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1 | =head1 NAME |
2 | |
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3 | perldelta - what's new for perl v5.7.0 |
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4 | |
5 | =head1 DESCRIPTION |
6 | |
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7 | This document describes differences between the 5.6.0 release and |
8 | the 5.7.0 release. |
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9 | |
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10 | =head1 Security Vulnerability Closed |
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11 | |
12 | A potential security vulnerability in the optional suidperl component |
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13 | of Perl has been identified. suidperl is neither built nor installed |
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14 | by default. As of September the 2nd, 2000, the only known vulnerable |
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15 | platform is Linux, most likely all Linux distributions. CERT and |
16 | various vendors have been alerted about the vulnerability. |
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17 | |
18 | The problem was caused by Perl trying to report a suspected security |
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19 | exploit attempt using an external program, /bin/mail. On Linux |
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20 | platforms the /bin/mail program had an undocumented feature which |
21 | when combined with suidperl gave access to a root shell, resulting in |
22 | a serious compromise instead of reporting the exploit attempt. If you |
23 | don't have /bin/mail, or if you have 'safe setuid scripts', or if |
24 | suidperl is not installed, you are safe. |
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25 | |
26 | The exploit attempt reporting feature has been completely removed from |
27 | the Perl 5.7.0 release, so that particular vulnerability isn't there |
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28 | anymore. However, further security vulnerabilities are, |
29 | unfortunately, always possible. The suidperl code is being reviewed |
30 | and if deemed too risky to continue to be supported, it may be |
31 | completely removed from future releases. In any case, suidperl should |
32 | only be used by security experts who know exactly what they are doing |
33 | and why they are using suidperl instead of some other solution such as |
34 | sudo (see http://www.courtesan.com/sudo/). |
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35 | |
36 | =head1 Incompatible Changes |
37 | |
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38 | =over 4 |
39 | |
40 | =item * |
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41 | |
ce72e97c |
42 | Arrays now always interpolate into double-quoted strings: |
43 | constructs like "foo@bar" now always assume C<@bar> is an array, |
44 | whether or not the compiler has seen use of C<@bar>. |
d4ad863d |
45 | |
ce72e97c |
46 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
47 | |
48 | The semantics of bless(REF, REF) were unclear and until someone proves |
49 | it to make some sense, it is forbidden. |
50 | |
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51 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
52 | |
c9e9bc25 |
53 | A reference to a reference now stringify as "REF(0x81485ec)" instead |
54 | of "SCALAR(0x81485ec)" in order to be more consistent with the return |
55 | value of ref(). |
56 | |
57 | =item * |
58 | |
d4ad863d |
59 | The very dusty examples in the eg/ directory have been removed. |
60 | Suggestions for new shiny examples welcome but the main issue is that |
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61 | the examples need to be documented, tested and (most importantly) |
62 | maintained. |
d4ad863d |
63 | |
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64 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
65 | |
66 | The obsolete chat2 library that should never have been allowed |
67 | to escape the laboratory has been decommissioned. |
68 | |
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69 | =item * |
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70 | |
71 | The unimplemented POSIX regex features [[.cc.]] and [[=c=]] are still |
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72 | recognised but now cause fatal errors. The previous behaviour of |
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73 | ignoring them by default and warning if requested was unacceptable |
74 | since it, in a way, falsely promised that the features could be used. |
75 | |
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76 | =item * |
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77 | |
78 | lstat(FILEHANDLE) now gives a warning because the operation makes no sense. |
79 | In future releases this may become a fatal error. |
80 | |
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81 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
82 | |
ce72e97c |
83 | The long deprecated uppercase aliases for the string comparison |
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84 | operators (EQ, NE, LT, LE, GE, GT) have now been removed. |
85 | |
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86 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
87 | |
88 | The regular expression captured submatches ($1, $2, ...) are now |
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89 | more consistently unset if the match fails, instead of leaving false |
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90 | data lying around in them. |
91 | |
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92 | =item * |
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93 | |
94 | The tr///C and tr///U features have been removed and will not return; |
95 | the interface was a mistake. Sorry about that. For similar |
96 | functionality, see pack('U0', ...) and pack('C0', ...). |
97 | |
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98 | =back |
99 | |
cc0fca54 |
100 | =head1 Core Enhancements |
101 | |
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102 | =over 4 |
103 | |
104 | =item * |
105 | |
106 | C<perl -d:Module=arg,arg,arg> now works (previously one couldn't pass |
107 | in multiple arguments.) |
108 | |
109 | =item * |
110 | |
53080bb1 |
111 | my __PACKAGE__ now works. |
112 | |
113 | =item * |
114 | |
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115 | C<no Module;> now works even if there is no "sub unimport" in the Module. |
53080bb1 |
116 | |
117 | =item * |
118 | |
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119 | The numerical comparison operators return C<undef> if either operand |
120 | is a NaN. Previously the behaviour was unspecified. |
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121 | |
122 | =item * |
123 | |
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124 | C<pack('U0a*', ...)> can now be used to force a string to UTF8. |
53080bb1 |
125 | |
126 | =item * |
127 | |
128 | prototype(\&) is now available. |
129 | |
c835e335 |
130 | =item * |
131 | |
132 | There is now an UNTIE method. |
133 | |
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134 | =back |
135 | |
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136 | =head1 Modules and Pragmata |
137 | |
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138 | =head2 New Modules |
139 | |
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140 | =over 4 |
141 | |
142 | =item * |
143 | |
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144 | File::Temp allows one to create temporary files and directories in an |
145 | easy, portable, and secure way. |
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146 | |
147 | =item * |
148 | |
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149 | Storable gives persistence to Perl data structures by allowing the |
150 | storage and retrieval of Perl data to and from files in a fast and |
151 | compact binary format. |
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152 | |
153 | =back |
53080bb1 |
154 | |
155 | =head2 Updated And Improved Modules and Pragmata |
156 | |
157 | =over 4 |
158 | |
159 | =item * |
160 | |
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161 | The following independently supported modules have been updated to |
162 | newer versions from CPAN: CGI, CPAN, DB_File, File::Spec, Getopt::Long, |
163 | the podlators bundle, Pod::LaTeX, Pod::Parser, Term::ANSIColor, Test. |
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164 | |
165 | =item * |
166 | |
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167 | Bug fixes and minor enhancements have been applied to B::Deparse, |
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168 | Data::Dumper, IO::Poll, IO::Socket::INET, Math::BigFloat, |
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169 | Math::Complex, Math::Trig, Net::protoent, the re pragma, SelfLoader, |
170 | Sys::SysLog, Test::Harness, Text::Wrap, UNIVERSAL, and the warnings |
171 | pragma. |
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172 | |
173 | =item * |
174 | |
ce72e97c |
175 | The attributes::reftype() now works on tied arguments. |
53080bb1 |
176 | |
177 | =item * |
178 | |
ce72e97c |
179 | AutoLoader can now be disabled with C<no AutoLoader;>, |
53080bb1 |
180 | |
181 | =item * |
182 | |
183 | The English module can now be used without the infamous performance |
184 | hit by saying |
185 | |
186 | use English '-no_performance_hit'; |
187 | |
188 | (Assuming, of course, that one doesn't need the troublesome variables |
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189 | C<$`>, C<$&>, or C<$'>.) Also, introduced C<@LAST_MATCH_START> and |
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190 | C<@LAST_MATCH_END> English aliases for C<@-> and C<@+>. |
191 | |
192 | =item * |
193 | |
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194 | File::Find now has pre- and post-processing callbacks. It also |
195 | correctly changes directories when chasing symbolic links. Callbacks |
196 | (naughtily) exiting with "next;" instead of "return;" now work. |
53080bb1 |
197 | |
198 | =item * |
199 | |
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200 | File::Glob::glob() renamed to File::Glob::bsd_glob() to avoid |
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201 | prototype mismatch with CORE::glob(). |
202 | |
203 | =item * |
204 | |
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205 | IPC::Open3 now allows the use of numeric file descriptors. |
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206 | |
207 | =item * |
208 | |
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209 | use lib now works identically to @INC. Removing directories |
210 | with 'no lib' now works. |
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211 | |
212 | =item * |
213 | |
ce72e97c |
214 | C<%INC> now localised in a Safe compartment so that use/require work. |
53080bb1 |
215 | |
216 | =item * |
217 | |
ce72e97c |
218 | The Shell module now has an OO interface. |
53080bb1 |
219 | |
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220 | =item * |
221 | |
ce72e97c |
222 | =back |
53080bb1 |
223 | |
ce72e97c |
224 | =head1 Utility Changes |
53080bb1 |
225 | |
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226 | =over 4 |
53080bb1 |
227 | |
228 | =item * |
229 | |
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230 | The Emacs perl mode (emacs/cperl-mode.el) has been updated to version |
231 | 4.31. |
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232 | |
233 | =item * |
234 | |
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235 | Perlbug is now much more robust. It also sends the bug report to |
236 | perl.org, not perl.com. |
53080bb1 |
237 | |
238 | =item * |
239 | |
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240 | The perlcc utility has been rewritten and its user interface (that is, |
241 | command line) is much more like that of the UNIX C compiler, cc. |
53080bb1 |
242 | |
243 | =item * |
244 | |
ce72e97c |
245 | The xsubpp utility for extension writers now understands POD |
246 | documentation embedded in the *.xs files. |
53080bb1 |
247 | |
ce72e97c |
248 | =back |
53080bb1 |
249 | |
ce72e97c |
250 | =head1 New Documentation |
53080bb1 |
251 | |
ce72e97c |
252 | =over 4 |
53080bb1 |
253 | |
254 | =item * |
255 | |
ce72e97c |
256 | perl56delta details the changes between the 5.005 release and the |
257 | 5.6.0 release. |
53080bb1 |
258 | |
259 | =item * |
260 | |
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261 | perldebtut is a Perl debugging tutorial. |
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262 | |
263 | =item * |
264 | |
ce72e97c |
265 | perlebcdic contains considerations for running Perl on EBCDIC platforms. |
266 | Note that unfortunately EBCDIC platforms that used to supported back in |
267 | Perl 5.005 are still unsupported by Perl 5.7.0; the plan, however, is to |
268 | bring them back to the fold. |
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269 | |
270 | =item * |
271 | |
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272 | perlnewmod tells about writing and submitting a new module. |
53080bb1 |
273 | |
274 | =item * |
275 | |
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276 | perlposix-bc explains using Perl on the POSIX-BC platform |
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277 | (an EBCDIC mainframe platform). |
53080bb1 |
278 | |
279 | =item * |
280 | |
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281 | perlretut is a regular expression tutorial. |
53080bb1 |
282 | |
283 | =item * |
284 | |
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285 | perlrequick is a regular expressions quick-start guide. |
286 | Yes, much quicker than perlretut. |
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287 | |
288 | =item * |
289 | |
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290 | perlutil explains the command line utilities packaged with the Perl |
291 | distribution. |
53080bb1 |
292 | |
293 | =back |
294 | |
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295 | =head1 Performance Enhancements |
53080bb1 |
296 | |
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297 | =over 4 |
298 | |
299 | =item * |
300 | |
ce72e97c |
301 | map() that changes the size of the list should now work faster. |
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302 | |
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303 | =item * |
304 | |
305 | sort() has been changed to use mergesort internally as opposed to the |
306 | earlier quicksort. For very small lists this may result in slightly |
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307 | slower sorting times, but in general the speedup should be at least |
308 | 20%. Additional bonuses are that the worst case behaviour of sort() |
309 | is now better (in computer science terms it now runs in time O(N log N), |
310 | as opposed to quicksort's Theta(N**2) worst-case run time behaviour), |
311 | and that sort() is now stable (meaning that elements with identical |
312 | keys will stay ordered as they were before the sort). |
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313 | |
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314 | =back |
315 | |
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316 | =head1 Installation and Configuration Improvements |
53080bb1 |
317 | |
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318 | =head2 Generic Improvements |
cc0fca54 |
319 | |
53080bb1 |
320 | =over 4 |
321 | |
322 | =item * |
323 | |
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324 | INSTALL now explains how you can configure Perl to use 64-bit |
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325 | integers even on non-64-bit platforms. |
53080bb1 |
326 | |
327 | =item * |
328 | |
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329 | Policy.sh policy change: if you are reusing a Policy.sh file |
330 | (see INSTALL) and you use Configure -Dprefix=/foo/bar and in the old |
ce72e97c |
331 | Policy $prefix eq $siteprefix and $prefix eq $vendorprefix, all of |
332 | them will now be changed to the new prefix, /foo/bar. (Previously |
333 | only $prefix changed.) If you do not like this new behaviour, |
334 | specify prefix, siteprefix, and vendorprefix explicitly. |
53080bb1 |
335 | |
336 | =item * |
337 | |
ce72e97c |
338 | A new optional location for Perl libraries, otherlibdirs, is available. |
339 | It can be used for example for vendor add-ons without disturbing Perl's |
340 | own library directories. |
53080bb1 |
341 | |
342 | =item * |
343 | |
ce72e97c |
344 | In many platforms the vendor-supplied 'cc' is too stripped-down to |
345 | build Perl (basically, 'cc' doesn't do ANSI C). If this seems |
346 | to be the case and 'cc' does not seem to be the GNU C compiler |
347 | 'gcc', an automatic attempt is made to find and use 'gcc' instead. |
53080bb1 |
348 | |
349 | =item * |
350 | |
ce72e97c |
351 | gcc needs to closely track the operating system release to avoid |
352 | build problems. If Configure finds that gcc was built for a different |
353 | operating system release than is running, it now gives a clearly visible |
354 | warning that there may be trouble ahead. |
53080bb1 |
355 | |
356 | =item * |
357 | |
ce72e97c |
358 | If binary compatibility with the 5.005 release is not wanted, Configure |
359 | no longer suggests including the 5.005 modules in @INC. |
53080bb1 |
360 | |
361 | =item * |
362 | |
ce72e97c |
363 | Configure C<-S> can now run non-interactively. |
53080bb1 |
364 | |
365 | =item * |
366 | |
ce72e97c |
367 | configure.gnu now works with options with whitespace in them. |
53080bb1 |
368 | |
369 | =item * |
370 | |
ce72e97c |
371 | installperl now outputs everything to STDERR. |
53080bb1 |
372 | |
373 | =item * |
374 | |
ce72e97c |
375 | $Config{byteorder} is now computed dynamically (this is more robust |
376 | with "fat binaries" where an executable image contains binaries for |
377 | more than one binary platform.) |
53080bb1 |
378 | |
ce72e97c |
379 | =back |
53080bb1 |
380 | |
ce72e97c |
381 | =head1 Selected Bug Fixes |
53080bb1 |
382 | |
ce72e97c |
383 | =over 4 |
53080bb1 |
384 | |
385 | =item * |
386 | |
ce72e97c |
387 | Several debugger fixes: exit code now reflects the script exit code, |
388 | condition C<"0"> now treated correctly, the C<d> command now checks |
389 | line number, the C<$.> no longer gets corrupted, all debugger output now |
390 | goes correctly to the socket if RemotePort is set. |
53080bb1 |
391 | |
392 | =item * |
393 | |
ce72e97c |
394 | C<*foo{FORMAT}> now works. |
53080bb1 |
395 | |
396 | =item * |
397 | |
ce72e97c |
398 | Lexical warnings now propagating correctly between scopes. |
53080bb1 |
399 | |
400 | =item * |
401 | |
ce72e97c |
402 | Line renumbering with eval and C<#line> now works. |
53080bb1 |
403 | |
404 | =item * |
405 | |
ce72e97c |
406 | Fixed numerous memory leaks, especially in eval "". |
53080bb1 |
407 | |
408 | =item * |
409 | |
ce72e97c |
410 | Modulus of unsigned numbers now works (4063328477 % 65535 used to |
411 | return 27406, instead of 27047). |
53080bb1 |
412 | |
413 | =item * |
414 | |
ce72e97c |
415 | Some "not a number" warnings introduced in 5.6.0 eliminated to be |
416 | more compatible with 5.005. Infinity is now recognised as a number. |
53080bb1 |
417 | |
418 | =item * |
419 | |
ce72e97c |
420 | our() variables will not cause "will not stay shared" warnings. |
53080bb1 |
421 | |
422 | =item * |
423 | |
ce72e97c |
424 | pack "Z" now correctly terminates the string with "\0". |
53080bb1 |
425 | |
426 | =item * |
427 | |
ce72e97c |
428 | Fix password routines which in some shadow password platforms |
429 | (e.g. HP-UX) caused getpwent() to return every other entry. |
53080bb1 |
430 | |
431 | =item * |
432 | |
ce72e97c |
433 | printf() no longer resets the numeric locale to "C". |
53080bb1 |
434 | |
435 | =item * |
436 | |
ce72e97c |
437 | C<q(a\\b)> now parses correctly as C<'a\\b'>. |
53080bb1 |
438 | |
439 | =item * |
440 | |
ce72e97c |
441 | Printing quads (64-bit integers) with printf/sprintf now works |
562628a3 |
442 | without the q L ll prefixes (assuming you are on a quad-capable platform). |
53080bb1 |
443 | |
444 | =item * |
445 | |
ce72e97c |
446 | Regular expressions on references and overloaded scalars now work. |
53080bb1 |
447 | |
448 | =item * |
449 | |
ce72e97c |
450 | scalar() now forces scalar context even when used in void context. |
53080bb1 |
451 | |
452 | =item * |
ce72e97c |
453 | |
454 | sort() arguments are now compiled in the right wantarray context |
455 | (they were accidentally using the context of the sort() itself). |
53080bb1 |
456 | |
457 | =item * |
458 | |
ce72e97c |
459 | Changed the POSIX character class C<[[:space:]]> to include the (very |
460 | rare) vertical tab character. Added a new POSIX-ish character class |
461 | C<[[:blank:]]> which stands for horizontal whitespace (currently, |
462 | the space and the tab). |
53080bb1 |
463 | |
464 | =item * |
465 | |
ce72e97c |
466 | $AUTOLOAD, sort(), lock(), and spawning subprocesses |
467 | in multiple threads simultaneously are now thread-safe. |
53080bb1 |
468 | |
469 | =item * |
470 | |
ce72e97c |
471 | Allow read-only string on left hand side of non-modifying tr///. |
53080bb1 |
472 | |
473 | =item * |
474 | |
ce72e97c |
475 | Several Unicode fixes (but still not perfect). |
53080bb1 |
476 | |
ce72e97c |
477 | =over 8 |
53080bb1 |
478 | |
479 | =item * |
480 | |
ce72e97c |
481 | BOMs (byte order marks) in the beginning of Perl files |
482 | (scripts, modules) should now be transparently skipped. |
0aa7271f |
483 | UTF-16 (UCS-2)encoded Perl files should now be read correctly. |
53080bb1 |
484 | |
485 | =item * |
486 | |
bc723577 |
487 | The character tables have been updated to Unicode 3.0.1. |
53080bb1 |
488 | |
ce72e97c |
489 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
490 | |
ce72e97c |
491 | chr() for values greater than 127 now create utf8 when under use |
492 | utf8. |
53080bb1 |
493 | |
ce72e97c |
494 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
495 | |
ce72e97c |
496 | Comparing with utf8 data does not magically upgrade non-utf8 data into |
497 | utf8. |
53080bb1 |
498 | |
499 | =item * |
500 | |
ce72e97c |
501 | C<IsAlnum>, C<IsAlpha>, and C<IsWord> now match titlecase. |
53080bb1 |
502 | |
503 | =item * |
504 | |
ce72e97c |
505 | Concatenation with the C<.> operator or via variable interpolation, |
506 | C<eq>, C<substr>, C<reverse>, C<quotemeta>, the C<x> operator, |
507 | substitution with C<s///>, single-quoted UTF8, should now work--in |
508 | theory. |
53080bb1 |
509 | |
510 | =item * |
511 | |
ce72e97c |
512 | The C<tr///> operator now works I<slightly> better but is still rather |
513 | broken. Note that the C<tr///CU> functionality has been removed (but |
514 | see pack('U0', ...)). |
53080bb1 |
515 | |
516 | =item * |
517 | |
33b45480 |
518 | vec() now tries to work with characters <= 255 when possible, but it leaves |
519 | higher character values in place. In that case, if vec() was used to modify |
520 | the string, it is no longer considered to be utf8-encoded. |
bc723577 |
521 | |
522 | =item * |
523 | |
ce72e97c |
524 | Zero entries were missing from the Unicode classes like C<IsDigit>. |
53080bb1 |
525 | |
526 | =back |
527 | |
ce72e97c |
528 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
529 | |
ce72e97c |
530 | UNIVERSAL::isa no longer caches methods incorrectly. (This broke |
531 | the Tk extension with 5.6.0.) |
53080bb1 |
532 | |
ce72e97c |
533 | =back |
53080bb1 |
534 | |
ce72e97c |
535 | =head2 Platform Specific Changes and Fixes |
53080bb1 |
536 | |
537 | =over 4 |
538 | |
539 | =item * |
540 | |
ce72e97c |
541 | BSDI 4.* |
53080bb1 |
542 | |
ce72e97c |
543 | Perl now works on post-4.0 BSD/OSes. |
53080bb1 |
544 | |
ce72e97c |
545 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
546 | |
ce72e97c |
547 | All BSDs |
53080bb1 |
548 | |
ce72e97c |
549 | Setting C<$0> now works (as much as possible; see perlvar for details). |
53080bb1 |
550 | |
ce72e97c |
551 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
552 | |
ce72e97c |
553 | Cygwin |
53080bb1 |
554 | |
ce72e97c |
555 | Numerous updates; currently synchronised with Cygwin 1.1.4. |
53080bb1 |
556 | |
557 | =item * |
558 | |
ce72e97c |
559 | EPOC |
53080bb1 |
560 | |
ce72e97c |
561 | EPOC update after Perl 5.6.0. See README.epoc. |
53080bb1 |
562 | |
ce72e97c |
563 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
564 | |
ce72e97c |
565 | FreeBSD 3.* |
53080bb1 |
566 | |
ce72e97c |
567 | Perl now works on post-3.0 FreeBSDs. |
53080bb1 |
568 | |
569 | =item * |
570 | |
ce72e97c |
571 | HP-UX |
53080bb1 |
572 | |
ce72e97c |
573 | README.hpux updated; C<Configure -Duse64bitall> now almost works. |
53080bb1 |
574 | |
ce72e97c |
575 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
576 | |
ce72e97c |
577 | IRIX |
53080bb1 |
578 | |
ce72e97c |
579 | Numerous compilation flag and hint enhancements; accidental mixing |
580 | of 32-bit and 64-bit libraries (a doomed attempt) made much harder. |
53080bb1 |
581 | |
582 | =item * |
583 | |
ce72e97c |
584 | Linux |
53080bb1 |
585 | |
ce72e97c |
586 | Long doubles should now work (see INSTALL). |
53080bb1 |
587 | |
588 | =item * |
589 | |
ce72e97c |
590 | MacOS Classic |
591 | |
53080bb1 |
592 | Compilation of the standard Perl distribution in MacOS Classic should |
ce72e97c |
593 | now work if you have the Metrowerks development environment and |
594 | the missing Mac-specific toolkit bits. Contact the macperl mailing |
53080bb1 |
595 | list for details. |
596 | |
ce72e97c |
597 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
598 | |
ce72e97c |
599 | MPE/iX |
53080bb1 |
600 | |
ce72e97c |
601 | MPE/iX update after Perl 5.6.0. See README.mpeix. |
53080bb1 |
602 | |
ce72e97c |
603 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
604 | |
ce72e97c |
605 | NetBSD/sparc |
53080bb1 |
606 | |
ce72e97c |
607 | Perl now works on NetBSD/sparc. |
53080bb1 |
608 | |
609 | =item * |
610 | |
ce72e97c |
611 | OS/2 |
53080bb1 |
612 | |
ce72e97c |
613 | Now works with usethreads (see INSTALL). |
53080bb1 |
614 | |
615 | =item * |
616 | |
ce72e97c |
617 | Solaris |
53080bb1 |
618 | |
ce72e97c |
619 | 64-bitness using the Sun Workshop compiler now works. |
53080bb1 |
620 | |
621 | =item * |
622 | |
ce72e97c |
623 | Tru64 (aka Digital UNIX, aka DEC OSF/1) |
624 | |
625 | The operating system version letter now recorded in $Config{osvers}. |
53080bb1 |
626 | Allow compiling with gcc (previously explicitly forbidden). Compiling |
627 | with gcc still not recommended because buggy code results, even with |
628 | gcc 2.95.2. |
629 | |
630 | =item * |
631 | |
ce72e97c |
632 | Unicos |
53080bb1 |
633 | |
634 | Fixed various alignment problems that lead into core dumps either |
ce72e97c |
635 | during build or later; no longer dies on math errors at runtime; |
636 | now using full quad integers (64 bits), previously was using |
b84d4f81 |
637 | only 46 bit integers for speed. |
53080bb1 |
638 | |
53080bb1 |
639 | =item * |
640 | |
ce72e97c |
641 | VMS |
53080bb1 |
642 | |
ce72e97c |
643 | chdir() now works better despite a CRT bug; now works with MULTIPLICITY |
644 | (see INSTALL); now works with Perl's malloc. |
53080bb1 |
645 | |
646 | =item * |
647 | |
ce72e97c |
648 | Windows |
53080bb1 |
649 | |
ce72e97c |
650 | =over 8 |
53080bb1 |
651 | |
652 | =item * |
653 | |
d4ad863d |
654 | accept() no longer leaks memory. |
53080bb1 |
655 | |
656 | =item * |
657 | |
658 | Better chdir() return value for a non-existent directory. |
659 | |
660 | =item * |
661 | |
662 | New %ENV entries now propagate to subprocesses. |
663 | |
664 | =item * |
665 | |
666 | $ENV{LIB} now used to search for libs under Visual C. |
667 | |
668 | =item * |
669 | |
670 | A failed (pseudo)fork now returns undef and sets errno to EAGAIN. |
671 | |
672 | =item * |
673 | |
674 | Allow REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in the registry. |
675 | |
676 | =item * |
677 | |
678 | Can now send() from all threads, not just the first one. |
679 | |
680 | =item * |
681 | |
682 | Fake signal handling reenabled, bugs and all. |
683 | |
684 | =item * |
685 | |
686 | Less stack reserved per thread so that more threads can run |
0aa7271f |
687 | concurrently. (Still 16M per thread.) |
53080bb1 |
688 | |
689 | =item * |
690 | |
691 | C<File::Spec->tmpdir()> now prefers C:/temp over /tmp |
0aa7271f |
692 | (works better when perl is running as service). |
53080bb1 |
693 | |
694 | =item * |
695 | |
696 | Better UNC path handling under ithreads. |
697 | |
698 | =item * |
699 | |
700 | wait() and waitpid() now work much better. |
701 | |
702 | =item * |
703 | |
704 | winsock handle leak fixed. |
705 | |
706 | =back |
707 | |
cc0fca54 |
708 | =head1 New or Changed Diagnostics |
709 | |
53080bb1 |
710 | All regular expression compilation error messages are now hopefully |
711 | easier to understand both because the error message now comes before |
712 | the failed regex and because the point of failure is now clearly |
713 | marked. |
714 | |
715 | The various "opened only for", "on closed", "never opened" warnings |
716 | drop the C<main::> prefix for filehandles in the C<main> package, |
562628a3 |
717 | for example C<STDIN> instead of <main::STDIN>. |
53080bb1 |
718 | |
d4ad863d |
719 | The "Unrecognized escape" warning has been extended to include C<\8>, |
720 | C<\9>, and C<\_>. There is no need to escape any of the C<\w> characters. |
53080bb1 |
721 | |
53080bb1 |
722 | =head1 Changed Internals |
723 | |
ce72e97c |
724 | =over 4 |
725 | |
726 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
727 | |
d4ad863d |
728 | perlapi.pod (a companion to perlguts) now attempts to document the |
729 | internal API. |
53080bb1 |
730 | |
ce72e97c |
731 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
732 | |
ce72e97c |
733 | You can now build a really minimal perl called microperl. |
d4ad863d |
734 | Building microperl does not require even running Configure; |
735 | C<make -f Makefile.micro> should be enough. Beware: microperl makes |
736 | many assumptions, some of which may be too bold; the resulting |
0aa7271f |
737 | executable may crash or otherwise misbehave in wondrous ways. |
738 | For careful hackers only. |
53080bb1 |
739 | |
ce72e97c |
740 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
741 | |
43b92eec |
742 | Added rsignal(), whichsig(), do_join() to the publicised API. |
53080bb1 |
743 | |
ce72e97c |
744 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
745 | |
43b92eec |
746 | Made possible to propagate customised exceptions via croak()ing. |
53080bb1 |
747 | |
ce72e97c |
748 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
749 | |
750 | Added is_utf8_char(), is_utf8_string(), bytes_to_utf8(), and utf8_to_bytes(). |
751 | |
ce72e97c |
752 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
753 | |
754 | Now xsubs can have attributes just like subs. |
755 | |
ce72e97c |
756 | =back |
757 | |
cc0fca54 |
758 | =head1 Known Problems |
759 | |
53080bb1 |
760 | =head2 Unicode Support Still Far From Perfect |
761 | |
762 | We're working on it. Stay tuned. |
763 | |
764 | =head2 EBCDIC Still A Lost Platform |
765 | |
766 | The plan is to bring them back. |
767 | |
768 | =head2 Building Extensions Can Fail Because Of Largefiles |
769 | |
770 | Certain extensions like mod_perl and BSD::Resource are known to have |
ce72e97c |
771 | issues with `largefiles', a change brought by Perl 5.6.0 in which file |
4b2ec495 |
772 | offsets default to 64 bits wide, where supported. Modules may fail to |
ce72e97c |
773 | compile at all or compile and work incorrectly. Currently there is no |
4b2ec495 |
774 | good solution for the problem, but Configure now provides appropriate |
775 | non-largefile ccflags, ldflags, libswanted, and libs in the %Config |
776 | hash (e.g., $Config{ccflags_nolargefiles}) so the extensions that are |
777 | having problems can try configuring themselves without the |
778 | largefileness. This is admittedly not a clean solution, and the |
779 | solution may not even work at all. One potential failure is whether |
780 | one can (or, if one can, whether it's a good idea) link together at |
781 | all binaries with different ideas about file offsets, all this is |
782 | platform-dependent. |
53080bb1 |
783 | |
9dc46381 |
784 | =head2 ftmp-security tests warn 'system possibly insecure' |
785 | |
786 | Don't panic. Read INSTALL 'make test' section instead. |
787 | |
446288b8 |
788 | =head2 Test lib/posix Subtest 9 Fails In LP64-Configured HP-UX |
789 | |
790 | If perl is configured with -Duse64bitall, the successful result of the |
791 | subtest 10 of lib/posix may arrive before the successful result of the |
792 | subtest 9, which confuses the test harness so much that it thinks the |
793 | subtest 9 failed. |
794 | |
9dc46381 |
795 | =head2 Long Doubles Still Don't Work In Solaris |
796 | |
797 | The experimental long double support is still very much so in Solaris. |
2ff7ee21 |
798 | (Other platforms like Linux and Tru64 are beginning to solidify in |
799 | this area.) |
d184b07b |
800 | |
1047c2b3 |
801 | =head2 Linux With Sfio Fails op/misc Test 48 |
802 | |
803 | No known fix. |
804 | |
d184b07b |
805 | =head2 Storable tests fail in some platforms |
806 | |
2ff7ee21 |
807 | If any Storable tests fail the use of Storable is not advisable. |
808 | |
d184b07b |
809 | =over 4 |
810 | |
811 | =item * |
812 | |
813 | Many Storable tests fail on AIX configured with 64 bit integers. |
814 | |
815 | So far unidentified problems break Storable in AIX if Perl is |
816 | configured to use 64 bit integers. AIX in 32-bit mode works and |
817 | other 64-bit platforms work with Storable. |
818 | |
819 | =item * |
820 | |
821 | DOS DJGPP may hang when testing Storable. |
822 | |
823 | =item * |
824 | |
825 | st-06compat fails in UNICOS and UNICOS/mk. |
24e657a8 |
826 | |
827 | This means that you cannot read old (pre-Storable-0.7) Storable images |
828 | made in other platforms. |
829 | |
2ff7ee21 |
830 | =item * |
831 | |
832 | st-store.t and st-retrieve may fail with Compaq C 6.2 on OpenVMS Alpha 7.2. |
833 | |
33a87e58 |
834 | =head2 Threads Are Still Experimental |
835 | |
836 | Multithreading is still an experimental feature. Some platforms |
837 | emit the following message for lib/thr5005 |
838 | |
839 | # |
840 | # This is a KNOWN FAILURE, and one of the reasons why threading |
841 | # is still an experimental feature. It is here to stop people |
842 | # from deploying threads in production. ;-) |
843 | # |
844 | |
0aa7271f |
845 | and another known thread-related warning is |
33a87e58 |
846 | |
847 | pragma/overload......Unbalanced saves: 3 more saves than restores |
848 | panic: magic_mutexfree during global destruction. |
849 | ok |
850 | lib/selfloader.......Unbalanced saves: 3 more saves than restores |
851 | panic: magic_mutexfree during global destruction. |
852 | ok |
853 | lib/st-dclone........Unbalanced saves: 3 more saves than restores |
854 | panic: magic_mutexfree during global destruction. |
855 | ok |
856 | |
857 | =head2 The Compiler Suite Is Still Experimental |
858 | |
0aa7271f |
859 | The compiler suite is slowly getting better but is nowhere near |
860 | working order yet. The backend part that has seen perhaps the most |
861 | progress is the bytecode compiler. |
33a87e58 |
862 | |
d184b07b |
863 | =back |
864 | |
cc0fca54 |
865 | =head1 Reporting Bugs |
866 | |
d4ad863d |
867 | If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles |
868 | recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl |
869 | bug database at http://bugs.perl.org. There may also be |
870 | information at http://www.perl.com/perl/, the Perl Home Page. |
cc0fca54 |
871 | |
872 | If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the B<perlbug> |
873 | program included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down |
874 | to a tiny but sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the |
d4ad863d |
875 | output of C<perl -V>, will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be |
cc0fca54 |
876 | analysed by the Perl porting team. |
877 | |
878 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
879 | |
880 | The F<Changes> file for exhaustive details on what changed. |
881 | |
882 | The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl. |
883 | |
884 | The F<README> file for general stuff. |
885 | |
886 | The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information. |
887 | |
888 | =head1 HISTORY |
889 | |
53080bb1 |
890 | Written by Jarkko Hietaniemi <F<jhi@iki.fi>>, with many contributions |
891 | from The Perl Porters and Perl Users submitting feedback and patches. |
cc0fca54 |
892 | |
d4ad863d |
893 | Send omissions or corrections to <F<perlbug@perl.org>>. |
cc0fca54 |
894 | |
895 | =cut |