Release Notes for JMRI 3.1.5 release

Date: November 11, 2012

From: Bob Jacobsen

Subject: Test version 3.1.5 of JMRI/DecoderPro is available for download.

Notes:

This is a test release. Please post a note if you encounter any new or old bugs! And please back up your JMRI files before installing this, in case you want to go back to an earlier version.

This is the next in a series of test versions. We expect this series to end in a JMRI 3.2 production release.

Some of the changes involved are quite extensive. They may require a certain amount of experience before they are working well. Therefore, this test version should be considered experimental.

JMRI is now only available under the GNU General Public License. For more information, please see our copyright and licensing page.

New warnings for this version:

To allow use of UTF-8 characters (special characters with accents, Japanese text, etc) in XML files, particularly decoder definitions, the default file encoding has been changed to UTF-8. This requires a change to the startup scripts distributed with JMRI. If you're just using the JMRI-provided startup tools, you should be all set. If you're using your own custom startup scripts, you need to add a "-Dfile.encoding=UTF-8" option to them. If you have any problems with special characters in your existing files, please let us know as soon as possible.

Older warnings

This release, and all other releases in this cycle, require Java 1.6.

Known problems with this release

None at the time of this release.

Download links:

Please use these links for downloading:

Changes since test release 3.1.4

Randall Wood made the following changes:

• Added JSON server at port 2056
• Added JSON WebSocket services to the web server

Steve Todd made the following changes:

• Changed Linux startup script to distinguish hard vs. soft float arm libraries.
• Added Operations data to json servers (trains, locations, engines, cars).
• Initial version of browser-based Operations functions (train list and manifest).
• Fixed issue with WiThrottle handling of wildcard multi-throttles (seen with EngineDriver only).
• Added signalmast list and monitoring to xmlio server, added memory and signalmast to json servers
• Added signalmast aspect image list to /panel servlet

Enzo Fortuna provided an full Italian translation. (There are still a few bits of English that will require some code changes)

Dan Boudreau made the following changes to operations:

• The schedules window status has been improved to show more cases where a schedule has a problem.
• The edit train window will now only launch one edit route window
• Train reset in the Trains window now checks to see if the departure staging track was allocated to another in bound train. This prevents using reset for the departure train, and then ending up with two trains on the same staging track.
• You can now allow cars to return to staging by train. The train has to be a turn, it must depart and return to the same staging location. The option can be found under Edit Train -> Tools, Train Build Options.
• New feature "Show Cars in Train" can be found under Tools in the Conductor window or from the train icon menu. Now you can see which cars are in the train at the various locations, and where picked up cars are to be placed in the train.

To allow use of UTF-8 characters (special characters with accents, Japanese text, etc) in XML files, particularly decoder definitions, the default file encoding has been changed to UTF-8. This requires a change to the startup scripts distributed with JMRI. If you're using your own custom startup scripts, you need to add a "-Dfile.encoding=UTF-8" option to them.

Tighe Kuykendall provided some documentation updates and fixes.

Robin Becker provided a new Tam Valley Quad Ln decoder definition.

Ken Cameron edited the BN-1989 signal mast set to have required specific aspects and a basic set of aspect mapping.

James Koretsky submitted the icon files for the BN-1989 and aspects.

Mark Underwood submitted the following changes to Virtual Sound Decoder

• Sound will now follow the locomotive if you use one of the following location tracking systems:
  • Digitrax Transponding (verified)
  • RPS (not verified)
  • RFID (not verified)
  • Dcc4PC (not verified)
  • ECoS (not verified)
• Listener position does not have to be the origin now.
• Roster "Save" button on the VSD window now saves to the file on disk
• New Diesel engine model (still under development)

If you have one of the location reporting hardware systems listed above as "not verified", and would like to help verify correct operation, please contact Mark (user "twindadrails") on the JMRI Users Group.

Kevin Dickerson made the following changes:

• ECOS - Update some of the back end code relating to the turnout and throttle control
• NCE USB - Updated the throttle so that speed step 1 (as shown in the GUI) actually sets the loco speed.

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