From: Jarkko Hietaniemi Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2000 02:57:20 +0000 (+0000) Subject: Draft 0. X-Git-Url: http://git.shadowcat.co.uk/gitweb/gitweb.cgi?a=commitdiff_plain;h=53080bb1a87e1ecc3a481b766e27fdfe51f4f2ae;p=p5sagit%2Fp5-mst-13.2.git Draft 0. p4raw-id: //depot/perl@6735 --- diff --git a/pod/perldelta.pod b/pod/perldelta.pod index 9afa44d..605ff3f 100644 --- a/pod/perldelta.pod +++ b/pod/perldelta.pod @@ -1,23 +1,483 @@ =head1 NAME -perldelta - what's new for perl v5.8.0 +perldelta - what's new for perl v5.7.0 =head1 DESCRIPTION -This document describes differences between the 5.6 release and this one. +This document describes differences between the 5.6.0 release and +the 5.7.0 release. =head1 Core Enhancements +=over 4 + +=item * + +C 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 if either operand is a NaN. +Previously the behaviour was unspecified. + +=item * + +C 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<$'>.) Also, introduce C<@LAST_MATCH_START> and +C<@LAST_MATCH_END> English aliases for C<@-> and C<@+>. + +=item * + +File::Find now has pre- and postprocessing callbacks. +It also correctly changes directories when chasing symbolic links. +Callbacks doing (naughtily) "next;" instead of "return;" now work. + +=item * + +File::Glob::globI() rename to File::Glob::bsd_glob() to avoid +prototype mismatch with CORE::glob(). + +=item * + +File::Spec has been updated to version 0.82, released the +1st of July 2000. + +=item * + +File::Temp has been updated to version 0.10 (unpublished as the 20th +of August 2000). + +=item * + +Getopt::Long has been updated to version 2.23_05, released the 2nd of +August 2000. + +=item * + +IO::Poll has been thoroughly fixed. + +=item * + +IO::Socket::INET now works when given an unknown service name with +a port number. + +=item * + +IPC::Open3 now allows the use of numeric filedescriptors. + +=item * + +use lib now works identically to @INC. Removing directories +with 'no lib' now works. + +=item * + +Math::BigFloat now more robust (less "uninitialized" warnings). + +=item * + +Math::Complex now handles extreme values (e.g. 1E20-1E30i more) more +gracefully. + +=item * + +The podlators bundle has been updated to version 1.02, released the +25th of April 2000. It contains the modules Pod::Man 1.04, Pod::Text +2.04, and modules Pod::Text::Color and Pod::Text::Termcap (no version +numbers). + +=item * + +Pod::LaTeX has been updated to version 0.52, released the 15th +of May 2000. + +=item * + +Pod::Parser has been updated to version 1.17, released the 25th of +July 2000. It contains the modules Pod::Checker 1.20, Pod::Find 0.21, +Pod::InputObjects 1.13, Pod::ParseUtils 0.22, Pod::Parser 1.12, +Pod::Select 1.13, and Pod::Usage 1.13. + +=item * + +The subpragma 'debug' of the 're' pragma now produces cleaner output. + +=item * + +C<%INC> now localized in a Safe compartment so that use/require work. + +=item * + +SelfLoader no more loses C<$@> 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. + +=head2 xsubpp now understands embedded pod + +The xsubpp utility for extension writers now understands POD +documentation embedded in the *.xs files. + =head1 Improved Documentation -=head1 Performance enhancements +=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<$(> special variable does not interpolate +in regular expressions. + +=item * + +Add an URL for FSF in README. + +=item * + +The timeout unit of IO::Select is now documented to be identical +to the timeout unit of the 4-arg select(), that is, (optionally +fractional) seconds, or an undef to wait indefinitely. + +=item * + +Document the C and C magic types. + +=item * + +The ordering of PODs in perl.pod is now more sensical. + +=item * + +perlbook now only mentions the Camel III, all other book references +have been moved to perlfaq2, some good known books added. + +=item * + +Numerous missing warning/error messages added to perldiag. + +=item * + +Tell what's perl6 in perlfaq1. + +=item * + +perlhack much extended. + +=item * + +perltrap cleaned up. + +=item * + +Add perlxstut example for passing/returning refs to arrays. + +=item * + +POSIX module documentation embellished. + +=item * + +Clarify the status of shadow password support. + +=item * + +Remind that preprocessors and source filters can alter +your code before Perl sees it and therefore debugging +can be somewhat surprising. ("I didn't write *that*!") + +=item * + +Remove incorrect documentation about implicit split to @_ +in list context, which never really worked in Perl 5 anyway. + +=item * + +Tell that split /^/ is split /^/m. + +=item * + +Many more sprintf() examples in perlfunc. + +=item * + +Document the handling of negative indices to tied arrays. + +=item * + +The C<$yday> in localtime()/gmtime() is 0..364, not 1..365. + +=item * + +Document 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 * + +Document that the values() are copies, not aliases. + +=back + +=head2 New Documentation + +=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 $prefix +did change.) If you do not like this new behaviour, specify +prefix, siteprefix, and vendorprefix explicitly. + +=head2 Additional Library Locations + +A new optional location for Perl libraries, otherlibdirs, is available. +It can be used for example for vendor add-ons without disturbing Perl's +own library directories. + =head2 gcc automatically tried if 'cc' does not seem to be working In many platforms the vendor-supplied 'cc' is too stripped-down to @@ -25,35 +485,670 @@ build Perl (basically, the 'cc' doesn't do ANSI C). If this seems to be the case and the 'cc' does not seem to be the GNU C compiler 'gcc', an automatic attempt is made to find and use 'gcc' instead. -=head1 Platform specific changes +=head2 If gcc seems to be from from a different operating system release ... + +gcc needs to closely track the operating system release because gcc +wants to have its own versions of the operating system header files +fixed to be clean enough for gcc's tastes. Therefore using a gcc +compiled for a different release of the operating system is often a +bad idea. If Configure can find out the operating system release that +was used to compile the gcc and that release is different from the one +being used now, gcc gives a clearly visible warning that trouble may +lie ahead. + +=head2 If no binary compatibilty with 5.005 wanted, no 5.005 modules, either + +If no binary compatibility with the 5.005 release is wanted, Configure +does not suggest including the 5.005 modules in the @INC. + +=head2 Configuration and Installation fixes + +=over 4 + +=item * + +Configure C<-S> can now run non-interactively + +=item * + +configure.gnu now works with options with whitespace in them + +=item * + +installperl now outputs everything to STDERR + +=item * + +$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 + +=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 + +=item * + +Document that the C causes problems if one uses C +(because the HP C compiler does funny things to that // thinking it +to be C++), document also the workaround. + +=item * + +C now almost works (one failing test). + +=back + +=head2 IRIX + +=over 4 + +=item * + +Numerous compilation flag and hint enhancements. + +=item * + +Accidental mixing of 32-bit and 64-bit libraries (a doomed attempt) +made much harder. + +=back + +=head2 Linux + +=over 4 + +=item * + +Long doubles should now work (see INSTALL). + +=back + +=head2 MacOS Classic + +=over 4 + +=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 + +=item * + +Now works with usethreads (see INSTALL). + +=back + +=head2 Solaris + +=over 4 + +=item * + +64-bitness using the Sun Workshop compiler now works. + +=back + +=head2 Tru64 (aka Digital UNIX, aka DEC OSF/1) + +=over 4 + +=item * + +Allow compiling with gcc (previously explicitly forbidden). Compiling +with gcc still not recommended because buggy code results, even with +gcc 2.95.2. + +=item * + +The operating system version letter now recorded in $Config{osvers}. + +=back + +=head2 Unicos + +=over 4 + +=item * + +Fixed various alignment problems that lead into core dumps either +during build or later. + +=item * + +No more dying on math errors in runtime. + +=item * + +Now using full quad integers (64 bits), previously was using +only 43 bit integers for speed. + +=back + +=head2 VMS + +=over 4 + +=item * + +chdir() now works better despite a CRT bug. + +=item * + +Now works with MULTIPLICITY (see INSTALL). + +=item * + +Now works with Perl's malloc. + +=back + +=head2 Windows + +=over 4 + +=item * + +accept() no more leaks memory. + +=item * + +Better chdir() return value for a non-existent directory. + +=item * + +New %ENV entries now propagate to subprocesses. + +=item * + +$ENV{LIB} now used to search for libs under Visual C. + +=item * + +A failed (pseudo)fork now returns undef and sets errno to EAGAIN. + +=item * + +Allow REG_EXPAND_SZ keys in the registry. + +=item * + +Can now send() from all threads, not just the first one. + +=item * + +Fake signal handling reenabled, bugs and all. + +=item * + +Less stack reserved per thread so that more threads can run +concurrently. (still 16M perl thread) + +=item * + +Ctmpdir()> now prefers C:/temp over /tmp +(works better when perl running as service). + +=item * + +Better UNC path handling under ithreads. + +=item * + +wait() and waitpid() now work much better. + +=item * + +winsock handle leak fixed. + +=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 command now checks +line number, the C<$.> no more gets corrupted, all debugger output now +goes correctly to the socket if RemotePort is set. + +=item * + +C<*foo{FORMAT}> now works. + +=item * + +Lexical warnings now propagating correctly between scopes. + +=item * + +Line renumbering with eval and C<#line> now works. + +=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 +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. + +=item * + +out() variables will not cause "will not stay shared" warnings + +=item * + +The pack "Z" now correctly terminates the string with an "\0". + +=item * + +Fix password routines which in some shadow password platforms +(e.g. HP-UX) caused getpwent() to return every other entry. + +=item * + +POSIX::STDERR_FILENO (not POSIX::STRERR_FILENO). + +=item * + +printf() no more resets the numeric locale to "C". + +=item * + +C now parses as C<'a\\b'>. + +=item * -=head1 Significant bug fixes +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). + +=item * + +Regular expressions on references and overloaded scalars now work. + +=item * + +Multiline matching of C<"a\nxb\n" =~ /(?!\A)x/m> now works. + +=item * + +C now works. + +=item * + +C now works. + +=item * + +scalar() now doesn't force scalar context when used in void context. + +=item * + +All the documented examples Shell.pm now work. + +=item * + +sort() arguments are now compiled in the right wantarray context +(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. + +=item * + +The (nonsensical) C<%#p> format made illegal. + +=item * + +C<${$1}> now works (again). + +=item * + +$AUTOLOAD, sort(), lock(), and spawning subprocesses +in multiple thread simultaneously are now thread-safe. + +=item * + +Allow non-variable as left-handside of non-updating tr///. + +=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. + +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. + +Comparing with utf8 data does not magically upgrade non-utf8 data into +utf8. + +C, C, and C now match titlecase. + +Concatenation with the C<.> operator or via variable interpolation, +C, C, C, C, the C operator, +substitution with C, single-quoted UTF8, should now work--in +theory. + +The C operator now works I better but is still rather +broken. Note that the C functionality has been removed (but +see pack('U0', ...). + +Zero entries were missing from the Unicode classes like C. + +=item * + +Unsignedness could disappear from a scalar causing later numeric +comparisons to fail. + +=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 prefix for filehandles in the C
package, +for example C instead of . + =over 4 -=item (perhaps you forgot to load "%s"?) +=item * + +(perhaps you forgot to load "%s"?) (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. -=item Ambiguous range in transliteration operator +=item * + +Ambiguous range in transliteration operator (F) You wrote something like C 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 was synonymous with C, which was probably not what you would have expected.) +=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. + =back =head1 New tests +=over 4 + +=item * + +lib/b tests the various compiler backends (see L). + +=item * + +lib/cgi-pretty tests CGI pretty printing. + +=item * + +lib/ftmp-*.t test File::Temp. + +=item * + +lib/gol-oo tests Getopt::Long objected-oriented interface. + +=item * + +lib/peek tests Devel::Peek. + +=item * + +lib/selfloader tests SelfLoader. + +=item * + +lib/syslog tests Sys::Syslog. + +=item * + +op/bless tests bless(). + +=item * + +op/stash tests the "my Package ..." feature. + +=item * + +op/regmesg exercises all various regex errors. + +=item * + +pod/find tests Pod::Find. + +=back + +=head2 Improved Tests + +=over 4 + +=item * + +op/sprintf coverage is now of much more comprehensive. + +=item * + +op/taint now continues on failed shmget(). + +=item * + +lib/*lfs.t now continues even if SIXFSZ happens. + +=item * + +lib/syslog.t now works without sockets. + +=back + =head1 Incompatible Changes +=head2 Arrays Now Always Interpolate Into Double-Quoted Strings + +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. + +=head2 bless(REF, REF) is now a fatal error + +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 + +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. + +=head2 The lib/chat2.pl + +The obsolete chat2 library that should never have been allowed +to escape the laboratory has been decommissioned. + +=head2 The Unimplemented (But Recognized) POSIX Regex Features Now Fatal + +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. + +=head2 lstat(FILEHANDLE) now warns + +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 + +The long since 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 + +The regular expression captured submatches ($1, $2, ...) are now +consistently unset if the match fails, instead of leaving false +data lying around in them. + +=head2 tr///CU Removed, Not To Return + +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', ...). + +=head1 Changed Internals + +=head2 apidoc + +The perlapi.pod now attempts to document the internal API +(a companion to perlguts). + +=head2 microperl + +There is now a way to build really minimal perl called microperl. +Building does not require even running Configure, C +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 + +Added rsignal(), whichsig(), do_join() to the publicized API. + +=head2 Propagating Exception Objects via Perl_croak() IN XS code + +Made possible to propagate customized exceptions via croak()ing. + +=head2 UTF8 Interfaces + +Added is_utf8_char(), is_utf8_string(), bytes_to_utf8(), and utf8_to_bytes(). + +=head2 xsub attributes + +Now xsubs can have attributes just like subs. + =head1 Known Problems +=head2 Unicode Support Still Far From Perfect + +We're working on it. Stay tuned. + +=head2 EBCDIC Still A Lost Platform + +The plan is to bring them back. + +=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 +problems can try configuring themselves without the largefileness. +This is admittedly not a clean solution. + =head1 Obsolete Diagnostics =head1 Reporting Bugs @@ -81,8 +1176,8 @@ The F and F files for copyright information. =head1 HISTORY -Written by Gurusamy Sarathy >, with many -contributions from The Perl Porters. +Written by Jarkko Hietaniemi >, with many contributions +from The Perl Porters and Perl Users submitting feedback and patches. Send omissions or corrections to >.