1 Please note: This file provides a summary of significant changes
2 between versions and sub-versions of Perl, not necessarily a complete
3 list of each modification. If you'd like more detailed information,
4 please consult the comments in the patches on which the relevant
5 release of Perl is based. (Patches can be found on any CPAN
6 site, in the .../src/5.0 directory for full version releases,
7 or in the .../src/5/0/unsupported directory for sub-version
14 This patch was primarily to fix bugs and to clean up some of
15 the remaining issues from in 5.003_04. The details are described below.
16 A very brief summary is:
18 o Visible Changes to Core Functionality
20 -Add support for a READLINE method to tied filehandles.
22 -times function now uses CLK_TCK if HZ is not available, rather
23 than just defaulting to 60. times output might change on some
24 systems, but should be correct now.
26 -AnyDBM_File (modifying ISA does not work as expected)
27 Now behaves as documented: Modifying ISA works to select
28 order in which *DB* modules are tried. The default is still
31 o Configure and build enhancements
33 -Enhance detection of [gs]etpgrp() variants. Some systems have
34 BSD-style behavior for one and POSIX for the other. Use
35 [gs]etpgid() instead, whenever possible.
37 -You can now build a shared libperl.so without running through
38 the LD_RUN_PATH hoops, if your system supports appropriate
39 ld command-line options. Solaris, NetBSD, and Linux are currently
40 supported. Others are easy to add. (This makes like a lot easier
45 -Fix installperl and installman so that the -n option really only
46 prints commands. (previously, it would still do the mkdirs.)
50 -debugger ought to work.
52 -A new heredoc tag in Makefile.SH is now quoted. This prevented
53 5.003_04 from working most places.
55 -numerous smaller ones, detailed below.
59 Here are the specific file-by-file changes.
61 # This is my patch perl5.003_05.pat to perl5.003_04
62 # The full description is below.
63 # Please execute the following commands before applying this patch.
64 # (You can feed this patch to 'sh' to do so.)
65 # Andy Dougherty <doughera@lafcol.lafayette.edu>
67 # We'll create a new test, but patch won't automatically make it
75 This is patch perl5.003_05.pat to perl version 5.003_04.
76 This takes you from 5.003_04 to 5.003_05.
78 To apply this patch, run the above commands,
79 cd to your perl source directory and then type
81 patch -p1 -N < perl5.003_05.pat
83 The changes are described after each /^Index/ line below. This is
84 designed so you can examine each change with a command such as
86 csplit -k perl5.003_05.pat '/^Index:/' '{99}'
90 Andy Dougherty doughera@lafcol.lafayette.edu
92 Lafayette College, Easton PA 18042
100 Allow command line or hint-file overrides of $afs.
102 Allow trailing spaces in nm output for HPUX10.
104 Check for newer BIND 'search' directives in /etc/resolv.conf as well
105 as older 'domain' directive.
107 Enhance detection of [gs]etpgrp() variants. Some systems have
108 BSD-style behavior for one and POSIX for the other. Use
109 [gs]etpgid() instead, whenever possible.
111 Include -s in the -h summary of available options.
113 Allow command-line override of $afs.
115 Handle trailing spaces in nm-output on HPUX10.
117 Set shrpenv for handling LD_RUN_PATH, if needed. (This used to
118 be in Makefile.SH. Now it's available for other modules too.)
120 When using shared libperl, avoid LD_RUN_PATH if possible by adding
121 correct ld flags. Currently, Solaris and NetBSD get the correct
122 -R $archlibexp/CORE, and Linux gets its
123 -Wl,-rpath,$archlibexp/CORE flag. Other contributions are
128 Correct libperl5 -> libperl typo.
130 Describe MakeMaker's Warning (will try anyway) messages.
132 More info on where and how to send reports.
134 Add info on non-Unix ports.
139 Add new test t/io/read.t.
141 Add new hints files for ODBM_File for ultrix and hpux.
143 Add new pod checker script.
147 A new heredoc tag in Makefile.SH needs to be quoted.
149 shrpenv stuff moved to Configure.
151 Index: Porting/Glossary
153 Updated to match Configure.
161 Subject: turbidity in av.[ch]
162 Date: Sun, 10 Dec 1995 00:21:31 -0500
163 From: Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@engin.umich.edu>
165 Some unclean code that I noticed today.
169 Updated to match newest config_h.SH.
173 Updated to match Configure.
175 Changed the DLSYM_NEEDS_UNDERSCORE comment to
176 /**/ to conform to metaconfig style.
178 Index: emacs/cperl-mode.el
180 From: Ilya Zakharevich <ilya@math.ohio-state.edu>
181 Subject: Newer CPerl-mode
183 Index: ext/DB_File/DB_File.pm
185 Update to DB_File 1.03.
187 Index: ext/DB_File/DB_File.xs
189 Update to DB_File 1.03.
191 Index: ext/Fcntl/Fcntl.pm
193 Date: Thu, 5 Sep 1996 18:19:14 -0400 (EDT)
194 From: Chip Salzenberg <salzench@nielsenmedia.com>
195 Subject: No AutoLoader for Fcntl
197 Just like Socket, Fcntl doesn't need splitting and AutoLoading.
199 Index: ext/FileHandle/FileHandle.pm
201 From: Roderick Schertler <roderick@gate.net>
202 Subject: FileHandle::DESTROY for fd 0
204 This fixes FileHandle::DESTROY when called on stdin.
206 Index: ext/ODBM_File/ODBM_File.xs
208 Attempt to correct for "Bad free" in Ultrix and HPUX versions of
211 Index: ext/ODBM_File/hints/hpux.pl
213 Try to work around "bad free" in dbmclose().
215 Index: ext/ODBM_File/hints/ultrix.pl
217 Try to work around "bad free" in dbmclose().
219 Index: ext/Socket/Socket.pm
221 Date: Thu, 5 Sep 1996 09:58:08 +0200
222 From: Andreas Koenig <k@anna.in-berlin.de>
223 Subject: Patch to inhibit autosplit on Socket.pm
225 This patch inhibits production and use of a completely useless
226 auto/Socket/autosplit.ix.
230 Make a little more C++-friendly for IBM's CSET++ compiler.
232 Index: hints/convexos.sh
234 Remove [gs]etpgrp workaround. Configure & perl.h should handle
239 Add note about possible gcc GR3 warning message.
241 Remove [gs]etpgrp workaround. Configure & perl.h should handle
246 Turn off optimization for stock cc. This appears to
247 prevent miniperl core dumps.
249 Index: hints/solaris_2.sh
251 Catch GNU ld even though it doesn't identify itself as a GNU tool.
252 Thanks to Tim Pierce <twpierce@midway.uchicago.edu>.
254 Index: hints/sunos_4_1.sh
256 Describe solution for the __lib_version problem with acc on
261 Date: Thu, 05 Sep 1996 00:25:28 -0400
262 From: Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@engin.umich.edu>
263 Subject: minor misc. cleanup
265 This patch makes some minor cleanups to the sources. No change
266 in functionality whatsoever.
268 Date: Thu, 05 Sep 1996 02:52:21 -0400
269 From: Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@engin.umich.edu>
271 Subject: debugger problems--another patch (was Re: 5.003_04)
273 I have tried to avoid copying of hash keys that are passed to
274 magical hashes, but it seems that copying may be unavoidable
275 since the hv_*_ent() functions could be PADTMPs (and other
276 SVs that may get reused) as keys.
283 Subject: Re: installperl feature request (was: Re: Upgrade 4.0x to 5.001m)
285 Fix installperl so that the -n option really only prints commands.
286 (previously, it would still do the mkdirs.)
288 an "ignore installed" option, so that it doesn't bother to check
289 to see if the target already exists (an optimization that I
290 *don't* want it to do when I do #1 above)
295 Subject: Re: installperl feature request (was: Re: Upgrade 4.0x to 5.001m)
297 Fix installperl so that the -n option really only prints commands.
298 (previously, it would still do the mkdirs.)
300 an "ignore installed" option, so that it doesn't bother to check
301 to see if the target already exists (an optimization that I
302 *don't* want it to do when I do #1 above)
304 Index: lib/AnyDBM_File.pm
306 AnyDBM_File (modifying ISA does not work as expected)
307 Now behaves as documented: Modifying ISA works to select
308 order in which *DB* modules are tried. The default is still
312 Add helpful "die" message to end of AnyDBM_File. Previously
313 it would return a 0, and the failure would eventually show up
314 somewhere else in the script and be hard to track down. It is
315 a failure if perl can't open AnyDBM_File. The test regression
316 suite is supposed to indicate this as a failure too.
318 Index: lib/ExtUtils/Install.pm
320 Updated to MakeMaker-5.38.
324 Index: lib/ExtUtils/Liblist.pm
326 Updated to MakeMaker-5.38.
328 Index: lib/ExtUtils/MM_Unix.pm
329 Updated to MakeMaker-5.38.
331 Index: lib/ExtUtils/MakeMaker.pm
333 Updated to MakeMaker-5.38.
335 Updated to MakeMaker-5.39 to allow CFLAGS in hint files.
337 Index: lib/ExtUtils/Manifest.pm
339 Updated to MakeMaker-5.38.
341 Index: lib/ExtUtils/Mkbootstrap.pm
343 Updated to MakeMaker-5.38.
345 Index: lib/ExtUtils/Mksymlists.pm
347 Updated to MakeMaker-5.38.
349 Index: lib/File/Find.pm
351 From: Michael Mahan <mahanm@nextwork.rose-hulman.edu>
352 Subject: Cwd::fastcwd in File::Find
354 Is there a good reason why File::Find uses Cwd::fastcwd instead of
355 Cwd:cwd when fastcwd isn't as portable?
356 [In particular, fastcwd() doesn't work on AFS.]
358 Index: lib/Math/Complex.pm
360 There was a mistake in the sqrt routine in lib/Math/Complex.pm that
361 gave wrong answers when the magnitude of the imaginary part of the
362 argument exceeded the magnitude of the real part. Line 69 had too
363 many sqrt($y)'s. Further, expressions were re-arranged so that
364 calls to the expensive real sqrt() routine were reduced from 4 to 2
369 The I/O directions on the dad_wtr and kid_rdr were backwards.
370 IO/Open3.pm didn't have this error.
374 Date: Tue, 03 Sep 1996 20:33:54 -0400
375 From: Roderick Schertler <roderick@gate.net>
376 Subject: syslog.pl `use Socket' lossage
378 syslog.pl tries but fails to use
379 Socket.pm, the problem is that use doesn't return a true value. This
380 module should be recast in terms of Sys::Syslog, of course.
384 This patch eliminates "\|" in sed patterns in makedepend.SH, since
385 they're not really needed anyway in this one case.
389 Ok, here's a tested patch for the debugger problem.
390 I was missing the fact that DB::dbline magic is actually
391 uppercase (which means hv_store_ent() etc., will pass SV keys
392 to the vtbl_dbline handlers).
394 Replace the oft-repeated mg_ptr incantation with
395 the simple MgPVKEY macro.
397 Rename MgPVKEY to MgPV (to match with HePV elsewhere). Add
398 additional parens around the "mg".
400 (lines near 584) Part of VMS changes. I don't know what this did.
402 Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 17:20:22 -0400 (EDT)
403 From: Chip Salzenberg <salzench@nielsenmedia.com>
404 Subject: Integerize mg.c; eliminate warning on C< local($)) >
406 This patch converts magic variables ($!, $^E, etc.) to use integers
407 (C<sv_setiv>) instead of floats. It also eliminates a warning from
408 C< local($)) >, via a hack similar to $!.
412 Replace the oft-repeated mg_ptr incantation with
413 the simple MgPVKEY macro.
415 Rename MgPVKEY to MgPV (to match with HePV elsewhere). Add
416 additional parens around the "mg".
420 Add _STDIO_LOADED (VMS) to list of guard symbols.
424 From: Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@engin.umich.edu>
425 Subject: Re: \ ( @array ) busted for lexical @array (once more)
429 Change to subversion 5.
433 Make floating point constants Locale-friendly.
437 One last LONG & co. fix (yet another cut'n'paste error) and a few
438 minor cleanups. Nothing crucial.
440 Make a little more C++-friendly for IBM's CSET++ compiler.
442 Enhance detection of [gs]etpgrp() variants. Some systems have
443 BSD-style behavior for one and POSIX for the other. Use
444 [gs]etpgid() instead, whenever possible.
448 Eliminate potential "signed vs. unsigned" warning
450 Add PerlIO_reopen and PerlIO_cgetname functions.
454 Don't supply redundant parameters for PerlIO_open and PerlIO_fdopen.
456 Include PerlIO_reopen and PerlIO_getname.
458 s/FILE_(CNT|PTR)_LVALUE/STDIO_(CNT|PTR)_LVALUE to fix a typo.
459 This had prevented SV_FAST_FGETS from working anywhere.
461 Include PerlIO_canset_cnt. I'm not sure how this is supposed to
462 differ from STDIO_CNT_LVALUE.
466 Remove trailing spaces in pods.
467 Include a call to the checkpods script in the Makefile (though it's
468 not ordinarily used by users).
470 Index: pod/checkpods.PL
472 New script to check for common errors in pods. This is not
473 normally called during the perl build process, but you can
474 use it with B<make check>.
476 Index: pod/perlfunc.pod
478 Document correct C<use POSIX ":wait_h";> usage.
480 Add notes about POSIX [gs]etpgrp.
482 Index: pod/perlipc.pod
484 Document correct C<use POSIX ":wait_h";> usage.
486 Index: pod/perlref.pod
488 From: Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@engin.umich.edu>
489 Subject: Re: \ ( @array ) busted for lexical @array (once more)
491 Index: pod/perltie.pod
493 Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:14:51 +0200
494 From: Sven Verdoolaege <skimo@breughel.ufsia.ac.be>
495 Subject: more TIEHANDLE
497 This adds support for a READLINE method.
499 Index: pod/perltrap.pod
501 Here's documentation on the change in split's behavior between Perl 4
504 Subject: More (and less!) 425traps
512 Change blank lines to empty lines.
514 Index: pod/perlvar.pod
516 Be explicit about $/="" matching empty lines, that is, lines
517 with no spaces or tabs.
519 Change blank lines to empty lines.
523 Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 17:22:40 -0400 (EDT)
524 From: Chip Salzenberg <salzench@nielsenmedia.com>
525 Subject: Minor integer speedups in mathematics
527 This patch provides minor speedups by using integer math and SVt_IV
528 values when performing bitwise operations and modulus.
530 Date: Tue, 3 Sep 1996 17:49:22 -0400 (EDT)
531 From: Kenneth Albanowski <kjahds@kjahds.com>
532 Subject: Pack Patch (was Re: 5.002 - pack/unpack does not do "I" right)
534 (double)auint cast added for call to sv_setnv().
538 Date: Thu, 05 Sep 1996 00:25:28 -0400
539 From: Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@engin.umich.edu>
540 Subject: minor misc. cleanup
542 This patch makes some minor cleanups to the sources. No change
543 in functionality whatsoever.
545 Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:14:51 +0200
546 From: Sven Verdoolaege <skimo@breughel.ufsia.ac.be>
547 Subject: more TIEHANDLE
549 This adds support for a READLINE method.
553 Clear any buffer space exposed by by read().
554 This is almost certainly a bug-fix.
556 Undef and then re-define my_chsize from Perl_my_chsize to
557 just plain chsize if this system HAS_CHSIZE. This probably only
558 applies to SCO. This shows the perils of having internal
559 functions with the same name as external library functions :-).
561 Use CLK_TCK if HZ is not available.
565 Fix more spots where we had PerlIO_stderr() and should have had
566 Perl_debug_log instead.
568 Date: Fri, 23 Aug 1996 17:26:42 -0400 (EDT)
569 From: Chip Salzenberg <salzench@nielsenmedia.com>
570 Subject: Minor potential bug in AV creation
572 I wasn't the one who originated this patch. But it looks like it
573 would improve the safety of AV creation.
575 Remove potentially incorrect casts on PerlIO_set_ptrcnt.
576 'ptr' is already STDCHAR, which is supposed to be the type of
577 char used in stdio.h, so we shouldn't have to cast it.
581 Clear any buffer space exposed by by read().
582 This is almost certainly a bug-fix.
584 Index: t/lib/db-btree.t
586 Update to DB_File 1.03.
588 Index: t/lib/db-hash.t
590 Update to DB_File 1.03.
592 Index: t/lib/db-recno.t
594 Update to DB_File 1.03.
596 Index: t/lib/io_sock.t
598 From: Lupe Christoph <lupe@alanya.m.isar.de>
599 Subject: Perl 5.003.03: race condition in t/lib/io_sock.t
601 io_sock.t works by forking a subprocess it can communicate with.
602 It has the subprocess wait for the main process by sleeping 10
603 seconds or until an alarm arrives.
605 With my setup, the alarm signal arrives *before* the child
606 has a chance to ignore the alarm signal.
608 I fixed this by moving the "$SIG{ALRM} = sub {};" up before the
609 fork. It does not hurt to have the parent ignore alarms, too.
613 One last LONG & co. fix (yet another cut'n'paste error) and a few
614 minor cleanups. Nothing crucial.
618 Date: Thu, 29 Aug 1996 15:14:51 +0200
619 From: Sven Verdoolaege <skimo@breughel.ufsia.ac.be>
620 Subject: more TIEHANDLE
622 This adds support for a READLINE method.
626 Date: Tue, 3 Sep 1996 17:49:22 -0400 (EDT)
627 From: Kenneth Albanowski <kjahds@kjahds.com>
628 Subject: Pack Patch (was Re: 5.002 - pack/unpack does not do "I" right)
632 From: Gurusamy Sarathy <gsar@engin.umich.edu>
633 Subject: Re: \ ( @array ) busted for lexical @array (once more)
637 Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 07:05:10 BST
638 From: Graham Barr <bodg@tiuk.ti.com>
639 Subject: Re: UNIVERSAL::class busted
641 yes, but I also noticed that this does not check that the reference
642 is an object, so the patch should be
646 Change comment style so that IBM's picky xlc compiler doesn't
647 think we've mistakenly tried to nest comments.
651 One last LONG & co. fix (yet another cut'n'paste error) and a few
652 minor cleanups. Nothing crucial.
656 Date: Fri, 6 Sep 1996 06:09:20 -0400 (EDT)
657 From: Ilya Zakharevich <ilya@math.ohio-state.edu>
658 Subject: updated h2xs
661 a) Docs and examples for -x updated;
662 b) Path to xxxx.h would not be changed to /usr/include/xxxx.h
663 unless this file exists (outside of VMS, I'm afraid to make an error
664 there). - Useful with -x option, when the file may be eaten via -I
666 c) .h file would be scanned only if needed.
667 d) typemap would be generated (with T_PTROBJ).
668 e) Documentation (=list) for autogenerated guys would be
670 f) duplicated XSUBs would not be generated;
671 g) arguments to XSUBs being arrays are recognized (note that
672 xsubpp would probably choke on such guys).
674 -x option requires C-Scan-0.3 (releases a couple of minutes ago to
675 ftp://ftp.math.ohio-state.edu/pub/users/ilya/perl
676 should propagate to CPAN soon).
678 Index: utils/perlbug.PL
680 Fix typo $Config{'has_sockets'} ought to be $Config{'d_socket'};
682 Index: utils/perldoc.PL
684 More choices in the pager war. Unfortunately, we can't rely on
685 all users agreeing with the Sysadmin's choice, nor can we
686 assign a default preference order, since opinions vary. If the
687 user doesn't have $ENV{PAGER} set, we do want to pick up one that
688 at least works, so we'll try whatever Configure found.
694 Index: vms/config.vms
698 Index: vms/descrip.mms
702 Index: vms/ext/Stdio/Stdio.pm
706 Index: vms/ext/filespec.t
710 Index: vms/gen_shrfls.pl
714 Index: vms/perlvms.pod
730 This patch was primarily to fix bugs and to clean up some of
731 the changes made in 5.003_03. The details are described below.
732 A very brief summary is:
734 o Visible Changes to Core Functionality
736 -Allow and document permissions for FileHandle::new and
738 -glob in Safe compartment used to allow shell access; now
739 it's in the same category as `` and system().
741 o Configure and build enhancements
743 -perl library name is again -lperl, not -lperl5 in some cases.
744 -Several hint files no longer set -g -DDEBUGGING by default.
745 Instead, they just turn off optimization, since that is
746 probably what was intended.
747 -Include OS/2 and Plan9 updates.
751 -SEGV with $_[0] and circular references fixed.
752 -Ilya's debugger patch.
753 -FAKE typeglobs fixed.
754 -truncate with file name now works.
755 -lval substr() no longer coredumps with refs
756 -lval substr now clears lexicals in re-entered scopes.
757 -core dump in caller() for signal handler for __DIE__.
761 Here are the specific file-by-file changes.
763 # This is my patch perl5.003_04.pat to perl5.003_03
764 # The full description is below.
765 # Please execute the following commands before applying this patch.
766 # (You can feed this patch to 'sh' to do so.)
767 # Andy Dougherty <doughera@lafcol.lafayette.edu>
769 # Obsolete perl4 hint file.
774 # We'll create a new test, but patch won't automatically make it
782 This is patch perl5.003_04.pat to perl version 5.003_03.
783 This takes you from 5.003_03 to 5.003_04.
785 To apply this patch, run the above commands,
786 cd to your perl source directory and then type
788 patch -p1 -N < perl5.003_04.pat
790 The changes are described after each /^Index/ line below. This is
791 designed so you can examine each change with a command such as
793 csplit -k perl5.003_04.pat '/^Index:/' '{99}'
797 Andy Dougherty doughera@lafcol.lafayette.edu
799 Lafayette College, Easton PA 18042
804 Updated for 5.003_04.
808 Change name of shared libperl library back to libperl.so.xxx,
809 so that a simple -lperl picks up either libperl.a or
812 Check if $sh='' in case we've reloaded an old config.sh
816 Change name of shared perl library to libperl, instead of
819 Add notes about fragility of shared libperl and the usefulness
820 of archlib to separate different binaries.
826 obsolete hints/dnix.sh removed.
832 For building shared libperl, relocate whole rule to
833 inside the if test -f $osname/Makefile.SHs case.
835 Index: Porting/Glossary
845 Subject: Re: SEGV with $_[0] and circular references
847 Subject: random cleanup
849 This patch removes a few obvious redundancies in the source.
853 Updated. Note new comments to make AIX happy.
857 Change /*#define../**/ into /*#define../ **/
858 to make IBM's xlc compiler shut up about nested comments.
859 The /*#define FOO /**/ is a perfectly legal un-nested comment, and
860 I wish IBM would fix it's blasted compiler instead. In the meantime
861 we'll take mercy on the poor AIX user and get rid of the screenfulls
862 of stupid warning messages. Thanks to Hallvard B Furuseth
863 <h.b.furuseth@usit.uio.no> for the fix.
867 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
868 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
869 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
871 Index: ext/FileHandle/FileHandle.pm
873 This patch documents the behavior of FileHandle::{new,open} with
874 regard to open modes. It also documents the exportation of Fcntl
877 This patch fixes a bug observed by Tom Christiansen: FileHandle::new
878 didn't allow for file permissions after the file mode. Here's a patch.
880 Index: ext/IO/lib/IO/File.pm
882 This patch fixes a bug observed by Tom Christiansen: IO::File::new
883 didn't allow for file permissions after the file mode. Here's a patch.
885 This patch documents the behavior of IO::File::{new,open} with
886 regard to open modes. It also documents the exportation of Fcntl
889 Index: ext/Opcode/Opcode.pm
891 Subject: Re: glob in Safe compartment allows shell access
893 I've moved the glob op into the same opcode tag as backticks and system
898 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
899 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
900 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
904 Subject: Patch for LONG_MAX & co.
906 Sorry about adding yet another #ifdef forest, but hopefully this
907 should resolve the *_MAX issues permanently. It adds to the
908 previously defined PERL_LONG_MAX, PERL_LONG_MIN, and PERL_ULONG_MAX
909 symbols the complete set of
910 /PERL_U?(CHAR|SHORT|INT|LONG)_(MAX|MIN)/, and installs aliases to
911 those from /(I|U)(8|16|32|V)_(MAX|MIN)/ so that for any standard
912 Perl typedef, like I32 or UV, you can reference I32_MAX or UV_MIN,
913 and get appropriate figures. All references to LONG_(MIN|MAX) are
914 changed appropriately.
916 The .c changes have the side effect of making cast_uv properly use quad
917 limits if quads are in use, but longs aren't 64 bit. Hopefully this all
918 works, but I don't have any handy Crays to try it out on.
920 Add notes on perl's internal types, specifically Quad_t and IV.
924 Remove the d_bsdpgrp hint. The defaults should be ok.
926 Index: hints/irix_6_2.sh
928 Change optimize=-g to optimize=none to avoid pulling in -DDEBUGGING,
929 unless that's what the user really wants.
931 Index: hints/mpeix.sh
933 Change optimize=-g to optimize=none to avoid pulling in -DDEBUGGING,
934 unless that's what the user really wants.
938 Fixes for sh vs. bin_sh + cleanup.
940 Index: hints/ultrix_4.sh
942 Don't call optimize=-g, just call optimize=none. The -g
943 pulls in -DDEBUGGING, which might not be wanted.
945 Index: lib/ExtUtils/MM_Unix.pm
947 .C$(obj_ext) removed under OS/2 - conflicts with .c$(obj_ext).
949 Index: lib/ExtUtils/xsubpp
951 Fix SCOPE? (See pod/perlxs.pod).
952 Up version number to 1.938.
954 Index: lib/Test/Harness.pm
956 Add a return value to runtests - non-zero if all tests ran ok,
959 Index: lib/perl5db.pl
961 Ilya's debugger patch.
962 Undefined subroutine &Carp::longmess called at
963 /opt/perl5.003_03/lib/perl5db.pl line 1423.
966 Make perl5db compatible with the recent 'strict refs' enforcement
971 A patch to perl5.003_02/malloc to give a sensible error abort() message
972 in ANSI C, and to give it to stderr instead of stdout.
974 Use config_h's STRINGIFY macro instead of pre-ANSI "p".
978 Subject: FAKE typeglobs seriously busted (with patch)
980 Handling of fake typeglobs (scalars that are really globs
981 in disguise) is seriously busted since 5.002 (it wasn't
983 The problem is that mg_get() on a glob calls gv_efullname()
984 which might coerce its first arg to a string.
986 Sub-critical patch to conceivably fix some %SIG problems. (Shared hash key
987 weren't being properly detected by some of the sig magic, but as shared
988 hash keys wouldn't normally be used in %SIG it's unlikely this is a
989 significant problem.)
991 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
992 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
993 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
997 Update perlio-related variables.
1001 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
1002 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
1003 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
1007 Updated. See opcode.pl.
1011 Subject: Re: truncate with file name does not work (with patch)
1013 The prototype for truncate was changed so that perl won't die
1014 with C<use strict;> when the first arg is a bareword (filehandle).
1015 I think it was Tom (as in "tchrist") who brought this up.
1017 Here's a patch that undoes the damage, makes it work with
1018 C<use strict;>, and adds to the testsuite.
1020 Index: os2/Makefile.SHs
1024 Index: os2/diff.configure
1030 SH_PATH_INI vs. BIN_SH
1034 SH_PATH_INI added (needed to redefine SH_PATH for binary
1036 SH_PATH is redefined.
1044 Subject: Patch for LONG_MAX & co.
1046 Sorry about adding yet another #ifdef forest, but hopefully this
1047 should resolve the *_MAX issues permanently. It adds to the
1048 previously defined PERL_LONG_MAX, PERL_LONG_MIN, and PERL_ULONG_MAX
1049 symbols the complete set of
1050 /PERL_U?(CHAR|SHORT|INT|LONG)_(MAX|MIN)/, and installs aliases to
1051 those from /(I|U)(8|16|32|V)_(MAX|MIN)/ so that for any standard
1052 Perl typedef, like I32 or UV, you can reference I32_MAX or UV_MIN,
1053 and get appropriate figures. All references to LONG_(MIN|MAX) are
1054 changed appropriately.
1056 The .c changes have the side effect of making cast_uv properly use quad
1057 limits if quads are in use, but longs aren't 64 bit. Hopefully this all
1058 works, but I don't have any handy Crays to try it out on.
1060 Add notes on perl's internal types, specifically Quad_t and IV.
1064 Removes an incorrect prototype for setlinebuf from
1065 perlio.c because it conflicts with the correct declaration in
1066 MachTen's stdio.h (and possibly other stdio's as well).
1068 Secondly, the code in perlio.c is not handling the (!PERLIO_IS_STDIO &
1069 HAS_F[GS]ETPOS) case. The patch fixes this omission (in a rather lumpen
1070 manner). I don't think this should affect platforms which try to hack a
1071 different path through the #ifdef forest, but this assertion would benefit
1076 Index: plan9/config.plan9
1080 Index: plan9/fndvers
1088 Index: plan9/setup.rc
1092 Index: pod/perldiag.pod
1094 Subject: lval substr() coredumps with refs (with patch)
1096 substr() coredumps with a target that is a ref, when it is used in
1098 The patch below corrects the problem by stringifying the reference
1099 first (and emitting a warning when appropriate).
1101 Index: pod/perlxs.pod
1103 document xsubpp SCOPE:
1107 Subject: lval substr() fails to clear lexicals in re-entered scopes (with patch)
1109 substr() in lvalue context interacts in buggy fashion with SVs that
1110 are !SvOK. This manifests itself with lexicals that have a REFCNT of
1111 1, since these are merely "cleared in place" by setting SvOK_off.
1113 Subject: lval substr() coredumps with refs (with patch)
1115 substr() coredumps with a target that is a ref, when it is used in
1117 The patch below corrects the problem by stringifying the reference
1118 first (and emitting a warning when appropriate).
1120 Subject: Patch for LONG_MAX & co.
1124 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
1125 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
1126 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
1130 Subject: Patch for LONG_MAX & co.
1132 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
1133 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
1134 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
1138 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
1139 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
1140 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
1144 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
1145 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
1146 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
1150 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
1151 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
1152 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
1156 Subject: random cleanup
1158 This patch removes a few obvious redundancies in the source.
1160 Subject: sv_setsv patch
1162 This patch changes neither behavior nor performance. However, it does
1163 reduce code size and improve maintainability by combining some common
1164 code in gv_fullname() and gv_efullname().
1166 From: Chip Salzenberg <salzench@nielsenmedia.com>
1167 Subject: Track SVs for destruction when -DPURIFY
1169 When checking for memory leaks, I compiled Perl with "-DPURIFY".
1170 Although that flag improves the leak checking, it also breaks
1171 destruction of global objects, because SVs aren't kept in captive
1174 This patch rectifies the problem by providing an alternative
1175 method for keeping track of SVs when Perl is compiled for Purify.
1176 It has no effect on normal operation.
1179 Add comment about assert(len >=0) when len is unsigned anyway.
1183 Subject: Re: truncate with file name does not work (with patch)
1185 The prototype for truncate was changed so that perl won't die
1186 with C<use strict;> when the first arg is a bareword (filehandle).
1187 I think it was Tom (as in "tchrist") who brought this up.
1189 Here's a patch that undoes the damage, makes it work with
1190 C<use strict;>, and adds to the testsuite.
1192 The "not implemented" branch is missing a "\n".
1196 Subject: FAKE typeglobs seriously busted (with patch)
1198 Handling of fake typeglobs (scalars that are really globs
1199 in disguise) is seriously busted since 5.002 (it wasn't
1202 The problem is that mg_get() on a glob calls gv_efullname()
1203 which might coerce its first arg to a string.
1205 Index: t/op/substr.t
1208 Subject: lval substr() fails to clear lexicals in re-entered scopes (with patch)
1210 substr() in lvalue context interacts in buggy fashion with SVs that
1211 are !SvOK. This manifests itself with lexicals that have a REFCNT of
1212 1, since these are merely "cleared in place" by setting SvOK_off.
1214 Subject: lval substr() coredumps with refs (with patch)
1216 substr() coredumps with a target that is a ref, when it is used in
1218 The patch below corrects the problem by stringifying the reference
1219 first (and emitting a warning when appropriate).
1223 Subject: Re: truncate with file name does not work (with patch)
1225 The prototype for truncate was changed so that perl won't die
1226 with C<use strict;> when the first arg is a bareword (filehandle).
1227 I think it was Tom (as in "tchrist") who brought this up.
1229 Here's a patch that undoes the damage, makes it work with
1230 C<use strict;>, and adds to the testsuite.
1234 Subject: Re: Perl 5.003 dumps core executing caller() in signal handler for
1235 __DIE__ (with patch)
1237 sv_2pv() might call croak() (which is not prepared to handle that
1238 when it calls sv_2pv(), itself). Likewise for warn() (but under
1239 slightly more esoteric circumstances--mg_get() in sv_2pv() might
1240 trigger a call to warn()).
1243 Subject: Patch for LONG_MAX & co.
1245 PERL_BADLANG is examined by default before issuing a warning during
1246 internationalization.
1248 Index: utils/h2xs.PL
1250 Make leading =head NAME item a paragraph so pod2man finds it.
1252 Index: utils/perldoc.PL
1254 Use col -x to filter out half-line feeds (ESC-9) from
1255 HP-UX nroff -man output. (col -x isn't portable -- SunOS
1256 doesn't support the -x option.)
1262 Most of the changes in 5.003_03 are to make the build and installation
1263 process more robust. The details are described below. A very brief
1266 o Visible Changes to Core Functionality
1268 -Support for tied filehandles.
1270 o Configure enhancements
1272 -How to build and install a shared libperl.so is now documented
1273 and supported, though it's not the default for most platforms.
1277 -Support bit operations on strings longer than 15 bytes.
1279 -If a regex supplied to split() contains paranthesized subpatterns
1280 that can result in null matches, perl no longer coredumps.
1282 -Fix problems with each() on tied hashes.
1284 -Make h2ph architecture-independent by using Config at run-time
1285 rather than extraction time.
1289 Here are the specific file-by-file changes.
1291 # This is my patch perl5.003_03.pat to perl5.003_02
1292 # The full description is below.
1293 # Please execute the following commands before applying this patch.
1294 # (You can feed this patch to 'sh' to do so.)
1295 # Andy Dougherty <doughera@lafcol.lafayette.edu>
1297 # Absorbed into Changes5.002
1301 rm -f ext/POSIX/mkposixman.pl
1303 # Moved to README.os2. I'm not sure why the README files are
1304 # here rather than in the appropriate subdirectories.
1308 rm -f pod/Makefile.PL
1310 # New test for bit ops.
1313 # Patches that create new tests don't always make them executable.
1316 # Create a new directory for Porting and Patching info.
1321 This is patch perl5.003_03.pat to perl version 5.003_02.
1322 This takes you from 5.003_02 to 5.003_03.
1324 To apply this patch, run the above commands,
1325 cd to your perl source directory and then type
1327 patch -p1 -N < perl5.003_03.pat
1329 The changes are described after each /^Index/ line below. This is
1330 designed so you can examine each change with a command such as
1332 csplit -k perl5.003_03.pat '/^Index:/' '{99}'
1336 Andy Dougherty doughera@lafcol.lafayette.edu
1338 Lafayette College, Easton PA 18042
1342 Include 5.003_03 change notes.
1344 Move older change notes to separate files.
1348 New file. Changes from perl4.036 to 5.000.
1352 New file. Changes from 5.000 to 5.001
1356 New file. Changes from 5.001 to 5.002
1360 New file. Changes from 5.002 to 5.003
1364 Relaxed warning about ksh on exotic machines.
1366 Changed usesafe to useopcode.
1368 Add search for gzip and zip.
1370 Look more carefully for $sh (the Bourne-ish shell).
1371 Use that info to set $startsh correctly.
1373 Change prompts for PerlIO interface. See INSTALL
1374 for how this is supposed to work. The default is
1375 still the same as in 5.003_02, namely don't use
1376 any fancy new PerlIO stuff.
1378 Don't look for sigvec() since we don't actually use it.
1379 (Plus, it used to print an alarming misleading message about
1382 Look for stdio's _filbuf under the possible names of
1383 _filbuf, __filbuf, and _fill.
1385 New $useshrplib variable to control whether we build a shared
1386 libperl.so. The name of the library is in $libperl.
1387 Always install it in $installarchlib/CORE/$libperl.
1389 Check for <sys/resource.h> and <sys/wait.h> for NetBSD.
1391 Replace old $altmake stuff with newer autoconf-ish
1392 $make_set_make, which checks if $make sets $(MAKE). Now you
1393 choose an alternate make with sh Configure -Dmake=gmake (or
1396 Remove 'ln' for the list of essential commands. Simulate
1397 it with 'cp' if necessary.
1399 Change `logname` prompts to handle extra gratuitous spaces in
1404 Fix silly bug in checking for fully-qualified names in /etc/hosts.
1406 Generalize Gconvert tests. Give correct and more useful
1409 Use $obj_ext instead of literal '.o' in the dynaloader test.
1411 Include appropriate header files in bcopy() and memcpy()
1412 tests. Note whether memmove is available.
1414 Check whether struct sigaction works (needed for Solaris 2.5
1417 Include appropriate header files for randbits test.
1421 Add note about space requirements.
1423 Update to match Configure changes (Opcode vs. Safe,
1424 useperlio, useshrplib, etc.)
1426 Reorganize the structure of some of the hints.
1428 Miscellaneous clarifications.
1432 Updated. 5.003_02 introduced some massive patches, mostly
1433 due to spacing changes. I didn't bother to sort them all out;
1434 I just started with 5.003's MANIEFST.
1438 Support the new simplified shared libperl mechanism.
1440 Use new $make_set_make directive.
1442 Remove redundant libperl Make variable.
1444 Remove unnecessary MAB variable.
1446 Remove dependency of minitest on lib/Config.pm, since it could
1447 well have been a failure of configpm that inspired testing
1448 miniperl in the first place!
1450 Index: Porting/Glossary
1452 New file describing all the config.sh variables.
1453 Eventually, I hope to fill this directory with other useful
1458 Replace old README.os2 with more up-to-date os2/README.
1462 Updated to match current Configure and config_h.SH.
1463 Some rearrangement of parts has occurred due to new
1464 dependencies in the metaconfig units.
1468 Updated to match current Configure and config_h.SH.
1469 Some rearrangement of parts has occurred due to new
1470 dependencies in the metaconfig units.
1472 Include full descriptions of ARCHLIB, OLDARCHLIB, PRIVLIB,
1473 SITEARCH, and SITELIB. Previous versions just included the
1474 ~-expanded names (with unhelpful descriptions). No functionality
1475 is changed, but maybe it's a little better documented now.
1479 Possibly Include <signal.h> and <unistd.h>
1483 No longer prefer bcmp over memcmp when order doesn't matter.
1485 Support bit operations on strings longer than 15 bytes.
1493 Expand warning at the top.
1497 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1499 Index: ext/IO/lib/IO/Seekable.pm
1501 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1503 Index: ext/IO/lib/IO/Select.pm
1505 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1507 Index: ext/Opcode/Opcode.xs
1509 Add support for tied filehandles.
1511 Index: ext/SDBM_File/sdbm/sdbm.h
1513 Change the Mymalloc to match Perl_malloc in perl.h.
1515 Index: ext/util/make_ext
1518 Get rid of unused altmake.
1522 Fix problems with each() on tied hashes.
1526 Change safe*alloc functions to have prototypes that
1527 match the system's malloc and free types. That is, use
1528 Malloc_t instead of char *, and Free_t instead of void.
1529 This is necessary so . . .
1531 Safefree cast matches type of free() whether it's perl's
1532 malloc/free or the system's malloc/free.
1534 Index: hints/README.hints
1536 Remove out-of-date info.
1538 Document a bit about how hint files work.
1542 qmaxmem hint doesn't apply to gcc.
1544 Index: hints/dgux.sh
1546 Configure will now automatically detect shared libperl stuff.
1548 Index: hints/dynixptx.sh
1550 Fix typo in comment.
1552 Configure will now automatically detect shared libperl stuff.
1554 Index: hints/epix.sh
1556 Use glibpth instead of libpth. This allows Configure to
1557 add local directories, such as /opt/local/lib, etc.
1559 Index: hints/irix_6_2.sh
1561 Include some info on cc -n32 compile.
1563 Index: hints/linux.sh
1565 Configure now tests gcvt() more thoroughly.
1567 Index: hints/machten_2.sh
1569 Update where to find dld.
1571 Index: hints/mips.sh
1573 Use glibpth instead of libpth.
1575 Index: hints/next_3.sh
1577 Build up $mab dynamically. Since $mab isn't used anywhere
1578 anymore, this is useless. However, $mab was never used for
1579 next_3.sh anyway, so there's been no change in functionality.
1581 Index: hints/next_4.sh
1583 Get rid of extraneous isnext_4 variable. Configure and
1584 Makefile.SH will use $osname and $osvers instead.
1586 Build up $mab dynamically based on available architectures.
1588 Absorb $mab into ccflags and ccdlflags. I hope that will
1589 cover everything. (Configure should automatically remove
1590 the -arch stuff from cppflags.)
1592 Configure now knows next4 needs to use a shared libperl.5.so.
1594 Allow users to use -Dprefix.
1598 Try to update to reflect newer shared libperl stuff.
1599 I probably goofed :-).
1603 Additional notes on using icc.
1605 Additional flags for dynamic loading.
1607 Index: hints/solaris_2.sh
1609 Perl.h no longer prefers bcmp, so it's again ok if Configure
1610 finds them, since perl will prefer the mem* versions anyway.
1612 Index: hints/sunos_4_0.sh
1614 Don't include <unistd.h>
1616 Index: hints/sunos_4_1.sh
1618 Add brief note about GNU as and ld.
1620 Don't include <unistd.h>
1622 Add notes about WHOA THERE messages.
1624 Index: hints/titanos.sh
1626 Include sfio in libswanted.
1628 Don't set libpth any more.
1630 Index: hints/umips.sh
1636 Use memcmp even in cases where ordering doesn't matter.
1638 Fix problems with each() on tied hashes.
1642 Simplify installation of shared libperl.so.
1644 Avoid reaching Command Failed!!! with /usr/bin/perl.
1646 Index: lib/AutoSplit.pm
1648 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1650 Index: lib/ExtUtils/MM_Unix.pm
1652 Remove MAB references.
1654 Use 'useshrplib' instead of 'd_shrplib'
1656 Index: lib/ExtUtils/MakeMaker.pm
1658 Remove mab references.
1660 Index: lib/FindBin.pm
1662 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1664 Index: lib/Symbol.pm
1666 Put back in the BEGIN { require 5.002; }. The version in
1667 5.003_02 wouldn't work in 5.002 anyway. Further, the whole
1668 point of the construct is to catch 5.001m, so we can't use
1669 syntax introduced after 5.001m to do that.
1671 Index: lib/Text/Wrap.pm
1673 Remove double 'use strict'.
1675 Index: lib/perl5db.pl
1677 Add explicit '&' to avoid warnings under strict refs.
1679 Index: lib/sigtrap.pm
1681 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1683 Index: makedepend.SH
1685 Use Configure's $sh and $make_set_make variables.
1691 Use Safefree() macro instead of safefree() function with
1692 a (possibly) incorrect cast. The whole point of the
1693 Safefree() macro is that it does the correct cast for you.
1698 Change to SUBVERSION 3.
1706 No longer prefer bcmp slightly for comparisons that don't care
1709 Rely on Configure setting SH_PATH.
1711 Change the function name to Pause() instead of pause() to
1712 avoid potential prototype problems. (This naming convention
1713 is similar to the Fwrite and Fflush macros.)
1715 Fix problems with each() on tied hashes.
1717 Work around crypt prototype problem on NeXT.
1721 Fixes to support non-std stdio.
1725 Try to document the various #defines a bit. This is far from
1728 Remove a lot of trailing whitespace. (It's of no consequence, but
1729 but I'm not going to redo the patch just to put back in the trailing
1734 Fixes to support non-std stdio.
1738 Restore use of Safefree() macro.
1742 Restore use of Safefree() macro.
1746 Delete duplicate line.
1748 Index: plan9/buildinfo
1752 Index: pod/perlapio.pod
1754 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1756 Index: pod/perlipc.pod
1760 Untaint port number.
1762 Index: pod/perlmod.pod
1764 Fix a minor nit regarding Exporter.
1766 Index: pod/perlre.pod
1768 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1770 Index: pod/perltie.pod
1772 Add support for tied filehandles.
1774 Index: pod/perltrap.pod
1776 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1778 Index: pod/perlxstut.pod
1780 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1782 Index: pod/pod2man.PL
1784 Clean up docmentation installation errors.
1788 Add support for tied filehandles.
1790 If a regex supplied to split() contains paranthesized subpatterns
1791 that can result in null matches, perl coredumps.
1795 Use memcmp instead of bcmp even when we don't care about order.
1797 Add support for tied filehandles.
1801 Include <unistd.h>, <sys/wait.h>, and <sys/resource.h>.
1802 (The latter two are especially for NetBSD.)
1804 Don't assume sys/time.h and sys/select.h can't coexist.
1810 Fix safe*alloc and safefree prototypes.
1814 Use memcmp instead of bcmp even when we don't care about order.
1818 Use memcmp instead of bcmp even when we don't care about order.
1820 Index: t/lib/opcode.t
1822 Add support for tied filehandles.
1826 Support bit operations on strings longer than 15 bytes.
1830 Add support for tied filehandles.
1834 If a regex supplied to split() contains paranthesized subpatterns
1835 that can result in null matches, perl coredumps.
1841 Use memcmp instead of bcmp even when we don't care about order.
1847 Use correct types for safe*alloc and safefree functions.
1849 Index: utils/h2ph.PL
1851 Make h2ph architecture-independent by using Config at run-time
1852 rather than extraction time.
1856 Remove unnecessary curlies. (They are a leftover from
1857 an older auto_init mechanism.)
1859 Index: x2p/Makefile.SH
1861 Use Configure's $sh and $make_set_make.
1863 Remove MAB stuff, since it's now in ccflags.
1865 Keep 5.003's RCS info.
1869 Keep 5.003's RCS info.
1873 Use Configure's FILE_filbuf macro instead of a raw _filbuf.
1878 o Visible Changes to Core Functionality
1879 - Redefining constant subs, or changing sub's prototype now give warnings.
1880 - Fixes for ++/-- of values close to max/min size of an integer
1881 - Warning for un-qualified bareword as handler in $SIG{}.
1882 - UNIVERSAL::isa can now be called as static method.
1884 o Changes in Core Internals
1885 - PerlIO abstraction added.
1886 Perl core and standard extensions no longer assume ANSI C's stdio is IO
1887 mechanism, Default Configure mode is still to use stdio via set of C macros.
1888 Alternate modes are to use stdio via one perlio.c module, or
1889 to use sfio if available.
1891 - Several bug fixs from perl5-porters
1892 - Make sources non-ANSI C correct again.
1894 - Last of shared-hash-key patches
1895 - eval '(0,1..3)'; # --> SegFault
1896 - coredumps after simple subsitutes.
1897 - Correction to UNIVERSAL::VERSION docs.
1898 - Fixed io_udp test.
1899 - Fixed another abuse of malloc'ed memory.
1900 - Enabled DEBUGING_MSTATS whenever perl's malloc() is used.
1901 - Reverted to default of not hiding perl's malloc (if used).
1903 o Changes in the Standard Library and Utilities
1904 - Fixed MakeMaker for static SDBM and builing in a link tree.
1905 - Upgraded to IO-1.09, and includes latest (still experimental) IO::Select.
1906 - Documentation/test tweak to DB_File
1907 - h2xs upgrade to allow use C::Scan module
1909 o Changes in OS-specific and Build-time Support
1910 - Attempted to re-created 5.003_01's NeXT support with metaconfig units.
1912 - make minitest now depends on lib/Config.pm, as some of tests require it.
1913 - Included latest plan9 sub-directory
1914 - Applied OS/2 patches.
1915 - Typo patch for VMS.
1921 Version 5.003_01 contains bugfixes and additions accumulated since
1922 version 5.002_01, since the patch to version 5.003 was deliberately
1923 kept simple. In addition to numerous small bugfixes in the core,
1924 library files, and documentation, this patch contains several
1925 significant revisions, summarized below:
1927 o Visible Changes to Core Functionality
1929 - A port to Plan9 has been started, and changes are integrated into
1930 the standard distribution. As of this release, the Perl core
1931 and several common extensions are working.
1933 - A set of basic methods in the UNIVERSAL class have been added to
1934 the Perl core. Since UNIVERSAL is an implicit member of every
1935 class's @ISA, the methods can be called via any object.
1937 - A mandatory warning has been added for 'declarations' of lexical
1938 variables using the "my" operator which mask an existing lexical
1939 variable declared in the same scope, making the previous variable
1940 inaccessible by its name.
1942 - The "use" and "require" operators have been extended to allow
1943 checking of the required module's version. The "use" operator
1944 can now be used for an immediate version check of Perl itself.
1946 - A new "strict" pragma, "strict untie", has been added, which
1947 produces an error if a tied value is untied when other references
1948 exist to the internal object implementing the tie.
1950 - Barewords used as associative array keys (i.e. when specifying
1951 an associative array element like $foo{__BAR} or on the left
1952 side of the => operator) may now begin with an underscore as
1953 well as an alphabetic character.
1955 - Some of the configuration information previously produced by the
1956 -v switch has been moved to the -V switch, in order to keep -v
1959 o Changes in Core Internals
1961 - Symbol table and method lookups have been made faster.
1963 - Perl subroutines which just return a constant value are now
1964 optimized at compile time into inline constants.
1966 - Management of keys for associative arrays has been improved to
1967 conserve space when the same keys are reused frequently, and
1968 to pass true Perl values to tie functions, instead of stringified
1971 - Messages normally output to stderr may be directed to another
1972 stream when Perl is built. This allows some platforms to
1973 present diagnostic output in a separate window from normal
1976 - A bug which caused suiperl to fail silently, albeit securely,
1977 in version 5.003 on some systems has been fixed.
1979 - Management of Unix-style signal handlers via the %SIG associative
1980 array has been made safer.
1982 - Several global C symbols have been renamed to eliminate collisions
1983 with system C header files or libraries on some platforms.
1984 Unfortunately, this means that dynamic extensions compiled under
1985 previous versions of Perl will need to be rebuilt for Perl
1986 5.003_01. We're in the process of cleaning up Perl's C
1987 namespace to make it easier to link Perl with other binaries,
1988 so this will probably happen again between now and version 5.004.
1989 After that, we'll do our best to maintain binary compatibility
1992 - An alternate allocation strategy has been added to Perl's
1993 optional private memory management routines. This strategy,
1994 which may be selected when Perl is built, is designed to
1995 conserve memory in programs which allocate many small
1996 chunks of memory with sizes near a power of 2, as is often
1997 the case in Perl programs.
1999 - Several memory leaks in the creation and destruction of
2000 multiple interpreters have been fixed.
2002 o Changes in the Standard Library and Utilities
2004 - The Opcode extension, which allows you to control a program's
2005 access to Perl operations, has been added to the standard
2006 distribution. This extends the work begun in the original
2007 Safe extension, and subsumes it. The Safe interface is still
2010 - The IO extension, which provides a set of classes for object-
2011 oriented handling of common I/O tasks, has been added to the
2012 standard distribution. The IO classes will form the basis
2013 for future development of Perl's I/O interface, and will
2014 subsume the FileHandle class in the near future. The default
2015 class to which all Perl I/O handles belong is now IO::Handle,
2016 rather than FileHandle.
2018 - The ExtUtils::Embed library module, which provides a set
2019 of utility function to help in embedding Perl in other
2020 applications, has been added to the standard distribution.
2022 - The Fatal library module, which provides a simple interface
2023 for creating "do-or-die" equivalents of existing functions,
2024 has been added to the standard distribution.
2026 - The FindBin library module, which determines the full path
2027 to the currently executing program, has been added to the
2028 standard distribution.
2030 - The DB_File extension, and the Getopt::Long, Test::Harness,
2031 Text::Tabs, Text::Wrap, Time::Local and sigtrap library modules
2032 have been updated to the authors' latest versions.
2034 - The Carp library module now considers the @ISA chain when
2035 determining the caller's package for inclusion in error messages.
2037 - The h2xs, perlbug, and xsubpp utilities have been updated.
2039 - The standard Perl debugger has been updated, and the information
2040 provided to the debugger when an XSUB is called has been improved,
2041 making it possible for alternate debuggers (such as Devel::DProf)
2042 to do a better job of tracking XSUB calls.
2044 - The pod documentation formatting tools in the standard distribution
2045 can now handle characters in the input stream whose high bit is set.
2047 - The cperl-mode EMACS editing mode has been updated.
2049 o Changes in Documentation
2051 - Typographic and formatting errors have been corrected in the pod
2052 documentation for the core and standard library files
2054 - Explanations of several core operators have been improved
2056 - The perldebug, perlembed, perlipc, perlsec, and perltrap documents
2057 extensively revised.
2059 o Changes in OS-specific and Build-time Support
2061 - Support for the NeXT platform has been extended through
2062 NeXTSTEP/OPENSTEP 4.0, and now includes the ability to create MABs.
2064 - Support for OS/2 has been extended as well, and now includes
2065 options for building a.out binaries.
2067 - Support for VMS has also been extended, incorporating improved
2068 processing of file specification strings, optional suppression of
2069 carriage control interpretation for record-structured files,
2070 improved support for the -S command line switch, a number of
2071 VMS-specific bugfixes, and significantly improved performance
2072 in line-oriented reading of files.
2074 - Several hints files have been added or updated: aux.sh (updated),
2075 convexos.sh (updated), irix_4.sh (updated), irix_5.sh (updated),
2076 irix_6_2.sh (updated), next_3.sh (updated), next_3_2.sh (new),
2077 next_3_3.sh (new), next_4.sh (new), os2/sh (updated),
2078 sco.sh (updated), and solaris_2.sh (updated).
2080 - The test driver for the regression tests now reports when a set
2081 of tests have been skipped (presumable because the operation
2082 they're designed to test isn't supported on the current system).