This document describes differences between the 5.6.0 release and
the 5.7.0 release.
-=head1 Core Enhancements
-
-=over 4
-
-=item *
-
-C<perl -d:Module=arg,arg,arg> now works (previously one couldn't pass
-in multiple arguments.)
-
-=item *
-
-Infinity (in numerical context, for example as "Inf", the exact string
-representation is platform-dependent) doesn't cause "not a number"
-warnings.
-
-=item *
-
-my __PACKAGE__ now works.
-
-=item *
-
-no Module; now works even if there is no "sub unimport" in the Module.
-
-=item *
-
-The numerical comparison <=> now returns C<undef> if either operand is a NaN.
-Previously the behaviour was unspecified.
-
-=item *
-
-C<pack('U0a*', ...)> can now be used to force the string to UTF8.
-
-=item *
-
-prototype(\&) is now available.
-
-=item *
-
-sort() is now re-entrant (sort() can call sort(), in other words)
-
-=back
-
-=head1 Modules and Pragmata
-
-=head2 New Modules
-
-The Storable extnesion, 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 to store and retrieve
-Perl data to and from files in fast and compact binary format.
-
-=head2 Updated And Improved Modules and Pragmata
-
-=over 4
-
-=item *
-
-The attributes::reftype() now works on tied arguments.
-
-=item *
-
-AutoLoader can now be `stopped' by
-
- no AutoLoader;
-
-=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.
-
-=item *
-
-DB_File has been updated to version 1.73, released the
-27th of April 2000.
-
-=item *
-
-The English module can now be used without the infamous performance
-hit by saying
-
- use English '-no_performance_hit';
-
-(Assuming, of course, that one doesn't need the troublesome variables
-C<$`>, C<$&>, or C<$'>.) Also, introduce C<@LAST_MATCH_START> and
-C<@LAST_MATCH_END> English aliases for C<@-> and C<@+>.
-
-=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.
-
-=item *
-
-File::Glob::globI() rename to File::Glob::bsd_glob() to avoid
-prototype mismatch with CORE::glob().
-
-=item *
-
-File::Spec has been updated to version 0.82, released the
-1st of July 2000.
+=head1 Security Vulnerability Closed
-=item *
-
-File::Temp has been updated to version 0.10 (unpublished as the 20th
-of August 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 filedescriptors.
-
-=item *
-
-use lib now works identically to @INC. Removing directories
-with 'no lib' now works.
-
-=item *
-
-Math::BigFloat now more robust (less "uninitialized" warnings).
-
-=item *
-
-Math::Complex now handles extreme values (e.g. 1E20-1E30i more) 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.
-
-=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 subpragma 'debug' of the 're' pragma now produces cleaner output.
-
-=item *
-
-C<%INC> now localized in a Safe compartment so that use/require work.
-
-=item *
-
-SelfLoader no more loses C<$@> in AUTOLOAD.
-
-=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.
-
-=item *
-
-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.
-
-=item *
-
-Test::Harness output now prettier on failed test.
-
-=item *
-
-Text::Wrap::wtbrap now handles multiline strings properly.
-
-=item *
-
-UNIVERSAL::isa no more 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
-
-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.
+A potential security vulnerability in the optional suidperl component
+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.
-=head2 xsubpp now understands embedded pod
+The problem was caused by Perl trying to report a suspected security
+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 setuid scripts', or if suidperl is not installed, you
+are safe.
-The xsubpp utility for extension writers now understands POD
-documentation embedded in the *.xs files.
+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 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 Improved Documentation
+=head1 Incompatible Changes
=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 a failing backtick (`, 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 *
-
-Add an URL for FSF in README.
-
-=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 sensical.
-
-=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 *
-
-Tell what's 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 *
-
-Clarify the status of shadow password support.
-
-=item *
-
-Remind 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*!")
+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>.
=item *
-Remove incorrect documentation about implicit split to @_
-in list context, which never really worked in Perl 5 anyway.
-
-=item *
-
-Tell that split /^/ is split /^/m.
+The semantics of bless(REF, REF) were unclear and until someone proves
+it to make some sense, it is forbidden.
=item *
-Many more sprintf() examples in perlfunc.
+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.
=item *
-Document the handling of negative indices to tied arrays.
+The obsolete chat2 library that should never have been allowed
+to escape the laboratory has been decommissioned.
=item *
-The C<$yday> in localtime()/gmtime() is 0..364, not 1..365.
+The unimplemented POSIX regex features [[.cc.]] and [[=c=]] are still
+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.
=item *
-Document that tr() is not tr(1): that is, do not expect regular expressions.
+lstat(FILEHANDLE) now gives a warning because the operation makes no sense.
+In future releases this may become a fatal error.
=item *
-Warn about the vagaries of UDP.
+The long deprecated uppercase aliases for the string comparison
+operators (EQ, NE, LT, LE, GE, GT) have now been removed.
=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.
+The regular expression captured submatches ($1, $2, ...) are now
+more consistently unset if the match fails, instead of leaving false
+data lying around in them.
=item *
-Document that the values() are copies, not aliases.
+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
-=head2 New Documentation
+=head1 Core Enhancements
=over 4
=item *
-perl56delta details the changes between the 5.005 release and the
-release 5.6.0.
-
-=item *
-
-perl56delta is a Perl debugging tutorial.
-
-=item *
-
-perlebcdic contains considerations for running Perl on EBCDIC platforms.
-Note that unfortunately EBCDIC platforms that used to supported back in
-Perl 5.005 are still unsupported by Perl 5.7; the plan, however, is to
-bring them back to the fold.
-
-=item *
-
-perlnewmod tells about writing and submitting a new module.
-
-=item *
-
-perlposix-bc explains using Perl on the POSIX-BC platform
-(a mainframe platform).
-
-=item *
-
-perlretut is a regular expression tutorial.
-
-=item *
-
-perlrequick is regular expressions quick-start guide.
-Yes, much quicker than perlretut.
-
-=item *
-
-perlutil explains the command line utilities packaged with the Perl
-distribution.
-
-=back
-
-=head1 Security Vulnerability
-
-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.
-
-The problem was caused by Perl trying to report a suspected security
-exploit attempt using an external program, /bin/mail. In 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
-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 are they using suidperl instead of some other solution.
-A good tool for similar needs is sudo: http://www.courtesan.com/sudo/
-
-=head1 Performance Enhancements
-
-map() that changes the size of the list should now work faster.
-
-=head1 Installation and Configuration Improvements
-
-=head2 INSTALL now explains 64-bit configuration.
-
-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.)
-
-=head2 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
-did change.) If you do not like this new behaviour, specify
-prefix, siteprefix, and vendorprefix explicitly.
-
-=head2 Additional Library Locations
-
-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
-
-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
-'gcc', an automatic attempt is made to find and use 'gcc' instead.
-
-=head2 If gcc seems to be from 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 compatibilty with 5.005 wanted, no 5.005 modules, either
-
-If no binary compatibility with the 5.005 release is wanted, Configure
-does not suggest including the 5.005 modules in the @INC.
-
-=head2 Configuration and Installation fixes
-
-=over 4
+C<perl -d:Module=arg,arg,arg> now works (previously one couldn't pass
+in multiple arguments.)
=item *
-Configure C<-S> can now run non-interactively
+my __PACKAGE__ now works.
=item *
-configure.gnu now works with options with whitespace in them
+C<no Module;> now works even if there is no "sub unimport" in the Module.
=item *
-installperl now outputs everything to STDERR
+The numerical comparison operators return C<undef> if either operand
+is a NaN. Previously the behaviour was unspecified.
=item *
-$Config{byteorder} is now computed dynamically (this is more robust
-with "fat binaries" where an executable image contains binaries for
-more than one binary platform.)
-
-=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
-
-=over 4
+C<pack('U0a*', ...)> can now be used to force a string to UTF8.
=item *
-Numerous updates; currently synchronized with Cygwin 1.1.4.
+prototype(\&) is now available.
=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.
+=head1 Modules and Pragmata
-=head2 HP-UX
+=head2 New Modules
=over 4
=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.
+File::Temp allows one to create temporary files and directories in an
+easy, portable, and secure way.
=item *
-C<Configure -Duse64bitall> now almost works (one failing test).
+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
-=head2 IRIX
+=head2 Updated And Improved Modules and Pragmata
=over 4
=item *
-Numerous compilation flag and hint enhancements.
+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 *
-Accidental mixing of 32-bit and 64-bit libraries (a doomed attempt)
-made much harder.
+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.
-=back
-
-=head2 Linux
+=item *
-=over 4
+The attributes::reftype() now works on tied arguments.
=item *
-Long doubles should now work (see INSTALL).
+AutoLoader can now be disabled with C<no AutoLoader;>,
-=back
+=item *
-=head2 MacOS Classic
+The English module can now be used without the infamous performance
+hit by saying
-=over 4
+ use English '-no_performance_hit';
+
+(Assuming, of course, that one doesn't need the troublesome variables
+C<$`>, C<$&>, or C<$'>.) Also, introduce C<@LAST_MATCH_START> and
+C<@LAST_MATCH_END> English aliases for C<@-> and C<@+>.
=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.
+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.
-=back
+=item *
-=head2 MPE/iX
+File::Glob::glob() renamed to File::Glob::bsd_glob() to avoid
+prototype mismatch with CORE::glob().
-MPE/iX update after Perl 5.6.0. The Perl/iX home page is at
-http://www.bixby.org/mark/perlix.html
+=item *
-=head2 NetBSD/sparc
+IPC::Open3 now allows the use of numeric file descriptors.
-Perl now works on NetBSD/sparc.
+=item *
-=head2 OS/2
+use lib now works identically to @INC. Removing directories
+with 'no lib' now works.
-=over 4
+=item *
+
+C<%INC> now localised in a Safe compartment so that use/require work.
=item *
-Now works with usethreads (see INSTALL).
+The Shell module now has an OO interface.
=back
-=head2 Solaris
+=head1 Utility Changes
=over 4
=item *
-64-bitness using the Sun Workshop compiler now works.
+The Emacs perl mode (emacs/cperl-mode.el) has been updated to version 4.31.
-=back
+=item *
-=head2 Tru64 (aka Digital UNIX, aka DEC OSF/1)
+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.
-=over 4
+=item *
+
+Perlbug is now much more robust. It also sends the bug report to perl.org,
+not perl.com.
=item *
-Allow compiling with gcc (previously explicitly forbidden). Compiling
-with gcc still not recommended because buggy code results, even with
-gcc 2.95.2.
+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.
=item *
-The operating system version letter now recorded in $Config{osvers}.
+The xsubpp utility for extension writers now understands POD
+documentation embedded in the *.xs files.
=back
-=head2 Unicos
+=head1 New Documentation
=over 4
=item *
-Fixed various alignment problems that lead into core dumps either
-during build or later.
+perl56delta details the changes between the 5.005 release and the
+5.6.0 release.
=item *
-No more dying on math errors in runtime.
+perldebtut is a Perl debugging tutorial.
=item *
-Now using full quad integers (64 bits), previously was using
-only 43 bit integers for speed.
+perlebcdic contains considerations for running Perl on EBCDIC platforms.
+Note that unfortunately EBCDIC platforms that used to supported back in
+Perl 5.005 are still unsupported by Perl 5.7.0; the plan, however, is to
+bring them back to the fold.
-=back
+=item *
-=head2 VMS
+perlnewmod tells about writing and submitting a new module.
-=over 4
+=item *
+
+perlposix-bc explains using Perl on the POSIX-BC platform
+(an EBCDIC mainframe platform).
=item *
-chdir() now works better despite a CRT bug.
+perlretut is a regular expression tutorial.
=item *
-Now works with MULTIPLICITY (see INSTALL).
+perlrequick is a regular expressions quick-start guide.
+Yes, much quicker than perlretut.
=item *
-Now works with Perl's malloc.
+perlutil explains the command line utilities packaged with the Perl
+distribution.
=back
-=head2 Windows
+=head1 Performance Enhancements
=over 4
=item *
-accept() no more leaks memory.
+map() that changes the size of the list should now work faster.
-=item *
+=back
-Better chdir() return value for a non-existent directory.
+=head1 Installation and Configuration Improvements
-=item *
+=head2 Generic Improvements
-New %ENV entries now propagate to subprocesses.
+=over 4
=item *
-$ENV{LIB} now used to search for libs under Visual C.
+INSTALL now explains how you can configure perl to use 64-bit
+integers even on non-64-bit platforms.
=item *
-A failed (pseudo)fork now returns undef and sets errno to EAGAIN.
+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 $prefix changed.) If you do not like this new behaviour,
+specify prefix, siteprefix, and vendorprefix explicitly.
=item *
-Allow REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in the registry.
+A new optional location for Perl libraries, otherlibdirs, is available.
+It can be used for example for vendor add-ons without disturbing Perl's
+own library directories.
=item *
-Can now send() from all threads, not just the first one.
+In many platforms the vendor-supplied 'cc' is too stripped-down to
+build Perl (basically, 'cc' doesn't do ANSI C). If this seems
+to be the case and 'cc' does not seem to be the GNU C compiler
+'gcc', an automatic attempt is made to find and use 'gcc' instead.
=item *
-Fake signal handling reenabled, bugs and all.
+gcc needs to closely track the operating system release to avoid
+build problems. If Configure finds that gcc was built for a different
+operating system release than is running, it now gives a clearly visible
+warning that there may be trouble ahead.
=item *
-Less stack reserved per thread so that more threads can run
-concurrently. (still 16M perl thread)
+If binary compatibility with the 5.005 release is not wanted, Configure
+no longer suggests including the 5.005 modules in @INC.
=item *
-C<File::Spec->tmpdir()> now prefers C:/temp over /tmp
-(works better when perl running as service).
+Configure C<-S> can now run non-interactively.
=item *
-Better UNC path handling under ithreads.
+configure.gnu now works with options with whitespace in them.
=item *
-wait() and waitpid() now work much better.
+installperl now outputs everything to STDERR.
=item *
-winsock handle leak fixed.
+$Config{byteorder} is now computed dynamically (this is more robust
+with "fat binaries" where an executable image contains binaries for
+more than one binary platform.)
=back
=head1 Selected Bug Fixes
-The following is by no means a comprehensive list of all the
-numerous bug fixes.
-
=over 4
=item *
-Redefining constant subroutines using eval (again) warns.
-
-=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<$.> no more gets corrupted, all debugger output now
+line number, the C<$.> no longer gets corrupted, all debugger output now
goes correctly to the socket if RemotePort is set.
=item *
=item *
-Module name now mandatory after the C<-M> switch.
-
-=item *
-
Fixed numerous memory leaks, especially in eval "".
=item *
-Moduli of unsigned numbers now works (4063328477 % 65535 used to
+Modulus of unsigned numbers now works (4063328477 % 65535 used to
return 27406, instead of 27047).
=item *
-msgrcv() no more warns about uninitialized input scalar.
-
-=item *
-
-Some "not a number" warnings introduce in 5.6.0 eliminated to be
-more compatible with 5.005.
+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 *
-out() variables will not cause "will not stay shared" warnings
+our() variables will not cause "will not stay shared" warnings.
=item *
-The pack "Z" now correctly terminates the string with an "\0".
+pack "Z" now correctly terminates the string with "\0".
=item *
=item *
-POSIX::STDERR_FILENO (not POSIX::STRERR_FILENO).
+printf() no longer resets the numeric locale to "C".
=item *
-printf() no more resets the numeric locale to "C".
+C<q(a\\b)> now parses correctly as C<'a\\b'>.
=item *
-C<q(a\\b)> now parses as C<'a\\b'>.
-
-=item *
-
-In quad (64-bit) platforms numbers now stay integers longer
-(as opposed to converting automatically to floating point numbers).
-
-=item *
-
-Printing quads (64-bit integers) with printfs/sprintf works now
-without q L ll prefixes (assuming you are on a quad-capable platform).
+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 *
=item *
-Multiline matching of C<"a\nxb\n" =~ /(?!\A)x/m> now works.
-
-=item *
-
-C</(?i)/> now works.
-
-=item *
-
-C</x{ab}/> now works.
-
-=item *
-
-scalar() now doesn't force scalar context when used in void context.
-
-=item *
-
-All the documented examples Shell.pm now work.
+scalar() now forces scalar context even when used in void context.
=item *
sort() arguments are now compiled in the right wantarray context
-(were accidentally using the context of the sort() itself).
+(they were accidentally using the context of the sort() itself).
=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 *
-
-sprintf() format specs like C<%v-*d> now work.
+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 *
-The (nonsensical) C<%#p> format made illegal.
+$AUTOLOAD, sort(), lock(), and spawning subprocesses
+in multiple threads simultaneously are now thread-safe.
=item *
-C<${$1}> now works (again).
+Allow read-only string on left hand side of non-modifying tr///.
=item *
-$AUTOLOAD, sort(), lock(), and spawning subprocesses
-in multiple thread simultaneously are now thread-safe.
-
-=item *
+Several Unicode fixes (but still not perfect).
-Allow non-variable as left-handside of non-updating tr///.
+=over 8
=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.
+
+=item *
The character tables have been updated to new Unicode 3.0 features.
+=item *
+
chr() for values greater than 127 now create utf8 when under use
utf8.
+=item *
+
Comparing with utf8 data does not magically upgrade non-utf8 data into
utf8.
+=item *
+
C<IsAlnum>, C<IsAlpha>, and C<IsWord> now match titlecase.
+=item *
+
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 *
+
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>.
+see pack('U0', ...)).
=item *
-Unsignedness could disappear from a scalar causing later numeric
-comparisons to fail.
+Zero entries were missing from the Unicode classes like C<IsDigit>.
+
+=back
=item *
-vec() now drops numericalness.
+UNIVERSAL::isa no longer caches methods incorrectly. (This broke
+the Tk extension with 5.6.0.)
=back
-=head1 New or Changed Diagnostics
+=head2 Platform Specific Changes and Fixes
-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.
+=over 4
-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>.
+=item *
-=over 4
+BSDI 4.*
+
+Perl now works on post-4.0 BSD/OSes.
=item *
-(perhaps you forgot to load "%s"?)
+All BSDs
-(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.
+Setting C<$0> now works (as much as possible; see perlvar for details).
=item *
-Ambiguous range in transliteration operator
+Cygwin
-(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.)
+Numerous updates; currently synchronised with Cygwin 1.1.4.
=item *
-The "Unrecgonized escape" warning has been extended to include C<\8>,
-C<\9>, and C<\_>. There is no need to espace any of the C<\w> characters.
+EPOC
-=back
+EPOC update after Perl 5.6.0. See README.epoc.
-=head1 New tests
+=item *
-=over 4
+FreeBSD 3.*
+
+Perl now works on post-3.0 FreeBSDs.
=item *
-lib/b tests the various compiler backends (see L<perlcompile>).
+HP-UX
+
+README.hpux updated; C<Configure -Duse64bitall> now almost works.
=item *
-lib/cgi-pretty tests CGI pretty printing.
+IRIX
+
+Numerous compilation flag and hint enhancements; accidental mixing
+of 32-bit and 64-bit libraries (a doomed attempt) made much harder.
=item *
-lib/ftmp-*.t test File::Temp.
+Linux
+
+Long doubles should now work (see INSTALL).
=item *
-lib/gol-oo tests Getopt::Long objected-oriented interface.
+MacOS Classic
+
+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 *
-lib/peek tests Devel::Peek.
+MPE/iX
+
+MPE/iX update after Perl 5.6.0. See README.mpeix.
=item *
-lib/selfloader tests SelfLoader.
+NetBSD/sparc
+
+Perl now works on NetBSD/sparc.
=item *
-lib/syslog tests Sys::Syslog.
+OS/2
+
+Now works with usethreads (see INSTALL).
=item *
-op/bless tests bless().
+Solaris
+
+64-bitness using the Sun Workshop compiler now works.
=item *
-op/stash tests the "my Package ..." feature.
+Tru64 (aka Digital UNIX, aka DEC OSF/1)
+
+The operating system version letter now recorded in $Config{osvers}.
+Allow compiling with gcc (previously explicitly forbidden). Compiling
+with gcc still not recommended because buggy code results, even with
+gcc 2.95.2.
=item *
-op/regmesg exercises all various regex errors.
+Unicos
+
+Fixed various alignment problems that lead into core dumps either
+during build or later; no longer dies on math errors at runtime;
+now using full quad integers (64 bits), previously was using
+only 46 bit integers for speed.
=item *
-pod/find tests Pod::Find.
+VMS
-=back
+chdir() now works better despite a CRT bug; now works with MULTIPLICITY
+(see INSTALL); now works with Perl's malloc.
-=head2 Improved Tests
+=item *
-=over 4
+Windows
+
+=over 8
+
+=item *
+
+accept() no longer leaks memory.
=item *
-op/sprintf coverage is now of much more comprehensive.
+Better chdir() return value for a non-existent directory.
=item *
-op/taint now continues on failed shmget().
+New %ENV entries now propagate to subprocesses.
=item *
-lib/*lfs.t now continues even if SIXFSZ happens.
+$ENV{LIB} now used to search for libs under Visual C.
=item *
-lib/syslog.t now works without sockets.
+A failed (pseudo)fork now returns undef and sets errno to EAGAIN.
-=back
+=item *
-=head1 Incompatible Changes
+Allow REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in the registry.
-=head2 Arrays Now Always Interpolate Into Double-Quoted Strings
+=item *
-Constructs like "foo@bar" now always assume the C<@bar> to be an array,
-and not dependent on whether it is known whether that is an array or not.
+Can now send() from all threads, not just the first one.
-=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.
+Fake signal handling reenabled, bugs and all.
-=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.
+Less stack reserved per thread so that more threads can run
+concurrently. (still 16M perl thread)
-=head2 The lib/chat2.pl
+=item *
-The obsolete chat2 library that should never have been allowed
-to escape the laboratory has been decommissioned.
+C<File::Spec->tmpdir()> now prefers C:/temp over /tmp
+(works better when perl running as service).
-=head2 The Unimplemented (But Recognized) POSIX Regex Features Now Fatal
+=item *
-The unimplemented POSIX regex features [[.cc.]] and [[=c=]] are
-recognized as before but now cause fatal runtime 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
-can be used.
+Better UNC path handling under ithreads.
-=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.
+wait() and waitpid() now work much better.
-=head2 Obsolete String Comparison Operators Removed
+=item *
-The long since deprecated uppercase aliases for the string comparison
-operators (EQ, NE, LT, LE, GE, GT) have now been removed.
+winsock handle leak fixed.
+
+=back
-=head2 The Regular Expression Submatches Are Now Unset When Backtracking
+=head1 New or Changed Diagnostics
-The regular expression captured submatches ($1, $2, ...) are now
-consistently unset if the match fails, instead of leaving false
-data lying around in them.
+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.
-=head2 tr///CU Removed, Not To Return
+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>.
-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', ...).
+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.
=head1 Changed Internals
-=head2 apidoc
+=over 4
+
+=item *
-The perlapi.pod now attempts to document the internal API
-(a companion to perlguts).
+perlapi.pod (a companion to perlguts) now attempts to document the
+internal API.
-=head2 microperl
+=item *
-There is now a way to build really minimal perl called microperl.
-Building 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.
+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 effect 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
-If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the
-articles recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup.
-There may also be information at http://www.perl.com/perl/, the Perl
-Home Page.
+If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles
+recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl
+bug database at http://bugs.perl.org. There may also be
+information at http://www.perl.com/perl/, the Perl Home Page.
If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the B<perlbug>
program included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down
to a tiny but sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the
-output of C<perl -V>, will be sent off to perlbug@perl.com to be
+output of C<perl -V>, will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be
analysed by the Perl porting team.
=head1 SEE ALSO
Written by Jarkko Hietaniemi <F<jhi@iki.fi>>, with many contributions
from The Perl Porters and Perl Users submitting feedback and patches.
-Send omissions or corrections to <F<perlbug@perl.com>>.
+Send omissions or corrections to <F<perlbug@perl.org>>.
=cut
projects / p5sagit/p5-mst-13.2.git / blobdiff