% PROJECT: MusixTeX PreProcessor
  FILE   : NEWS 
  copyright (c) FlowerSoft 1995
 

noteworthy changes in mpp version 0.45:

   * "note.ini" and "script.ini" reside in mpp executable directory

   * gnu long option support
   
   * enhanced portability (e.g. linux); see file "SUPPORT"

   * this time a sm-dos executable *is* included

   * MPP on the www: http://asterix.urc.tue.nl/~tnnvjn/mpp-english.html

   * for examples, see the mpp web site


noteworthy changes in mpp version 0.44:

   * octaves now extend from "c" to "b" (musical theory) rather than 
     from "a" to "g" (ascii set).
  
   * the note "c" is defined as the `central c'.

   * an uppercase note is one octave lower than the lowercase equivalent.
     together with the "\octavate" (see below) macro, this makes that two 
     octaves can be addressed without using per note octavation "'" and "`": 
     "C D E F G A B c d e f g a b".

   * the convention of slur coding was changed from "(c d)" to "c( )d".
     this is considered more elegant, and looks better in most cases, 
     especially in "c( )c( )c" constructs.
 
   * double flats and double sharps, such as "cisis" and "ases" are 
     recognized (see note.ini).
     all accidentals receive proper spacing (i hope).

   * warning and error messages conform to the GNU standard (so that
     Emacs's C-x will take you there).

   * a piece of music source can be octavated using the macro "\octavate#1".
     this is intended to be a shorthand for the composer/typesetter.
     after \octavate{'}, all notes are prefixed by a (an extra) "'";
     a "c" will be interpreted as a (former) "'c".

   * a piece of music source can be (fully) transposed using the macro 
     "\tranpose#1".
     "\transpose\D" will transpose the following music (recognizing any
     subsequent changes of key) into key D-major.

   * mpp can now be used as a filter.

   * notenames and musical directions are read from plain text files
     (note.ini and script.ini).
     this enables future language support.