=head1 Tasks that only need Perl knowledge
+=head2 Remove macperl references from tests
+
+MacPerl is gone. The tests don't need to be there.
+
=head2 Remove duplication of test setup.
Schwern notes, that there's duplication of code - lots and lots of tests have
The addition of C<Pod::Simple> and its related modules may make this task
easier to complete.
+=head2 Make ExtUtils::ParseXS use strict;
+
+F<lib/ExtUtils/ParseXS.pm> contains this line
+
+ # use strict; # One of these days...
+
+Simply uncomment it, and fix all the resulting issues :-)
+
+The more practical approach, to break the task down into manageable chunks, is
+to work your way though the code from bottom to top, or if necessary adding
+extra C<{ ... }> blocks, and turning on strict within them.
+
=head2 Parallel testing
(This probably impacts much more than the core: also the Test::Harness
Windows Perl or whether we go in a separate direction and make it so. Of
course, we all know what step 3 is.
+=head2 decouple -g and -DDEBUGGING
+
+Currently F<Configure> automatically adds C<-DDEBUGGING> to the C compiler
+flags if it spots C<-g> in the optimiser flags. The pre-processor directive
+C<DEBUGGING> enables F<perl>'s command line <-D> options, but in the process
+makes F<perl> slower. It would be good to disentangle this logic, so that
+C-level debugging with C<-g> and Perl level debugging with C<-D> can easily
+be enabled independently.
+
=head1 Tasks that need a little C knowledge
These tasks would need a little C knowledge, but don't need any specific
the perl API that comes from writing modules that use XS to interface to
C.
+=head2 Remove the use of SVs as temporaries in dump.c
+
+F<dump.c> contains debugging routines to dump out the contains of perl data
+structures, such as C<SV>s, C<AV>s and C<HV>s. Currently, the dumping code
+B<uses> C<SV>s for its temporary buffers, which was a logical initial
+implementation choice, as they provide ready made memory handling.
+
+However, they also lead to a lot of confusion when it happens that what you're
+trying to debug is seen by the code in F<dump.c>, correctly or incorrectly, as
+a temporary scalar it can use for a temporary buffer. It's also not possible
+to dump scalars before the interpreter is properly set up, such as during
+ithreads cloning. It would be good to progressively replace the use of scalars
+as string accumulation buffers with something much simpler, directly allocated
+by C<malloc>. The F<dump.c> code is (or should be) only producing 7 bit
+US-ASCII, so output character sets are not an issue.
+
+Producing and proving an internal simple buffer allocation would make it easier
+to re-write the internals of the PerlIO subsystem to avoid using C<SV>s for
+B<its> buffers, use of which can cause problems similar to those of F<dump.c>,
+at similar times.
+
=head2 safely supporting POSIX SA_SIGINFO
Some years ago Jarkko supplied patches to provide support for the POSIX
These tasks would need C knowledge, and knowledge of how the interpreter works,
or a willingness to learn.
+=head2 truncate() prototype
+
+The prototype of truncate() is currently C<$$>. It should probably
+be C<*$> instead. (This is changed in F<opcode.pl>)
+
+=head2 decapsulation of smart match argument
+
+Currently C<$foo ~~ $object> will die with the message "Smart matching a
+non-overloaded object breaks encapsulation". It would be nice to allow
+to bypass this by using explictly the syntax C<$foo ~~ %$object> or
+C<$foo ~~ @$object>.
+
=head2 error reporting of [$a ; $b]
Using C<;> inside brackets is a syntax error, and we don't propose to change
There is no method on tied filehandles to allow them to be called back by
formats.
+=head2 Propagate compilation hints to the debugger
+
+Currently a debugger started with -dE on the command-line doesn't see the
+features enabled by -E. More generally hints (C<$^H> and C<%^H>) aren't
+propagated to the debugger. Probably it would be a good thing to propagate
+hints from the innermost non-C<DB::> scope: this would make code eval'ed
+in the debugger see the features (and strictures, etc.) currently in
+scope.
+
=head2 Attach/detach debugger from running program
The old perltodo notes "With C<gdb>, you can attach the debugger to a running
Apparently these are quite useful. Anyway, Jeffery Friedl wants them.
demerphq has this on his todo list, but right at the bottom.
+
+
+=head1 Tasks for microperl
+
+
+[ Each and every one of these may be obsolete, but they were listed
+ in the old Todo.micro file]
+
+
+=head2 make creating uconfig.sh automatic
+
+=head2 make creating Makefile.micro automatic
+
+=head2 do away with fork/exec/wait?
+
+(system, popen should be enough?)
+
+=head2 some of the uconfig.sh really needs to be probed (using cc) in buildtime:
+
+(uConfigure? :-) native datatype widths and endianness come to mind
+
projects / p5sagit/p5-mst-13.2.git / blobdiff