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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. |
cc0fca54 |
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. |
d4ad863d |
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 * |
d4ad863d |
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 * |
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52 | |
53 | The very dusty examples in the eg/ directory have been removed. |
54 | Suggestions for new shiny examples welcome but the main issue is that |
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55 | the examples need to be documented, tested and (most importantly) |
56 | maintained. |
d4ad863d |
57 | |
ce72e97c |
58 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
59 | |
60 | The obsolete chat2 library that should never have been allowed |
61 | to escape the laboratory has been decommissioned. |
62 | |
ce72e97c |
63 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
64 | |
65 | The unimplemented POSIX regex features [[.cc.]] and [[=c=]] are still |
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66 | recognised but now cause fatal errors. The previous behaviour of |
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67 | ignoring them by default and warning if requested was unacceptable |
68 | since it, in a way, falsely promised that the features could be used. |
69 | |
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70 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
71 | |
72 | lstat(FILEHANDLE) now gives a warning because the operation makes no sense. |
73 | In future releases this may become a fatal error. |
74 | |
ce72e97c |
75 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
76 | |
ce72e97c |
77 | The long deprecated uppercase aliases for the string comparison |
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78 | operators (EQ, NE, LT, LE, GE, GT) have now been removed. |
79 | |
ce72e97c |
80 | =item * |
d4ad863d |
81 | |
82 | The regular expression captured submatches ($1, $2, ...) are now |
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83 | more consistently unset if the match fails, instead of leaving false |
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84 | data lying around in them. |
85 | |
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86 | =item * |
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87 | |
88 | The tr///C and tr///U features have been removed and will not return; |
89 | the interface was a mistake. Sorry about that. For similar |
90 | functionality, see pack('U0', ...) and pack('C0', ...). |
91 | |
ce72e97c |
92 | =back |
93 | |
cc0fca54 |
94 | =head1 Core Enhancements |
95 | |
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96 | =over 4 |
97 | |
98 | =item * |
99 | |
100 | C<perl -d:Module=arg,arg,arg> now works (previously one couldn't pass |
101 | in multiple arguments.) |
102 | |
103 | =item * |
104 | |
53080bb1 |
105 | my __PACKAGE__ now works. |
106 | |
107 | =item * |
108 | |
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109 | C<no Module;> now works even if there is no "sub unimport" in the Module. |
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110 | |
111 | =item * |
112 | |
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113 | The numerical comparison operators return C<undef> if either operand |
114 | is a NaN. Previously the behaviour was unspecified. |
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115 | |
116 | =item * |
117 | |
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118 | C<pack('U0a*', ...)> can now be used to force a string to UTF8. |
53080bb1 |
119 | |
120 | =item * |
121 | |
122 | prototype(\&) is now available. |
123 | |
c835e335 |
124 | =item * |
125 | |
126 | There is now an UNTIE method. |
127 | |
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128 | =back |
129 | |
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130 | =head1 Modules and Pragmata |
131 | |
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132 | =head2 New Modules |
133 | |
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134 | =over 4 |
135 | |
136 | =item * |
137 | |
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138 | File::Temp allows one to create temporary files and directories in an |
139 | easy, portable, and secure way. |
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140 | |
141 | =item * |
142 | |
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143 | Storable gives persistence to Perl data structures by allowing the |
144 | storage and retrieval of Perl data to and from files in a fast and |
145 | compact binary format. |
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146 | |
147 | =back |
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148 | |
149 | =head2 Updated And Improved Modules and Pragmata |
150 | |
151 | =over 4 |
152 | |
153 | =item * |
154 | |
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155 | The following independently supported modules have been updated to |
156 | newer versions from CPAN: CGI, CPAN, DB_File, File::Spec, Getopt::Long, |
157 | the podlators bundle, Pod::LaTeX, Pod::Parser, Term::ANSIColor, Test. |
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158 | |
159 | =item * |
160 | |
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161 | Bug fixes and minor enhancements have been applied to B::Deparse, |
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162 | Data::Dumper, IO::Poll, IO::Socket::INET, Math::BigFloat, |
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163 | Math::Complex, Math::Trig, Net::protoent, the re pragma, SelfLoader, |
164 | Sys::SysLog, Test::Harness, Text::Wrap, UNIVERSAL, and the warnings |
165 | pragma. |
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166 | |
167 | =item * |
168 | |
ce72e97c |
169 | The attributes::reftype() now works on tied arguments. |
53080bb1 |
170 | |
171 | =item * |
172 | |
ce72e97c |
173 | AutoLoader can now be disabled with C<no AutoLoader;>, |
53080bb1 |
174 | |
175 | =item * |
176 | |
177 | The English module can now be used without the infamous performance |
178 | hit by saying |
179 | |
180 | use English '-no_performance_hit'; |
181 | |
182 | (Assuming, of course, that one doesn't need the troublesome variables |
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183 | C<$`>, C<$&>, or C<$'>.) Also, introduced C<@LAST_MATCH_START> and |
53080bb1 |
184 | C<@LAST_MATCH_END> English aliases for C<@-> and C<@+>. |
185 | |
186 | =item * |
187 | |
ce72e97c |
188 | File::Find now has pre- and post-processing callbacks. It also |
189 | correctly changes directories when chasing symbolic links. Callbacks |
190 | (naughtily) exiting with "next;" instead of "return;" now work. |
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191 | |
192 | =item * |
193 | |
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194 | File::Glob::glob() renamed to File::Glob::bsd_glob() to avoid |
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195 | prototype mismatch with CORE::glob(). |
196 | |
197 | =item * |
198 | |
ce72e97c |
199 | IPC::Open3 now allows the use of numeric file descriptors. |
53080bb1 |
200 | |
201 | =item * |
202 | |
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203 | use lib now works identically to @INC. Removing directories |
204 | with 'no lib' now works. |
53080bb1 |
205 | |
206 | =item * |
207 | |
ce72e97c |
208 | C<%INC> now localised in a Safe compartment so that use/require work. |
53080bb1 |
209 | |
210 | =item * |
211 | |
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212 | The Shell module now has an OO interface. |
53080bb1 |
213 | |
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214 | =item * |
215 | |
ce72e97c |
216 | =back |
53080bb1 |
217 | |
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218 | =head1 Utility Changes |
53080bb1 |
219 | |
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220 | =over 4 |
53080bb1 |
221 | |
222 | =item * |
223 | |
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224 | The Emacs perl mode (emacs/cperl-mode.el) has been updated to version |
225 | 4.31. |
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226 | |
227 | =item * |
228 | |
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229 | Perlbug is now much more robust. It also sends the bug report to |
230 | perl.org, not perl.com. |
53080bb1 |
231 | |
232 | =item * |
233 | |
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234 | The perlcc utility has been rewritten and its user interface (that is, |
235 | command line) is much more like that of the UNIX C compiler, cc. |
53080bb1 |
236 | |
237 | =item * |
238 | |
ce72e97c |
239 | The xsubpp utility for extension writers now understands POD |
240 | documentation embedded in the *.xs files. |
53080bb1 |
241 | |
ce72e97c |
242 | =back |
53080bb1 |
243 | |
ce72e97c |
244 | =head1 New Documentation |
53080bb1 |
245 | |
ce72e97c |
246 | =over 4 |
53080bb1 |
247 | |
248 | =item * |
249 | |
ce72e97c |
250 | perl56delta details the changes between the 5.005 release and the |
251 | 5.6.0 release. |
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252 | |
253 | =item * |
254 | |
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255 | perldebtut is a Perl debugging tutorial. |
53080bb1 |
256 | |
257 | =item * |
258 | |
ce72e97c |
259 | perlebcdic contains considerations for running Perl on EBCDIC platforms. |
260 | Note that unfortunately EBCDIC platforms that used to supported back in |
261 | Perl 5.005 are still unsupported by Perl 5.7.0; the plan, however, is to |
262 | bring them back to the fold. |
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263 | |
264 | =item * |
265 | |
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266 | perlnewmod tells about writing and submitting a new module. |
53080bb1 |
267 | |
268 | =item * |
269 | |
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270 | perlposix-bc explains using Perl on the POSIX-BC platform |
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271 | (an EBCDIC mainframe platform). |
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272 | |
273 | =item * |
274 | |
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275 | perlretut is a regular expression tutorial. |
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276 | |
277 | =item * |
278 | |
ce72e97c |
279 | perlrequick is a regular expressions quick-start guide. |
280 | Yes, much quicker than perlretut. |
53080bb1 |
281 | |
282 | =item * |
283 | |
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284 | perlutil explains the command line utilities packaged with the Perl |
285 | distribution. |
53080bb1 |
286 | |
287 | =back |
288 | |
ce72e97c |
289 | =head1 Performance Enhancements |
53080bb1 |
290 | |
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291 | =over 4 |
292 | |
293 | =item * |
294 | |
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295 | map() that changes the size of the list should now work faster. |
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296 | |
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297 | =item * |
298 | |
299 | sort() has been changed to use mergesort internally as opposed to the |
300 | earlier quicksort. For very small lists this may result in slightly |
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301 | slower sorting times, but in general the speedup should be at least |
302 | 20%. Additional bonuses are that the worst case behaviour of sort() |
303 | is now better (in computer science terms it now runs in time O(N log N), |
304 | as opposed to quicksort's Theta(N**2) worst-case run time behaviour), |
305 | and that sort() is now stable (meaning that elements with identical |
306 | keys will stay ordered as they were before the sort). |
d46b76b3 |
307 | |
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308 | =back |
309 | |
ce72e97c |
310 | =head1 Installation and Configuration Improvements |
53080bb1 |
311 | |
ce72e97c |
312 | =head2 Generic Improvements |
cc0fca54 |
313 | |
53080bb1 |
314 | =over 4 |
315 | |
316 | =item * |
317 | |
ce72e97c |
318 | INSTALL now explains how you can configure perl to use 64-bit |
319 | integers even on non-64-bit platforms. |
53080bb1 |
320 | |
321 | =item * |
322 | |
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323 | Policy.sh policy change: if you are reusing a Policy.sh file |
324 | (see INSTALL) and you use Configure -Dprefix=/foo/bar and in the old |
ce72e97c |
325 | Policy $prefix eq $siteprefix and $prefix eq $vendorprefix, all of |
326 | them will now be changed to the new prefix, /foo/bar. (Previously |
327 | only $prefix changed.) If you do not like this new behaviour, |
328 | specify prefix, siteprefix, and vendorprefix explicitly. |
53080bb1 |
329 | |
330 | =item * |
331 | |
ce72e97c |
332 | A new optional location for Perl libraries, otherlibdirs, is available. |
333 | It can be used for example for vendor add-ons without disturbing Perl's |
334 | own library directories. |
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335 | |
336 | =item * |
337 | |
ce72e97c |
338 | In many platforms the vendor-supplied 'cc' is too stripped-down to |
339 | build Perl (basically, 'cc' doesn't do ANSI C). If this seems |
340 | to be the case and 'cc' does not seem to be the GNU C compiler |
341 | 'gcc', an automatic attempt is made to find and use 'gcc' instead. |
53080bb1 |
342 | |
343 | =item * |
344 | |
ce72e97c |
345 | gcc needs to closely track the operating system release to avoid |
346 | build problems. If Configure finds that gcc was built for a different |
347 | operating system release than is running, it now gives a clearly visible |
348 | warning that there may be trouble ahead. |
53080bb1 |
349 | |
350 | =item * |
351 | |
ce72e97c |
352 | If binary compatibility with the 5.005 release is not wanted, Configure |
353 | no longer suggests including the 5.005 modules in @INC. |
53080bb1 |
354 | |
355 | =item * |
356 | |
ce72e97c |
357 | Configure C<-S> can now run non-interactively. |
53080bb1 |
358 | |
359 | =item * |
360 | |
ce72e97c |
361 | configure.gnu now works with options with whitespace in them. |
53080bb1 |
362 | |
363 | =item * |
364 | |
ce72e97c |
365 | installperl now outputs everything to STDERR. |
53080bb1 |
366 | |
367 | =item * |
368 | |
ce72e97c |
369 | $Config{byteorder} is now computed dynamically (this is more robust |
370 | with "fat binaries" where an executable image contains binaries for |
371 | more than one binary platform.) |
53080bb1 |
372 | |
ce72e97c |
373 | =back |
53080bb1 |
374 | |
ce72e97c |
375 | =head1 Selected Bug Fixes |
53080bb1 |
376 | |
ce72e97c |
377 | =over 4 |
53080bb1 |
378 | |
379 | =item * |
380 | |
ce72e97c |
381 | Several debugger fixes: exit code now reflects the script exit code, |
382 | condition C<"0"> now treated correctly, the C<d> command now checks |
383 | line number, the C<$.> no longer gets corrupted, all debugger output now |
384 | goes correctly to the socket if RemotePort is set. |
53080bb1 |
385 | |
386 | =item * |
387 | |
ce72e97c |
388 | C<*foo{FORMAT}> now works. |
53080bb1 |
389 | |
390 | =item * |
391 | |
ce72e97c |
392 | Lexical warnings now propagating correctly between scopes. |
53080bb1 |
393 | |
394 | =item * |
395 | |
ce72e97c |
396 | Line renumbering with eval and C<#line> now works. |
53080bb1 |
397 | |
398 | =item * |
399 | |
ce72e97c |
400 | Fixed numerous memory leaks, especially in eval "". |
53080bb1 |
401 | |
402 | =item * |
403 | |
ce72e97c |
404 | Modulus of unsigned numbers now works (4063328477 % 65535 used to |
405 | return 27406, instead of 27047). |
53080bb1 |
406 | |
407 | =item * |
408 | |
ce72e97c |
409 | Some "not a number" warnings introduced in 5.6.0 eliminated to be |
410 | more compatible with 5.005. Infinity is now recognised as a number. |
53080bb1 |
411 | |
412 | =item * |
413 | |
ce72e97c |
414 | our() variables will not cause "will not stay shared" warnings. |
53080bb1 |
415 | |
416 | =item * |
417 | |
ce72e97c |
418 | pack "Z" now correctly terminates the string with "\0". |
53080bb1 |
419 | |
420 | =item * |
421 | |
ce72e97c |
422 | Fix password routines which in some shadow password platforms |
423 | (e.g. HP-UX) caused getpwent() to return every other entry. |
53080bb1 |
424 | |
425 | =item * |
426 | |
ce72e97c |
427 | printf() no longer resets the numeric locale to "C". |
53080bb1 |
428 | |
429 | =item * |
430 | |
ce72e97c |
431 | C<q(a\\b)> now parses correctly as C<'a\\b'>. |
53080bb1 |
432 | |
433 | =item * |
434 | |
ce72e97c |
435 | Printing quads (64-bit integers) with printf/sprintf now works |
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436 | without the q L ll prefixes (assuming you are on a quad-capable platform). |
53080bb1 |
437 | |
438 | =item * |
439 | |
ce72e97c |
440 | Regular expressions on references and overloaded scalars now work. |
53080bb1 |
441 | |
442 | =item * |
443 | |
ce72e97c |
444 | scalar() now forces scalar context even when used in void context. |
53080bb1 |
445 | |
446 | =item * |
ce72e97c |
447 | |
448 | sort() arguments are now compiled in the right wantarray context |
449 | (they were accidentally using the context of the sort() itself). |
53080bb1 |
450 | |
451 | =item * |
452 | |
ce72e97c |
453 | Changed the POSIX character class C<[[:space:]]> to include the (very |
454 | rare) vertical tab character. Added a new POSIX-ish character class |
455 | C<[[:blank:]]> which stands for horizontal whitespace (currently, |
456 | the space and the tab). |
53080bb1 |
457 | |
458 | =item * |
459 | |
ce72e97c |
460 | $AUTOLOAD, sort(), lock(), and spawning subprocesses |
461 | in multiple threads simultaneously are now thread-safe. |
53080bb1 |
462 | |
463 | =item * |
464 | |
ce72e97c |
465 | Allow read-only string on left hand side of non-modifying tr///. |
53080bb1 |
466 | |
467 | =item * |
468 | |
ce72e97c |
469 | Several Unicode fixes (but still not perfect). |
53080bb1 |
470 | |
ce72e97c |
471 | =over 8 |
53080bb1 |
472 | |
473 | =item * |
474 | |
ce72e97c |
475 | BOMs (byte order marks) in the beginning of Perl files |
476 | (scripts, modules) should now be transparently skipped. |
477 | UTF16 encoded Perl files should now be read correctly. |
53080bb1 |
478 | |
479 | =item * |
480 | |
bc723577 |
481 | The character tables have been updated to Unicode 3.0.1. |
53080bb1 |
482 | |
ce72e97c |
483 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
484 | |
ce72e97c |
485 | chr() for values greater than 127 now create utf8 when under use |
486 | utf8. |
53080bb1 |
487 | |
ce72e97c |
488 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
489 | |
ce72e97c |
490 | Comparing with utf8 data does not magically upgrade non-utf8 data into |
491 | utf8. |
53080bb1 |
492 | |
493 | =item * |
494 | |
ce72e97c |
495 | C<IsAlnum>, C<IsAlpha>, and C<IsWord> now match titlecase. |
53080bb1 |
496 | |
497 | =item * |
498 | |
ce72e97c |
499 | Concatenation with the C<.> operator or via variable interpolation, |
500 | C<eq>, C<substr>, C<reverse>, C<quotemeta>, the C<x> operator, |
501 | substitution with C<s///>, single-quoted UTF8, should now work--in |
502 | theory. |
53080bb1 |
503 | |
504 | =item * |
505 | |
ce72e97c |
506 | The C<tr///> operator now works I<slightly> better but is still rather |
507 | broken. Note that the C<tr///CU> functionality has been removed (but |
508 | see pack('U0', ...)). |
53080bb1 |
509 | |
510 | =item * |
511 | |
bc723577 |
512 | vec() now refuses to deal with characters >255. |
513 | |
514 | =item * |
515 | |
ce72e97c |
516 | Zero entries were missing from the Unicode classes like C<IsDigit>. |
53080bb1 |
517 | |
518 | =back |
519 | |
ce72e97c |
520 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
521 | |
ce72e97c |
522 | UNIVERSAL::isa no longer caches methods incorrectly. (This broke |
523 | the Tk extension with 5.6.0.) |
53080bb1 |
524 | |
ce72e97c |
525 | =back |
53080bb1 |
526 | |
ce72e97c |
527 | =head2 Platform Specific Changes and Fixes |
53080bb1 |
528 | |
529 | =over 4 |
530 | |
531 | =item * |
532 | |
ce72e97c |
533 | BSDI 4.* |
53080bb1 |
534 | |
ce72e97c |
535 | Perl now works on post-4.0 BSD/OSes. |
53080bb1 |
536 | |
ce72e97c |
537 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
538 | |
ce72e97c |
539 | All BSDs |
53080bb1 |
540 | |
ce72e97c |
541 | Setting C<$0> now works (as much as possible; see perlvar for details). |
53080bb1 |
542 | |
ce72e97c |
543 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
544 | |
ce72e97c |
545 | Cygwin |
53080bb1 |
546 | |
ce72e97c |
547 | Numerous updates; currently synchronised with Cygwin 1.1.4. |
53080bb1 |
548 | |
549 | =item * |
550 | |
ce72e97c |
551 | EPOC |
53080bb1 |
552 | |
ce72e97c |
553 | EPOC update after Perl 5.6.0. See README.epoc. |
53080bb1 |
554 | |
ce72e97c |
555 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
556 | |
ce72e97c |
557 | FreeBSD 3.* |
53080bb1 |
558 | |
ce72e97c |
559 | Perl now works on post-3.0 FreeBSDs. |
53080bb1 |
560 | |
561 | =item * |
562 | |
ce72e97c |
563 | HP-UX |
53080bb1 |
564 | |
ce72e97c |
565 | README.hpux updated; C<Configure -Duse64bitall> now almost works. |
53080bb1 |
566 | |
ce72e97c |
567 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
568 | |
ce72e97c |
569 | IRIX |
53080bb1 |
570 | |
ce72e97c |
571 | Numerous compilation flag and hint enhancements; accidental mixing |
572 | of 32-bit and 64-bit libraries (a doomed attempt) made much harder. |
53080bb1 |
573 | |
574 | =item * |
575 | |
ce72e97c |
576 | Linux |
53080bb1 |
577 | |
ce72e97c |
578 | Long doubles should now work (see INSTALL). |
53080bb1 |
579 | |
580 | =item * |
581 | |
ce72e97c |
582 | MacOS Classic |
583 | |
53080bb1 |
584 | Compilation of the standard Perl distribution in MacOS Classic should |
ce72e97c |
585 | now work if you have the Metrowerks development environment and |
586 | the missing Mac-specific toolkit bits. Contact the macperl mailing |
53080bb1 |
587 | list for details. |
588 | |
ce72e97c |
589 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
590 | |
ce72e97c |
591 | MPE/iX |
53080bb1 |
592 | |
ce72e97c |
593 | MPE/iX update after Perl 5.6.0. See README.mpeix. |
53080bb1 |
594 | |
ce72e97c |
595 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
596 | |
ce72e97c |
597 | NetBSD/sparc |
53080bb1 |
598 | |
ce72e97c |
599 | Perl now works on NetBSD/sparc. |
53080bb1 |
600 | |
601 | =item * |
602 | |
ce72e97c |
603 | OS/2 |
53080bb1 |
604 | |
ce72e97c |
605 | Now works with usethreads (see INSTALL). |
53080bb1 |
606 | |
607 | =item * |
608 | |
ce72e97c |
609 | Solaris |
53080bb1 |
610 | |
ce72e97c |
611 | 64-bitness using the Sun Workshop compiler now works. |
53080bb1 |
612 | |
613 | =item * |
614 | |
ce72e97c |
615 | Tru64 (aka Digital UNIX, aka DEC OSF/1) |
616 | |
617 | The operating system version letter now recorded in $Config{osvers}. |
53080bb1 |
618 | Allow compiling with gcc (previously explicitly forbidden). Compiling |
619 | with gcc still not recommended because buggy code results, even with |
620 | gcc 2.95.2. |
621 | |
622 | =item * |
623 | |
ce72e97c |
624 | Unicos |
53080bb1 |
625 | |
626 | Fixed various alignment problems that lead into core dumps either |
ce72e97c |
627 | during build or later; no longer dies on math errors at runtime; |
628 | now using full quad integers (64 bits), previously was using |
b84d4f81 |
629 | only 46 bit integers for speed. |
53080bb1 |
630 | |
53080bb1 |
631 | =item * |
632 | |
ce72e97c |
633 | VMS |
53080bb1 |
634 | |
ce72e97c |
635 | chdir() now works better despite a CRT bug; now works with MULTIPLICITY |
636 | (see INSTALL); now works with Perl's malloc. |
53080bb1 |
637 | |
638 | =item * |
639 | |
ce72e97c |
640 | Windows |
53080bb1 |
641 | |
ce72e97c |
642 | =over 8 |
53080bb1 |
643 | |
644 | =item * |
645 | |
d4ad863d |
646 | accept() no longer leaks memory. |
53080bb1 |
647 | |
648 | =item * |
649 | |
650 | Better chdir() return value for a non-existent directory. |
651 | |
652 | =item * |
653 | |
654 | New %ENV entries now propagate to subprocesses. |
655 | |
656 | =item * |
657 | |
658 | $ENV{LIB} now used to search for libs under Visual C. |
659 | |
660 | =item * |
661 | |
662 | A failed (pseudo)fork now returns undef and sets errno to EAGAIN. |
663 | |
664 | =item * |
665 | |
666 | Allow REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in the registry. |
667 | |
668 | =item * |
669 | |
670 | Can now send() from all threads, not just the first one. |
671 | |
672 | =item * |
673 | |
674 | Fake signal handling reenabled, bugs and all. |
675 | |
676 | =item * |
677 | |
678 | Less stack reserved per thread so that more threads can run |
679 | concurrently. (still 16M perl thread) |
680 | |
681 | =item * |
682 | |
683 | C<File::Spec->tmpdir()> now prefers C:/temp over /tmp |
684 | (works better when perl running as service). |
685 | |
686 | =item * |
687 | |
688 | Better UNC path handling under ithreads. |
689 | |
690 | =item * |
691 | |
692 | wait() and waitpid() now work much better. |
693 | |
694 | =item * |
695 | |
696 | winsock handle leak fixed. |
697 | |
698 | =back |
699 | |
cc0fca54 |
700 | =head1 New or Changed Diagnostics |
701 | |
53080bb1 |
702 | All regular expression compilation error messages are now hopefully |
703 | easier to understand both because the error message now comes before |
704 | the failed regex and because the point of failure is now clearly |
705 | marked. |
706 | |
707 | The various "opened only for", "on closed", "never opened" warnings |
708 | drop the C<main::> prefix for filehandles in the C<main> package, |
562628a3 |
709 | for example C<STDIN> instead of <main::STDIN>. |
53080bb1 |
710 | |
d4ad863d |
711 | The "Unrecognized escape" warning has been extended to include C<\8>, |
712 | C<\9>, and C<\_>. There is no need to escape any of the C<\w> characters. |
53080bb1 |
713 | |
53080bb1 |
714 | =head1 Changed Internals |
715 | |
ce72e97c |
716 | =over 4 |
717 | |
718 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
719 | |
d4ad863d |
720 | perlapi.pod (a companion to perlguts) now attempts to document the |
721 | internal API. |
53080bb1 |
722 | |
ce72e97c |
723 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
724 | |
ce72e97c |
725 | You can now build a really minimal perl called microperl. |
d4ad863d |
726 | Building microperl does not require even running Configure; |
727 | C<make -f Makefile.micro> should be enough. Beware: microperl makes |
728 | many assumptions, some of which may be too bold; the resulting |
729 | executable may crash or otherwise misbehave in wondrous ways. For |
730 | careful hackers only. |
53080bb1 |
731 | |
ce72e97c |
732 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
733 | |
43b92eec |
734 | Added rsignal(), whichsig(), do_join() to the publicised API. |
53080bb1 |
735 | |
ce72e97c |
736 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
737 | |
43b92eec |
738 | Made possible to propagate customised exceptions via croak()ing. |
53080bb1 |
739 | |
ce72e97c |
740 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
741 | |
742 | Added is_utf8_char(), is_utf8_string(), bytes_to_utf8(), and utf8_to_bytes(). |
743 | |
ce72e97c |
744 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
745 | |
746 | Now xsubs can have attributes just like subs. |
747 | |
ce72e97c |
748 | =back |
749 | |
cc0fca54 |
750 | =head1 Known Problems |
751 | |
53080bb1 |
752 | =head2 Unicode Support Still Far From Perfect |
753 | |
754 | We're working on it. Stay tuned. |
755 | |
756 | =head2 EBCDIC Still A Lost Platform |
757 | |
758 | The plan is to bring them back. |
759 | |
760 | =head2 Building Extensions Can Fail Because Of Largefiles |
761 | |
762 | Certain extensions like mod_perl and BSD::Resource are known to have |
ce72e97c |
763 | issues with `largefiles', a change brought by Perl 5.6.0 in which file |
4b2ec495 |
764 | offsets default to 64 bits wide, where supported. Modules may fail to |
ce72e97c |
765 | compile at all or compile and work incorrectly. Currently there is no |
4b2ec495 |
766 | good solution for the problem, but Configure now provides appropriate |
767 | non-largefile ccflags, ldflags, libswanted, and libs in the %Config |
768 | hash (e.g., $Config{ccflags_nolargefiles}) so the extensions that are |
769 | having problems can try configuring themselves without the |
770 | largefileness. This is admittedly not a clean solution, and the |
771 | solution may not even work at all. One potential failure is whether |
772 | one can (or, if one can, whether it's a good idea) link together at |
773 | all binaries with different ideas about file offsets, all this is |
774 | platform-dependent. |
53080bb1 |
775 | |
9dc46381 |
776 | =head2 ftmp-security tests warn 'system possibly insecure' |
777 | |
778 | Don't panic. Read INSTALL 'make test' section instead. |
779 | |
446288b8 |
780 | =head2 Test lib/posix Subtest 9 Fails In LP64-Configured HP-UX |
781 | |
782 | If perl is configured with -Duse64bitall, the successful result of the |
783 | subtest 10 of lib/posix may arrive before the successful result of the |
784 | subtest 9, which confuses the test harness so much that it thinks the |
785 | subtest 9 failed. |
786 | |
9dc46381 |
787 | =head2 Long Doubles Still Don't Work In Solaris |
788 | |
789 | The experimental long double support is still very much so in Solaris. |
2ff7ee21 |
790 | (Other platforms like Linux and Tru64 are beginning to solidify in |
791 | this area.) |
d184b07b |
792 | |
1047c2b3 |
793 | =head2 Linux With Sfio Fails op/misc Test 48 |
794 | |
795 | No known fix. |
796 | |
d184b07b |
797 | =head2 Storable tests fail in some platforms |
798 | |
2ff7ee21 |
799 | If any Storable tests fail the use of Storable is not advisable. |
800 | |
d184b07b |
801 | =over 4 |
802 | |
803 | =item * |
804 | |
805 | Many Storable tests fail on AIX configured with 64 bit integers. |
806 | |
807 | So far unidentified problems break Storable in AIX if Perl is |
808 | configured to use 64 bit integers. AIX in 32-bit mode works and |
809 | other 64-bit platforms work with Storable. |
810 | |
811 | =item * |
812 | |
813 | DOS DJGPP may hang when testing Storable. |
814 | |
815 | =item * |
816 | |
817 | st-06compat fails in UNICOS and UNICOS/mk. |
24e657a8 |
818 | |
819 | This means that you cannot read old (pre-Storable-0.7) Storable images |
820 | made in other platforms. |
821 | |
2ff7ee21 |
822 | =item * |
823 | |
824 | st-store.t and st-retrieve may fail with Compaq C 6.2 on OpenVMS Alpha 7.2. |
825 | |
33a87e58 |
826 | =head2 Threads Are Still Experimental |
827 | |
828 | Multithreading is still an experimental feature. Some platforms |
829 | emit the following message for lib/thr5005 |
830 | |
831 | # |
832 | # This is a KNOWN FAILURE, and one of the reasons why threading |
833 | # is still an experimental feature. It is here to stop people |
834 | # from deploying threads in production. ;-) |
835 | # |
836 | |
837 | and another known warning is |
838 | |
839 | pragma/overload......Unbalanced saves: 3 more saves than restores |
840 | panic: magic_mutexfree during global destruction. |
841 | ok |
842 | lib/selfloader.......Unbalanced saves: 3 more saves than restores |
843 | panic: magic_mutexfree during global destruction. |
844 | ok |
845 | lib/st-dclone........Unbalanced saves: 3 more saves than restores |
846 | panic: magic_mutexfree during global destruction. |
847 | ok |
848 | |
849 | =head2 The Compiler Suite Is Still Experimental |
850 | |
851 | The compiler suite is slowly getting better but is nowhere near yet. |
852 | The backend part that has seen perhaps the most progress is the |
853 | bytecode compiler. |
854 | |
d184b07b |
855 | =back |
856 | |
cc0fca54 |
857 | =head1 Reporting Bugs |
858 | |
d4ad863d |
859 | If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles |
860 | recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl |
861 | bug database at http://bugs.perl.org. There may also be |
862 | information at http://www.perl.com/perl/, the Perl Home Page. |
cc0fca54 |
863 | |
864 | If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the B<perlbug> |
865 | program included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down |
866 | to a tiny but sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the |
d4ad863d |
867 | output of C<perl -V>, will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be |
cc0fca54 |
868 | analysed by the Perl porting team. |
869 | |
870 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
871 | |
872 | The F<Changes> file for exhaustive details on what changed. |
873 | |
874 | The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl. |
875 | |
876 | The F<README> file for general stuff. |
877 | |
878 | The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information. |
879 | |
880 | =head1 HISTORY |
881 | |
53080bb1 |
882 | Written by Jarkko Hietaniemi <F<jhi@iki.fi>>, with many contributions |
883 | from The Perl Porters and Perl Users submitting feedback and patches. |
cc0fca54 |
884 | |
d4ad863d |
885 | Send omissions or corrections to <F<perlbug@perl.org>>. |
cc0fca54 |
886 | |
887 | =cut |