The setup.py-based build system has been reworked to be more maintainable, and to fix certain long-standing bugs. As a consequence, the options to setup.py have changed; a new top-level "configure" command handles options like --hdf5=/path/to/hdf5 and --mpi. Setup.py now works correctly under Python 3 when these options are used.
Cython (0.17+) is now required when building from source on all platforms; the .c files are no longer shipped in the UNIX release. The minimum NumPy version is now 1.6.1.
Files are now automatically closed when all objects within them are unreachable. Previously, if File.close() was not explicitly called, files would remain open and "leaks" were possible if the File object was lost.
Access to all APIs, high- and low-level, are now protected by a global lock. The entire API is now believed to be thread-safe. Feedback and real-world testing is welcome.
External links now work if the target file is already open. Previously this was not possible because of a mismatch in the file close strengths.
Many people, but especially:
- Matthieu Brucher
- Laurence Hole
- John Tyree
- Pierre de Buyl
- Matthew Brett