[PLT announcement] [ANNOUNCE] Simplified Wrapper and Interface Generator (SWIG) 1.3.18

The following message is a courtesy copy of an article
that has been posted to comp.lang.scheme as well.

*** ANNOUNCE: SWIG 1.3.18 ***

http://www.swig.org

March 23, 2003

We're pleased to announce SWIG 1.3.18, the latest installment in the
SWIG development effort.  SWIG-1.3.18 includes a number of bug fixes,
several new language modules, an improved build environment, and
many other exciting new features.

What is SWIG?
-------------
SWIG is a software development tool that reads C/C++ header files and
generates the wrapper code needed to make C and C++ code accessible
from other languages including Perl, Python, Tcl, Ruby, PHP, Java,
Guile, Mzscheme, Ocaml, Chicken Scheme, and C#.  Major applications of
SWIG include generation of scripting language extension modules, rapid
prototyping, testing, and user interface development for large C/C++
systems.

Availability:
-------------
The release is available for download on Sourceforge at

     http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/swig/swig-1.3.18.tar.gz

Within the next day, a Windows version will also be made available at

     http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/swig/swigwin-1.3.18.zip

New Features:
-------------
Several new language modules have been added, including support for C#
and Chicken Scheme.  In addition, Mark's polymorphism patch has been
incorporated.  This gives certain modules the ability to extend C++
classes with virtual methods implemented the target language
itself---an especially useful addition if you are working with code
that involves callbacks.   Finally, a number of minor patches, bug fixes, and
improvements have been made.  

Release numbers
---------------
With SWIG1.3, we are adopting an odd/even version numbering scheme for
SWIG.  Odd version numbers (1.3, 1.5, 1.7, etc...) are considered to
be development releases.  Even numbers (1.4,1.6,1.8) are stable
releases.  The current 1.3 effort is working to produce a stable 2.0
release.  A stable 2.0 release will not be made until it can
accompanied by fully updated documentation.  In the meantime, we will
continue to make periodic 1.3.x releases.

We need your help!
------------------
Even if you are perfectly happy with SWIG1.1, we can still use your
feedback.  First, we like to know about compilation problems and other
issues concerning the building of SWIG.  Second, if SWIG1.3 is unable
to compile your old interface files, we would like to get information
about the features you are using.  This information will help us find
bugs in the SWIG1.3 release, develop techniques for supporting
backwards compatibility, and write documentation that addresses
specific issues related to migrating from SWIG1.1 to SWIG1.3.

We are also looking for volunteers who would like to work on various
aspects of SWIG development.  SWIG is an unfunded project that would
not exist without volunteers.  We are also looking for the developers
of other SWIG language modules.  If you have developed a SWIG module
and would like to see it incorporated into the new release, please
contact us to obtain SWIG-CVS access.  We are also more than willing
to help port your module from SWIG1.1 to SWIG1.3.  Please send email
to beazley at cs.uchicago.edu for further information.

Please report problems with this release to swig-dev at cs.uchicago.edu.

--- The SWIG Developers

-- 
Matthias Koeppe -- http://www.math.uni-magdeburg.de/~mkoeppe