
                          SERPENT ALPHA RELEASE 0.7

                                RELEASE NOTES

This  is  Serpent Alpha Release 0.7, which is the third release of the Serpent
user interface system.  Alpha Release 0.7 represents a major change over Alpha
Release 0.6, in terms of directory structure, file names, and procedures, with
some added functionality.  Highlights of the changes include:

   - One of the major changes is that Serpent now uses the imake utility,
     developed at MIT, for configuration management.  This caused a major
     restructuring of the files.  See below for tar file  breakdown,  and
     see the file REL.7.proc for specifics of the structure.

   - Many file names were changed to accommodate the System V restriction
     that file names be limited to 14 characters.  Details can  be  found
     in REL.7.files.

   - The  Slang  file extension has been changed, from ".slang" to ".sl",
     again to accommodate the 14 character restriction.  Serpent will  no
     longer  work  with  the  top level Slang file of a dialogue having a
     ".slang" extension.  See REL.7.files for more details.

   - Among the functionality  changes  are  the  addition  of  an  "exit"
     function,  which  allows  a  user  interface  specifier  to build in
     conditions  under  which  Serpent  will  terminate   without   using
     control-C.    We  also have a playback facility which can be invoked
     from the Serpent command.   This  allows  someone  to  play  back  a
     session  and  simulate  the  application  or  a technology so that a
     dialogue can be debugged without any  end  user  interaction.    See
     REL.7.func for more details.

   - The  Ada interface to Serpent has been worked on extensively, but it
     is not yet ready for release.  When it is ready,  we  will  make  an
     update  tar  file  available.  There are further notes about this in
     REL.7.func.

   - Some of the procedures  for  building  and  executing  Serpent  have
     changed.  See REL.7.proc for details.

This release is composed of several files:

          README (this file)
          REL.7.inst (installation procedures)
          REL.7.func (functional changes)
          REL.7.files (structural and file name changes)
          REL.7.proc (procedural changes)

          s.7.src.tar.Z
          s.7.vax.tar.Z
          s.7.sun.tar.Z

The first five files contain information about this release and should be read
in order.  REL.7.files is mostly for information purposes only, for those  who
have  Serpent  Alpha  Release  0.6.   However, the end of REL.7.files contains
information about Serpent documents.

As a result of the use of imake and the resultant directory structure, all  of
the  source  files  can  be found in the compressed tar file s.7.src.tar.Z.  A
complete working Serpent for the Vax, without source or object files,  can  be
found  in  s.7.vax.tar.Z, while s.7.sun.tar.Z holds a complete working Serpent
for the Sun, again without source or object files.

There are three additional files:
          s.7.src.toc
          s.7.sun.toc
          s.7.vax.toc
These hold the table of contents for the source, Sun,  and  Vax  distribution,
respectively.

This version of Serpent has been tested on the following systems:

   - Sun  3/60  or equivalent workstation, running Sun Unix 4.2, Releases
     3.5 and 4.0.3, and the X Window System, Version 11, Release  3  with
     the X Toolkit and the Athena Widget set.  Note: Serpent, if compiled
     under Release 3.5, will run under Release 4.0.3, but not vice versa.
     The  Sun-specific  files  contained  in  s.7.sun.tar.Z were compiled
     under Release 3.5.

   - DEC MicroVAX II or III running Ultrix 2.2 and the X  Window  System,
     Version 11, Release 3 with the X Toolkit and the Athena Widget set.

If  you  get  Serpent  via any electronic means, please send your organization
name and contact name via Internet email to  serpent-list-request@sei.cmu.edu,
so  we  can keep track of who has a copy of the system.  Also, indicate if you
wish to be included on the Serpent electronic mailing  list  (which  is  named
serpent-list@sei.cmu.edu).
