3 perlhist - the Perl history records
10 # $Id: perlhist.pod,v 1.2 2000/01/24 11:44:47 jhi Exp $
17 This document aims to record the Perl source code releases.
21 Perl history in brief, by Larry Wall:
23 Perl 0 introduced Perl to my officemates.
24 Perl 1 introduced Perl to the world, and changed /\(...\|...\)/ to
25 /(...|...)/. \(Dan Faigin still hasn't forgiven me. :-\)
26 Perl 2 introduced Henry Spencer's regular expression package.
27 Perl 3 introduced the ability to handle binary data (embedded nulls).
28 Perl 4 introduced the first Camel book. Really. We mostly just
29 switched version numbers so the book could refer to 4.000.
30 Perl 5 introduced everything else, including the ability to
31 introduce everything else.
33 =head1 THE KEEPERS OF THE PUMPKIN
35 Larry Wall, Andy Dougherty, Tom Christiansen, Charles Bailey, Nick
36 Ing-Simmons, Chip Salzenberg, Tim Bunce, Malcolm Beattie, Gurusamy
37 Sarathy, Graham Barr, Jarkko Hietaniemi.
41 [from Porting/pumpkin.pod in the Perl source code distribution]
43 Chip Salzenberg gets credit for that, with a nod to his cow orker,
44 David Croy. We had passed around various names (baton, token, hot
45 potato) but none caught on. Then, Chip asked:
49 Who has the patch pumpkin?
51 To explain: David Croy once told me once that at a previous job,
52 there was one tape drive and multiple systems that used it for backups.
53 But instead of some high-tech exclusion software, they used a low-tech
54 method to prevent multiple simultaneous backups: a stuffed pumpkin.
55 No one was allowed to make backups unless they had the "backup pumpkin".
59 The name has stuck. The holder of the pumpkin is sometimes called
60 the pumpking (keeping the source afloat?) or the pumpkineer (pulling
65 Pump- Release Date Notes
70 ===========================================================================
72 Larry 0 Classified. Don't ask.
74 Larry 1.000 1987-Dec-18
79 Larry 2.000 1988-Jun-05
83 Larry 3.000 1989-Oct-18
93 3.019..27 1990-Aug-10 User subs.
102 Larry 4.000 1991-Mar-21
107 4.011..18 1991-Nov-05
108 4.019 1991-Nov-11 Stable.
109 4.020..33 1992-Jun-08
112 Larry 4.036 1993-Feb-05 Very stable.
114 5.000alpha1 1993-Jul-31
115 5.000alpha2 1993-Aug-16
116 5.000alpha3 1993-Oct-10
117 5.000alpha4 1993-???-??
118 5.000alpha5 1993-???-??
119 5.000alpha6 1994-Mar-18
120 5.000alpha7 1994-Mar-25
121 Andy 5.000alpha8 1994-Apr-04
122 Larry 5.000alpha9 1994-May-05 ext appears.
123 5.000alpha10 1994-Jun-11
124 5.000alpha11 1994-Jul-01
125 Andy 5.000a11a 1994-Jul-07 To fit 14.
126 5.000a11b 1994-Jul-14
127 5.000a11c 1994-Jul-19
128 5.000a11d 1994-Jul-22
129 Larry 5.000alpha12 1994-Aug-04
130 Andy 5.000a12a 1994-Aug-08
131 5.000a12b 1994-Aug-15
132 5.000a12c 1994-Aug-22
133 5.000a12d 1994-Aug-22
134 5.000a12e 1994-Aug-22
135 5.000a12f 1994-Aug-24
136 5.000a12g 1994-Aug-24
137 5.000a12h 1994-Aug-24
138 Larry 5.000beta1 1994-Aug-30
139 Andy 5.000b1a 1994-Sep-06
140 Larry 5.000beta2 1994-Sep-14 Core slushified.
141 Andy 5.000b2a 1994-Sep-14
144 Larry 5.000beta3 1994-Sep-??
145 Andy 5.000b3a 1994-Sep-18
152 Andy 5.000b3h 1994-Oct-07
153 Larry? 5.000gamma 1994-Oct-13?
155 Larry 5.000 1994-Oct-17
157 Andy 5.000a 1994-Dec-19
173 Larry 5.001 1995-Mar-13
175 Andy 5.001a 1995-Mar-15
179 5.001e 1995-Apr-18 Stable.
186 5.001l 1995-Jun-06 Stable.
187 5.001m 1995-Jul-02 Very stable.
188 5.001n 1995-Oct-31 Very unstable.
189 5.002beta1 1995-Nov-21
196 Tom 5.002b1g 1995-Dec-21 Doc release.
197 Andy 5.002b1h 1996-Jan-05
199 Larry 5.002b3 1996-Feb-02
200 Andy 5.002gamma 1996-Feb-11
201 Larry 5.002delta 1996-Feb-27
203 Larry 5.002 1996-Feb-29 Prototypes.
205 Charles 5.002_01 1996-Mar-25
207 5.003 1996-Jun-25 Security release.
210 Nick 5.003_02 1996-Aug-10
211 Andy 5.003_03 1996-Aug-28
216 Chip 5.003_08 1996-Nov-19
237 5.003_90 1997-Feb-25 Ramping up to the 5.004 release.
244 5.003_97 1997-Apr-03 Fairly widely used.
245 5.003_97a 1997-Apr-05
246 5.003_97b 1997-Apr-08
247 5.003_97c 1997-Apr-10
248 5.003_97d 1997-Apr-13
249 5.003_97e 1997-Apr-15
250 5.003_97f 1997-Apr-17
251 5.003_97g 1997-Apr-18
252 5.003_97h 1997-Apr-24
253 5.003_97i 1997-Apr-25
254 5.003_97j 1997-Apr-28
257 5.003_99a 1997-May-09
258 p54rc1 1997-May-12 Release Candidates.
261 Chip 5.004 1997-May-15 A major maintenance release.
263 Tim 5.004_01 1997-Jun-13 The 5.004 maintenance track.
267 5.004m5t1 1998-Mar-04 Maintenance Trials (for 5.004_05).
268 5.004_04-m2 1997-May-01
269 5.004_04-m3 1998-May-15
270 5.004_04-m4 1998-May-19
271 5.004_04-MT5 1998-Jul-21
272 5.004_04-MT6 1998-Oct-09
273 5.004_04-MT7 1998-Nov-22
274 5.004_04-MT8 1998-Dec-03
275 Chip 5.004_04-MT9 1999-Apr-26
278 Malcolm 5.004_50 1997-Sep-09 The 5.005 development track.
295 Sarathy 5.004_67 1998-Jun-15
302 5.004_74 1998-Jul-14 5.005 beta candidate.
303 5.004_75 1998-Jul-15 5.005 beta1.
304 5.004_76 1998-Jul-21 5.005 beta2.
305 5.005 1998-Jul-22 Oneperl.
307 Sarathy 5.005_01 1998-Jul-27 The 5.005 maintenance track.
308 5.005_02-T1 1998-Aug-02
309 5.005_02-T2 1998-Aug-05
311 Graham 5.005_03-MT1 1998-Nov-30
312 5.005_03-MT2 1999-Jan-04
313 5.005_03-MT3 1999-Jan-17
314 5.005_03-MT4 1999-Jan-26
315 5.005_03-MT5 1999-Jan-28
317 Chip 5.005_04 2000-***-**
319 Sarathy 5.005_50 1998-Jul-26 The 5.6 development track.
334 5.5.650 2000-Feb-08 beta1
335 5.5.660 2000-Feb-22 beta2
336 5.5.670 2000-Feb-29 beta3
337 5.6.0-RC1 2000-Mar-09 release candidate 1
338 5.6.0-RC2 2000-Mar-14 release candidate 2
339 5.6.0-RC3 2000-Mar-21 release candidate 3
342 Sarathy 5.6.1 2000-***-** The 5.6 maintenance track.
344 Jarkko 5.7.0 2000-Sep-02 The 5.7 track: Development.
346 =head2 SELECTED RELEASE SIZES
348 For example the notation "core: 212 29" in the release 1.000 means that
349 it had in the core 212 kilobytes, in 29 files. The "core".."doc" are
352 release core lib ext t doc
353 ======================================================================
355 1.000 212 29 - - - - 38 51 62 3
356 1.014 219 29 - - - - 39 52 68 4
357 2.000 309 31 2 3 - - 55 57 92 4
358 2.001 312 31 2 3 - - 55 57 94 4
359 3.000 508 36 24 11 - - 79 73 156 5
360 3.044 645 37 61 20 - - 90 74 190 6
361 4.000 635 37 59 20 - - 91 75 198 4
362 4.019 680 37 85 29 - - 98 76 199 4
363 4.036 709 37 89 30 - - 98 76 208 5
364 5.000alpha2 785 50 114 32 - - 112 86 209 5
365 5.000alpha3 801 50 117 33 - - 121 87 209 5
366 5.000alpha9 1022 56 149 43 116 29 125 90 217 6
367 5.000a12h 978 49 140 49 205 46 152 97 228 9
368 5.000b3h 1035 53 232 70 216 38 162 94 218 21
369 5.000 1038 53 250 76 216 38 154 92 536 62
370 5.001m 1071 54 388 82 240 38 159 95 544 29
371 5.002 1121 54 661 101 287 43 155 94 847 35
372 5.003 1129 54 680 102 291 43 166 100 853 35
373 5.003_07 1231 60 748 106 396 53 213 137 976 39
374 5.004 1351 60 1230 136 408 51 355 161 1587 55
375 5.004_01 1356 60 1258 138 410 51 358 161 1587 55
376 5.004_04 1375 60 1294 139 413 51 394 162 1629 55
377 5.004_05 1463 60 1435 150 394 50 445 175 1855 59
378 5.004_51 1401 61 1260 140 413 53 358 162 1594 56
379 5.004_53 1422 62 1295 141 438 70 394 162 1637 56
380 5.004_56 1501 66 1301 140 447 74 408 165 1648 57
381 5.004_59 1555 72 1317 142 448 74 424 171 1678 58
382 5.004_62 1602 77 1327 144 629 92 428 173 1674 58
383 5.004_65 1626 77 1358 146 615 92 446 179 1698 60
384 5.004_68 1856 74 1382 152 619 92 463 187 1784 60
385 5.004_70 1863 75 1456 154 675 92 494 194 1809 60
386 5.004_73 1874 76 1467 152 762 102 506 196 1883 61
387 5.004_75 1877 76 1467 152 770 103 508 196 1896 62
388 5.005 1896 76 1469 152 795 103 509 197 1945 63
389 5.005_03 1936 77 1541 153 813 104 551 201 2176 72
390 5.005_50 1969 78 1842 301 795 103 514 198 1948 63
391 5.005_53 1999 79 1885 303 806 104 602 224 2002 67
392 5.005_56 2086 79 1970 307 866 113 672 238 2221 75
394 The "core"..."doc" mean the following files from the Perl source code
395 distribution. The glob notation ** means recursively, (.) means
400 ext ext/**/*.{[hcyt],xs,pm}
402 doc {README*,INSTALL,*[_.]man{,.?},pod/**/*.pod}
404 Here are some statistics for the other subdirectories and one file in
405 the Perl source distribution for somewhat more selected releases.
407 ======================================================================
410 1.014 2.001 3.044 4.000 4.019 4.036
412 atarist - - - - - - - - - - 113 31
413 Configure 31 1 37 1 62 1 73 1 83 1 86 1
414 eg - - 34 28 47 39 47 39 47 39 47 39
415 emacs - - - - - - 67 4 67 4 67 4
416 h2pl - - - - 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
417 hints - - - - - - - - 5 42 11 56
418 msdos - - - - 41 13 57 15 58 15 60 15
419 os2 - - - - 63 22 81 29 81 29 113 31
420 usub - - - - 21 16 25 7 43 8 43 8
421 x2p 103 17 104 17 137 17 147 18 152 19 154 19
423 ======================================================================
425 5.000a2 5.000a12h 5.000b3h 5.000 5.001m 5.002 5.003
427 atarist 113 31 113 31 - - - - - - - - - -
428 bench - - 0 1 - - - - - - - - - -
429 Bugs 2 5 26 1 - - - - - - - - - -
430 dlperl 40 5 - - - - - - - - - - - -
431 do 127 71 - - - - - - - - - - - -
432 Configure - - 153 1 159 1 160 1 180 1 201 1 201 1
433 Doc - - 26 1 75 7 11 1 11 1 - - - -
434 eg 79 58 53 44 51 43 54 44 54 44 54 44 54 44
435 emacs 67 4 104 6 104 6 104 1 104 6 108 1 108 1
436 h2pl 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
437 hints 11 56 12 46 18 48 18 48 44 56 73 59 77 60
438 msdos 60 15 60 15 - - - - - - - - - -
439 os2 113 31 113 31 - - - - - - 84 17 56 10
440 U - - 62 8 112 42 - - - - - - - -
441 usub 43 8 - - - - - - - - - - - -
442 utils - - - - - - - - - - 87 7 88 7
443 vms - - 80 7 123 9 184 15 304 20 500 24 475 26
444 x2p 171 22 171 21 162 20 162 20 279 20 280 20 280 20
446 ======================================================================
448 5.003_07 5.004 5.004_04 5.004_62 5.004_65 5.004_68
450 beos - - - - - - - - 1 1 1 1
451 Configure 217 1 225 1 225 1 240 1 248 1 256 1
452 cygwin32 - - 23 5 23 5 23 5 24 5 24 5
453 djgpp - - - - - - 14 5 14 5 14 5
454 eg 54 44 81 62 81 62 81 62 81 62 81 62
455 emacs 143 1 194 1 204 1 212 2 212 2 212 2
456 h2pl 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
457 hints 90 62 129 69 132 71 144 72 151 74 155 74
458 os2 117 42 121 42 127 42 127 44 129 44 129 44
459 plan9 79 15 82 15 82 15 82 15 82 15 82 15
460 Porting 51 1 94 2 109 4 203 6 234 8 241 9
461 qnx - - 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
462 utils 97 7 112 8 118 8 124 8 156 9 159 9
463 vms 505 27 518 34 524 34 538 34 569 34 569 34
464 win32 - - 285 33 378 36 470 39 493 39 575 41
465 x2p 280 19 281 19 281 19 281 19 282 19 281 19
467 ======================================================================
469 5.004_70 5.004_73 5.004_75 5.005 5.005_03
471 apollo - - - - - - - - 0 1
472 beos 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
473 Configure 256 1 256 1 264 1 264 1 270 1
474 cygwin32 24 5 24 5 24 5 24 5 24 5
475 djgpp 14 5 14 5 14 5 14 5 15 5
476 eg 86 65 86 65 86 65 86 65 86 65
477 emacs 262 2 262 2 262 2 262 2 274 2
478 h2pl 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12 12
479 hints 157 74 157 74 159 74 160 74 179 77
480 mint - - - - - - - - 4 7
481 mpeix - - - - 5 3 5 3 5 3
482 os2 129 44 139 44 142 44 143 44 148 44
483 plan9 82 15 82 15 82 15 82 15 82 15
484 Porting 241 9 253 9 259 10 264 12 272 13
485 qnx 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
486 utils 160 9 160 9 160 9 160 9 164 9
487 vms 570 34 572 34 573 34 575 34 583 34
488 vos - - - - - - - - 156 10
489 win32 577 41 585 41 585 41 587 41 600 42
490 x2p 281 19 281 19 281 19 281 19 281 19
492 =head2 SELECTED PATCH SIZES
494 The "diff lines kb" means that for example the patch 5.003_08, to be
495 applied on top of the 5.003_07 (or whatever was before the 5.003_08)
496 added lines for 110 kilobytes, it removed lines for 19 kilobytes, and
497 changed lines for 424 kilobytes. Just the lines themselves are
498 counted, not their context. The "+ - !" become from the diff(1)
499 context diff output format.
501 Pump- Release Date diff lines kB
504 ===========================================================================
506 Chip 5.003_08 1996-Nov-19 110 19 424
507 5.003_09 1996-Nov-26 38 9 248
508 5.003_10 1996-Nov-29 29 2 27
509 5.003_11 1996-Dec-06 73 12 165
510 5.003_12 1996-Dec-19 275 6 436
511 5.003_13 1996-Dec-20 95 1 56
512 5.003_14 1996-Dec-23 23 7 333
513 5.003_15 1996-Dec-23 0 0 1
514 5.003_16 1996-Dec-24 12 3 50
515 5.003_17 1996-Dec-27 19 1 14
516 5.003_18 1996-Dec-31 21 1 32
517 5.003_19 1997-Jan-04 80 3 85
518 5.003_20 1997-Jan-07 18 1 146
519 5.003_21 1997-Jan-15 38 10 221
520 5.003_22 1997-Jan-16 4 0 18
521 5.003_23 1997-Jan-25 71 15 119
522 5.003_24 1997-Jan-29 426 1 20
523 5.003_25 1997-Feb-04 21 8 169
524 5.003_26 1997-Feb-10 16 1 15
525 5.003_27 1997-Feb-18 32 10 38
526 5.003_28 1997-Feb-21 58 4 66
527 5.003_90 1997-Feb-25 22 2 34
528 5.003_91 1997-Mar-01 37 1 39
529 5.003_92 1997-Mar-06 16 3 69
530 5.003_93 1997-Mar-10 12 3 15
531 5.003_94 1997-Mar-22 407 7 200
532 5.003_95 1997-Mar-25 41 1 37
533 5.003_96 1997-Apr-01 283 5 261
534 5.003_97 1997-Apr-03 13 2 34
535 5.003_97a 1997-Apr-05 57 1 27
536 5.003_97b 1997-Apr-08 14 1 20
537 5.003_97c 1997-Apr-10 20 1 16
538 5.003_97d 1997-Apr-13 8 0 16
539 5.003_97e 1997-Apr-15 15 4 46
540 5.003_97f 1997-Apr-17 7 1 33
541 5.003_97g 1997-Apr-18 6 1 42
542 5.003_97h 1997-Apr-24 23 3 68
543 5.003_97i 1997-Apr-25 23 1 31
544 5.003_97j 1997-Apr-28 36 1 49
545 5.003_98 1997-Apr-30 171 12 539
546 5.003_99 1997-May-01 6 0 7
547 5.003_99a 1997-May-09 36 2 61
548 p54rc1 1997-May-12 8 1 11
549 p54rc2 1997-May-14 6 0 40
551 5.004 1997-May-15 4 0 4
553 Tim 5.004_01 1997-Jun-13 222 14 57
554 5.004_02 1997-Aug-07 112 16 119
555 5.004_03 1997-Sep-05 109 0 17
556 5.004_04 1997-Oct-15 66 8 173
558 =head1 THE KEEPERS OF THE RECORDS
560 Jarkko Hietaniemi <F<jhi@iki.fi>>.
562 Thanks to the collective memory of the Perlfolk. In addition to the
563 Keepers of the Pumpkin also Alan Champion, Andreas König, John
564 Macdonald, Matthias Neeracher, Jeff Okamoto, Michael Peppler,
565 Randal Schwartz, and Paul D. Smith sent corrections and additions.