ANNOUNCE

PIKE 7.8 ANNOUNCEMENT
$Id$

Pike is an interpreted, object-oriented programming language with a
syntax reminiscent of C and Java, and freely available and distributable
under the GNU General Public License (GPL).

Pike is just as suitable for intricate and large applications as for
creating use-once scripts. When needed, you can also write
Pike modules in C, to gain better performance or access C
libraries. This is transparent to the module's users; the modules
written in C and those written in Pike are accessed in exactly the
same way.

Some Pike highlights:

    + Freely distributable under GPL, LGPL and MPL
    + Interpreted - no compilation and linking needed to run code
    + Object Oriented - straightforward and powerful object
	  orientation, including multiple inheritance
    + Modular - extendible with modules written in C or Pike
    + Powerful - high-level language, concise code
    + Source Code Available - promoting sharing of useful code
    + Portable - Platform independent and available on most common
      flavors of Unix, as well as Windows and Amiga OS.
    + Powerful, Flexible and Efficient Data Types
    + Automatic Memory Management
    + Scalable - as useful for small scripts as for powerful and
	  complex applications.
    + Text Processing - e.g. for filtering
    + Exception Handling
    + Multi-Threaded Application Development Possible
    + Easy-to-Learn C-like Syntax

The standard Pike distribution comes with a number of modules for
various useful purposes. Among these are:

    + Image processing with support for several graphic file
          formats (such as JPEG, GIF, PNG, Photoshop and Gimp), and
          numerous image manipulation functions
    + Cryptographic functions, including SSL support
    + Database interface to several common SQL databases,
          including MySQL, ODBC and Oracle
    + Embedding interfaces for Java and Perl

Some other modules include support for OpenGL, Gz, Gdbm, GTK, XML,
DVB and SDL.