) are supported on some
  x86/x86_64 platforms -- including Windows, and including platforms
  where Racket is compiled to use SSE instructions for flonum
  arithmetic.  Thanks to Michael Filonenko.

* OS X: DrRacket and all of the other apps are now signed with an
  official key.

* Tally Maze: a new game based an enumeration of 2d mazes.

* The Optimization Coach, a DrRacket plugin, has been moved from the
  Racket distribution to the Racket package repository.  Install it
  with: raco pkg install optimization-coach

* Redex: `define-union-language' now merges productions when
  languages define the same nonterminals.  Thanks to William Bowman.

* The `srfi/19' library is now compatible with the date structure
  type exported by `racket/base'.

v5.3.3

Racket v5.3.3

This is a bug-fix release to address a flaw in DrRacket v5.3.2
concerning interactions between the contour window and the syntax
coloring.

v5.3.2

Racket v5.3.2

Core Libraries:

* The new `math' library provides functions and data structures for
  working with numbers and collections of numbers.  Functions include
  non-elementary (such as gamma, zeta, Lambert's W), number-theoretic
  (factorization, modular arithmetic), linear algebra (arithmetic,
  decompositions), and statistical (expected values, order statistics,
  binning).  Data structures include arbitrary-precision bigfloats,
  probability distributions, and multidimensional arrays.

* The new `file/untar', `file/untgz', and `file/unzip' libraries support
  unpacking widely used archive formats.

* The new `lazy-require' form allows programs to delay the loading and
  instantiation of helper modules until they are needed.

* The new `data/bit-vector' library provides an implementation of bit
  vectors (a mutable sequence of booleans) supporting popcount.

* The `racket/generic' library allows the specification of default
  method implementations for core datatypes.

* The `openssl' library can verify hostnames and use the operating
  system's certificate store to verify certificates.

Package System:

* A new package system is in beta release.  This system will become
  Planet's successor.  It differs significantly from the latter.  For
  details, please read the documentation at
  http://docs.racket-lang.org/planet2/ and list your packages on the new
  index at https://pkg.racket-lang.org/.

* The `raco test' command supports testing by collection and package, in
  addition to by directory and file, with the "-c" and "-p" options.

Teaching Libraries:

* batch-io: the read and write functions work on Unix-style standard
  input and output.

DrRacket:

* DrRacket's GUI is more responsive.

* The automatic parenthesis insertion mode is improved.

Scribble:

* Scribble renders Markdown format files via the "--markdown"
  command-line flag.  Example use case: Generate documentation hosted on
  GitHub or BitBucket.

* Documentation cross-reference information is stored in an SQLite3
  database, which means that SQLite3 is required for building Racket
  documentation on Unix/Linux machines (but SQLite3 is included in
  Racket distributions for Windows and Mac OS X).

  Using a database for cross-reference information significantly reduces
  the initial footprint of DrRacket, since DrRacket no longer needs to
  load all cross-reference information.

Typed Racket:

* Typed Racket programs can require `plot/typed' to draw plots.  List-
  and vector-accepting functions accept general sequences.

* Typed Racket supports Racket's delimited continuation and continuation
  mark operators.

Redex:

* Added more support for `define-judgment-form', including random
  generation for well-formed judgments and visualization of judgments.

Deprecation:

The following have been removed in this release:

* the `planet' command-line tool; use `raco planet' instead.

The following has been deprecated and will be removed in the August 2013
release:

* the `mzlib/class100' library; use `racket/class' instead.