Emacs ringing system: program changes

I started this change log at version 1.08. Not all changes are listed here, but I'll do my best to mention fixes for externally-reported bugs (which are listed on the bugs page). See also the wishlist page.

1.26 (unreleased)

• Added custom / menu / config item for ringing:enable-auto-hunt which makes C-left and C-right run in and run out in a ``single keystroke''.
• Added mSiRiL-mode:mark-my-tried-methods, which marks in a mSiRiL buffer the methods that are in your touch book.
• Added bob-courses.el
• Method display buffers now have a mode of their own, such that you can use some commands when the cursor is on the name of a method (e.g. the "Methods same except for lead end" methods). The command . locates a method's mSiRiL definition, and ? displays the method.
• Handbells ringing implemented -- use M-x handbells:ring-method. At the moment, only works properly just in the minibuffer area -- there's the beginnings of whole method display (but that wouldn't be as much of a realistic challence to ring!).
• microSiRiL:methods-in-files, the alist of files to alists of method name to method data, is now stored using the file-truename of each file, to avoid duplication that was occurring when using mSiRiL-mode on files accessed by a route other than method-library:directory.
• Further work on touches.el, to get deftouch working; more information docstring for deftouch.
• method-group-mode now puts the number of methods into the mode line.
• Flag mSiRiL-mode:identify-above-below now available, to turn on trying to describe methods in terms of familiar methods (from group naming-%d) above and below the treble.
• The method data structure now stores the name of the file from which that method came.
• Added method locating commands (bound to M-. like a tag locator) in touch book and method group modes.

1.25 (1999-02-05)

• Fixed some bugs, including timeout when teaching.
• Display of methods now lists other methods that have the same work but different half-lead, as well as those with the same work but different lead-end.
• Added ringing:quiz-at-stage, to quiz the user on leads of methods they want to learn at a particular stage. If run from in a shell buffer, this shows you the shell buffer briefly after each lead, so you can use it while waiting for a long compilation to finish.
• Ringing plain courses from mSiRiL-mode now displays time taken and how long it would take to ring a peal at that pace.
• "Leads in improving order" commands can now parse place bell numbers higher than 9
• Improved documentation for intensive teaching and for the touch book.
• Touch book display is now colored, and has a mark command (m) to mark all leads of the method under point -- this also happens implicitly whenever you do a method-related movement command within the buffer, or try ringing or displaying a method from the buffer.
• Rounds row constructed for PostScript output now suppresses changing observation bell to an asterisk, and doesn't colour the row.
• method-group-mode now has command for quizzing the user at random, re-teaching them leads that they don't do well enough. New variable: ringing:quiz-acceptable-faults.

1.24 (1998-09-18)

• Fix problems with labelling columns. However, there is now a problem with not labelling them.
• Fix incorrect and superfluous second attempt at adding lead end to place notation labelling in PostScript output.
• Intensive teaching now takes optional starting point, from prefix arg.
• Further work on classifying methods -- ringing:method-regular-p implemented.
• method-group-mode re-parses the buffer if you re-write it to the file. A few other small changes in that area, too.
• Made the colouring code not object on a monochrome (TTY-only) emacs.

1.23 (1998-07-16)

• Made reading of user keystrokes not apply timeout on the first row of a touch (so they have time to read the buffer header, etc).

1.22 (1998-06-19)

• Added calling practice (M-x ringing:call-touch in calling.el).
• Setting the entire configuration on the first run after installation is no longer required.
• As well as producing a method group dynamically from the whole touch book, it can now produce a group for all the methods from the touch book that are at a particular stage.

1.21 (1998-06-09)

• Made timeout work in random teaching.
• Created a file to hold parser for Central Council Method Collections files, as a place-holder to remind me to fill it in -- nothing in it yet.

1.20 (1998-06-05)

• Some changes to how the touch book is maintained.
• Added colouring of bell under point in full-grid-mode.
• place-notation:recreate-string-from-changes now includes the lead end in its output. Also, fixed bug in this routine that showed only on some methods -- not sure whether the bug was already there before this set of changes, though.
• Added warning on disturbing treble path in full-grid-mode.
• Fixed bug with moves in left margin in full-grid-mode.
• Added saving to file, printing and previewing in full-grid-mode.
• placenotation-mode renamed to full-grid-mode.
• Column headings in ringing from commands with completion fixed.
• Method-related movement commands added to touch book mode.
• Full grid editing problem with more than 12 bells fixed.

1.19 (1998-05-12)

• Tidied up various warnings about free variables.
• Added display of place bell number and method at top of single-lead teaching buffers, controlled by ringing:label-columns.
• Fixed display of place bell number at top of each column in multi-column display style. This is controlled by a new variable, ringing:label-columns.
• Fixed the text sizing for circular printing style.
• Improved the PostScript styles sampler; it now uses the suggested layout style for each method printing style that suggests a layout style.
• Added default parameters local variable to styles, so they can be used non-interactively (initially, from the sampler generator).
• Changed order of prompting for printing parameters, to get method style first, so it can suggest a layout style.
• Fixed landscape-n-by-m group style.
• Added DWIM function for method editing mode, and bound it to a mouse button.

1.18 (1998-05-08)

• Changed regexp for matching mSiRiL lines, to allow 25z etc -- previously it was allowing only one digit there.
• Some fixes and improvements in full grid editor. I think it's still pretty shaky, but prettier than it was (giant cursor now works much of the time).
• Workround for some versions of emacs not defining load-file-name.

1.17 (1998-05-08)

• Added M-x method-groups:ftp-groups.
• Small fixes on method grid editing / exploration.
• Further work on microSiRiL:parse-whole-files making it not read whole files unless you want it to. If microSiRiL:parse-whole-files is nil, microSiRiL:method-from-file searches for a method in the file, instead of reading the whole file into an alist and searching that.
• Overhaul of some of the method-groups code.
• Teaching code has "space to start" rather than "any key to start".
• Lazy coloring in mSiRiL-mode added.
• Buggy PostScript method printing styles fixed.
• ringing:postscript-styles-sampler (in test.el, which you have to load explicitly) fixed.
• mSiRiL-mode buffers now go on the list of ringing buffers, so they can be hidden.
• ringing:hide-buffers added (as requested, a "The boss is coming" command but without actually killing the buffers).
• Some of the PostScript configuration moved to a separate file.
• Added printing of background grid / dots etc, which may be called by some method printing styles.
• Added handbells-course and handbells-lead method printing styles.
• Added method-library:ftp-libraries.
• Added mSiRiL-mode:color-buffer and called it from mSiRiL-mode if hilit is not in use and mSiRiL:do-own-coloring is set. Method marking (ephemeral method groups) integrated with this. Removed hilit code.
• mSiRiL-mode sets buffer to read-only.
• Prefix argument to mSiRiL-mode printing / previewing commands sets which bell to mark.
• mSiRiL-mode printing / previewing commands separated.
• Timeout on interactive ringing (providing correct stroke if none given in specified time, but logging an error) implemented properly.
• PostScript line joins controlled to avoid spikes.

1.16 (1998-01-24)

• Helper functions to return list including method, rather than just the method, so they can do method splicing by rplaca on the list.
• Multiple page PostScript output for groups -- some group styles print a set number of methods per page, go onto further pages as required to print all the methods in the group.
• Printing system calls previewer if one is defined.
• Printing system more flexible, allowing preset layout sizes, and including prompting for them. Old title style files will no longer work, as there are extra arguments to their main routine (nrows and nbells, to let them choose a drawing area giving a set size per bell and per row).
• ringing:teach-with-mad-conductor changed to work as a single call to ringing:ring-touch with a suitable callback, rather than lots of separate leads.
• Further work on parsing touches.
• Added interactive ringing of touches.
• Added variable /observation to the per-method defined PostScript variables produced by ringing:postscript-for-one-method, and started associated changes in line-plotting style files.
• Integrated ringing-cus.el (contributed).
• PostScript output now bundles everything into resource dictionaries, in preparation for method definitions, output formats and so on to sort out the layout between them by callbacks.
• Added ringing:set-keys et al (largely from user contribution).
• Added place-notation:create-fully-expanded-from-changes which produces output suitable for pasting into Method Maker URLs.

1.15 (1997-08-14)

• Method groups now use defstructs, and store additional information such as printing defaults.
• Methods in groups may have letters for selecting from touch notation.
• Course bell display on-screen.
• Course bell display in PostScript too.
• Method group printing asks for title of ephemeral method
• PostScript printing allows fonts to be set from options
• Ordinary display ringing code insists that either lines or numbers (or both) are drawn, instead of getting an error if both are switched off.
• Changed handling of upper and lower case letters for bells above ten, thus fixing a problem.
• Negative prefix args in mSiRiL-mode switch choice of bell to mark back to automatic.

1.14 (1997-07-31)

• Added compact-line PostScript output.
• Added full grid PostScript output.
• Added stereogram full grid PostScript output.
• Implemented ephemeral groups (marking methods in mSiRiL-mode buffers).
• Listing of similar methods made optional, as it involves parsing the whole file, which is an unwanted delay for those who just use the mSiRiL-mode commands that apply to just the method under point.
• Added touch-book:revise-my-methods.
• Added method-group:group-stage to work out what stage a group (given by name) is at, if specified; and called this from the prompter for printing groups.
• Added Method-300 style PostScript output, i.e. making places goes twice as far down the page as any other change.
• Improved documentation.

1.13 (1997-07-28)

• As well as the cursor keys and the row of letters zxc for moving up, down or making places, the rows of letters qwe and qwd now do the same, to help minimize RSI by making a variety of `typing' positions possible.
• ringing:find-constructed-method now works, implementing the names
  • "A above the treble"
  • "B below the treble"
  • "A with B"
  • "A/B" which is equivalent to "A above the treble with B below the treble"
• mSiRiL-mode:popup-combined-method-lines (bound to & in mSiRiL-mode by default) combines the method at point (for above the treble) with the method at the mark (for below the treble) and displays the resulting method.
• Separated out keys cde and CDE for cursor key alternatives and bell names 13, 14, 11 respectively.
• Method line buffers now list similar methods (same work, from same file).
• Wrote PostScript output version with lines drawn as single paths.
• One-column PostScript output added.
• wishlist.html added.
• PostScript output with just the lines, spreading to take the whole bounding box of the clipping rectangle, in one column, added.
• Landscape format PostScript output added. This is done as a title style, and so can be applied on top of any of the method-plotting styles.
• Method groups PostScript output added.
• Circular PostScript output added.
• Italic backstrokes in PostScript added.
• Touch book contents also available as a method group.
• All methods attempted this session available as a method group.

1.12 (1997-07-17)

• Added switch method-library:full-progress-messages in hope of speeding up the library scanning. Didn't make a lot of difference, at least on my NT machine; might well have more effect on X or a plain terminal connection, though.
• Added ringing:count-lead-rows, as a companion to ringing:count-plain-course-leads.
• mSiRiL-mode puts kind and stage of method in mode line, after the mode name.
• Improved comments in PostScript output.
• Added method-library:proper-file-for-method.
• Made place-notation:recreate-string-from-changes understand symmetry.
• PostScript output scales itself vertically as well as horizontally, if still too tall for the page once horizontal scaling has been done.
• Added prefix keys for bells 13-16 in mSiRiL-mode.

1.11 (1997-07-16)

• A touch which you stand before making any mistakes, when ringing interactively from mSiRiL-mode, no longer counts in the touch book as having been rung perfectly.
• mSiRiL-mode munges names like the completion code now.
• Plain courses are now also recorded lead-by-lead in the touch book.
• e, E, t, and T are now prefix arguments for eleven and twelve in mSiRiL-mode buffers. Edit moved to M-e, and touch-book to l (for log).
• Touch book output command M-x touch-book:list-my-methods now takes optional prefix argument, to include lead-by-lead detail in the output.
• M-x touch-book:worst-leads-first and M-x touch-book:teach-worst-lead added, and bound to w and W in mSiRiL-mode.
• Storage of faces (coloured fonts) revised, in preparation for showing handstroke and backstroke differently.
• Handstrokes and backstrokes shown differently, as an option controlled by ringing:mark-backstroke. This uses italic if an italic version of the default font is available, otherwise underline. I didn't like the underline at first, but on further thought, it groups the rows nicely into pairs, handstroke then backstroke, then a line before the next handstroke and backstroke.
• There is now a set of commands for handling a buffer of leads sorted in improving order of how well you have rung them (average so far). You get into this from touch-book:worst-leads-first, and once in it can press return to re-learn a particular lead, after which the buffer is updated; or type g to update it anyway, if you have an old one of these buffers around.
• Basic PostScript output now working.
• M-x ringing:count-plain-course-leads added.

1.10 (1997-07-11)

• Added z, x, and c as alternatives to left, down and right arrows, to make ringing left-handed easier (to spread the load between the hands, to reduce RSI).
• Added bugs.html.
• Plotting lines in mSiRiL-mode allows optional / prefix argument to indicate which bell's line to mark, and remembers that for that method.
• Renamed some symbols that didn't having a pseudo-package (ringing:* etc).
• Added M-x ringing:teach-lead-until-perfect
• Fixed problem with one-character method names.
• Added M-x method-library:load-all-files, so you can pre-load all the methods, write things that scan through all known methods to gather statistics, etc.
• Added teach-ringing:test-previous-leads and the code that it controls.
• Added history recording.
• mSiRiL-mode has hilit feature (contributed).
• mSiRiL-mode now uses suppress-keymap, so you can't accidentally type things into the buffer; this also means numeric arguments (for which place bell to start on) can be typed without universal-argument (\C-u).

1.09 (1997-07-04)

• Fixed parsing of mSiRiL place notation beginning with +

1.08 (1997-07-03)

• Added underlining of user faults