S  M  L   /   N  J

                  1  1  0  .  3  3      N  E  W  S
			
  		           May 23, 2001

			      WARNING

  	This version is intended for compiler hackers. The 
	version ought to be stable, however we have not run
	our full regression testing.

        http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/what/smlnj/index.html


Summary:

  This version will build under Mac OS X.

  This version is being used to introduce the new experimental C FFI
  (currently only available for x86/Linux) and to check point a number
  of changes to MLRISC.

  The CKIT is now part of the release because it is needed for ml-nlffigen.

  In support of the C FFI, the new $/c.cm library (from src/ml-nlffi-lib)
  implements an encoding of the C type system in ML.  It receives help
  from the ml-nlffigen glue code generator (from src/ml-nlffigen) which
  transforms C source input into corresponding ML glue code.

  The compiler has been modified to support the C FFI.

  There are various bugfixes and some organizational changes.

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

Mac OS X:

   - This version will build under the new Apple Mac OS X 
     operating system. 

MLRISC:

   - infinite precision throughout
   - support for virtual frame pointers ("omit-frame-pointer")
     (This was needed for a correct implementation of raw C calls,
      but it should also come in handy for clients of MLRISC other
      than SML/NJ.  Currently x86 only.)
   - see http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/what/smlnj/compiler-notes
   - support for alternative control-flow in MLTREE
   - other API changes
   - bug fixes

CM:

    - "lambdasplit" parameter for class "sml" to control status and
      aggressiveness of cross-module inlining
    - parallel make now works again
    - "proxy libraries"
    - other bug fixes

CKIT:

    The ckit source tree is now part of the SML/NJ distribution.

compiler:

    - bug fixes (e.g., dead-up logic in cpsopt/contract.sml)
    - lambda-split phase now in the optimization pipeline by default
      control via Compiler.Control.LambdaSplitting.* (and/or via CM)
    - compiler now aware of certain offsets in runtime-system data
      structures to be able to generate code for raw C calls
    - added raw memory access primops and a primop for raw C calls
      and handled them throughout the compiler
    - prim.sml now has correct types for all primops

ML-NLFFI:

    - two source trees in support of the new NLFFI ("no-longer foreign
      function interface") added:
         src/ml-nlffi-lib     --- support library
         src/ml-nlffigen      --- glue code generator
    - some preliminary documentation under src/ml-nlffi-lib/Doc
      (The tar file for this will be retrieved only if you enable
       ml-nlffi-lib in config/targets.  Be sure to do this only on
       x86/Linux platforms, though.  If you use a different platform
       and want to look at the source or the documentation, fetch
       the tar file by hand.)

smlnj-lib:

    - some API cleanup and bug fixes

runtime:

    - dlopen and friends added (currently x86/Linux only)
    - changes to vproc-state.h to support efficient signal handling
      by new raw C call mechanism
    - support for Mac OS X; Darwin

overall organization:

    - use CM "proxy libraries" where possible

scripts:

    - various bug fixes to config/install.sh
    - config/install.sh now knows about ckit, ml-nlffi-lib, and ml-nlffigen
    - config/install.sh will use config/targets.customized if it exist
      (falls back to config/targets if not)
    - makeml verbosity level controllable via MAKEML_VERBOSITY
      or command line switch
   - This version should build under the new Apple Mac OS X 
     operating system.