Release notes for Maxima 5.9.0:

This is the first of a series of develoment releases which will
culminate in Maxima 6.0, which will be the first truly stable release
of the new Maxima project. This release has known bugs. However, we
believe it is stable enough for use by a wide audience. We are relying
on bug reports from users to help us make 6.0 the most bug-free
version of Maxima ever.

Changes in this release include:

    1) Maxima is now compatible with ANSI Common Lisp. CMUCL, Clisp
    and GCL are fully supported.

    2) Maxima has a new build system based on the GNU
    Autotools. Installation should be easier and more flexible than
    ever before.

    3) The Maxima build now uses mk:defsystem from CLOCC at the Lisp
    level. mk:defsystem provides a powerful and familiar environment
    for Lisp developers.

    4) Maxima has a new User Manual, which is provided as a complement
    to the detailed reference manual from earlier versions of Maxima.

    5) The command-line interface has been enhanced with several
    options, including a batch mode.

    6) The bundled Emacs/XEmacs modes have been improved.

    7) The internal layout of source code and shared Maxima files has
    been vastly improved.

    8) Precision of some numerical special functions has been
    dramatically enhanced.

    9) Last, but not least, many bugs have been fixed.