* * * Announcing LAS version 5.2 beta * * *

[Jonathan Callahan <callahan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

           * * * Announcing LAS version 5.2 beta * * *

Version 5.2 beta of the Live Access Server is now available from the LAS
downloads page.

  http://ferret.wrc.noaa.gov/Ferret/LAS/Downloads/

This is a 'beta' release of the software.  Our testing shows it to be
quite solid but we would like you to try it out with your data and
system configurations before we make a general release.

One of the major new features in this release is the addition of LAS
'packages' to ease the maintenance of 'sister server' relationships. 
These relationships allow collaborative servers to provide interfaces to
each other's data.  The new 'packaging' code should make this much
easier.  See the following FAQ for more info:

  http://ferret.wrc.noaa.gov/Ferret/LAS/FAQ/packages.htm

Please try out this new release and contact us with any problems you
encounter.

What's new in release 5.2?

- LAS API documented in $lasroot/doc/classes.html.
- Customizable option menus.
- LAS 'packages' allow for the simple creation and maintenance
  of sister sites with the ($lasroot/server/livepack.pl) script.
- Scripts in ($lasroot/etc) can be installed to allow for remote
  generation of packages.  This should allow collections of  
  collaborating servers to stay up to date.
- A script ($lasroot/xml/perl/genTests.pl) is available for 
  automated testing of LAS sites.
- Many examples are available in ($lasroot/contrib).
- Bug fixes

You may download LAS from the following page

  http://ferret.wrc.noaa.gov/Ferret/LAS/Downloads/

Updated installation and configuration documentation is available at:

  http://ferret.wrc.noaa.gov/Ferret/LAS/README.html

For a list of systems on which the server has been tested, please see:

  http://ferret.wrc.noaa.gov/Ferret/LAS/FAQ/os_browser_table.html

You can view the 5.2 server in action by going to:

  http://ferret.wrc.noaa.gov/cmc/

Source code for LAS (in Perl and JavaScript) is included in the download
tarball. The latest snapshot of LAS is also always available via
anonymous cvs (see the installation documentation for more info). LAS
version 5 requires that MySQL be installed on your server.

-----

    Joe Sirott
    Jon Callahan
    Joe Mclean
    Steve Hankin