New in Version 0.6.233

Changes to the simple interface

• The compute manager class has been removed; all its functionality has been moved to the MEDDLY namespace. For example, the old code segment

  compute_manager* CM = getComputeManager();
  CM->apply(compute_manager::UNION, x, y, z);
  

  can be replaced by

  apply(UNION, x, y, z);
  

• The types of the operation codes (e.g., UNION) have changed. Most applications should not be affected by this; however, the change is visible to the simple interface.
• A call to MEDDLY::cleanup() will automatically destroy any remaining domains, forests, or other objects created by MEDDLY. (This known issue listed under version 0.5 seems to be resolved.)
• A few operation names have changed: old MIN is now MINIMUM and old MAX is now MAXIMUM.

Changes to the expert interface

• Operation codes are now classes instead of an enumerated type. Each operation knows its own name and how to build an operation for specified forests (more on that, below).
• The old operation and op_info classes have been merged together into a new operation class. Each instance of operation is tied to specific forests.
• There are operation subclasses for unary, binary, and numerical operations. A numerical operation is tied to specific forest edges.
• Numerical operations have moved to the expert interface, and are accessed as follows. Old code:

  // preprocessing
  compute_manager* CM = getComputeManager();
  // ...
  // critical
  CM->vectorMatrixMultiply(y, y_ind, x, x_ind, A);
  

  New code:

  // preprocessing
  numerical_operation* VM = VECT_MATR_MULT->buildOperation(y_ind, A, x_ind);
  // ...
  // critical
  VM->compute(y, x);
  

• Users may define their own operations in user space, and initialize them with the same mechanism as the built-in operations. To do this:
  1. Derive a class from op_initializer
     and implement the required virtual functions.
  2. Insert your initializer into the instance of settings used to initialize the library. If you want to initialize the builtin operations, you should use something like

     MEDDLY::settings s;
     s.operationBuilder = new my_initializer(s.operationBuilder);
     MEDDLY::initialize(s);
     

  3. Your initializer’s initChain method will be called during the call to MEDDLY::initialize(s);
  4. Your initializer’s cleanupChain method will be called during the call to MEDDLY::cleanup();

Known Issues

• The current compute table is not as fast as the old one for some operations.