This document describes differences between the 5.6.0 release and
the 5.7.0 release.
-=head1 Security Vulnerability
+=head1 Security Vulnerability Closed
A potential security vulnerability in the optional suidperl component
-of Perl has been identified. The suidperl is neither built nor
-installed by default. As of August the 20th, 2000, the only known
-vulnerable platform is Linux, most likely all Linux distributions.
-The CERT and various vendors have been alerted about the vulnerability.
+of Perl has been identified. suidperl is neither built nor installed
+by default. As of August the 20th, 2000, the only known vulnerable
+platform is Linux, most likely all Linux distributions. CERT and
+various vendors have been alerted about the vulnerability.
The problem was caused by Perl trying to report a suspected security
-exploit attempt using an external program, /bin/mail. In Linux
+exploit attempt using an external program, /bin/mail. On Linux
platforms the /bin/mail program had an undocumented feature which gave
-access to a root shell, resulting in a serious compromise, instead of
-reporting the exploit attempt. If you don't have /bin/mail or if you
-have 'safe suid scripts' or if you haven't installed the suidperl, you
+access to a root shell, resulting in a serious compromise instead of
+reporting the exploit attempt. If you don't have /bin/mail, or if you
+have 'safe setuid scripts', or if suidperl is not installed, you
are safe.
The exploit attempt reporting feature has been completely removed from
the Perl 5.7.0 release, so that particular vulnerability isn't there
anymore. However, further security vulnerabilities are,
unfortunately, always possible. The suidperl code is being reviewed
-and if deemed too risky to continue being supported, in the extreme
-case it may be completely removed in future releases. In any case,
-suidperl should only be used by security experts who know exactly what
-they are doing and why they are using suidperl instead of some other solution.
-A good tool for similar needs is sudo: http://www.courtesan.com/sudo/
+and if deemed too risky to continue to be supported, it may be
+completely removed from future releases. In any case, suidperl should
+only be used by security experts who know exactly what they are doing
+and why they are using suidperl instead of some other solution such as
+sudo (see http://www.courtesan.com/sudo/).
=head1 Incompatible Changes
-=head2 Arrays Now Always Interpolate Into Double-Quoted Strings
+=over 4
+
+=item *
-Constructs like "foo@bar" now always assume the C<@bar> to be an array,
-regardless of whether it is known that C<@bar> is an array.
+Arrays now always interpolate into double-quoted strings:
+constructs like "foo@bar" now always assume C<@bar> is an array,
+whether or not the compiler has seen use of C<@bar>.
-=head2 bless(REF, REF) is now a fatal error
+=item *
The semantics of bless(REF, REF) were unclear and until someone proves
it to make some sense, it is forbidden.
-=head2 The eg/* Directory Removed
+=item *
The very dusty examples in the eg/ directory have been removed.
Suggestions for new shiny examples welcome but the main issue is that
-the examples need to be documented, tested, and--most importantly--maintained.
+the examples need to be documented, tested and (most importantly)
+maintained.
-=head2 The lib/chat2.pl
+=item *
The obsolete chat2 library that should never have been allowed
to escape the laboratory has been decommissioned.
-=head2 Unimplemented (But Recognized) POSIX Regex Features Now Fatal
+=item *
The unimplemented POSIX regex features [[.cc.]] and [[=c=]] are still
-recognized but now cause fatal errors. The previous behaviour of
+recognised but now cause fatal errors. The previous behaviour of
ignoring them by default and warning if requested was unacceptable
since it, in a way, falsely promised that the features could be used.
-=head2 lstat(FILEHANDLE) now warns
+=item *
lstat(FILEHANDLE) now gives a warning because the operation makes no sense.
In future releases this may become a fatal error.
-=head2 Obsolete String Comparison Operators Removed
+=item *
-The long since deprecated uppercase aliases for the string comparison
+The long deprecated uppercase aliases for the string comparison
operators (EQ, NE, LT, LE, GE, GT) have now been removed.
-=head2 The Regular Expression Submatches Are Now Unset When Backtracking
+=item *
The regular expression captured submatches ($1, $2, ...) are now
-consistently unset if the match fails, instead of leaving false
+more consistently unset if the match fails, instead of leaving false
data lying around in them.
-=head2 tr///CU Removed, Not To Return
+=item *
The tr///C and tr///U features have been removed and will not return;
the interface was a mistake. Sorry about that. For similar
functionality, see pack('U0', ...) and pack('C0', ...).
+=back
+
=head1 Core Enhancements
=over 4
=item *
-no Module; now works even if there is no "sub unimport" in the Module.
+C<no Module;> now works even if there is no "sub unimport" in the Module.
=item *
=item *
-C<pack('U0a*', ...)> can now be used to force the string to UTF8.
+C<pack('U0a*', ...)> can now be used to force a string to UTF8.
=item *
=item *
-File::Temp, version 0.10, allows one to create temporary files
-and directories in an easy, portable, and secure way.
+File::Temp allows one to create temporary files and directories in an
+easy, portable, and secure way.
=item *
-The Storable extension, version 0.7.2, released the 14th of August
-2000, has been added to the Perl distribution. Storable gives
-persistence to Perl data structures by allowing the storage and
-retrieval of Perl data to and from files in a fast and compact binary
-format.
+Storable gives persistence to Perl data structures by allowing the
+storage and retrieval of Perl data to and from files in a fast and
+compact binary format.
=back
=item *
-The attributes::reftype() now works on tied arguments.
+The following independently supported modules have been updated to
+newer versions from CPAN: CGI, CPAN, DB_File, File::Spec, Getopt::Long,
+the podlators bundle, Pod::LaTeX, Pod::Parser, Term::ANSIColor, Test.
=item *
-AutoLoader can now be `stopped' by
-
- no AutoLoader;
+Bug fixes and minor enhancements have been applied to B::Deparse,
+Data::Dumper, IO::Poll, IO::Socket::INET, Math::BigFloat, Math::Complex,
+re, SelfLoader, Sys::SysLog, Test::Harness, Text::Wrap, UNIVERSAL.
=item *
-B::Deparse now understands sub attributes.
-
-=item *
-
-Data::Dumper now works on negative number on 32-bit platforms where IV
-(the Perl's integer datatype) is greater than 32 bits. Also, large
-unsigned numbers are now dumped as such, not as large negative numbers.
-
-=item *
-
-CGI has been updated to version 2.72, released
-the 20th of August 2000.
-
-=item *
-
-CPAN has been updated to version 1.57, released
-the 16th of August 2000.
+The attributes::reftype() now works on tied arguments.
=item *
-DB_File has been updated to version 1.73, released the
-27th of April 2000.
+AutoLoader can now be disabled with C<no AutoLoader;>,
=item *
=item *
-File::Find now has pre- and postprocessing callbacks.
-It also correctly changes directories when chasing symbolic links.
-Callbacks doing (naughtily) "next;" instead of "return;" now work.
+File::Find now has pre- and post-processing callbacks. It also
+correctly changes directories when chasing symbolic links. Callbacks
+(naughtily) exiting with "next;" instead of "return;" now work.
=item *
=item *
-File::Spec has been updated to version 0.82, released the
-1st of July 2000.
-
-=item *
-
-Getopt::Long has been updated to version 2.23_05, released the 2nd of
-August 2000.
-
-=item *
-
-IO::Poll has been thoroughly fixed.
-
-=item *
-
-IO::Socket::INET now works when given an unknown service name with
-a port number.
-
-=item *
-
IPC::Open3 now allows the use of numeric file descriptors.
=item *
=item *
-Math::BigFloat now more robust (fewer "uninitialized" warnings).
-
-=item *
-
-Math::Complex now handles extreme values (e.g. cplx(1E20, 1E30)) more
-gracefully.
-
-=item *
-
-The podlators bundle has been updated to version 1.02, released the
-25th of April 2000. It contains the modules Pod::Man 1.04, Pod::Text
-2.04, and modules Pod::Text::Color and Pod::Text::Termcap (no version
-numbers).
-
-=item *
-
-Pod::LaTeX has been updated to version 0.52, released the 15th of May
-2000. Note that this is a complete rewrite which translates pod much
-better, has many more options and much better documentation. It also
-now uses the Pod::Parser backend, meaning that Pod::LaTeX will stay
-abreast other pod translators.
-
-=item *
-
-Pod::Parser has been updated to version 1.17, released the 25th of
-July 2000. It contains the modules Pod::Checker 1.20, Pod::Find 0.21,
-Pod::InputObjects 1.13, Pod::ParseUtils 0.22, Pod::Parser 1.12,
-Pod::Select 1.13, and Pod::Usage 1.13.
-
-=item *
-
-The 'debug' subpragma the 're' pragma now produces cleaner output.
-
-=item *
-
-C<%INC> now localized in a Safe compartment so that use/require work.
-
-=item *
-
-SelfLoader no longer loses C<$@> in AUTOLOAD.
+C<%INC> now localised in a Safe compartment so that use/require work.
=item *
The Shell module now has an OO interface.
-=item *
-
-Sys::Syslog now works on domain sockets. Also, a forked child
-now exits correctly if it fails to open /dev/console.
-
-=item *
-
-Term::ANSIColor has been updated to version 1.03, released the 6th of
-August 2000.
+=back
-=item *
+=head1 Utility Changes
-The Test module has been updated to version 1.14, released the 21st of June
-1999. This is for all practical purposes identical to the previous release
-of Test included with the Perl distribution, 1.13, but upgrading the module
-stops the CPAN module from suggesting an upgrade.
+=over 4
=item *
-Test::Harness output now prettier on failed test.
+The Emacs perl mode (emacs/cperl-mode.el) has been updated to version 4.31.
=item *
-Text::Wrap::wtbrap now handles multiline strings properly.
+The long-dormant perl bytecompiler has been added to the list of
+installed utilities since the bytecompiler backend has been improved.
+The bytecompiler is still very much experimental, though.
=item *
-UNIVERSAL::isa no longer caches methods incorrectly.
-
-=back
-
-=head1 Utility Changes
-
-=head2 cperl-mode version 4.31
-
-The Emacs perl mode (emacs/cperl-mode.el) has been updated to version 4.31.
-
-=head2 perlbug
-
Perlbug is now much more robust. It also sends the bug report to perl.org,
not perl.com.
-=head2 perlcc now more cc-like and more robust
+=item *
The perlcc utility has been rewritten and its user interface (that is,
command line) is much more like that of the UNIX C compiler, cc.
-=head2 xsubpp now understands embedded pod
+=item *
The xsubpp utility for extension writers now understands POD
documentation embedded in the *.xs files.
-=head1 Improved Documentation
-
-=over 4
-
-=item *
-
-In many places say "alphanumeric characters" instead of "word
-characters" because that was what was meant.
-
-=item *
-
-Eradicate "array context" from the documentation and diagnostics.
-
-=item *
-
-The return values of failing backticks (`, qx{}) are now documented
-in perlop.
-
-=item *
-
-caller() return values now better documented.
-
-=item *
-
-SDBM_File, NDBM_File, ODBM_File, now tell about tying instead of
-glossing over.
-
-=item *
-
-Document that the C<$(> special variable does not interpolate
-in regular expressions.
-
-=item *
-
-The timeout unit of IO::Select is now documented to be identical
-to the timeout unit of the 4-arg select(), that is, (optionally
-fractional) seconds, or an undef to wait indefinitely.
-
-=item *
-
-Document the C<D> and C<d> magic types.
-
-=item *
-
-The ordering of PODs in perl.pod is now more sensible.
-
-=item *
-
-perlbook now only mentions the Camel III; all other book references
-have been moved to perlfaq2; some good known books added.
-
-=item *
-
-Numerous missing warning/error messages added to perldiag.
-
-=item *
-
-Changed the description of perl6 in perlfaq1.
-
-=item *
-
-perlhack much extended.
-
-=item *
-
-perltrap cleaned up.
-
-=item *
-
-Add perlxstut example for passing/returning refs to arrays.
-
-=item *
-
-POSIX module documentation embellished.
-
-=item *
-
-Clarified the status of shadow password support.
-
-=item *
-
-Reminded that preprocessors and source filters can alter
-your code before Perl sees it and therefore debugging
-can be somewhat surprising. ("I didn't write *that*!")
-
-=item *
-
-Removed incorrect documentation about implicit split to @_
-in list context, which never really worked in Perl 5 anyway.
-
-=item *
-
-Explain that split /^/ is split /^/m.
-
-=item *
-
-Added many more sprintf() examples in perlfunc.
-
-=item *
-
-Documented the handling of negative indices to tied arrays.
-
-=item *
-
-The C<$yday> in localtime()/gmtime() is 0..364, not 1..365.
-
-=item *
-
-Documented that tr() is not tr(1): that is, do not expect regular expressions.
-
-=item *
-
-Warn about the vagaries of UDP.
-
-=item *
-
-The uninitialized variable warnings now say "concat or string" or
-"join or string" instead of just "concat" or "join" since many users
-found the "concat" a bit surprising when they were doing "just"
-variable interpolation.
-
-=item *
-
-Documented that the values() are aliases, not copies.
-
=back
-=head2 New Documentation
+=head1 New Documentation
=over 4
=item *
perlposix-bc explains using Perl on the POSIX-BC platform
-(a mainframe platform).
+(an EBCDIC mainframe platform).
=item *
=head1 Performance Enhancements
+=over 4
+
+=item *
+
map() that changes the size of the list should now work faster.
+=back
+
=head1 Installation and Configuration Improvements
-=head2 INSTALL now explains 64-bit configuration.
+=head2 Generic Improvements
-In some platforms Perl can be configured to use 64-bit integers,
-allowing 4 billion times better...sorry, switched accidentally to
-marketdroid mode for a moment in there. (In platforms which are
-natively 64-bit this makes no difference.)
+=over 4
-=head2 Policy.sh policy change
+=item *
+
+INSTALL now explains how you can configure perl to use 64-bit
+integers even on non-64-bit platforms.
+
+=item *
-If you are reusing a Policy.sh file (see INSTALL) and you use
-Configure -Dprefix=/foo/bar and in the old Policy $prefix eq
-$siteprefix and $prefix eq $vendorprefix, all of them will now be
-changed to the new prefix, /foo/bar. (Previously only $prefix
-changed.) If you do not like this new behaviour, specify prefix,
-siteprefix, and vendorprefix explicitly.
+Policy.sh policy change: if you are reusing a Policy.sh file (see
+INSTALL) and you use Configure -Dprefix=/foo/bar and in the old
+Policy $prefix eq $siteprefix and $prefix eq $vendorprefix, all of
+them will now be changed to the new prefix, /foo/bar. (Previously
+only $prefix changed.) If you do not like this new behaviour,
+specify prefix, siteprefix, and vendorprefix explicitly.
-=head2 Additional Library Locations
+=item *
A new optional location for Perl libraries, otherlibdirs, is available.
It can be used for example for vendor add-ons without disturbing Perl's
own library directories.
-=head2 gcc automatically tried if 'cc' does not seem to be working
+=item *
In many platforms the vendor-supplied 'cc' is too stripped-down to
-build Perl (basically, the 'cc' doesn't do ANSI C). If this seems
-to be the case and the 'cc' does not seem to be the GNU C compiler
+build Perl (basically, 'cc' doesn't do ANSI C). If this seems
+to be the case and 'cc' does not seem to be the GNU C compiler
'gcc', an automatic attempt is made to find and use 'gcc' instead.
-=head2 If gcc seems to be from a different operating system release ...
-
-gcc needs to closely track the operating system release because gcc
-wants to have its own versions of the operating system header files
-fixed to be clean enough for gcc's tastes. Therefore using a gcc
-compiled for a different release of the operating system is often a
-bad idea. If Configure can find out the operating system release that
-was used to compile the gcc and that release is different from the one
-being used now, gcc gives a clearly visible warning that trouble may
-lie ahead.
-
-=head2 If no binary compatibility with 5.005 wanted, no 5.005 modules, either
+=item *
-If no binary compatibility with the 5.005 release is wanted, Configure
-does not suggest including the 5.005 modules in the @INC.
+gcc needs to closely track the operating system release to avoid
+build problems. If Configure finds that gcc was built for a different
+operating system release than is running, it now gives a clearly visible
+warning that there may be trouble ahead.
-=head2 Configuration and Installation fixes
+=item *
-=over 4
+If binary compatibility with the 5.005 release is not wanted, Configure
+no longer suggests including the 5.005 modules in @INC.
=item *
-Configure C<-S> can now run non-interactively
+Configure C<-S> can now run non-interactively.
=item *
-configure.gnu now works with options with whitespace in them
+configure.gnu now works with options with whitespace in them.
=item *
-installperl now outputs everything to STDERR
+installperl now outputs everything to STDERR.
=item *
=back
-=head1 Platform Specific Changes and Fixes
-
-=head2 BSDI 4.*
-
-Perl now works on post-4.0 BSD/OSes.
-
-=head2 All BSDs
-
-Setting the C<$0> now works (as much as possible; see perlvar for details).
-
-=head2 Cygwin
+=head1 Selected Bug Fixes
=over 4
=item *
-Numerous updates; currently synchronized with Cygwin 1.1.4.
-
-=back
-
-=head2 EPOC
-
-EPOC update after Perl 5.6.0. The EPOC port home page is at
-http://members.linuxstart.com/~oflebbe/perl/perl5.html
-
-=head2 FreeBSD 3.*
-
-Perl now works on post-3.0 FreeBSDs.
-
-=head2 HP-UX
-
-=over 4
+Several debugger fixes: exit code now reflects the script exit code,
+condition C<"0"> now treated correctly, the C<d> command now checks
+line number, the C<$.> no longer gets corrupted, all debugger output now
+goes correctly to the socket if RemotePort is set.
=item *
-Document that the C<perl -P> causes problems if one uses C<s/foo//>
-(because the HP C compiler does funny things to that // thinking it
-to be C++), document also the workaround.
+C<*foo{FORMAT}> now works.
=item *
-C<Configure -Duse64bitall> now almost works (one failing test).
-
-=back
-
-=head2 IRIX
-
-=over 4
+Lexical warnings now propagating correctly between scopes.
=item *
-Numerous compilation flag and hint enhancements.
+Line renumbering with eval and C<#line> now works.
=item *
-Accidental mixing of 32-bit and 64-bit libraries (a doomed attempt)
-made much harder.
-
-=back
-
-=head2 Linux
-
-=over 4
+Fixed numerous memory leaks, especially in eval "".
=item *
-Long doubles should now work (see INSTALL).
-
-=back
-
-=head2 MacOS Classic
-
-=over 4
+Modulus of unsigned numbers now works (4063328477 % 65535 used to
+return 27406, instead of 27047).
=item *
-Compilation of the standard Perl distribution in MacOS Classic should
-now work--assuming you have the Metrowerks development environment and
-the missing Mac-specific toolkit bits, contact the macperl mailing
-list for details.
-
-=back
-
-=head2 MPE/iX
-
-MPE/iX update after Perl 5.6.0. The Perl/iX home page is at
-http://www.bixby.org/mark/perlix.html
-
-=head2 NetBSD/sparc
-
-Perl now works on NetBSD/sparc.
-
-=head2 OS/2
-
-=over 4
+Some "not a number" warnings introduced in 5.6.0 eliminated to be
+more compatible with 5.005. Infinity is now recognised as a number.
=item *
-Now works with usethreads (see INSTALL).
-
-=back
-
-=head2 Solaris
-
-=over 4
+our() variables will not cause "will not stay shared" warnings.
=item *
-64-bitness using the Sun Workshop compiler now works.
-
-=back
-
-=head2 Tru64 (aka Digital UNIX, aka DEC OSF/1)
-
-=over 4
+pack "Z" now correctly terminates the string with "\0".
=item *
-Allow compiling with gcc (previously explicitly forbidden). Compiling
-with gcc still not recommended because buggy code results, even with
-gcc 2.95.2.
+Fix password routines which in some shadow password platforms
+(e.g. HP-UX) caused getpwent() to return every other entry.
=item *
-The operating system version letter now recorded in $Config{osvers}.
-
-=back
-
-=head2 Unicos
-
-=over 4
+printf() no longer resets the numeric locale to "C".
=item *
-Fixed various alignment problems that lead into core dumps either
-during build or later.
+C<q(a\\b)> now parses correctly as C<'a\\b'>.
=item *
-no longer dying on math errors in runtime.
+Printing quads (64-bit integers) with printf/sprintf now works
+without the q L ll prefixes (assuming you are on a quad-capable platform).
=item *
-Now using full quad integers (64 bits), previously was using
-only 43 bit integers for speed.
-
-=back
-
-=head2 VMS
-
-=over 4
+Regular expressions on references and overloaded scalars now work.
=item *
-chdir() now works better despite a CRT bug.
+scalar() now forces scalar context even when used in void context.
=item *
-
-Now works with MULTIPLICITY (see INSTALL).
+
+sort() arguments are now compiled in the right wantarray context
+(they were accidentally using the context of the sort() itself).
=item *
-Now works with Perl's malloc.
-
-=back
-
-=head2 Windows
-
-=over 4
+Changed the POSIX character class C<[[:space:]]> to include the (very
+rare) vertical tab character. Added a new POSIX-ish character class
+C<[[:blank:]]> which stands for horizontal whitespace (currently,
+the space and the tab).
=item *
-accept() no longer leaks memory.
+$AUTOLOAD, sort(), lock(), and spawning subprocesses
+in multiple threads simultaneously are now thread-safe.
=item *
-Better chdir() return value for a non-existent directory.
+Allow read-only string on left hand side of non-modifying tr///.
=item *
-New %ENV entries now propagate to subprocesses.
-
-=item *
+Several Unicode fixes (but still not perfect).
-$ENV{LIB} now used to search for libs under Visual C.
+=over 8
=item *
-A failed (pseudo)fork now returns undef and sets errno to EAGAIN.
+BOMs (byte order marks) in the beginning of Perl files
+(scripts, modules) should now be transparently skipped.
+UTF16 encoded Perl files should now be read correctly.
=item *
-Allow REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in the registry.
+The character tables have been updated to new Unicode 3.0 features.
=item *
-Can now send() from all threads, not just the first one.
+chr() for values greater than 127 now create utf8 when under use
+utf8.
=item *
-Fake signal handling reenabled, bugs and all.
+Comparing with utf8 data does not magically upgrade non-utf8 data into
+utf8.
=item *
-Less stack reserved per thread so that more threads can run
-concurrently. (still 16M perl thread)
+C<IsAlnum>, C<IsAlpha>, and C<IsWord> now match titlecase.
=item *
-C<File::Spec->tmpdir()> now prefers C:/temp over /tmp
-(works better when perl running as service).
+Concatenation with the C<.> operator or via variable interpolation,
+C<eq>, C<substr>, C<reverse>, C<quotemeta>, the C<x> operator,
+substitution with C<s///>, single-quoted UTF8, should now work--in
+theory.
=item *
-Better UNC path handling under ithreads.
+The C<tr///> operator now works I<slightly> better but is still rather
+broken. Note that the C<tr///CU> functionality has been removed (but
+see pack('U0', ...)).
=item *
-wait() and waitpid() now work much better.
+Zero entries were missing from the Unicode classes like C<IsDigit>.
+
+=back
=item *
-winsock handle leak fixed.
+UNIVERSAL::isa no longer caches methods incorrectly. (This broke
+the Tk extension with 5.6.0.)
=back
-=head1 Selected Bug Fixes
-
-The following is by no means a comprehensive list of all the
-numerous bug fixes.
+=head2 Platform Specific Changes and Fixes
=over 4
=item *
-Redefining constant subroutines using eval (again) warns.
+BSDI 4.*
-=item *
-
-Several debugger fixes: exit code now reflects the script exit code,
-condition C<"0"> now treated correctly, the C<d> command now checks
-line number, the C<$.> no longer gets corrupted, all debugger output now
-goes correctly to the socket if RemotePort is set.
+Perl now works on post-4.0 BSD/OSes.
=item *
-C<*foo{FORMAT}> now works.
-
-=item *
+All BSDs
-Lexical warnings now propagating correctly between scopes.
+Setting C<$0> now works (as much as possible; see perlvar for details).
=item *
-Line renumbering with eval and C<#line> now works.
+Cygwin
-=item *
-
-Module name now mandatory after the C<-M> switch.
+Numerous updates; currently synchronised with Cygwin 1.1.4.
=item *
-Fixed numerous memory leaks, especially in eval "".
+EPOC
-=item *
-
-Modulus of unsigned numbers now works (4063328477 % 65535 used to
-return 27406, instead of 27047).
+EPOC update after Perl 5.6.0. See README.epoc.
=item *
-msgrcv() no longer warns about uninitialized input scalar.
+FreeBSD 3.*
-=item *
-
-Some "not a number" warnings introduced in 5.6.0 eliminated to be
-more compatible with 5.005. Infinity is now recognized as a number.
-
-=item *
-
-our() variables will not cause "will not stay shared" warnings
-
-=item *
-
-pack "Z" now correctly terminates the string with an "\0".
+Perl now works on post-3.0 FreeBSDs.
=item *
-Fix password routines which in some shadow password platforms
-(e.g. HP-UX) caused getpwent() to return every other entry.
+HP-UX
-=item *
-
-POSIX::STDERR_FILENO (not POSIX::STRERR_FILENO).
+README.hpux updated; C<Configure -Duse64bitall> now almost works.
=item *
-printf() no longer resets the numeric locale to "C".
-
-=item *
+IRIX
-C<q(a\\b)> now parses as C<'a\\b'>.
+Numerous compilation flag and hint enhancements; accidental mixing
+of 32-bit and 64-bit libraries (a doomed attempt) made much harder.
=item *
-In quad (64-bit) platforms numbers now stay integers longer
-(as opposed to converting automatically to floating point numbers).
-
-=item *
+Linux
-Printing quads (64-bit integers) with printf/sprintf works now
-without q L ll prefixes (assuming you are on a quad-capable platform).
+Long doubles should now work (see INSTALL).
=item *
-Regular expressions on references and overloaded scalars now work.
-
-=item *
+MacOS Classic
-Multiline matching of C<"a\nxb\n" =~ /(?!\A)x/m> now works.
+Compilation of the standard Perl distribution in MacOS Classic should
+now work if you have the Metrowerks development environment and
+the missing Mac-specific toolkit bits. Contact the macperl mailing
+list for details.
=item *
-C</(?i)/> now works.
-
-=item *
+MPE/iX
-C</x{ab}/> now works.
+MPE/iX update after Perl 5.6.0. See README.mpeix.
=item *
-scalar() now forces scalar context even when used in void context.
-
-=item *
+NetBSD/sparc
-All the documented Shell.pm examples now work.
-
-=item *
-
-sort() arguments are now compiled in the right wantarray context
-(they were accidentally using the context of the sort() itself).
+Perl now works on NetBSD/sparc.
=item *
-Changed the POSIX character class C<[[:space:]]> to include the (very
-rare) vertical tabulator character. Added a new POSIX-ish character
-class C<[[:blank:]]> which stands for horizontal whitespace (currently,
-the space and the tabulator).
-
-=item *
+OS/2
-sprintf() format specs like C<%v-*d> now work.
+Now works with usethreads (see INSTALL).
=item *
-The (nonsensical) C<%#p> format made illegal.
-
-=item *
+Solaris
-C<${$1}> now works (again).
+64-bitness using the Sun Workshop compiler now works.
=item *
-$AUTOLOAD, sort(), lock(), and spawning subprocesses
-in multiple thread simultaneously are now thread-safe.
-
-=item *
+Tru64 (aka Digital UNIX, aka DEC OSF/1)
-Allow read-only string on left hand side of non-modifying tr///.
+The operating system version letter now recorded in $Config{osvers}.
+Allow compiling with gcc (previously explicitly forbidden). Compiling
+with gcc still not recommended because buggy code results, even with
+gcc 2.95.2.
=item *
-Several Unicode fixes (but still not perfect).
-
-BOMs (byte order marks) in the beginning of Perl files
-(scripts, modules) should now be transparently skipped.
-UTF16 encoded Perl files should now be read correctly.
-
-The character tables have been updated to new Unicode 3.0 features.
-
-chr() for values greater than 127 now create utf8 when under use
-utf8.
+Unicos
-Comparing with utf8 data does not magically upgrade non-utf8 data into
-utf8.
-
-C<IsAlnum>, C<IsAlpha>, and C<IsWord> now match titlecase.
-
-Concatenation with the C<.> operator or via variable interpolation,
-C<eq>, C<substr>, C<reverse>, C<quotemeta>, the C<x> operator,
-substitution with C<s///>, single-quoted UTF8, should now work--in
-theory.
-
-The C<tr///> operator now works I<slightly> better but is still rather
-broken. Note that the C<tr///CU> functionality has been removed (but
-see pack('U0', ...)).
-
-Zero entries were missing from the Unicode classes like C<IsDigit>.
-
-=item *
-
-Unsignedness could disappear from a scalar causing later numeric
-comparisons to fail.
+Fixed various alignment problems that lead into core dumps either
+during build or later; no longer dies on math errors at runtime;
+now using full quad integers (64 bits), previously was using
+only 46 bit integers for speed.
=item *
-vec() now drops numericalness.
-
-=back
-
-=head1 New or Changed Diagnostics
-
-All regular expression compilation error messages are now hopefully
-easier to understand both because the error message now comes before
-the failed regex and because the point of failure is now clearly
-marked.
-
-The various "opened only for", "on closed", "never opened" warnings
-drop the C<main::> prefix for filehandles in the C<main> package,
-for example C<STDIN> instead of <main::STDIN>.
+VMS
-=over 4
+chdir() now works better despite a CRT bug; now works with MULTIPLICITY
+(see INSTALL); now works with Perl's malloc.
=item *
-(perhaps you forgot to load "%s"?)
+Windows
-(F) This is an educated guess made in conjunction with the message
-"Can't locate object method \"%s\" via package \"%s\"". It often means
-that a method requires a package that has not been loaded.
+=over 8
=item *
-Ambiguous range in transliteration operator
-
-(F) You wrote something like C<tr/a-z-0//> which doesn't mean anything at
-all. To include a C<-> character in a transliteration, put it either
-first or last. (In the past, C<tr/a-z-0//> was synonymous with
-C<tr/a-y//>, which was probably not what you would have expected.)
+accept() no longer leaks memory.
=item *
-The "Unrecognized escape" warning has been extended to include C<\8>,
-C<\9>, and C<\_>. There is no need to escape any of the C<\w> characters.
-
-=back
-
-=head1 New tests
-
-=over 4
+Better chdir() return value for a non-existent directory.
=item *
-lib/b tests the various compiler backends (see L<perlcompile>).
+New %ENV entries now propagate to subprocesses.
=item *
-lib/cgi-pretty tests CGI pretty printing.
+$ENV{LIB} now used to search for libs under Visual C.
=item *
-lib/ftmp-*.t test File::Temp.
+A failed (pseudo)fork now returns undef and sets errno to EAGAIN.
=item *
-lib/gol-oo tests Getopt::Long objected-oriented interface.
+Allow REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in the registry.
=item *
-lib/peek tests Devel::Peek.
+Can now send() from all threads, not just the first one.
=item *
-lib/selfloader tests SelfLoader.
+Fake signal handling reenabled, bugs and all.
=item *
-lib/syslog tests Sys::Syslog.
+Less stack reserved per thread so that more threads can run
+concurrently. (still 16M perl thread)
=item *
-op/bless tests bless().
+C<File::Spec->tmpdir()> now prefers C:/temp over /tmp
+(works better when perl running as service).
=item *
-op/stash tests the "my Package ..." feature.
+Better UNC path handling under ithreads.
=item *
-op/regmesg exercises all various regex errors.
+wait() and waitpid() now work much better.
=item *
-pod/find tests Pod::Find.
+winsock handle leak fixed.
=back
-=head2 Improved Tests
-
-=over 4
-
-=item *
+=head1 New or Changed Diagnostics
-op/sprintf coverage is now much more comprehensive.
+All regular expression compilation error messages are now hopefully
+easier to understand both because the error message now comes before
+the failed regex and because the point of failure is now clearly
+marked.
-=item *
+The various "opened only for", "on closed", "never opened" warnings
+drop the C<main::> prefix for filehandles in the C<main> package,
+for example C<STDIN> instead of <main::STDIN>.
-op/taint now continues on failed shmget().
+The "Unrecognized escape" warning has been extended to include C<\8>,
+C<\9>, and C<\_>. There is no need to escape any of the C<\w> characters.
-=item *
+=head1 Changed Internals
-lib/sysfs.t now continues even if SIXFSZ happens.
+=over 4
=item *
-lib/syslog.t now works without sockets.
-
-=back
-
-=head1 Changed Internals
-
-=head2 apidoc
-
perlapi.pod (a companion to perlguts) now attempts to document the
internal API.
-=head2 microperl
+=item *
-There is now a way to build a really minimal perl called microperl.
+You can now build a really minimal perl called microperl.
Building microperl does not require even running Configure;
C<make -f Makefile.micro> should be enough. Beware: microperl makes
many assumptions, some of which may be too bold; the resulting
executable may crash or otherwise misbehave in wondrous ways. For
careful hackers only.
-=head2 Publicize More Functions
+=item *
-Added rsignal(), whichsig(), do_join() to the publicized API.
+Added rsignal(), whichsig(), do_join() to the publicised API.
-=head2 Propagating Exception Objects via Perl_croak() IN XS code
+=item *
-Made possible to propagate customized exceptions via croak()ing.
+Made possible to propagate customised exceptions via croak()ing.
-=head2 UTF8 Interfaces
+=item *
Added is_utf8_char(), is_utf8_string(), bytes_to_utf8(), and utf8_to_bytes().
-=head2 xsub attributes
+=item *
Now xsubs can have attributes just like subs.
+=back
+
=head1 Known Problems
=head2 Unicode Support Still Far From Perfect
=head2 Building Extensions Can Fail Because Of Largefiles
Certain extensions like mod_perl and BSD::Resource are known to have
-issues with `largefiles', a change brought by Perl 5.6.0 in where file
-offsets are by default 64 bits wide (assuming the platform supports
-such large files). Modules may fail to compile at all or compile and
-work incorrectly. Currently there is no good solution for the problem
-but Configure now stores the flags and libraries that affect the
-largefileness to the %Config hash, the extensions that are having
+issues with `largefiles', a change brought by Perl 5.6.0 in which file
+offsets default to 64 bits wide where supported. Modules may fail to
+compile at all or compile and work incorrectly. Currently there is no
+good solution for the problem, but Configure now stores the relevant
+flags and libraries in the %Config hash so the extensions that are having
problems can try configuring themselves without the largefileness.
This is admittedly not a clean solution.
-=head1 Obsolete Diagnostics
+=over 4
+
+=item In string, @%s now must be written as \@%s
+
+(F) It used to be that Perl would try to guess whether you wanted an
+array interpolated or a literal @. It did this when the string was
+first used at runtime. Now strings are parsed at compile time, and
+ambiguous instances of @ must be disambiguated, either by prepending a
+backslash to indicate a literal, or by declaring (or using) the array
+within the program before the string (lexically). (I<Someday it will
+simply assume that an unbackslashed @ interpolates an array.>)
+
+=back
+
+That day has arrived.
=head1 Reporting Bugs
projects / p5sagit/p5-mst-13.2.git / blobdiff