Provided by: afnix_2.2.0-2ubuntu1_amd64 
NAME
vol-0 - afnix installation guide
INSTALLATION GUIDE
This chapter describes the installation procedures for the AFNIX writing system
distribution. This chapter explains how to set and compile this distribution.
Software distribution
The complete distribution can be downloaded from the AFNIX home page. The result is a
complete source tree that is ready for compilation. The distribution contains also the
documentation as well as examples. The distribution is supported on a variety of platforms
as indicated below that can be either 32 bits or 64 bits machines. The distribution is
also available at the FreeBSD port collection.
Platform Processor Operating system
Linux X86-32, X86-64, IA64, SPARC-32, SPARC-64 Linux 2.4 and 2.6
FreeBSD X86-32, X86-64, IA-64, SPARC-32, SPARC-64 FreeBSD 6.x, 7.x, 8.x
Darwin PPC-32, PPC-64, X86-32, X86-64 MacOS X 10.4 Tiger, 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 S
Gnu X86-32, X86-64 GNU KBSD, GNU Hurd
Specific processors like the Alpha, M68K, ARM, MIPS and SUPERH are also supported on
certain distributions. The PowerPC (PPC) processor is primarily supported with the Darwin
platform (MACOS) and is also working with the Linux platform. The Solaris SPARC platform
has been discontinued. Do not hesitate to contact the development team for specific
processor or platform support.
Installation procedure
The core software is written in C++. It has been successfully built with the GNU GCC 3 and
GCC 4. No other compiler have been tested. You will also need the GNU Make package. With
some distributions the command is called gmake. Note that the Makefile hierarchy is
designed to operate safely with the -jGNU Make option.
Unpacking the distribution
The distribution is available as a compressed tar file. Note that the documentation is
distributed in a separate file. The following command unpacks the distribution.
zsh> gzip -d afnix-src-[version].tar.gz
zsh> tar xf afnix-src-[version].tar
Quick command reference
The list of commands to execute is given in the example below. A detailed description for
each command is given hereafter. The make world command is the default command that builds
the whole tree with the default compiler.
zsh> ./cnf/bin/afnix-setup -o --prefix=/usr/local/afnix
zsh> make status
zsh> make [-j]
zsh> make test
zsh> make install
zsh> make clean
With some platforms, the make command should be replaced by the gmake command. The make
status command is optional and can be used to report the internal value contents. In
particular, the version and the installation parameters are reported.
Configuration
The afnix-setup command can be invoked to setup a particular configuration. You should
have your compiler on your search path. Normally, the command given below is enough.
zsh> ./cnf/bin/afnix-setup -o --prefix=/usr/local/afnix
This command checks that the target platform can be detected and configured. The -o option
configures the compilation in optimized mode. Use the -g option can be used to configure
the build process in debug mode. The --prefix option sets the installation directory. Note
that the compilation process is done in the distribution tree and that the --prefix option
affects only the installation operations. The -v option is the verbose option. Other
options are available for fine tuning.
Option Description Default
-h Print a help message n/a
-v Set the verbose mode n/a
-g Set the debug mode yes
-o Set the optimized mode no
--help Same as -h n/a
--prefix Set the target install directory /usr/local
--shrdir Set the shared install directory /usr/local/share
--altdir Set the alternate install directory /usr/local
--sdkdir Set the system kit directory platform dependent
--compiler Set the default compiler platform dependent
--proctype Set the processor type generic
--dynamic Compile and link dynamically yes
--static Compile and link statically no
The prefix option set the root installation directory. The binary and library installation
directories are derived from it. The shrdir set the shared installation directory which is
normally used for the installation of the manual pages on most popular systems. the altdir
sets the alternate installation directory. Normally this path should be empty as it
affects the path for the etc directory. This flag should be used when using a prefix to
unusual destination. the sdkdir option sets the path of the platform system development
kit. This option is only used with the Darwin platform. The compiler option can be used to
force a particular compiler with the help of a compiler configuration file. The proctype
option can be used to force a particular processor architecture. The -s or --static option
can be used to build a static executable. Normally, this option should not be used since
it restrict the use of extension modules. The dynamic controls whether or not the dynamic
libraries should be built. This option is detected automatically for a particular platform
and should be used only by package maintainer.
Compiling the distribution
The compilation process is straightforward. With some platforms, the make accepts the -j
that enables concurrent operations.
zsh> make [-j]
This will build the complete distribution locally. If an error occurs, it is best to
report it at the (bugs@afnix.org) AFNIX bug report mail address.
Testing the distribution
The distribution contains all test suites. The test suites are compiled and executed with
the following command.
zsh> make test
This command run the test suites for each library as well as the test suites for each
application client. Most of the base library test suites are written in C++ with the
application test suites written in the core writing system.
Installing the distribution
Once the system has been built and tested, it can be installed. By default, the
distribution tree is installed into the /usr/local directory. This can be overwritten with
the --prefix option during the configuration process.
zsh> make install
There are several variables that controls the behavior of the install rule. Each variable
has its default value sets during the setup configuration. However, this variable can also
be altered during the installation process
Variable Description Default
PREFIX The root install directory /usr/local
SHRDIR The shared install directory /usr/local/share
ALTDIR The shared alternate directory /usr/local/etc
SDKDIR The system kit directory platform dependent
BINDIR The binary install directory prefix/bin
LIBDIR The library install directory prefix/lib
HDRDIR The header files install directory prefix/include/afnix
ETCDIR The extra files install directory altdir/etc/afnix
Installing the documentation
The documentation is installed independently of the software. The doc rule builds the
documentation and the publish rule installs the documentation. Several variables also
control the documentation installation path.
Variable Description Default
DOCDIR The documentation install directory shrdir/doc/afnix
MANDIR The manual pages install directory shrdir/man
Cleaning the distribution
The distribution is cleaned with the clean rule.
zsh> make clean
This rule does not clean the configuration. For a complete cleaning the reset rule is more
appropriate.
zsh> make reset
Running AFNIX
The axi command invokes the interpreter. In order to operate properly, the LD_LIBRARY_PATH
environment variable must be configured with the directory containing the shared
libraries. If the libraries have been installed in a standard location like
/usr/local/lib, there is nothing to do.
Running some example
The directory exp contains various examples which can be run. Each example is labeled
according to their use in the volume 1 of the documentation set. Example 0101.als prints
the message hello world. Example 0501.als prints various information about the system
configuration.
zsh> axi 0501
major version number : 2
minor version number : 2
patch version number : 0
interpreter version : 2.2.0
operating system name : linux
operating system type : unix
afnix official uri : http://www.afnix.org
Special features
The build process provides several features that permits to customize the compilation
process as well as the nature of the final executable. Most of the time, these options are
reserved for the package maintainer and are given below for illustration purpose.
Target customization
The distribution can be configured to operate on a specific machine target. For example, a
typical Linux box will be compiled with the default compiler target, which is the 386
processor. You can force the compilation to be optimized for a particular processor. This
is done with the --proctype option of the afnix-setup command. Currently the distribution
supports the 586 and 686 architectures for the Intel platform. The ultra architecture is
valid for the SPARC platform.
zsh> cnf/bin/afnix-setup -o --prefix=/usr/local
--proctype=586
This command will configure the distribution to be compiled specifically for the Pentium
architecture.
Special target extensions
Extensions are specific libraries or executables which are not build automatically during
the build process. The user is responsible to decide which extension is needed for the
system All extensions are located under the src/ext directory. Simply going into the
appropriate directory and running the make command will build the extension. The asi
extension creates a static interpreter with all libraries automatically included in the
final executable. The extension is simply build with the following command. Note that this
extension overwrite the previous executable in the bld/bin directory.
zsh> make -C src/ext/asi
Extra files
The distribution comes with some extra files. The most important is the Emacs mode afnix-
mode. The original source file is written in Emacs Lisp and is available in the etc
directory of the distribution. This file should be installed according to the current
Emacs installation.
MAINTAINER NOTES
This chapter contains additional notes for the package maintainer. They are also useful
for anybody who is in charge of integrating the distribution in a build process. The
chapter describes the distribution tree with more details.
The distribution tree
The distribution tree is composed of various directories. Each of them has a Makefile
which can be called locally or from the top level.
cnf
This directory contains the configuration distribution and various utilities.
Normally you should not touch it, unless you are using a compiler different than
gcc.
src
This directory contains the complete source tree. The source code is written in
C++. Normally this directory is left untouched. If there are good reasons to modify
it, please contact the development team.
tst
This directory contains the complete test suites. The test suites are used by
various programs including the main interpreter, the compiler and the debugger. It
shall be noted that the library distribution also includes specific test suites.
doc
This directory contains the complete documentation written in in XML with a special
DTD. It should be left untouched.
etc
This directory contains various files associated with the distribution. Some files
are useful to be copied.
exp
This directory contains various examples. They are included for illustration
purpose.
The process of building a package solely depends on the distribution type. Most likely,
the standard distribution should contain the binary executables as well as some
configuration file and the manual pages. The documentation and the development header
files can put in separate packages.
Configuration and setup
The configuration process involves the use of the afnix-setup command located in the
cnf/bin directory. This command is used to configure the distribution. Package maintainers
are encouraged to use it with specific options.
Platform detection
The afnix-guess command is used during the configuration process to detect a supported
platform. This command can be run in stand-alone mode. Various options can be used to tune
the type of information requested.
Option Description
-h Print a help message
-n Print the platform name
-v Print the platform version
-M Print the platform major number
-m Print the platform minor number
-p Print the platform patch number
-t Print the processor type
Without option, the utility prints a platform and processor description string.
zsh> ./cnf/bin/afnix-guess
linux-2.6-ia32-generic
Platform defaults
The directory cnf/def contains a platform specific default file. The file determines what
is the default compiler and linking mode. This file is used by the afnix-setup command.
For example, the afnix-darwin.def file contains:
compiler: gcc
lktype : dynamic
lkmode : dylib
Such options instructs the configuration utility, that the default compiler is gcc and the
linking mode should operates in dynamic mode by using the dylib rule. These default values
can be overwritten with the equivalent option of the afnix-setup command. Note that the
compiler version is automatically detected by the system. The afnix-vcomp command will
return the appropriate compiler version running on the target system.
C++ source file conventions
THe source tree has two types of C++ files. The first type has the extension .cxx and the
second type has the extension .cpp. The .cxx -- and the associated .hxx -- files are only
used to indicate a system dependency. These files are found only in the src/lib/plt
directory. The .cxx extension indicates that the file might use system specific include
files. The .cpp -- and the associated .hpp -- files are the normal C++ source files. The
.cpp extension is used to indicate that these files will not use a system specific file.
By default this rule is enforced in the compiler configuration file by specifying some
compiler flags which do not authorize such access.
Configuration files
The configurations files are located in the cnf/mak directory. Normally they should be
left untouched. The most important one is the afnix-rule.mak file that defines most of the
compilation and linking rules. Additionally, during the setup operation, the afnix-setup
command creates several files in the bld/cnf directory. The bld is the build directory.
The afnix-plat.mak file is the platform configuration file and the afnix-comp.mak is a
link to the appropriate compiler configuration file.
Compilation
Normally, the compilation process is immediate. Just invoking the make command will do the
job. However, some package maintainer have the desire to overwrite some flags. Some
options are provided to facilitate this task.
EXTCPPFLAGS
This flag can be used to add some compilation flags for all .cpp files.
EXTCXXFLAGS
This flag can be used to add some compilation flags for all .cxx files.
EXTCCDEFINE
This flag can be used to add some compilation definitions for all source files.
EXTINCLUDES
This flag can be used to add some compilation paths for the .cxx files.
For example, it is common to have some maintainer to compile with both the debug and
optimize flags. This can be done with the following command (assuming an optimized
configuration):
make EXTCPPFLAGS=-g EXTCXXFLAGS=-g
All include files, compiled libraries and executables are placed in the bld directory.
This directory contains the bld/bin for binaries, bld/lib for libraries and bld/hdr for
the header files.
Building the package
The package can be built by accessing the bld directory or by invoking the install rule.
The second method is not recommended for package construction, since it might trigger some
file installation without any control. The etc directory contains some special files that
might be used for the package construction. A sample list of them is given hereafter.
afnix-mode.el
This file is the Emacs mode.
afnix-gud.el
This file is the debugger Emacs gud mode.
Specific makefile rules
The top level Makefile contains several rules that might be useful for the package
maintainer.
status
This rule show the configuration status for each parameters with the version.
debug
This rule invokes the default configuration in debug mode.
optimized
This rule invokes the default configuration in optimized mode.
build
This rule invokes the default configuration in debug mode and compile the whole
distribution. The default install directory is /usr/local.
world
This rule invokes the default configuration in optimized mode and compile the whole
distribution. The default install directory is /usr/local.
test
This rule runs all test suites.
doc
This rule builds the documentation.
distri
This rule builds the distribution.
install
This rule installs the distribution.
publish
This rule installs the documentation.
clean
This rule cleans the distribution but keep the configuration.
reset
This rule resets the distribution including the configuration.
RELEASE NOTES
This chapter contains the release notes for the differents releases. Release notes are
given in descending order for a particular version. The standard notation is
major.minor.patch which represents respectively, the major, minor and patch number. A
major version number changes indicates a substantial change in the distribution, including
new tools, application interface and license. A minor version number change indicates
noticeable change, with or without new tools but without application interface change nor
license change. Finally, a patch number change indicates a simple change to fix problem.
There is no additional features in a patch nor an application interface change.
Release 2.2
Release features
Core engine: hurd platform
The Hurd platform is now supported in this release. Thanks to our contributor for
delivering this new platform.
Core engine: unicode 6.0.0
The Unicode 6.0.0 database is now supported in this release.
Core engine: object updates
The lexical analyzer is now an object in its own. It can be used to construct other
object from a string description.
Core modules: mth module
An automatic linear system verification has been added to the linear solver. Jacobi
preconditionner have been added to the Krylov solvers and Newton solvers have been
improved.
Core services: phy service
The periodic table of the elements is under construction and should be completed
soon. The table will provides the information for each elements, including name,
symbol and other physical constants. The suport for intrinsic carrier concentration
is now available. This is a cryptic feature for people working on semiconductors.
Release 2.1
Release features
Core engine: superh processor
The SuperH processor is now supported in this release. The SuperH is a 32 bits
processor.
Core engine: nan real number
The implementation now supports the concepts of Not a Number or NAN as a whole. A
real object can set and tested for NAN.
Core engine: indirect librarian resolver
The resolver has been enhanced to support indirect librarian reference.
Core modules: csm module
The personnal information management module has been renamed into the cloud session
management or afnix-csm module.
Core modules: mth module
The math module has been dramatically enhanced. The Rsamples object has been added
for storing data samples. Function and polynomial objects have added to support
generic function computation. The non-linear Newton system solver has been added as
an object.
Core services: svg service
The Scalable Vector Graphic service has been added. The service provides the
support for the SVG 1.1 standard and allows the automatic generation of SVG
compliant code.
Core services: phy service
The Physics service has been added. The service provides the support for standard
physics operations. In particular, the most common physical constants are defined
in this service.
Release history
08/24/2011: release 2.1.1
AFNIX 2.1.1 has been released. This is an emergency release that corrects a small
problem in the clean rule with the static directory.
Release 2.0
Release features
Core engine: standard objects
The BlockBuffer object has been added to the standard object library. Furthermore,
the Buffer has been adapted to operate as a base class for the block buffer and the
shl method has been added to the buffer object as a mean to shift the buffer. As
consequence, the default operating mode for a buffer is the BYTE mode. When
operating with strings, the UTF8 mode might be more suitable. The BitSet object has
been renamed to Bitset and the interface has been cleaned. The Vector has been
cleaned. The object-p predicate has been fixed.
Core engine: thread engine
The thread engine has been completly redesigned and extensivelly tested on 32 and
64 bits platforms. It is no longer a problem to operate with more than 32K threads
simultanesouly. Furthermore, the concept of thread pool has been added to the
engine. The end-p predicate has been added to the thread object to indicate a
succesful thread completion.
Core engine: form reader
The Reader object has been added as a form reader. The reader parses an input
stream and produces a form until the end-of-stream. The Reader provides the support
for string based execution.
Core engine: default librarian module
The Librarian object has been enhanced to support the concept of default exeution
module. When such module and when the interpreter is requested to do so, the module
is automatically loaded during the execution.
Core modules: nwg module
The HttpProto default version has been move to 1.1 for both the request and
response objects.
Core modules: sio module
The InputMapped class has been enhanced to provide the facility for mapping buffer
as well as acting as a null character generator. The OuputBuffer object has been
added as a buffer output stream. With the addition of a form reader, the
interpreter communication class Intercom has been added to the standard i/o module.
Core modules: xml module
The XneCond object has been enhanced to support various xml object. The XmlPi has
been enhanced to support attributes derivation from the string value.
Core modules: itu module
The itu module is a new module. It has been added with a complete support for the
ASN.1 standard. ASN.1 is essential for the support of certificates.
Core clients: axs client
The axs client has been removed from the core distribution. All of the client
functionalities are now available in the spreadsheet module.
Release 1.9
Release features
Core engine: object unreference
The long awaited unref reserved keyword has been added as a mechanism to
unreference a symbol.
Core engine: object predicate
The object-p predicate has been added as a standard predicate. The predicate is the
negation of the nil-p standard predicate. The method-p predicate has also been
added as a standard predicate.
Core engine: stop/resume parsing
The file stream parsing has been enhanced with the help of the stop « and resume »
characters. When the stop characters is found, all parsing operations are suspended
until a resume character is found.
Core engine: extended exception attribute
The about symbol has been added to the exception object as extended exception
reason. For a given reason, the file name and line number is added to the exception
reason.
Core engine: string objects
The Strvec string vector class has been added to the core library. The class is
similar to the Vector class except that it operates with strings and provides
additional strings related methods.
Core engine: counter object
The Counter object has been added as a reserved object. The counter is designed to
be used directly in loop.
Core engine: library cleaning
The core library has been extensively cleaned in preparation for the next major
release. In particular, numerous memory leaks have been removed and some classes
derivations have been fixed. A major bug in the closure argument counting has also
been discovered and fixed during this process.
Core module: sio module
The Pathname object has been enhanced to detect the type of path associated with
the object. Additionally, a normalize method has been added.
Core module: sio module
The FileInfo object has been added to the module. The class provides an immediate
access to the principal file parameters such like it size or its modification time.
Core module: sio module
The NamedFifo object has been added to the module. The class provides the support
for a large string based fifo with file saving capabilities.
Core modules: nwg module
Several predicates and functions related to media type conversion have been added
to the module. In particular, a media type extension conversion has been
implemented. The HttpResponse class has been enhanced with several methods for
status code checking.
Core modules: sec module
Support for the Digital Standard Algorithm, (aka DSA) as specified by FIPS-PUB
186-3 has been added to the library. The implementation incorporates several new
objects to manipulate signatures.
Core modules: sec module
The RC2 block cipher algorithm has been added to the module.
Distribution: documentation
The documentation distribution rules have been rewritten and the "publish" rule has
been added.
Release 1.8
Release features
Build process: reset rule
The distclean top level makefile rule has been renamed as reset.
Core engine: stream object
The stream engine has been cleaned with a new architecture. Two new objects
InputStream and OutputStream acts as the foundation of this new design.
Core modules: nwg module
The HttpProto, HttpRequest and HttpResponse objects have been completely rewritten.
In the new model, both objects can operate on the server and client side. The
HttpReply object has been removed.
Core modules: sec module
The Sha224 hash function has been added. This class concludes the implementation of
all SHA family hash functions. The Des class that supports the DES stream cipher
has been added to the library.
Core modules: xml module
The XmlRoot class has been enhanced in order to ease the declaration node existence
verification as well as the encoding mode extraction.
Release 1.7
Release features
Core clients: random engine seeding
A new option controls the seeding of the random engine. By default, in debug mode,
the random engine is not seeded unless requested by the user. In optimized mode,
which is the normal mode, the random engine is seeded at initialization.
Core engine: base number object
The long awaited base number object has been added. The Number object serves the
Integer, Real, and Relatif objects. The base number object is designed to ease the
task of formatting numbers.
Core engine: relatif number enhancements
The relatif number object has been enhanced to support extra methods that are used
for large number computation. This include the power and gcd computation which are
used by the cryptographic engine. In addition, the base arithmetic relatif methods
have been optimized and certain corner bugs in the division fixed.
Core engine: unicode database
The core engine has been updated with the new Unicode 5.1.0 database.
Core engine: serious bugs
A serious bug in the form synchronize engine that would cause an engine crash when
a form is nil has been fixed.
Core modules: sio module
A new object called Pathlist has been added to support the manipulation of path
list. The object is designed to ease the file name resolution in the presence of
search path. The module has also been extensively cleaned.
Core modules: mth module
A new module called afnix-mth has been added to the standard distribution. The
module is designed to integrate the base mathematical functions and objects
available in the engine. With such introduction, the random number generation has
been moved into this module. Additionally, the functions needed to generate prime
numbers have been added to this module.
Core modules: sec module
A new module called afnix-sec has been added to the standard distribution. The
module is designed to integrate the security functions and cryptographic objects.
Two new hasher objects have been added to the security module. The Md2 object
implements the MD2 message digest algorithm as described in RFC 1319. The Md4
object implements the MD4 message digest algorithm as described in RFC 1320. The
standard key derivation functions KDF1 and KDF2 have been added to the security
module. The asymmetric cipher RSA has also been added to the security module and
the Key object has been updated to reflect this.
Release history
09/01/2008: release 1.7.1
AFNIX 1.7.1, the « An Armor release » has been released. This is an emergency
release that corrects a major problem within the evaluation process. Although, the
problem has been fixed, it involves a large piece of code, with a major redesign of
the evaluation engine. It is therefore recommended to upgrade the engine
immediately.
08/08/2008: release 1.7.0
AFNIX 1.7.0, the « An Armor release » has been released. This is a major release
that incorporates numerous new features in the field of cryptography. The release
also incorporates the latest 5.1.0 Unicode database.
Release 1.6
Release features
Core engine: object collection redesign
The core engine has been seriously modified to accommodate for a new object
collection system (aka garbage collection). The new system is more robust and
provides new mechanism that will permit to reclaim cyclic structure as well as
destroying global object on demand.
Core engine: macos x support
The core engine has been adapted to support the new MACOS X Leopard operating
system.
Release history
01/01/2008: release 1.6.0
AFNIX 1.6.0 has been released. This release provides is an intermediate candidate
toward another major release. The most important thing is that the object
collection engine has been redesigned and that MACOS X Leopard is now supported.
Release 1.5
Release features
Core engine: unicode 5.0 support
The core engine continues to be updated in order to better support the Unicode 5.0
standard. With this release, the string normalization scheme is now in place and
used by default internally. This implies among other things, a better support for
multiple diacritics as well as the beginning of the standard collation algorithm.
Core engine: log file support
The Logger base class has been enhanced to support the generation of a log file. An
output stream can now be bound to the object.
Core engine: class defer support
The concept of class defer object has been added to the Class object. The defer
mode is the opposite of the infer mode and provides a mechanism for base class
creation.
Core engine: print table header
The PrintTable object has been enhanced to support the concept of table header.
Core engine: exception re-throwing
The exception object what can be thrown with the reserved keyword throw. This
provides a mechanism to re-throw an exception.
Core engine: critical bug with return form
A critical bug in the core engine affecting the behavior of the return reserved
keyword in a try block has been fixed. A return form inside a try block was
incorrectly generating an exception which was subsequently caught by the try block.
Core modules: net module
The base network module has been enhanced to better operate with IPV6. In
particular, when both IPV4 and IPV6 stacks are present and a host name (typically
localhost) have an address entry, the socket constructor make sure it can build an
object. The IPV6 address display has been rewritten.
Core modules: sio module
A new object called Pathname has been added to support the manipulation of system
path. In addition, two new functions mkdir and mhdir have been also added to
support the directory creation, both normally and hierarchically.
Core modules: nwg module
The Uri has been dramatically enhanced to conform to the RFC 3986. In particular,
the path representation for urn is now working properly. The cookie object has been
massaged to support the cookie version 1, although it does not seem to be supported
(yet!) by the browsers.
Core modules: xml module
The xml module has been enhanced with a new parsing system called the simple model.
In the simple model, nodes are parsed in a linear fashion. The node content is
available in the form of a string and its interpretation is at the user discretion.
Core service: wax service
The afnix-wam service has been renamed as afnix-wax. The service has also been
updated with two new objects, namely the XmlMime and XhtmlMime which permits to
build a mime representation of an xml tree. Several xhtml objects have also been
added to complete the collection. This include the XhtmlScript for example.
Core service: xpe service
The afnix-xpe service has been added as a new service. The xml processing
environment (xpe) provides a xml processor that permits manipulate the whole xml
tree with the help of various xml processor features. In particular, the service
provides the support for the xml include extension.
Core projects: apx project
This release incorporates for the first time, the concept of core project, which
represents a librarian or an application. The first project is the AFNIX protocol
extension or apx which is a message based protocol designed to transport
request/reply messages within a client/server environment. The message is built
with the xml library and the librarian provides the encapsulation layer.
Core projects: amd project
The AFNIX media dumper or amd project is a complete application designed to
illustrate the design of an application. The application permits to dump an uri
content into a file.
Release history
06/08/2007: release 1.5.2
AFNIX 1.5.2 has been released. This is a minor release that fixes the build process
with GCC 4.2.
04/21/2007: release 1.5.1
AFNIX 1.5.1 has been released. This is a minor release that fixes the documentation
targets during the build process.
04/18/2007: release 1.5.0
AFNIX 1.5.0 has been released. This release provides a xml processor in the form of
a new service module called 'xml processing environment' or xpe. The whole
documentation generation is now fully automated, thanks to the new xml processor.
This release also provides a better support for the 'web application extension' or
wax service. The support for the GNU/FreeBSD platform has also been added in this
release. As usual, this release comes with its wagon of bug fixes, notably this
time in the network field especially with IPV6 on the FreeBSD platform.
Release 1.4
Release features
Core engine: unicode 5.0 support
The core engine has been substantially changed to support the new Unicode 5.0
standard. As of now, the engine is in place internally, but not fully activated. In
particular, the string normalization is implemented but not activated. The next
release should incorporate the full system with a change that should be transparent
to the user.
Core language: instance inference
An instance inference mechanism -- which is equivalent to the concept of virtual
constructor -- has been added to the core engine. Such system permits to derive top
instance from a base instance construction.
Core language: print table object
The PrintTable object has been enhanced with a dump method similar to the format
method.
Core language: property list object
The Property and the Plist objects have been added to the standard library. a
property is name/value pair. The property list object is an iterable object that
stores property objects.
Core modules: xml module
A new module called afnix-xml has been added. The module provides the foundation
for a full xml 1.0/1.1 support. The module also includes a parser that permits to
build xml tree. A xml tree writer is also part of the module functionality. A xml
processor is not yet available and is expected in the next release.
Core modules: nwg module
A new module called afnix-nwg has been added. The module provides the support for
the network working group objects such like Uri object. The module also provides
the foundation for the mime support.
Core modules: web module
The afnix-web module has been removed and replaced by the afnix-wam service.
Core service: wam service
The afnix-wam service has been added as the first service into the core
distribution. A service differs from a module in the sense that it is a combination
of different modules. The web application management service depends on the xml and
nwg modules. The service provides all the functionality to support a http session,
including xhtml page generation and cgi request reply.
Release history
01/28/2007: release 1.4.3
This release is a minor release that fixes the "install" rule in the etc directory.
01/01/2007: release 1.4.2
This release is a minor release that fixes the tcp socket read method that
incorrectly handles a connection reset by the peer. The Time class also
incorporates a small fix for the to-rfc method.
11/09/2006: release 1.4.1
This release is a minor release that fixes the lexer for not parsing correctly some
floating point numbers. The standard i/o documentation is also fixed. A print media
support is now available in the documentation.
11/06/2006: release 1.4.0
This release incorporates the Unicode 5.0 standard as well as a brand new xml
module. This release also introduces the concept of service module, which provides
additional functionalities on top of regular modules. A new service module called
web application management or wam is also introduced with this release. This
service module is based on the newly created xml module and replaces the old web
module which has been obsoleted immediately.
Release 1.3
Release features
Core language: ISO-8859 transcoding support
The core engine has been modified to integrate a character transcoder that permits
the support all ISO-8859 codesets which are mostly used for the encoding of
european and arabic characters. Depending on the locale settings, the transcoder
automatically remaps the 8 bits characters into their respective unicode character.
All clients have been updated to detect their associated locale and to set
automatically the appropriate transcoder. A new option -e has been added to force a
particular encoding.
Core language: Logger base class
A logging base class has been added. The logging facility provides the interface to
store messages by time and level. This class is further extended in the modules.
Core language: Heap class
A heap class has been added. The heap can operate in ascending or descending mode.
This class can be used to support priority queue.
Core language: Option class
An option class has been added in order to ease the option capture when designing
an application. The class permits to define the valid options and offer a powerful
retrieval mechanism.
Core language: Date class
The Time class has been completely changed and a new Date class has been added. The
new mechanism provides a better separation between the time and the date, increase
the date range and authorizes the support for multiple calendar.
Client: cross spreadsheet client
The axs client has been modified to support the axs:insert-marker, axs:insert-
header and insert-footer control commands.
Core modules: speadsheet module
The Folio and Sheet classes have been substantially updated to support additional
information. The Sheet also supports the concept of markers that marks the sheet
columns by literals. The concept of column tagging has been added with the
associated search methods. All classes also contain an information field. The
importation mechanism now supports a cons cell that defines both the cell name and
the cell value.
Core modules: web module
The Table class has been modified to support the concept of table data header. The
associated methods have been added to the class and a new HtmlTh has been added.
The concept of tag propagation has also been added. If a tag element already
exists, this one is not added. This is particularly true for the class tag that is
now part of the class constructor. The HtmlPage class has been put in strict
conformance with xhtml 1.1 and the XHtmlpage class has been removed.
Core modules: pim module
A new module called the afnix-pim module has been added to the base distribution.
The personal information management or pim module is designed to ease the
management of personal information and agenda.
Core modules: gfx module
A new module called the afnix-gfx module has been added to the base distribution.
The module contains the base class that supports the graph data structure which was
previously part of the standard library.
Release 1.2
Release features
Core language: Unicode support
The core engine has been substantially modified to integrate the support for
Unicode characters. Depending on the system settings the reader automatically
adjust itself to operate in byte mode or in UTF-8 mode. The String and Character
classes are now operating with a Unicode representation. The design of an Unicode
based engine also impacts several classes like the Regex, Buffer and stream
classes. A new class called Byte is also designed to handle byte character. A new
stream model with a base Stream class has also been added. The full support with
Unicode character is not yet completed. In particular, certain codesets are not
supported at all. This is particularly true with case-conversion functions.
Core language: orphan instance and reparenting
The object model now supports the creation of orphan instance which is an instance
without a class attached to it. The instance can be later bound to a class and such
class can even be changed during the course of the program execution.
Core modules: network module
The Address class has been updated to reflect the access to address aliases.
Core modules: text processing module
The Literate class has been updated to reflect the support of Unicode characters.
The class can operate both in byte mode or in Unicode character mode.
Release 1.1
Release features
Core language: Large file support
Support for the large file system has been added in the base distribution. All
input/output operations as long as they are supported by the operating system are
now done in 64 bits mode.
Core libraries: Secure hash algorithm
The cryptographic library incorporates the support for the SHA-1, SHA-256, SHA-384
and SHA-512 hash algorithms.
Core libraries: Standard symmetric cipher
The cryptographic library incorporates the support for the Advanced Encryption
Standard (AES) as a symmetric cipher.
Core libraries: ODC library renamed
The ODC library has been renamed to SPS which stands for spreadsheet library. This
new name is considered more appropriate for the function the library achieves.
Core libraries: xhtml 1.1 support
The XhtmlPara class is now configured to support XHTML 1.1 with utf-8 encoding.
Documentation: XML based documentation
The documentation has been rewritten completely in XML. A DTD as well as the
necessary XSLT style sheets have also been designed to produce a professional
documentation which can be used for printing or for online browsing.
Release history
10/04/2005: release 1.1.2
This release incorporates a fix for a terminal capability error.
08/25/2005: release 1.1.1
This release incorporates fixes for several build problems with the FreeBSD
platform.
08/19/2005: release 1.1.0
The 1.1 release is yet another milestone that incorporates a full redesign of the
documentation tree as well as the inclusion of the cryptographic library that
features some original implementations. The full documentation is now available in
XML format and can be accessed online.
Release 1.0
The 1.0 release is the initial release. This release replaces the old ALEPH programming
language which has been discontinued.
Release history
04/19/2005: release 1.0.3
This release incorporates the necessary files that support GCC 4. It also provides
some minor fixes that were preventing the compilation on some 64 bits platforms.
03/02/2005: release 1.0.2
This release incorporates a minor fix that could cause the build process to fail.
02/16/2005: release 1.0.1
This release incorporates a minor fix that could cause the build process to fail.
01/16/2005: release 1.0.0
This is the primary release 1.0.0 which originated from the ALEPH programming
language and which has been discontinued. A complete history of the language is
provided in the description page.