Release Notes for JMRI 4.23.2 release

Date: March 8, 2021

From: Bob Jacobsen

Subject: Test Release 4.23.2 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 releases. We expect this series to end in the next JMRI production release in Summer 2021. (See the tentative release schedule)

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

Update From Older JMRI Versions

If you are currently using a version older than JMRI 4.20, please follow these instructions carefully:

1. Is your current version older than JMRI 4.12? If so, then update to JMRI 4.12 first, and ensure everything works correctly: check start-up, check things you need to be working, and check the JMRI log as well) before doing anything else. Store your configuration and panel files under a new name and use those from now on. Then continue with step 2.

   If you are currently using JMRI 4.7.3 or earlier on Linux or macOS (Windows doesn't need this), then it's very important that you update to JMRI 4.12 and carrying out the migration process described in the JMRI 4.12 release note before updating to any later relese.

2. Is your current version older than JMRI 4.20? Then update to JMRI 4.20 first, and ensure that works correctly (check start-up, check things you need to be working, and check the JMRI log as well) before doing anything else Store your configuration and panel files under a new name and use those from now on.
3. You can then install this release.

Following this multi-step order of updating via stable major releases safeguards you against possible migration issues that can arise from skipping these versions.

New problems with this release

• Logix definitions that have more than 1 conditional will invoke the conditionals in the wrong sequence. This can lead to unpredictable results. The affected releases are 4.21.5 thru 4.23.2. For people using Logix, this upgrade is NOT recommended.

New warnings for this release:

LogixNG

• This version of LogixNG is not backward compatible with previous versions. If anyone has a panel file with LogixNG that doesn't load with this new version, request help for it on the JMRI developers list or the JMRI users list and the author of LogixNG, Daniel Bergqvist, will fix it.
  An updated tutorial profile due to this: Tutorial/PreviewLogixNG.jmri.zip
• The action If Then Else now has the options Trigger action and Continuous action. If Trigger action, the child actions will only be executed if the expression changes its result. If Continuous action, the child actions will always get executed.
• Menu item Tools -> LogixNG -> Import Logix now supports importing Logix to LogixNG. The user can select whenether import system Logixs or not (SYS and RTX). Currently, the import Logix dialog doesn't support importing a subset of Logixs. It will be a later feature. Note that the import tool allows the user to import the same Logix multiple times since it doesn't remember which Logixs that has already been imported.
• There are a couple of actions not implemented yet. Warrant, OBlock, Clock, Audio and Set Light Intensity. If you try to import Logixs that uses any of these actions, the import will fail and an error dialog will be shown. No Logixs will be imported in this case.
• If you are using local variables, the action Log local variables may be useful. When it's executed, it logs all the current local variables and their values as WARN messages to the log.

Older warnings

See the JMRI 4.20 release note for more warnings predating the 4.21 development series, including pointers to various migration issues. These may be relevant to you if you're updating from an earlier version; we strongly recommend you update to JMRI 4.20 installing this test release.

• Since JMRI 4.21.1 The jmri.jmrix.SystemConnectionMemo class has become a jmri.SystemConnectionMemo interface and a jmri.jmrix.DefaultSystemConnectionMemo class. This may require changes to scripts. If you have a script that references jmri.jmrix.SystemConnectionMemo, please change it to either jmri.SystemConnectionMemo or jmri.jmrix.DefaultSystemConnectionMemo (it's easier to have you just try the two than to explain which one will work in which case)
• Since JMRI 4.21.1 The way preferences are loaded at startup has been slightly modified. There is no impact to JMRI applications, but Non-JMRI applications that are not derived from apps.Apps or apps.AppsBase but are using jmri.implementation.JmriConfigurationManager to load preferences will no longer see preferences if an error occurs. To restore the old behavior, use apps.AppsConfigurationManager instead.
• Since JMRI 4.11.4 There are issues with the Pi-SPROG One command station operation. A number of workarounds should be applied:
  • Do not turn on the track power until the power supply to the Pi-SPROG ONE is turned on
  • Do not enable extra debugging through default.lcf, nor open the system console window
  • Do not open the SPROG console window
  • Disable power conversion (CV 29) in all locos
  • If connecting via VNC (or similar), setup the screen layout before turning on the track power
  Pi-SPROG One with version 2.4 or earlier firmware will cause a timeout after a track short circuit. A dialog box will open to inform the user of this. The track power will be turned off and must be turned on again using the power control.

Download links:

Changes since Test Release 4.23.1:

The list of included changes is available from our GitHub code repository.

LogixNG

• LogixNG (Logix Next Generation) is a new way of adding logic to the model railroad.

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