extra code in pp_concat, Take 2
[p5sagit/p5-mst-13.2.git] / pod / perl582delta.pod
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38fd2c23 1=head1 NAME
2
3perl582delta - what is new for perl v5.8.2
4
5=head1 DESCRIPTION
6
7This document describes differences between the 5.8.1 release and
8the 5.8.2 release.
9
10If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.6.1, first read
11the L<perl58delta>, which describes differences between 5.6.0 and
125.8.0, and the L<perl581delta>, which describes differences between
135.8.0 and 5.8.1.
14
15=head1 Incompatible Changes
16
17For threaded builds for modules calling certain re-entrant system calls,
18binary compatibility was accidentally lost between 5.8.0 and 5.8.1.
19Binary compatibility with 5.8.0 has been restored in 5.8.2, which
20necessitates breaking compatibility with 5.8.1. We see this as the
21lesser of two evils.
22
23This will only affect people who have a threaded perl 5.8.1, and compiled
24modules which use these calls, and now attempt to run the compiled modules
25with 5.8.2. The fix is to re-compile and re-install the modules using 5.8.2.
26
27=head1 Core Enhancements
28
29=head2 Hash Randomisation
30
31The hash randomisation introduced with 5.8.1 has been amended. It
32transpired that although the implementation introduced in 5.8.1 was source
33compatible with 5.8.0, it was not binary compatible in certain cases. 5.8.2
34contains an improved implementation which is both source and binary
35compatible with both 5.8.0 and 5.8.1, and remains robust against the form of
36attack which prompted the change for 5.8.1.
37
38We are grateful to the Debian project for their input in this area.
39See L<perlsec/"Algorithmic Complexity Attacks"> for the original
40rationale behind this change.
41
42=head2 Threading
43
44Several memory leaks associated with variables shared between threads
45have been fixed.
46
47=head1 Modules and Pragmata
48
49=head2 Updated Modules And Pragmata
50
51The following modules and pragmata have been updated since Perl 5.8.1:
52
53=over 4
54
55=item Devel::PPPort
56
57=item Digest::MD5
58
59=item I18N::LangTags
60
61=item libnet
62
63=item MIME::Base64
64
65=item Pod::Perldoc
66
67=item strict
68
69Documentation improved
70
71=item Tie::Hash
72
73Documentation improved
74
75=item Time::HiRes
76
77=item Unicode::Collate
78
79=item Unicode::Normalize
80
81=item UNIVERSAL
82
83Documentation improved
84
85=back
86
87=head1 Selected Bug Fixes
88
89Some syntax errors involving unrecognized filetest operators are now handled
90correctly by the parser.
91
92=head1 Changed Internals
93
94Interpreter initialization is more complete when -DMULTIPLICITY is off.
95This should resolve problems with initializing and destroying the Perl
96interpreter more than once in a single process.
97
98=head1 Platform Specific Problems
99
100Dynamic linker flags have been tweaked for Solaris and OS X, which should
101solve problems seen while building some XS modules.
102
103Bugs in OS/2 sockets and tmpfile have been fixed.
104
105In OS X C<setreuid> and friends are troublesome - perl will now work
106around their problems as best possible.
107
108=head1 Future Directions
109
110Starting with 5.8.3 we intend to make more frequent maintenance releases,
111with a smaller number of changes in each. The intent is to propagate
112bug fixes out to stable releases more rapidly and make upgrading stable
113releases less of an upheaval. This should give end users more
114flexibility in their choice of upgrade timing, and allow them easier
115assessment of the impact of upgrades. The current plan is for code freezes
116as follows
117
118=over 4
119
120=item *
121
1225.8.3 23:59:59 GMT, Wednesday December 31st 2003
123
124=item *
125
1265.8.4 23:59:59 GMT, Wednesday March 31st 2004
127
128=item *
129
1305.8.5 23:59:59 GMT, Wednesday June 30th 2004
131
132=back
133
134with the release following soon after, when testing is complete.
135
136See L<perl581delta/"Future Directions"> for more soothsaying.
137
138=head1 Reporting Bugs
139
140If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles
141recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl
142bug database at http://bugs.perl.org/. There may also be
143information at http://www.perl.com/, the Perl Home Page.
144
145If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the B<perlbug>
146program included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down
147to a tiny but sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the
148output of C<perl -V>, will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be
149analysed by the Perl porting team. You can browse and search
150the Perl 5 bugs at http://bugs.perl.org/
151
152=head1 SEE ALSO
153
154The F<Changes> file for exhaustive details on what changed.
155
156The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl.
157
158The F<README> file for general stuff.
159
160The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information.
161
162=cut