-----
* The encoding format used by the :class:`JSON` and :class:`MsgPack` codecs has been
changed to resolve an issue with correctly encoding and decoding some object arrays.
Now the encoded data includes the original shape of the array, which enables the
correct shape to be restored on decoding. The previous encoding format is still
supported, so that any data encoded using a previous version of numcodecs can still be
read. Thus no changes to user code and applications should be required, other
than upgrading numcodecs. By :user:`Jerome Kelleher <jeromekelleher>`; :issue:`74`,
:issue:`75`.
* Updated the msgpack dependency (by :user:`Jerome Kelleher <jeromekelleher>`;
:issue:`74`, :issue:`75`).
* Added support for ppc64le architecture by updating `cpuinfo.py` from upstream (by
:user:`Anand S <anandtrex>`; :issue:`82`).
* Allow :class:`numcodecs.blosc.Blosc` compressor to run on systems where locks are not present (by
:user:`Marcus Kinsella <mckinsel>`, :issue:`83`; and :user:`Tom White <tomwhite>`,
:issue:`93`).
* Drop Python 3.4 (by :user:`John Kirkham <jakirkham>`; :issue:`89`).
* Add Python 3.7 (by :user:`John Kirkham <jakirkham>`; :issue:`92`).
* Add codec :class:`numcodecs.gzip.GZip` to replace ``gzip`` alias for ``zlib``,
which was incorrect (by :user:`Jan Funke <funkey>`; :issue:`87`; and :user:`John Kirkham <jakirkham>`, :issue:`134`).
* Corrects handling of ``NaT`` in ``datetime64`` and ``timedelta64`` in various
compressors (by :user:`John Kirkham <jakirkham>`; :issue:`127`, :issue:`131`).
* Improvements to the compatibility layer used for normalising inputs to encode
and decode methods in most codecs. This removes unnecessary memory copies for
some codecs, and also simplifies the implementation of some codecs, improving
code readability and maintainability. By :user:`John Kirkham <jakirkham>` and
:user:`Alistair Miles <alimanfoo>`; :issue:`119`, :issue:`121`, :issue:`128`.
* Return values from encode() and decode() methods are now returned as numpy
arrays for consistency across codecs. By :user:`John Kirkham <jakirkham>`,
:issue:`136`.
* Improvements to handling of errors in the :class:`numcodecs.blosc.Blosc` and
:class:`numcodecs.lz4.LZ4` codecs when the maximum allowed size of an input
buffer is exceeded. By :user:`Jerome Kelleher <jeromekelleher>`, :issue:`80`,
:issue:`81`.
.. _release_0.5.5: