Release Notes V1.01-5

Magma V1.01-5 (25/11/94)

Recent Changes and Improvements

Online help

• The command to enter the Browser is now ?? . A single ? gives general information about the online help system. For help on the Browser, use the command help within the Browser.

Shell escapes

• To execute a shell command from within Magma, type:

  	  %! <command>
  

Groups

• To make a pc-group as a quotient of a free group there are currently two methods:

        quo< GrpPC : F | R : parameters>
  

  and

        quo< F | R : Class := "Polycyclic", parameters>
  

  It has been decided to phase out the second method, since the first version's syntax is being used also for other structures (e.g. number fields).

  So the second method is being removed from the documentation. It will remain available for a while, but users should be encouraged to move to the other form.

Documentation

• Additions, improvements and corrections have been made to "Handbook of Magma Functions", "An Introduction to Magma" and "Solving Problems with Magma".
• The loadable examples in the Introduction and Handbook have been renamed. [See under Libraries.]

Libraries

• Several library files containing functions and procedures written in the Magma language may be loaded into Magma. See the online help node /system/library .
• The directories containing the examples from the Handbook and from the Introduction are now called examples and intro .
• These examples have been renamed. For instance, H7E5 is the 5th example in the 7th chapter of the Handbook, and I14E2 is the 2nd named example in the 14th chapter of the Introduction.

Databases

• The databases of groups are fully documented in the Online Help. This is now the recommended source of documentation for them. For a summary, see the online help node /system/database , and for more details, ask for help using the name of the database.
• Many improvements have been made to the databases. They are outlined below.
• threegps and irredsol have been renamed as thrgps and isolgps .
• The groups in the databases glnzgps, gps100, isolgps, prmgps, simgps, trngps are now accessed by means of functions.
• A few groups/files in matgps, pergps, thrgps, twogps have been renamed or are new.