New release of centaur

[jmi@columbo.inria.fr (Janet Bertot)]

			Centaur v1.2 is available.  
		--------------------------------------------

Major new features to Centaur v1.2 are:

-- an improved, incremental pretty printing machine, which allows variable
   width fonts.
	   
-- an external connection to Gnu emacs from a Centaur structure editor.

-- the parsers for various languages are external to the system and, thus, can
   be running on different machines.

-- a resource management system, which allows one to customize the system.
   The user specifies properties that are associated to objects of a certain 
   class.  Note that the properties may be size, color, or location of an 
   object.  For example, resources specify where the system should look for
   files, or where is should store generated files, the size of windows, the
   colors and fonts used in pretty printing.

		--------------------------------------------

This new version is really more of a complete overhaul than a small update.
However, we believe that most of the user environments that have been developed
under centaur v1.1 will be able to run as before with little effort. (Notably,
we've provided some backward compatibility functions to support documented v1.1
functions that are no longer available.) 

For an existing, created under v1.1, language, L, it is important that:
	1) L.metal is recompiled
	2) L.tokens is reedited using the new L.tokens.x generated in step 1.
	3) all of L's .ppml files are recompiled.
The first two operations are necessary for the external parser, while the third
is needed for the new pretty printing machine.

While the 3 steps above will permit one to quickly get their old environment
up and running it does not take advantage of all that 1.2 has to offer.  For
a more complete conversion, we suggest reading "Changes between versions 1.1 
and 1.2", included in the Centaur 1.2 documentation.  This document tells all 
and shows how to profit fully from the resource management system.

Of course, if one is just starting out with Centaur then the best place to do
so is with "A Centaur tutorial" included in the documentation. A word about 
the documentation.  Given the many changes for this new version, we have redone
completely the documentation (rather than provide a few reprints to be used as
replacements in the v1.1 documentation).  This way we provide a complete and 
coherent document that will save the user time and frustration.  Also we now
include the documentation on the Centaur tape, both in PostScript form and
an ascii form (generated using dvi2tty) to permit on-line browsing.

		--------------------------------------------

To obtain the new Centaur v1.2 and documentation send a request:
	i)  either by sending e-mail to centaur-request@sophia.inria.fr,

	ii) or by sending surface mail to 
			Centaur Distribution
			c/o Sophie Honnorat
			INRIA -- Sophia Antipolis
			BP 93
			06902 Sophia Antipolis CEDEX
			FRANCE

Of course, the centaur mailing list, at centaur@sophia.inria.fr, is available
for *technical* questions and eventual bug reports.