IPython 0.8.0 is out

[Paddy]

On Apr 11, 6:18 am, Fernando Perez <fperez.... at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi all,
>
> The IPython team is happy to release version 0.8.0, with a lot of new
> enhancements, as well as many bug fixes.
>
> We hope you all enjoy it, and please report any problems as usual.
>
> WHAT is IPython?
> ----------------
>
> 1. An interactive shell superior to Python's default. IPython has many
> features for object introspection, system shell access, and its own special
> command system for adding functionality when working interactively.
>
> 2. An embeddable, ready to use interpreter for your own programs. IPython
> can
> be started with a single call from inside another program, providing access
> to
> the current namespace.
>
> 3. A flexible framework which can be used as the base environment for other
> systems with Python as the underlying language.
>
> 4. A shell for interactive usage of threaded graphical toolkits. IPython has
> support for interactive, non-blocking control of GTK, Qt and WX applications
> via special threading flags. The normal Python shell can only do this for
> Tkinter applications.
>
> Where to get it
> ---------------
>
> IPython's homepage is at:
>
> http://ipython.scipy.org
>
> and downloads are at:
>
> http://ipython.scipy.org/dist
>
> We've provided:
>
>       - Source download (.tar.gz)
>       - A Python Egg (http://peak.telecommunity.com/DevCenter/PythonEggs).
>       - A python 2.4 RPM.
>       - A native win32 installer.
>
> The egg is 'light', as it doesn't include documentation and other ancillary
> data.  If you want a full ipython installation, use the source tarball or
> your
> distribution's favorite system.
>
> We note that IPython is now officially part of most major Linux and BSD
> distributions, so packages for this version should be coming soon, as the
> respective maintainers have the time to follow their packaging procedures.
> Many thanks to the distribution packagers for their work, which helps users
> get
> IPython more conveniently.
>
> Thanks to all the users who contributed bug reports, ideas and especially
> patches.  The ChangeLog has hopefully detailed acknowledgements, but please
> let
> us know if we've accidentally ommitted giving you due credit.
>
> Many thanks to Enthought for their continued hosting support for IPython.
>
> Release notes
> -------------
>
> As always, the full ChangeLog is athttp://ipython.scipy.org/ChangeLog.  The
> highlights of this release follow.  Also see the "What's New" page at
>
>    http://ipython.scipy.org/moin/WhatsNew
>
>  * Support for KeyboardInterrupt (Ctrl-C) when running in multithreaded mode
>    with GUI support.  This had been a long-requested feature that we had
> never
>    quite been able to implement correctly.  Many thanks to Tomer Filiba's
> for
>    his ctypes-based trick:http://sebulba.wikispaces.com/recipe+thread2,
> which
>    we used (any implementation mistakes are our own and not his fault).
> Users
>    of Python 2.4 should note that they need to install ctypes separately to
>    access this feature; ctypes is part of Python 2.5 already.
>
>  * Fully syntax-highlighted tracebacks and debugger listings.  IPython used
> to
>    color tracebacks, but only certain elements; now the source is actually
>    highlighted by the same engine that handles '??' source listings, both in
>    tracebacks and during interactive debugging.
>
>  * Improved the ipipe system:http://ipython.scipy.org/moin/UsingIPipe,
>    including a new WX-based graphical browser.
>
>  * Much improved unicode support.  There may still be bugs remaining, but a
>    number of known-incorrect cases have been fixed.
>
>  * Make the execution of 'from pylab import *' when -pylab is given be
> otional.
>    A new flag (which can be set in your ipythonrc file), pylab_import_all
>    controls this behavior, the default is True for backwards compatibility.
>
>  * Extensions for perforce support via a new magic (%p4) and custom command
>    completers.
>
>  * Improved support for (X)Emacs under win32.
>
>  * Several small fixes and improvements to the interactive demo module.
>
>  * Add \N for the actual prompt number, without any coloring, as an escape
> for
>    customized prompt definitions.  This lets users write their own custom
>    prompts with arbitrary coloring schemes.
>
>  * Many more bugfixes and small features everywhere (the ChangeLog linked
> above
>    has the gory details).
>
> API changes:
>
>  * genutils.clock() now returns user+system time.  The new clocku/clocks
>    functions return respectively user and system time only.
>
> Enjoy, and as usual please report any problems.
>
> The IPython team.

Just made a connection between the IPipe feature and Windows
PowerShell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PowerShell
I can't find the link to the orignial PowerShell article but I do
remember them talking about sending objects rather than text through
pipes (as Unix does); and that their was a default printing format for
objects coming out of a pipeline.