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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 |
13 | of Perl has been identified. The suidperl is neither built nor |
14 | installed by default. As of August the 20th, 2000, the only known |
15 | vulnerable platform is Linux, most likely all Linux distributions. |
16 | The CERT and various vendors have been alerted about the vulnerability. |
17 | |
18 | The problem was caused by Perl trying to report a suspected security |
19 | exploit attempt using an external program, /bin/mail. In Linux |
20 | platforms the /bin/mail program had an undocumented feature which gave |
21 | access to a root shell, resulting in a serious compromise, instead of |
22 | reporting the exploit attempt. If you don't have /bin/mail or if you |
23 | have 'safe suid scripts' or if you haven't installed the suidperl, you |
24 | are safe. |
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 |
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 being supported, in the extreme |
31 | case it may be completely removed in future releases. In any case, |
32 | suidperl should only be used by security experts who know exactly what |
33 | they are doing and why they are using suidperl instead of some other solution. |
34 | A good tool for similar needs is sudo: http://www.courtesan.com/sudo/ |
35 | |
36 | =head1 Incompatible Changes |
37 | |
38 | =head2 Arrays Now Always Interpolate Into Double-Quoted Strings |
39 | |
40 | Constructs like "foo@bar" now always assume the C<@bar> to be an array, |
41 | regardless of whether it is known that C<@bar> is an array. |
42 | |
43 | =head2 bless(REF, REF) is now a fatal error |
44 | |
45 | The semantics of bless(REF, REF) were unclear and until someone proves |
46 | it to make some sense, it is forbidden. |
47 | |
48 | =head2 The eg/* Directory Removed |
49 | |
50 | The very dusty examples in the eg/ directory have been removed. |
51 | Suggestions for new shiny examples welcome but the main issue is that |
52 | the examples need to be documented, tested, and--most importantly--maintained. |
53 | |
54 | =head2 The lib/chat2.pl |
55 | |
56 | The obsolete chat2 library that should never have been allowed |
57 | to escape the laboratory has been decommissioned. |
58 | |
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59 | =head2 Unimplemented (But Recognised) POSIX Regex Features Now Fatal |
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60 | |
61 | The unimplemented POSIX regex features [[.cc.]] and [[=c=]] are still |
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62 | recognised but now cause fatal errors. The previous behaviour of |
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63 | ignoring them by default and warning if requested was unacceptable |
64 | since it, in a way, falsely promised that the features could be used. |
65 | |
66 | =head2 lstat(FILEHANDLE) now warns |
67 | |
68 | lstat(FILEHANDLE) now gives a warning because the operation makes no sense. |
69 | In future releases this may become a fatal error. |
70 | |
71 | =head2 Obsolete String Comparison Operators Removed |
72 | |
73 | The long since deprecated uppercase aliases for the string comparison |
74 | operators (EQ, NE, LT, LE, GE, GT) have now been removed. |
75 | |
76 | =head2 The Regular Expression Submatches Are Now Unset When Backtracking |
77 | |
78 | The regular expression captured submatches ($1, $2, ...) are now |
79 | consistently unset if the match fails, instead of leaving false |
80 | data lying around in them. |
81 | |
82 | =head2 tr///CU Removed, Not To Return |
83 | |
84 | The tr///C and tr///U features have been removed and will not return; |
85 | the interface was a mistake. Sorry about that. For similar |
86 | functionality, see pack('U0', ...) and pack('C0', ...). |
87 | |
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88 | =head1 Core Enhancements |
89 | |
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90 | =over 4 |
91 | |
92 | =item * |
93 | |
94 | C<perl -d:Module=arg,arg,arg> now works (previously one couldn't pass |
95 | in multiple arguments.) |
96 | |
97 | =item * |
98 | |
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99 | my __PACKAGE__ now works. |
100 | |
101 | =item * |
102 | |
103 | no Module; now works even if there is no "sub unimport" in the Module. |
104 | |
105 | =item * |
106 | |
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107 | The numerical comparison operators return C<undef> if either operand |
108 | is a NaN. Previously the behaviour was unspecified. |
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109 | |
110 | =item * |
111 | |
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112 | C<pack('U0a*', ...)> can now be used to force a string to UTF8. |
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113 | |
114 | =item * |
115 | |
116 | prototype(\&) is now available. |
117 | |
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118 | =back |
119 | |
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120 | =head1 Modules and Pragmata |
121 | |
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122 | =head2 New Modules |
123 | |
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124 | =over 4 |
125 | |
126 | =item * |
127 | |
128 | File::Temp, version 0.10, allows one to create temporary files |
129 | and directories in an easy, portable, and secure way. |
130 | |
131 | =item * |
132 | |
133 | The Storable extension, version 0.7.2, released the 14th of August |
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134 | 2000, has been added to the Perl distribution. Storable gives |
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135 | persistence to Perl data structures by allowing the storage and |
136 | retrieval of Perl data to and from files in a fast and compact binary |
137 | format. |
138 | |
139 | =back |
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140 | |
141 | =head2 Updated And Improved Modules and Pragmata |
142 | |
143 | =over 4 |
144 | |
145 | =item * |
146 | |
147 | The attributes::reftype() now works on tied arguments. |
148 | |
149 | =item * |
150 | |
151 | AutoLoader can now be `stopped' by |
152 | |
153 | no AutoLoader; |
154 | |
155 | =item * |
156 | |
157 | B::Deparse now understands sub attributes. |
158 | |
159 | =item * |
160 | |
161 | Data::Dumper now works on negative number on 32-bit platforms where IV |
162 | (the Perl's integer datatype) is greater than 32 bits. Also, large |
163 | unsigned numbers are now dumped as such, not as large negative numbers. |
164 | |
165 | =item * |
166 | |
167 | CGI has been updated to version 2.72, released |
168 | the 20th of August 2000. |
169 | |
170 | =item * |
171 | |
172 | CPAN has been updated to version 1.57, released |
173 | the 16th of August 2000. |
174 | |
175 | =item * |
176 | |
177 | DB_File has been updated to version 1.73, released the |
178 | 27th of April 2000. |
179 | |
180 | =item * |
181 | |
182 | The English module can now be used without the infamous performance |
183 | hit by saying |
184 | |
185 | use English '-no_performance_hit'; |
186 | |
187 | (Assuming, of course, that one doesn't need the troublesome variables |
188 | C<$`>, C<$&>, or C<$'>.) Also, introduce C<@LAST_MATCH_START> and |
189 | C<@LAST_MATCH_END> English aliases for C<@-> and C<@+>. |
190 | |
191 | =item * |
192 | |
193 | File::Find now has pre- and postprocessing callbacks. |
194 | It also correctly changes directories when chasing symbolic links. |
195 | Callbacks doing (naughtily) "next;" instead of "return;" now work. |
196 | |
197 | =item * |
198 | |
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199 | File::Glob::glob() renamed to File::Glob::bsd_glob() to avoid |
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200 | prototype mismatch with CORE::glob(). |
201 | |
202 | =item * |
203 | |
204 | File::Spec has been updated to version 0.82, released the |
205 | 1st of July 2000. |
206 | |
207 | =item * |
208 | |
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209 | Getopt::Long has been updated to version 2.23_05, released the 2nd of |
210 | August 2000. |
211 | |
212 | =item * |
213 | |
214 | IO::Poll has been thoroughly fixed. |
215 | |
216 | =item * |
217 | |
218 | IO::Socket::INET now works when given an unknown service name with |
219 | a port number. |
220 | |
221 | =item * |
222 | |
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223 | IPC::Open3 now allows the use of numeric file descriptors. |
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224 | |
225 | =item * |
226 | |
227 | use lib now works identically to @INC. Removing directories |
228 | with 'no lib' now works. |
229 | |
230 | =item * |
231 | |
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232 | Math::BigFloat now more robust (fewer "uninitialized" warnings). |
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233 | |
234 | =item * |
235 | |
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236 | Math::Complex now handles extreme values (e.g. cplx(1E20, 1E30)) more |
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237 | gracefully. |
238 | |
239 | =item * |
240 | |
241 | The podlators bundle has been updated to version 1.02, released the |
242 | 25th of April 2000. It contains the modules Pod::Man 1.04, Pod::Text |
243 | 2.04, and modules Pod::Text::Color and Pod::Text::Termcap (no version |
244 | numbers). |
245 | |
246 | =item * |
247 | |
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248 | Pod::LaTeX has been updated to version 0.52, released the 15th of May |
249 | 2000. Note that this is a complete rewrite which translates pod much |
250 | better, has many more options and much better documentation. It also |
251 | now uses the Pod::Parser backend, meaning that Pod::LaTeX will stay |
252 | abreast other pod translators. |
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253 | |
254 | =item * |
255 | |
256 | Pod::Parser has been updated to version 1.17, released the 25th of |
257 | July 2000. It contains the modules Pod::Checker 1.20, Pod::Find 0.21, |
258 | Pod::InputObjects 1.13, Pod::ParseUtils 0.22, Pod::Parser 1.12, |
259 | Pod::Select 1.13, and Pod::Usage 1.13. |
260 | |
261 | =item * |
262 | |
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263 | The 'debug' subpragma the 're' pragma now produces cleaner output. |
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264 | |
265 | =item * |
266 | |
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267 | C<%INC> now localised in a Safe compartment so that use/require work. |
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268 | |
269 | =item * |
270 | |
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271 | SelfLoader no longer loses C<$@> in AUTOLOAD. |
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272 | |
273 | =item * |
274 | |
275 | The Shell module now has an OO interface. |
276 | |
277 | =item * |
278 | |
279 | Sys::Syslog now works on domain sockets. Also, a forked child |
280 | now exits correctly if it fails to open /dev/console. |
281 | |
282 | =item * |
283 | |
284 | Term::ANSIColor has been updated to version 1.03, released the 6th of |
285 | August 2000. |
286 | |
287 | =item * |
288 | |
289 | The Test module has been updated to version 1.14, released the 21st of June |
290 | 1999. This is for all practical purposes identical to the previous release |
291 | of Test included with the Perl distribution, 1.13, but upgrading the module |
292 | stops the CPAN module from suggesting an upgrade. |
293 | |
294 | =item * |
295 | |
296 | Test::Harness output now prettier on failed test. |
297 | |
298 | =item * |
299 | |
300 | Text::Wrap::wtbrap now handles multiline strings properly. |
301 | |
302 | =item * |
303 | |
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304 | UNIVERSAL::isa no longer caches methods incorrectly. |
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305 | |
306 | =back |
307 | |
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308 | =head1 Utility Changes |
309 | |
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310 | =head2 cperl-mode version 4.31 |
311 | |
312 | The Emacs perl mode (emacs/cperl-mode.el) has been updated to version 4.31. |
313 | |
314 | =head2 perlbug |
315 | |
316 | Perlbug is now much more robust. It also sends the bug report to perl.org, |
317 | not perl.com. |
318 | |
319 | =head2 perlcc now more cc-like and more robust |
320 | |
321 | The perlcc utility has been rewritten and its user interface (that is, |
322 | command line) is much more like that of the UNIX C compiler, cc. |
323 | |
324 | =head2 xsubpp now understands embedded pod |
325 | |
326 | The xsubpp utility for extension writers now understands POD |
327 | documentation embedded in the *.xs files. |
328 | |
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329 | =head1 Improved Documentation |
330 | |
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331 | =over 4 |
332 | |
333 | =item * |
334 | |
335 | In many places say "alphanumeric characters" instead of "word |
336 | characters" because that was what was meant. |
337 | |
338 | =item * |
339 | |
340 | Eradicate "array context" from the documentation and diagnostics. |
341 | |
342 | =item * |
343 | |
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344 | The return values of failing backticks (`, qx{}) are now documented |
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345 | in perlop. |
346 | |
347 | =item * |
348 | |
349 | caller() return values now better documented. |
350 | |
351 | =item * |
352 | |
353 | SDBM_File, NDBM_File, ODBM_File, now tell about tying instead of |
354 | glossing over. |
355 | |
356 | =item * |
357 | |
358 | Document that the C<$(> special variable does not interpolate |
359 | in regular expressions. |
360 | |
361 | =item * |
362 | |
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363 | The timeout unit of IO::Select is now documented to be identical |
364 | to the timeout unit of the 4-arg select(), that is, (optionally |
365 | fractional) seconds, or an undef to wait indefinitely. |
366 | |
367 | =item * |
368 | |
369 | Document the C<D> and C<d> magic types. |
370 | |
371 | =item * |
372 | |
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373 | The ordering of PODs in perl.pod is now more sensible. |
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374 | |
375 | =item * |
376 | |
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377 | perlbook now only mentions the Camel III; all other book references |
378 | have been moved to perlfaq2; some good known books added. |
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379 | |
380 | =item * |
381 | |
382 | Numerous missing warning/error messages added to perldiag. |
383 | |
384 | =item * |
385 | |
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386 | Changed the description of perl6 in perlfaq1. |
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387 | |
388 | =item * |
389 | |
390 | perlhack much extended. |
391 | |
392 | =item * |
393 | |
394 | perltrap cleaned up. |
395 | |
396 | =item * |
397 | |
398 | Add perlxstut example for passing/returning refs to arrays. |
399 | |
400 | =item * |
401 | |
402 | POSIX module documentation embellished. |
403 | |
404 | =item * |
405 | |
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406 | Clarified the status of shadow password support. |
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407 | |
408 | =item * |
409 | |
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410 | Reminded that preprocessors and source filters can alter |
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411 | your code before Perl sees it and therefore debugging |
412 | can be somewhat surprising. ("I didn't write *that*!") |
413 | |
414 | =item * |
415 | |
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416 | Removed incorrect documentation about implicit split to @_ |
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417 | in list context, which never really worked in Perl 5 anyway. |
418 | |
419 | =item * |
420 | |
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421 | Explain that split /^/ is split /^/m. |
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422 | |
423 | =item * |
424 | |
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425 | Added many more sprintf() examples in perlfunc. |
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426 | |
427 | =item * |
428 | |
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429 | Documented the handling of negative indices to tied arrays. |
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430 | |
431 | =item * |
432 | |
433 | The C<$yday> in localtime()/gmtime() is 0..364, not 1..365. |
434 | |
435 | =item * |
436 | |
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437 | Documented that tr() is not tr(1): that is, do not expect regular expressions. |
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438 | |
439 | =item * |
440 | |
441 | Warn about the vagaries of UDP. |
442 | |
443 | =item * |
444 | |
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445 | The "uninitialized variable" warnings now say "concat or string" or |
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446 | "join or string" instead of just "concat" or "join" since many users |
447 | found the "concat" a bit surprising when they were doing "just" |
448 | variable interpolation. |
449 | |
450 | =item * |
451 | |
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452 | Documented that the values() are aliases, not copies. |
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453 | |
454 | =back |
455 | |
456 | =head2 New Documentation |
457 | |
458 | =over 4 |
459 | |
460 | =item * |
461 | |
462 | perl56delta details the changes between the 5.005 release and the |
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463 | 5.6.0 release. |
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464 | |
465 | =item * |
466 | |
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467 | perldebtut is a Perl debugging tutorial. |
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468 | |
469 | =item * |
470 | |
471 | perlebcdic contains considerations for running Perl on EBCDIC platforms. |
472 | Note that unfortunately EBCDIC platforms that used to supported back in |
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473 | Perl 5.005 are still unsupported by Perl 5.7.0; the plan, however, is to |
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474 | bring them back to the fold. |
475 | |
476 | =item * |
477 | |
478 | perlnewmod tells about writing and submitting a new module. |
479 | |
480 | =item * |
481 | |
482 | perlposix-bc explains using Perl on the POSIX-BC platform |
483 | (a mainframe platform). |
484 | |
485 | =item * |
486 | |
487 | perlretut is a regular expression tutorial. |
488 | |
489 | =item * |
490 | |
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491 | perlrequick is a regular expressions quick-start guide. |
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492 | Yes, much quicker than perlretut. |
493 | |
494 | =item * |
495 | |
496 | perlutil explains the command line utilities packaged with the Perl |
497 | distribution. |
498 | |
499 | =back |
500 | |
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501 | =head1 Performance Enhancements |
502 | |
503 | map() that changes the size of the list should now work faster. |
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504 | |
505 | =head1 Installation and Configuration Improvements |
506 | |
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507 | =head2 INSTALL now explains 64-bit configuration. |
508 | |
509 | In some platforms Perl can be configured to use 64-bit integers, |
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510 | allowing 4 billion times better... sorry, switched accidentally |
511 | to marketdroid mode for a moment in there. (In platforms which |
512 | are natively 64-bit this makes no difference.) |
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513 | |
514 | =head2 Policy.sh policy change |
515 | |
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516 | If you are reusing a Policy.sh file (see INSTALL) and you use |
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517 | Configure -Dprefix=/foo/bar and in the old Policy $prefix eq |
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518 | $siteprefix and $prefix eq $vendorprefix, all of them will now be |
519 | changed to the new prefix, /foo/bar. (Previously only $prefix |
520 | changed.) If you do not like this new behaviour, specify prefix, |
521 | siteprefix, and vendorprefix explicitly. |
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522 | |
523 | =head2 Additional Library Locations |
524 | |
525 | A new optional location for Perl libraries, otherlibdirs, is available. |
526 | It can be used for example for vendor add-ons without disturbing Perl's |
527 | own library directories. |
528 | |
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529 | =head2 gcc automatically tried if 'cc' does not seem to be working |
530 | |
531 | In many platforms the vendor-supplied 'cc' is too stripped-down to |
532 | build Perl (basically, the 'cc' doesn't do ANSI C). If this seems |
533 | to be the case and the 'cc' does not seem to be the GNU C compiler |
534 | 'gcc', an automatic attempt is made to find and use 'gcc' instead. |
535 | |
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536 | =head2 If gcc seems to be from a different operating system release ... |
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537 | |
538 | gcc needs to closely track the operating system release because gcc |
539 | wants to have its own versions of the operating system header files |
540 | fixed to be clean enough for gcc's tastes. Therefore using a gcc |
541 | compiled for a different release of the operating system is often a |
542 | bad idea. If Configure can find out the operating system release that |
543 | was used to compile the gcc and that release is different from the one |
544 | being used now, gcc gives a clearly visible warning that trouble may |
545 | lie ahead. |
546 | |
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547 | =head2 If no binary compatibility with 5.005 wanted, no 5.005 modules, either |
53080bb1 |
548 | |
549 | If no binary compatibility with the 5.005 release is wanted, Configure |
550 | does not suggest including the 5.005 modules in the @INC. |
551 | |
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552 | =head2 Configuration and Installation Fixes |
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553 | |
554 | =over 4 |
555 | |
556 | =item * |
557 | |
558 | Configure C<-S> can now run non-interactively |
559 | |
560 | =item * |
561 | |
562 | configure.gnu now works with options with whitespace in them |
563 | |
564 | =item * |
565 | |
566 | installperl now outputs everything to STDERR |
567 | |
568 | =item * |
569 | |
570 | $Config{byteorder} is now computed dynamically (this is more robust |
571 | with "fat binaries" where an executable image contains binaries for |
572 | more than one binary platform.) |
573 | |
574 | =back |
575 | |
576 | =head1 Platform Specific Changes and Fixes |
577 | |
578 | =head2 BSDI 4.* |
579 | |
580 | Perl now works on post-4.0 BSD/OSes. |
581 | |
582 | =head2 All BSDs |
583 | |
d4ad863d |
584 | Setting the C<$0> now works (as much as possible; see perlvar for details). |
53080bb1 |
585 | |
586 | =head2 Cygwin |
587 | |
588 | =over 4 |
589 | |
590 | =item * |
591 | |
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592 | Numerous updates; currently synchronised with Cygwin 1.1.4. |
53080bb1 |
593 | |
594 | =back |
595 | |
596 | =head2 EPOC |
597 | |
598 | EPOC update after Perl 5.6.0. The EPOC port home page is at |
599 | http://members.linuxstart.com/~oflebbe/perl/perl5.html |
600 | |
601 | =head2 FreeBSD 3.* |
602 | |
603 | Perl now works on post-3.0 FreeBSDs. |
604 | |
605 | =head2 HP-UX |
606 | |
607 | =over 4 |
608 | |
609 | =item * |
610 | |
611 | Document that the C<perl -P> causes problems if one uses C<s/foo//> |
612 | (because the HP C compiler does funny things to that // thinking it |
613 | to be C++), document also the workaround. |
614 | |
615 | =item * |
616 | |
617 | C<Configure -Duse64bitall> now almost works (one failing test). |
618 | |
619 | =back |
620 | |
621 | =head2 IRIX |
622 | |
623 | =over 4 |
624 | |
625 | =item * |
626 | |
627 | Numerous compilation flag and hint enhancements. |
628 | |
629 | =item * |
630 | |
631 | Accidental mixing of 32-bit and 64-bit libraries (a doomed attempt) |
632 | made much harder. |
633 | |
634 | =back |
635 | |
636 | =head2 Linux |
637 | |
638 | =over 4 |
639 | |
640 | =item * |
641 | |
642 | Long doubles should now work (see INSTALL). |
643 | |
644 | =back |
645 | |
646 | =head2 MacOS Classic |
647 | |
648 | =over 4 |
649 | |
650 | =item * |
651 | |
652 | Compilation of the standard Perl distribution in MacOS Classic should |
653 | now work--assuming you have the Metrowerks development environment and |
654 | the missing Mac-specific toolkit bits, contact the macperl mailing |
655 | list for details. |
656 | |
657 | =back |
658 | |
659 | =head2 MPE/iX |
660 | |
661 | MPE/iX update after Perl 5.6.0. The Perl/iX home page is at |
662 | http://www.bixby.org/mark/perlix.html |
663 | |
664 | =head2 NetBSD/sparc |
665 | |
666 | Perl now works on NetBSD/sparc. |
667 | |
668 | =head2 OS/2 |
669 | |
670 | =over 4 |
671 | |
672 | =item * |
673 | |
674 | Now works with usethreads (see INSTALL). |
675 | |
676 | =back |
677 | |
678 | =head2 Solaris |
679 | |
680 | =over 4 |
681 | |
682 | =item * |
683 | |
684 | 64-bitness using the Sun Workshop compiler now works. |
685 | |
686 | =back |
687 | |
688 | =head2 Tru64 (aka Digital UNIX, aka DEC OSF/1) |
689 | |
690 | =over 4 |
691 | |
692 | =item * |
693 | |
694 | Allow compiling with gcc (previously explicitly forbidden). Compiling |
695 | with gcc still not recommended because buggy code results, even with |
696 | gcc 2.95.2. |
697 | |
698 | =item * |
699 | |
700 | The operating system version letter now recorded in $Config{osvers}. |
701 | |
702 | =back |
703 | |
704 | =head2 Unicos |
705 | |
706 | =over 4 |
707 | |
708 | =item * |
709 | |
710 | Fixed various alignment problems that lead into core dumps either |
711 | during build or later. |
712 | |
713 | =item * |
714 | |
d4ad863d |
715 | no longer dying on math errors in runtime. |
53080bb1 |
716 | |
717 | =item * |
718 | |
719 | Now using full quad integers (64 bits), previously was using |
b84d4f81 |
720 | only 46 bit integers for speed. |
53080bb1 |
721 | |
722 | =back |
723 | |
724 | =head2 VMS |
725 | |
726 | =over 4 |
727 | |
728 | =item * |
729 | |
730 | chdir() now works better despite a CRT bug. |
731 | |
732 | =item * |
733 | |
734 | Now works with MULTIPLICITY (see INSTALL). |
735 | |
736 | =item * |
737 | |
738 | Now works with Perl's malloc. |
739 | |
740 | =back |
741 | |
742 | =head2 Windows |
743 | |
744 | =over 4 |
745 | |
746 | =item * |
747 | |
d4ad863d |
748 | accept() no longer leaks memory. |
53080bb1 |
749 | |
750 | =item * |
751 | |
752 | Better chdir() return value for a non-existent directory. |
753 | |
754 | =item * |
755 | |
756 | New %ENV entries now propagate to subprocesses. |
757 | |
758 | =item * |
759 | |
760 | $ENV{LIB} now used to search for libs under Visual C. |
761 | |
762 | =item * |
763 | |
764 | A failed (pseudo)fork now returns undef and sets errno to EAGAIN. |
765 | |
766 | =item * |
767 | |
768 | Allow REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in the registry. |
769 | |
770 | =item * |
771 | |
772 | Can now send() from all threads, not just the first one. |
773 | |
774 | =item * |
775 | |
776 | Fake signal handling reenabled, bugs and all. |
777 | |
778 | =item * |
779 | |
780 | Less stack reserved per thread so that more threads can run |
781 | concurrently. (still 16M perl thread) |
782 | |
783 | =item * |
784 | |
785 | C<File::Spec->tmpdir()> now prefers C:/temp over /tmp |
786 | (works better when perl running as service). |
787 | |
788 | =item * |
789 | |
790 | Better UNC path handling under ithreads. |
791 | |
792 | =item * |
793 | |
794 | wait() and waitpid() now work much better. |
795 | |
796 | =item * |
797 | |
798 | winsock handle leak fixed. |
799 | |
800 | =back |
801 | |
802 | =head1 Selected Bug Fixes |
803 | |
53080bb1 |
804 | =over 4 |
805 | |
806 | =item * |
807 | |
53080bb1 |
808 | Several debugger fixes: exit code now reflects the script exit code, |
809 | condition C<"0"> now treated correctly, the C<d> command now checks |
d4ad863d |
810 | line number, the C<$.> no longer gets corrupted, all debugger output now |
53080bb1 |
811 | goes correctly to the socket if RemotePort is set. |
812 | |
813 | =item * |
814 | |
815 | C<*foo{FORMAT}> now works. |
816 | |
817 | =item * |
818 | |
819 | Lexical warnings now propagating correctly between scopes. |
820 | |
821 | =item * |
822 | |
823 | Line renumbering with eval and C<#line> now works. |
824 | |
825 | =item * |
826 | |
827 | Module name now mandatory after the C<-M> switch. |
828 | |
829 | =item * |
830 | |
831 | Fixed numerous memory leaks, especially in eval "". |
832 | |
833 | =item * |
834 | |
d4ad863d |
835 | Modulus of unsigned numbers now works (4063328477 % 65535 used to |
53080bb1 |
836 | return 27406, instead of 27047). |
837 | |
838 | =item * |
839 | |
d4ad863d |
840 | Some "not a number" warnings introduced in 5.6.0 eliminated to be |
43b92eec |
841 | more compatible with 5.005. Infinity is now recognised as a number. |
53080bb1 |
842 | |
843 | =item * |
844 | |
d4ad863d |
845 | our() variables will not cause "will not stay shared" warnings |
53080bb1 |
846 | |
847 | =item * |
848 | |
d4ad863d |
849 | pack "Z" now correctly terminates the string with an "\0". |
53080bb1 |
850 | |
851 | =item * |
852 | |
853 | Fix password routines which in some shadow password platforms |
854 | (e.g. HP-UX) caused getpwent() to return every other entry. |
855 | |
856 | =item * |
857 | |
d4ad863d |
858 | printf() no longer resets the numeric locale to "C". |
53080bb1 |
859 | |
860 | =item * |
861 | |
43b92eec |
862 | C<q(a\\b)> now parses correctly as C<'a\\b'>. |
53080bb1 |
863 | |
864 | =item * |
865 | |
d4ad863d |
866 | Printing quads (64-bit integers) with printf/sprintf works now |
53080bb1 |
867 | without q L ll prefixes (assuming you are on a quad-capable platform). |
868 | |
869 | =item * |
870 | |
871 | Regular expressions on references and overloaded scalars now work. |
872 | |
873 | =item * |
874 | |
d4ad863d |
875 | scalar() now forces scalar context even when used in void context. |
53080bb1 |
876 | |
877 | =item * |
53080bb1 |
878 | |
879 | sort() arguments are now compiled in the right wantarray context |
d4ad863d |
880 | (they were accidentally using the context of the sort() itself). |
53080bb1 |
881 | |
882 | =item * |
883 | |
884 | Changed the POSIX character class C<[[:space:]]> to include the (very |
885 | rare) vertical tabulator character. Added a new POSIX-ish character |
d4ad863d |
886 | class C<[[:blank:]]> which stands for horizontal whitespace (currently, |
53080bb1 |
887 | the space and the tabulator). |
888 | |
889 | =item * |
890 | |
53080bb1 |
891 | $AUTOLOAD, sort(), lock(), and spawning subprocesses |
892 | in multiple thread simultaneously are now thread-safe. |
893 | |
894 | =item * |
895 | |
d4ad863d |
896 | Allow read-only string on left hand side of non-modifying tr///. |
53080bb1 |
897 | |
898 | =item * |
899 | |
900 | Several Unicode fixes (but still not perfect). |
901 | |
902 | BOMs (byte order marks) in the beginning of Perl files |
903 | (scripts, modules) should now be transparently skipped. |
d4ad863d |
904 | UTF16 encoded Perl files should now be read correctly. |
53080bb1 |
905 | |
906 | The character tables have been updated to new Unicode 3.0 features. |
907 | |
908 | chr() for values greater than 127 now create utf8 when under use |
909 | utf8. |
910 | |
911 | Comparing with utf8 data does not magically upgrade non-utf8 data into |
912 | utf8. |
913 | |
914 | C<IsAlnum>, C<IsAlpha>, and C<IsWord> now match titlecase. |
915 | |
916 | Concatenation with the C<.> operator or via variable interpolation, |
917 | C<eq>, C<substr>, C<reverse>, C<quotemeta>, the C<x> operator, |
918 | substitution with C<s///>, single-quoted UTF8, should now work--in |
919 | theory. |
920 | |
921 | The C<tr///> operator now works I<slightly> better but is still rather |
922 | broken. Note that the C<tr///CU> functionality has been removed (but |
d4ad863d |
923 | see pack('U0', ...)). |
53080bb1 |
924 | |
925 | Zero entries were missing from the Unicode classes like C<IsDigit>. |
926 | |
53080bb1 |
927 | =back |
cc0fca54 |
928 | |
929 | =head1 New or Changed Diagnostics |
930 | |
53080bb1 |
931 | All regular expression compilation error messages are now hopefully |
932 | easier to understand both because the error message now comes before |
933 | the failed regex and because the point of failure is now clearly |
934 | marked. |
935 | |
936 | The various "opened only for", "on closed", "never opened" warnings |
937 | drop the C<main::> prefix for filehandles in the C<main> package, |
938 | for example C<STDIN> instead of <main::STDIN>. |
939 | |
c1899e02 |
940 | =over 4 |
941 | |
53080bb1 |
942 | =item * |
943 | |
944 | (perhaps you forgot to load "%s"?) |
c1899e02 |
945 | |
946 | (F) This is an educated guess made in conjunction with the message |
947 | "Can't locate object method \"%s\" via package \"%s\"". It often means |
948 | that a method requires a package that has not been loaded. |
949 | |
53080bb1 |
950 | =item * |
951 | |
952 | Ambiguous range in transliteration operator |
6a5ada23 |
953 | |
954 | (F) You wrote something like C<tr/a-z-0//> which doesn't mean anything at |
955 | all. To include a C<-> character in a transliteration, put it either |
956 | first or last. (In the past, C<tr/a-z-0//> was synonymous with |
957 | C<tr/a-y//>, which was probably not what you would have expected.) |
958 | |
53080bb1 |
959 | =item * |
960 | |
d4ad863d |
961 | The "Unrecognized escape" warning has been extended to include C<\8>, |
962 | C<\9>, and C<\_>. There is no need to escape any of the C<\w> characters. |
53080bb1 |
963 | |
c1899e02 |
964 | =back |
965 | |
53080bb1 |
966 | =head1 Changed Internals |
967 | |
968 | =head2 apidoc |
969 | |
d4ad863d |
970 | perlapi.pod (a companion to perlguts) now attempts to document the |
971 | internal API. |
53080bb1 |
972 | |
973 | =head2 microperl |
974 | |
d4ad863d |
975 | There is now a way to build a really minimal perl called microperl. |
976 | Building microperl does not require even running Configure; |
977 | C<make -f Makefile.micro> should be enough. Beware: microperl makes |
978 | many assumptions, some of which may be too bold; the resulting |
979 | executable may crash or otherwise misbehave in wondrous ways. For |
980 | careful hackers only. |
53080bb1 |
981 | |
43b92eec |
982 | =head2 Publicise More Functions |
53080bb1 |
983 | |
43b92eec |
984 | Added rsignal(), whichsig(), do_join() to the publicised API. |
53080bb1 |
985 | |
986 | =head2 Propagating Exception Objects via Perl_croak() IN XS code |
987 | |
43b92eec |
988 | Made possible to propagate customised exceptions via croak()ing. |
53080bb1 |
989 | |
990 | =head2 UTF8 Interfaces |
991 | |
992 | Added is_utf8_char(), is_utf8_string(), bytes_to_utf8(), and utf8_to_bytes(). |
993 | |
994 | =head2 xsub attributes |
995 | |
996 | Now xsubs can have attributes just like subs. |
997 | |
cc0fca54 |
998 | =head1 Known Problems |
999 | |
53080bb1 |
1000 | =head2 Unicode Support Still Far From Perfect |
1001 | |
1002 | We're working on it. Stay tuned. |
1003 | |
1004 | =head2 EBCDIC Still A Lost Platform |
1005 | |
1006 | The plan is to bring them back. |
1007 | |
1008 | =head2 Building Extensions Can Fail Because Of Largefiles |
1009 | |
1010 | Certain extensions like mod_perl and BSD::Resource are known to have |
1011 | issues with `largefiles', a change brought by Perl 5.6.0 in where file |
1012 | offsets are by default 64 bits wide (assuming the platform supports |
1013 | such large files). Modules may fail to compile at all or compile and |
1014 | work incorrectly. Currently there is no good solution for the problem |
d4ad863d |
1015 | but Configure now stores the flags and libraries that affect the |
53080bb1 |
1016 | largefileness to the %Config hash, the extensions that are having |
1017 | problems can try configuring themselves without the largefileness. |
1018 | This is admittedly not a clean solution. |
1019 | |
cc0fca54 |
1020 | =head1 Obsolete Diagnostics |
1021 | |
10d9c778 |
1022 | =over 4 |
1023 | |
1024 | =item In string, @%s now must be written as \@%s |
1025 | |
1026 | (F) It used to be that Perl would try to guess whether you wanted an |
1027 | array interpolated or a literal @. It did this when the string was |
1028 | first used at runtime. Now strings are parsed at compile time, and |
1029 | ambiguous instances of @ must be disambiguated, either by prepending a |
1030 | backslash to indicate a literal, or by declaring (or using) the array |
1031 | within the program before the string (lexically). (I<Someday it will |
1032 | simply assume that an unbackslashed @ interpolates an array.>) |
1033 | |
1034 | =back |
1035 | |
1036 | That day has arrived. |
1037 | |
cc0fca54 |
1038 | =head1 Reporting Bugs |
1039 | |
d4ad863d |
1040 | If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles |
1041 | recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl |
1042 | bug database at http://bugs.perl.org. There may also be |
1043 | information at http://www.perl.com/perl/, the Perl Home Page. |
cc0fca54 |
1044 | |
1045 | If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the B<perlbug> |
1046 | program included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down |
1047 | to a tiny but sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the |
d4ad863d |
1048 | output of C<perl -V>, will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be |
cc0fca54 |
1049 | analysed by the Perl porting team. |
1050 | |
1051 | =head1 SEE ALSO |
1052 | |
1053 | The F<Changes> file for exhaustive details on what changed. |
1054 | |
1055 | The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl. |
1056 | |
1057 | The F<README> file for general stuff. |
1058 | |
1059 | The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information. |
1060 | |
1061 | =head1 HISTORY |
1062 | |
53080bb1 |
1063 | Written by Jarkko Hietaniemi <F<jhi@iki.fi>>, with many contributions |
1064 | from The Perl Porters and Perl Users submitting feedback and patches. |
cc0fca54 |
1065 | |
d4ad863d |
1066 | Send omissions or corrections to <F<perlbug@perl.org>>. |
cc0fca54 |
1067 | |
1068 | =cut |