Date: June 12, 2014
From: Bob Jacobsen
Subject: Test version 3.7.7 of JMRI/DecoderPro is available for download.
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 3.8 production release around the middle of 2014.
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.
The decoder definition files have been reformatted to make them easier to maintain. If you want to make a change in a decoder definition file, please start with a file from JMRI 3.7.6 or later.
The XmlIO web service has been deprecated and is scheduled to be removed in JMRI 3.11 (July 2015). All users who are relying on direct access to the XmlIO API are recommended to begin using the JSON API. inControl web throttle users are recommended to begin using webThrottle instead, or to plan on investing in devices that can support webThrottle, the iOS WiThrottle, or the Android Engine Driver.
This release series has some changes to the application-initialization structure, particularly in the apps.Apps class. If you have written code of your own that runs applications based on JMRI, please check for use of deprecated methods.
The internals for handling CV read and write addressing have been extensively reworked. The change should be transparent (invisible) to users. If you do notice anything problems involving CV reading, writing, storage or anything else, please let us know.
The configuration structure for JMRI is changing to use Configuration Profiles. Configuration Profiles allow a single JMRI application to have multiple, user selectable, configurations that can be changed as application startup. For some users, this change will have no impact; other users will be visibly impacted by this change. See http://jmri.org/help/en/html/profiles.shtml for more information.
The JMRI SRCP implementation is undergoing extensive revision, in part due to testing with 3rd party SRCP clients and servers. If you are using the SRCP support, you will need to upgrade both the client(s) and the server to the same JMRI version.
The JMRI Web Server is being extensively rewritten. If you notice any problems using it, please let us know.
This release, and all other releases in this cycle, require Java 1.6 or newer.
None at the time of this release.
Please use these links for downloading:
Additional German translation, particularly in the DecoderPro/DP3 presentation, from Bernd W.
Jim Crellin added definitions for TCS function decoders.
Fixed a problem that would leave the wrong DCC address on the DecoderPro roster pane at startup under certain circumstances.
Fixed a bug that would cause programming crashes in DecoderPro when using simulators.
Routes
Dave Heap made the following changes:
Egbert Broerse updated the signaling help.
John Crellin updated the TCS FL2 and FL4 decoder definitions
Pierre Billon did a major update to the Doehler & Haass decoder definitions.
Daniel Boudreau made the following changes to Operations:
B. Milhaupt updated the LocoNet Download Firmware tool to provide automatic identification of the firmware file's address format as well as extensive checking of the firmware file for evidence of corruption or out-of-range parameters. These improvements significantly reduce the risk of corrupting a device's firmware when using this tool. The associated help file was expanded to suit.
Robin Becker provided a decoder definition for the Tam Valley Depot Quad-LN_S decoder.
Kevin Dickerson added some British Rail signal icons
Kevin Dickerson arranged for an error message to be presented if an icon file can't be found, instead of having it fail silently.