Changelog

All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

1.15.0 - (UNRELEASED)

Added

  • Enhanced random number generation engine with new algorithms: simdTwister, combRecursive, philox, and threefry.

  • randi: Generate uniformly distributed random integers.

  • New functions for sparse matrix generation:

    • sprand: Generate sparse matrices with uniformly distributed random values.

    • sprandn: Generate sparse matrices with normally distributed random values.

  • Search Text in Console and Text Editor.

  • Type support: Expanded support for missing types, increasing compatibility across functions and data structures.

  • imresize: Resize images by scale or to a specified output size, supporting both upscaling and downscaling.

  • Variable Editor: Redesigned for improved usability and performance. Accessible via openvar or the GUI, it supports structured variables, tables, arrays, and nested data. Features include:

    • Dynamic table view.

    • Real-time updates from the execution context.

    • Enhanced performance for large datasets.

    • Copy-paste compatibility with Excel, LibreOffice, and OpenOffice.

  • Continuation prompt: Context-aware prompts to enhance interactive command workflows.

  • Expanded type support for missing types, increasing compatibility across functions and data structures.

  • missing function: Create missing values for arrays and tables, improving data handling and interoperability.

  • renameStructField: Rename fields in structures, simplifying data manipulation and refactoring.

  • jsondecode(filename, '-file'): Added -file argument for direct reading and decoding of JSON files from disk.

  • tdigest: Introduced t-digest algorithm for accurate quantile estimation with configurable compression parameters.

  • crc32 builtin: Compute CRC32 checksum of a file or string.

  • markdown: Added option to select output format (secure or advanced).

  • fwrite: return also bytes count as second output argument.

  • help: Help for functions in Command Window.

  • macOS Tahoe 26: CI setup and platform support.

  • Python 3.14 support.

Changed

  • Help framework reworked for improved performance and usability:

    • Multithreaded builds for faster performance.

    • Enhanced search capabilities with extended functionality.

    • Improved maintainability using Extensible Stylesheet Language Transformations (XSLT).

    • Unified stylesheet for consistent appearance online and offline.

    • Removed internal usage of Qt help support.

    • Dark theme.

    • Added French language support for Help.

    • Introduced support for LaTeX formulas.

    • Replaced http:// links with https:// for secure connections.

    • Removed the help_browser module.

  • jsondecode: Integrated simdjson for significantly improved performance and efficiency.

  • fileread: Enhanced performance for reading large files, reducing memory usage and increasing speed.

  • fwrite: returns the number of characters written for character data.

  • i18nExtractor: Reworked for greater speed and modernized codebase, improving internationalization extraction reliability.

  • Browser variable: Refactored for improved usability, reliability, and consistency in variable inspection.

  • Third-party libraries on Windows: Updated support for HDF5, zlib, and matio, improving compatibility and stability.

  • Qt: Upgraded to version 6.9.1 on Windows x64, providing better UI performance and compatibility with modern systems.

  • Benchmarks: Updated bench_jsonencode.json to include larger datasets for more robust performance testing.

  • xmldocchecker: Improved with XSD schema validation for XML files.

  • #1458: Added support for Eigen 5.0.0 if detected.

  • GitHub CI: Replaced MacOS Ventura with MacOS 15 Intel (#1457).

  • Markdown renderer: Switched to the cmark library.

  • External packages:

    • Installing a Nelson external package now switches to local embedded help.

    • External packages must be rebuilt with this version to use the new help format.

  • Removed several dependencies on Boost to reduce build complexity and improve portability.

Fixed

  • ans variable: Ensured ans is only created for expressions, preventing unintended variable creation in the workspace.

  • jsondecode: Corrected parsing of arrays containing empty arrays, improving reliability and correctness.

  • Julia engine works also with Julia 1.12.0

  • #1462: fwrite without specifying precision did not work as expected.

  • eye without input argument managed.

1.14.0 - (2025-05-30)

Added

  • New functions:

    • imrotate: Rotate an image.

    • scatter3: 3D scatter plot.

    • colormaplist: List available colormaps.

    • arrayfun: Apply a function to each element of an array.

    • nelsonappid: Return the Nelson application ID.

  • New colormaps:

    • nebula, flag, prism.

  • New properties:

    • WindowState for Figure objects.

    • Units for UIControl objects.

    • DefaultFigureAlphamap, DefaultFigureColormap as root properties.

  • Support for nix develop, providing a reproducible Bash shell preconfigured with Nelson’s build environment. See BUILDING.md for details.

  • A justfile to streamline and standardize the build process across platforms.

  • Support for:

    • Fedora 42.

    • Flatpak package distribution.

Changed

  • scatter improvements:

    • Now returns a scatter graphic object (instead of a line graphic object).

    • Improved rendering precision for scatter symbols (pixel-perfect accuracy).

    • Supports alpha channel (transparency).

  • scatter3 now supports alpha channel.

  • spy now uses scatter instead of plot for better accuracy.

  • Colormap handling updated to use the new DefaultFigureColormap root property.

  • Improved error message when parsing invalid anonymous functions.

  • Boost:

    • Now supports Boost 1.88 (#1378).

    • Minimum required version set to 1.71.

  • Updated dependencies and platform support:

    • Qt 6.9.0 on Windows x64.

    • JSON for Modern C++ updated to v3.12.0.

    • Mozilla CA certificates updated (Tue May 20 03:12:02 2025 GMT).

Fixed

  • #1413: axes function did not properly manage figure objects.

Technical Improvements

  • Application ID changed to io.github.nelson_lang.Nelson.

  • GitHub CI:

    • Now uses Windows 2025 for Windows builds.

    • Major workflow rework for improved reliability and maintainability.

  • Build system:

    • Updated to latest Prettier version.

    • Added use of shared library suffix via a CMake macro.

    • Included CPU target name in Linux packages.

    • Minimized dependencies on SLICOT.

1.13.0 - (2025-03-29)

This release introduces performance improvements and new graphical capabilities while deprecating support for 32-bit Windows versions.

Changed

  • Windows x64 Compatibility: Now requires the AVX2 instruction set.

  • Windows 32-bit Support: Official distribution of 32-bit Windows binary versions has been discontinued.

  • macOS Optimization: Builds for macOS with M-series chips now leverage native optimizations for improved performance.

  • Plot Performance: Optimized plot and plot3 functions for increased speed. Example:

    tic(); plot(rand(300,300), rand(300,300)); toc();

  • Dependencies Updated:

    • Upgraded fmtlib to version 11.1.3.

    • Intel Math Kernel Library (MKL) updated to 2025.0.1 on Windows.

  • Internal Enhancements:

    • OpenMP multithreading macros have been reworked for better efficiency.

  • SLICOT module incorporates SLICOT library 5.9, which is distributed under the BSD-3-Clause license.

    • SLICOT module available on all platforms by default.

  • python 3.13.2 embedded on Windows

Added

  • Double Buffering for Plots:

    • Implemented double buffering to enhance the smoothness and responsiveness of graphical plots.

    • Significantly reduces flickering during graphical updates.

  • New Graphics Functions:

    • getframe: Captures an axes or figure as a movie frame.

    • movie: Plays recorded movie frames.

    • im2frame: Converts an image to a movie frame.

    • frame2im: Returns image data associated with a movie frame.

    • DevicePixelRatio: New figure property to handle display scaling.

  • Graphics IO module:

    • imwrite: create gif animations.

    • imwrite, imread: pcx, tiff file formats managed.

    • imformats: Manage image file format registry.

  • New Example:

    • Added an example for connecting ollama with Nelson:

      edit([modulepath('webtools'), '/examples/ollama/readme.md'])

  • CMake Enhancement:

    • Introduced ENABLE_AVX2 CMake option for systems that support AVX2.

    • CMake dependencies reworked.

Fixed

  • MacOs: Default terminal did not use monospaced font.

  • Some warnings detected with PVS-studio

1.12.0 (2025-02-16)

Added

  • Julia interface (part 1):

    • jlenv: Change default environment of Julia interpreter.

    • jlrun: Run Julia statements from Nelson.

    • jlrunfile: Run Julia file from Nelson.

    • Major types conversions are available.

    • CMake: Optional Julia engine detection.

  • bar, scatter manage color name and short colorname.

  • Github CI Ubuntu 24.04 arm64 (Cobalt 100 processor).

  • Github CI Snapcraft build amd64 and arm64.

  • Snapcraft arm64.

Changed

  • Completion .m files allows execution without extension.

  • #1342 Github CI - Ubuntu-20.04 hosted runner image removed.

Fixed

  • #1346 [display] integer in cell are displayed as double and not as integer.

1.11.0 (2025-01-11)

Added

  • #1321 mustBeSparse validator function.

  • #1322 cmdsep: Command separator for current operating system.

  • urlencode: Replace special characters in URLs with escape characters.

  • docroot: Utility to retrieve or define the root directory of Nelson Help.

  • ismodule: second input argument isprotected added.

  • editor('editor_command', cmd) allows to change text editor in Nelson (for example: VS Code).

  • NELSON_RUNTIME_PATH environment variable added by installer on Windows.

  • --vscode command line argument added.

  • NixOS 24.11 packaging (see BUILDING_Linux.md).

Changed

  • Help Center: Access documentation in your system's web browser. Previously, the documentation was opened in the embedded Help browser.

  • CA certificate store update.

  • fmt library dependency updated.

  • BS::threadpool library dependency updated.

  • Advanced terminal updated (common for all platforms without GUI, auto completion, search history).

  • Python 3.13.1 supported.

Fixed

  • #1324 Cell display could not be interrupted.

1.10.0 (2024-12-14)

Added

  • detectImportOptions: Generate import options from the file's content.

  • readtable: Read table from file.

  • writetable: Write table to file.

  • readcell: Read cell array from file.

  • writecell: write cell array to file.

  • readmatrix: read matrix from file.

  • writematrix: write matrix to file.

  • csvread: Read comma-separated value (CSV) file.

  • csvwrite: Write comma-separated value (CSV) file.

  • dlmread: Read ASCII-delimited file of numeric data into matrix.

  • realmin: Smallest normalized floating-point number.

  • #1288 mustBeMatrix, mustBeRow, mustBeColumn validator functions.

  • join: Combine strings.

  • #1292 Large Table Display.

  • #1290 VariableTypes property for table: Specify the data types of table in Nelson.

  • hour, minute, second component of input date and time.

Changed

  • narginchk, nargoutchk support for check only minimun arguments narginchk(3, Inf).

  • Fedora 41 CI

  • title: Visible property is inherited from the parent if not explicitly defined.

  • i18n: migration PO files to JSON.

  • dlmwrite: rework the function to be more fast and robust.

  • strjust: rework the function to be more fast and robust.

  • datenum: support '' as format for compatibility.

Fixed

  • #1303 datevec result must be normalized.

  • #1297 some features have no help files.

  • #1276 micromamba macos build.

1.9.0 (2024-10-26)

Added

  • Table direct computation:

    • unary functions: abs, acos, acosh, acot, acotd, acoth, acsc, acscd, acsch, asec, asecd, asech, asin, asind, asinh, atan, atand, atanh, ceil, cosd, cosh, cospi, cot, cotd, coth, csc, cscd, csch, exp, fix, floor, log, log10, log1p, log2, nextpow2, round, sec, secd, sech, sin, sind, sinh, sinpi, sqrt, tan, tand, tanh, var, acosd, not.

    • binary functions: plus, minus, times, eq, ge, gt, le, ne, lt, rdivide, rem, power, pow2, or, mod, ldivide.

  • end magic keyword can be overloaded for classes (applied to table class).

  • #1250 head, tail functions for table and array.

  • #1248 removevars, renamevars functions for table.

Changed

  • #1259 Add macOS Sequoia and remove macOS Monterey CI support.

  • Qt 6.8 LTS support (used on Windows 64 bits binary).

  • Python 3.13.0 on Windows.

  • Boost 1.86 on Windows.

1.8.0 (2024-10-04)

Added

  • table Data Type:

    • Introduced the table data type, offering enhanced functionality for structured data manipulation.

    • Overloaded methods specific to the table data type:

      • disp, display for table display.

      • horzcat, vertcat for horizontal and vertical concatenation.

      • isempty to check if the table is empty.

      • isequal, isequalto for table comparison.

      • properties for accessing table metadata.

      • subsasgn for subscripted assignment.

      • subsref for subscripted referencing.

    • Conversion functions added:

      • array2table: Convert an array to a table.

      • cell2table: Convert a cell array to a table.

      • struct2table: Convert a structure to a table.

      • table2array: Convert a table to an array.

      • table2cell: Convert a table to a cell array.

      • table2struct: Convert a table to a structure.

    • Utility functions introduced:

      • width: Retrieve the number of columns in the table

      • height: Retrieve the number of rows in the table

      • istable: Check if a variable is of the table data type

  • Resize - Resize figure property.

  • #36 datenum format compatibility extended.

  • #37 datestr Convert date and time to string format.

Changed

  • CodeQL Github action updated.

Fixed

  • fix 'units' refresh for 'axes' object.

1.7.0 (2024-08-28)

Added

  • uicontrol Create user interface control (button, slider, edit, list box, etc.).

  • waitfor Block execution and wait for condition.

  • waitforbuttonpress — Wait for click or key press.

  • im2double — Convert image to double.

  • CloseRequestFcn — Close request callback for figure.

  • CreateFcn — Create callback for all graphic objects.

  • DeleteFcn — Delete callback for all graphic objects.

  • BusyAction — Busy action for all graphic objects.

  • Interruptible — Interruptible property for all graphic objects.

  • BeingDeleted — Being deleted property for all graphic objects.

  • KeyPressFcn, KeyReleaseFcn, ButtonDownFcn properties for figure.

Changed

  • Refactor the internal implementation of the 'system' built-in function.

  • Python 3.12.5 on Windows.

1.6.0 (2024-06-29)

Added

  • unique: Unique values.

  • ndgrid: Rectangular grid in N-D space.

  • nthroot: Real nth root of real numbers.

  • allfinite: Check if all array elements are finite.

  • j as imaginary unit number is also supported. example 3+2j equivalent to 3+2i.

  • FollowLocation option for weboptions

  • oneAPI Threading Building Blocks optional dependency.

  • Ubuntu 24.04 debian package.

  • Ubuntu 24.04 CI

Changed

  • sort: speed optimization.

  • Windows dependencies updated and rebuild with minimal dependencies:

    • Qt 6.7.1,

    • Visual C++ 2022 Redistributable v14.40.33810.00,

    • boost 1.85,

    • Python 3.12.4,

    • Intel Math Kernel Library 2024.1.1,

    • Intel runtime,

    • SLICOT,

    • gettext 0.22.5,

    • cmake 3.30.0 rc3,

    • libsndfile 1.2.2,

    • portaudio 19.7.5,

    • taglib 2.0,

    • libzip1 1.3.1,

    • libcurl 8.8.0,

    • icu4c 74.2,

    • libffi 3.4.6,

    • libxml2 2.11.7

  • Unicode® Standard, Version 15.1 support

  • simdutf 5.2.8

  • fast_float 6.1.1

  • dtl 1.2.0

Fixed

  • #1210 bode did not unwrap phase.

  • #1206 balance yields wrong Transformation Matrix.

  • #1205 diag may return wrong sub-diagonals.

  • #1202 buildhelpmd does not generate SUMMARY as expected.

  • #1201 Matrix Exponential expm might give wrong results.

  • #1200 Matrix Parsing/Evaluation trouble.

1.5.0 (2024-05-31)

Added

  • dictionary data type.

    • dictionary: Object that maps unique keys to values.

    • configureDictionary: Create dictionary with specified key and value types.

    • insert: Add entries to a dictionary.

    • lookup: Find value in dictionary by key.

    • remove: Remove dictionary entries.

    • entries: Key-value pairs of dictionary.

    • keys: Keys of dictionary.

    • values: Values of dictionary.

    • types: Types of dictionary keys and values.

    • numEntries: Number of key-value pairs in dictionary.

    • isConfigured: Determine if dictionary has types assigned to keys and values.

    • isKey: Determine if dictionary contains key.

    • keyHash: Generate hash code for dictionary key.

    • keyMatch: Determine if two dictionary keys are the same.

  • bernsteinMatrix: Bernstein matrix.

  • orderedfields: Order fields of structure array.

  • Python interface (part 3):

    • #1160 Python operators in Nelson.

    • keyHash, keyMatch for python objects.

    • isa builtin support python types.

    • python dictionary to Nelson dictionary dictionary(pyDict)

    • conversion dictionary to python dictionary.

Changed

  • help files generated sorted by name on all platforms.

  • on windows, Qt libraries used are in debug mode.

Fixed

  • #1195 strcmp({'a'},["a"]) did not return expected value.

1.4.0 (2024-04-27)

Added

  • Python interface (part 2):

    • #1168 Run Python script file from Nelson.

    • #1141 Help about Managing Data between Python and Nelson.

    • #1149 python bytes, and bytearray types were not managed.

    • #1163 pyenv searchs python by version on Windows.

    • #1164 Embed python distribution on Windows.

    • #1167 Help about how to install Python package from Nelson.

    • numpy types support if numpy available.

    • pyenv: can use environment variables to set values.

  • getenv: Retrieve the values of several environment variables.

  • pyrun: Python code object allowed as first input argument.

  • nelson --without_python starts nelson without python engine.

  • skip_testsuite: allows to skip test suite dynamically on condition.

Changed

  • Allow to call method of a variable of CLASS/HANDLE type like a function (currently, only plugged for python subtype).

  • #1142 Github Actions updated.

  • #1157 Qt 6.7 support (used on Windows 64 bits binary).

  • copyfile, isfile, isdir, mkdir allow string array type as input.

  • warning about 'Matrix is singular to working precision' for inv matrix.

  • tests webtools skipped if connection fails or not available.

Fixed

  • #1144 test_run markdown help file had a typo.

  • #1143 Linux Snapcraft version did not allow to use python.

  • #1148 pyrun('print(A)','A','A',string(NaN)) did not return expected value.

  • single(int64([1 2; 3 4])) returned a wrong value.

  • py.tuple, py.list compatibility increased.

  • pyenv did not manage python's path with space on Windows.

  • Matio 1.5.27 compatibility on ArchLinux.

  • Ubuntu 24.04 LTS support.

  • #1178 Fedora 40 support (CI).

  • #1134 [CI] MacOS X Ventura restored.

1.3.0 (2024-03-30)

Added

  • Python interface (part 1):

    • CMake: Optional Python3 detection.

    • pyenv Change default environment of Python interpreter.

    • pyrun Run Python statements from Nelson.

    • Major types conversions are compatible (numpy in the next upcoming version).

  • ArchLinux packaging (https://aur.archlinux.org/packages/nelson-git).

  • contour Contour plot of matrix.

  • contour3 3-D contour plot.

  • shiftdim Shift array dimensions.

  • xcorr2 2-D cross-correlation.

  • deconv Deconvolution and polynomial division.

  • vecnorm Vector-wise norm.

  • normpdf Normal probability density function.

  • #310 gammaln Logarithm of gamma function.

  • #1112 gradient Numerical gradient.

  • #1126 isspace Determine which characters are space characters.

Changed

  • #1110 Eigen master branch (352ede96e4c331daae4e1be9a5f3f50fff951b8d) ready to use.

  • #1134 [CI] MacOS X Ventura disabled (Install dependencies fails)

  • struct supports scalar string array as field name.

Fixed

  • #1110 add help about build and use C/C++ on fly.

  • #1124 unexpected result from long statements on Multiple Lines.

  • #1127 Nelson could crash if an mxn characters is displayed in the variable browser.

  • #1125 Unsupported colon operator with char operands.

  • Missing 'zoom in', 'zoom out' icons for help viewer in linux package.

  • gcd without argument returned wrong error message.

  • #1133 [CI] [ARCH LINUX] Warning about MPI.

1.2.0 (2024-02-25)

Added

  • Recursive completion on Graphic handle, struct, handle, class (properties, methods).

  • Adding links between documents about mex and supported compilers.

  • GitHub CI for macOS Sonoma (Apple Silicon) support.

  • Export to ... context menu for console and text editor as pdf.

  • CTRL + Mouse wheel or CTRL + +/- to zoom in/out on console, editor, help.

  • Toolbar for figure with print, zoom in, zoom out, rotation, pan, restore axes.

  • zoom , pan , rotate3d functions.

  • MenuBar, ToolBar figure properties.

  • Window menu on graphic window, list all others available windows.

  • feature builtin (undocument features, debug, tests, ...) content can change with next releases.

  • GridAlpha, GridColor, View properties for Axes.

  • CTRL+C in help viewer, copy selected text.

  • checkupdate function and check update menu.

  • isScalarStringArray iinternal API C++ method.

Changed

  • Clicking on an axis automatically sets it as the current axes object.

  • Clicking on an figure automatically sets it as the current figure object.

  • saveas exports the figure as a PDF page with centered alignment.

  • Default color of grid for axes.

  • Default figure size updated.

  • Default MarkerFaceColor value for compatibility.

  • view function returns azimuth and elevation values.

  • Camera view reworked.

  • Minimal screen resolution supported 800x600.

Fixed

  • Change directory with file browser line editor did not work as expected.

  • Template to create a function with file browser was wrong.

  • Do not allow to select multiple variable in workspace browser.

  • File browser checks if files with the extension ".m" have a valid name before enable 'run' context menu.

  • Paste in editor with multiple tab.

  • Starting the Nelson desktop was taking longer than necessary.

1.1.0 (2024-01-29)

Added

  • Nelson Desktop environment: file browser, command history, workspace browser, desktop layout.

  • #1074 Roadmap v2.0.0

  • #1044: LU matrix factorization.

  • #1080 LineStyle, LineWidth properties were not implemented for surface objects.

  • sky, abyss colormaps.

1.0.0 (2024-01-04)

Nelson 1.0.0 has been released.

Nelson is an interactive, fully functional environment for engineering and scientific applications. It implements a matrix-driven language (which is largely compatible with MATLAB and GNU Octave), with advanced features such as 2-D 3-D plotting, image manipulation and viewing, a codeless interface to external C/C++/FORTRAN libraries, native support for various C types, and a host of other features.

Features

  • Types managed by Nelson:

    • double and double complex: scalar, vector, matrix 2D, N dimensions array, sparse matrix.

    • single and single complex: scalar, vector, matrix 2D, N dimensions array, sparse matrix.

    • logical: scalar, vector, matrix 2D, N dimensions array, sparse matrix.

    • character array (UNICODE supported).

    • string array (UNICODE supported).

    • integers 8, 16, 32, 64 signed and unsigned: scalar, vector, matrix 2D, N dimensions array.

    • handle objects.

    • anonymous functions,

    • all types can be overloaded.

  • OpenMP and SIMD extensions used.

  • 2D and 3D plotting with high-level plot commands.

  • Parallel Computing Module.

  • Fast Fourrier Transformation functions based on FFTW and MKL wrapper.

  • SLICOT (Subroutine Library in Systems and Control Theory) interfaces (optional).

  • Control System module.

  • Message Passing Interface (MPI): functions for parallel computing.

  • JSON decode/encode data support.

  • HDF5 high-level functions I/O,

  • HDF5 used as default data file format (.nh5) load/save workspace,

  • MAT-file compatible load/save workspace,

  • Foreign Function Interface C/Fortran.

  • Interfacing C/C++ or Fortran with Nelson (build and load external code on the fly).

  • MEX C API compatibility.

  • Nelson Engine API for C (compatible with MEX Engine). Call Nelson from your C code as engine.

  • RESTful API web service.

  • Inter-process communication between Nelson's process.

  • The QML engine enables nelson programs to display and manipulate graphical content using Qt's QML framework.

  • Component Object Model (COM) client interface: binary-interface standard for software components on Windows.

  • Write/Read xlsx files on Windows using COM.

  • Embedded Nelson code editor.

  • Help engine:

    Generate help files using Nelson dedicated functions. View your generated help files as html, markdown, pdf, gitbook or directly in Nelson help viewer.

  • Tests engine:

    Validate your algorithm using Nelson dedicated functions. Export the test results under the xUnit reports format.

  • Profiling and Code coverage tools for Nelson's language:

    Nelson has a built-in profiler that is very useful to profile your code and find out what script or function is taking the most time.

  • Nelson cloud: Instant access to Nelson anywhere from an web browser.

  • Module skeleton to extend Nelson available here:

  • Nelson Modules Manager (nmm) : package manager for Nelson

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