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Message-ID:  <70a32bfa-0597-f5c9-891f-ee618c91d611@morningstar2.co.uk>
Date:         Thu, 22 Feb 2018 21:45:21 +0000
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From:         Joseph Wright <joseph.wright@MORNINGSTAR2.CO.UK>
Subject: Release 2017-02-21
To:           LATEX-L@LISTSERV.UNI-HEIDELBERG.DE
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Envelope-To: <rainer.schoepf@GMX.NET>
Status: R

This release features two new *experimental* modules, l3color
and l3draw, along with a small number of features to support
this new material

## l3color

This new *experimental* code provides basic user interfaces for
setting the color of material in documents. The input form is
based on that in the popular xcolor package, for example

     \color_select:n { red!30!blue }

Some features for supporting spot colors are also included:
this area is particularly complex and feedback on all aspects is
very welcome.

## l3draw

This new module provides a code-level approach to creating
graphical material. The approach take is *heavily* inspired
by the pgf package: the vast majority of interfaces are
compatible with the equivalent \pgf... commands.

At present, the coverage of l3draw is significantly smaller than
that in pgf, but at the same time it is now capable of creating
basic graphics. Supported concepts are

- Calculation of points
- Path construction, including a variety of geometric shapes
- Path insertion with stroking, filling and clipping
- Color (fill/stroke/both) - see also l3color

All mathematical operations are carried out by the LaTeX3 FPU,
rather than using dimensions. As such, the accuracy and range
of the values is significantly extended compared with pgf. Point
calculations are also expandable, with the *internal* handling
of this area very different from pgf.

The team anticipate covering the bulk of pgf-like functionality
over coming months.

## Additions to expl3

The FPU now supports tuples, for example

     \fp_eval:n { (1,2) + (3, 4) }
     \fp_eval:n { sqrt(2) * (1,1) }

to allow work with co-ordinate pairs.

Step functions have been added for dim variables, e.g.
\dim_step_inline:nnnn.