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1=encoding utf8
2
3=head1 NAME
4
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5[ this is a template for a new perldelta file. Any text flagged as XXX needs
6to be processed before release. ]
7
8perldelta - what is new for perl v5.21.4
c68523cb 9
238894db 10=head1 DESCRIPTION
c68523cb 11
39c4a6cf 12This document describes differences between the 5.21.3 release and the 5.21.4
238894db 13release.
c68523cb 14
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15If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.21.2, first read
16L<perl5213delta>, which describes differences between 5.21.2 and 5.21.3.
7065301c 17
39c4a6cf 18=head1 Notice
7e957246 19
39c4a6cf 20XXX Any important notices here
7e957246 21
39c4a6cf 22=head1 Core Enhancements
f88f10f5 23
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24XXX New core language features go here. Summarize user-visible core language
25enhancements. Particularly prominent performance optimisations could go
26here, but most should go in the L</Performance Enhancements> section.
21f3b41e 27
39c4a6cf 28[ List each enhancement as a =head2 entry ]
f88f10f5 29
0346c3a9 30=head1 Security
7e957246 31
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32XXX Any security-related notices go here. In particular, any security
33vulnerabilities closed should be noted here rather than in the
34L</Selected Bug Fixes> section.
13900f93 35
39c4a6cf 36[ List each security issue as a =head2 entry ]
8bdb3f93 37
13900f93 38=head1 Incompatible Changes
8bdb3f93 39
39c4a6cf 40XXX For a release on a stable branch, this section aspires to be:
1178d2cf 41
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42 There are no changes intentionally incompatible with 5.XXX.XXX
43 If any exist, they are bugs, and we request that you submit a
44 report. See L</Reporting Bugs> below.
1178d2cf 45
39c4a6cf 46[ List each incompatible change as a =head2 entry ]
f6f3144e 47
39c4a6cf 48=head1 Deprecations
7065301c 49
39c4a6cf 50XXX Any deprecated features, syntax, modules etc. should be listed here.
7065301c 51
39c4a6cf 52=head2 Module removals
b3e82ed1 53
39c4a6cf 54XXX Remove this section if inapplicable.
ca58223b 55
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56The following modules will be removed from the core distribution in a
57future release, and will at that time need to be installed from CPAN.
58Distributions on CPAN which require these modules will need to list them as
59prerequisites.
ca58223b 60
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61The core versions of these modules will now issue C<"deprecated">-category
62warnings to alert you to this fact. To silence these deprecation warnings,
63install the modules in question from CPAN.
23b03637 64
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65Note that these are (with rare exceptions) fine modules that you are encouraged
66to continue to use. Their disinclusion from core primarily hinges on their
67necessity to bootstrapping a fully functional, CPAN-capable Perl installation,
68not usually on concerns over their design.
23b03637 69
39c4a6cf 70=over
85e8fb10 71
39c4a6cf 72=item XXX
85e8fb10 73
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74XXX Note that deprecated modules should be listed here even if they are listed
75as an updated module in the L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
134f90c2 76
39c4a6cf 77=back
134f90c2 78
39c4a6cf 79[ List each other deprecation as a =head2 entry ]
ff433f2d 80
39c4a6cf 81=head1 Performance Enhancements
ff433f2d 82
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83XXX Changes which enhance performance without changing behaviour go here.
84There may well be none in a stable release.
134f90c2 85
39c4a6cf 86[ List each enhancement as a =item entry ]
134f90c2 87
39c4a6cf 88=over 4
7d19f6a1 89
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90=item *
91
39c4a6cf 92XXX
55e8b286 93
39c4a6cf 94=back
55e8b286 95
39c4a6cf 96=head1 Modules and Pragmata
d99849ae 97
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98XXX All changes to installed files in F<cpan/>, F<dist/>, F<ext/> and F<lib/>
99go here. If Module::CoreList is updated, generate an initial draft of the
100following sections using F<Porting/corelist-perldelta.pl>. A paragraph summary
101for important changes should then be added by hand. In an ideal world,
102dual-life modules would have a F<Changes> file that could be cribbed.
d99849ae 103
39c4a6cf 104[ Within each section, list entries as a =item entry ]
ff433f2d 105
39c4a6cf 106=head2 New Modules and Pragmata
ff433f2d 107
39c4a6cf 108=over 4
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109
110=item *
111
39c4a6cf 112XXX
0bb39c26 113
39c4a6cf 114=back
0bb39c26 115
39c4a6cf 116=head2 Updated Modules and Pragmata
9c97a342 117
39c4a6cf 118=over 4
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119
120=item *
121
39c4a6cf 122L<XXX> has been upgraded from version A.xx to B.yy.
6ab3666b 123
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124=item *
125
126L<File::Find> has been upgraded from version 1.27 to 1.28.
127C<find()> and C<finddepth()> will now warn if passed inappropriate or
128misspelled options.
129
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130=item *
131
132L<B::Concise> has been upgraded from version 0.992 to 0.993.
133
134=item *
135
136L<HTTP::Tiny> has been upgraded from version 0.047 to 0.048.
137
138=item *
139
140L<Module::CoreList> has been upgraded from version 5.021003 to 5.021004.
141
142=item *
143
144L<POSIX> has been upgraded from version 1.42 to 1.43.
145
146=item *
147
148L<Pod::Perldoc> has been upgraded from version 3.23 to 3.24.
149
150=item *
151
152L<constant> has been upgraded from version 1.31 to 1.32.
153
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154It now accepts fully-qualified constant names, allowing constants to be
155defined in packages other than the caller.
156
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157=item *
158
159L<threads> has been upgraded from version 1.95 to 1.96.
160
39c4a6cf 161=back
9c97a342 162
39c4a6cf 163=head2 Removed Modules and Pragmata
d99849ae 164
39c4a6cf 165=over 4
d99849ae 166
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167=item *
168
39c4a6cf 169XXX
ff433f2d 170
13900f93 171=back
aac7f82f 172
13900f93 173=head1 Documentation
aac7f82f 174
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175XXX Changes to files in F<pod/> go here. Consider grouping entries by
176file and be sure to link to the appropriate page, e.g. L<perlfunc>.
6d9b7c7c 177
39c4a6cf 178=head2 New Documentation
2a395b86 179
39c4a6cf 180XXX Changes which create B<new> files in F<pod/> go here.
2a395b86 181
39c4a6cf 182=head3 L<XXX>
2a395b86 183
39c4a6cf 184XXX Description of the purpose of the new file here
2a395b86 185
39c4a6cf 186=head2 Changes to Existing Documentation
2a395b86 187
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188XXX Changes which significantly change existing files in F<pod/> go here.
189However, any changes to F<pod/perldiag.pod> should go in the L</Diagnostics>
190section.
191
192=head3 L<XXX>
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193
194=over 4
195
196=item *
197
39c4a6cf 198XXX Description of the change here
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199
200=back
201
39c4a6cf 202=head1 Diagnostics
2a395b86 203
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204The following additions or changes have been made to diagnostic output,
205including warnings and fatal error messages. For the complete list of
206diagnostic messages, see L<perldiag>.
2a395b86 207
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208XXX New or changed warnings emitted by the core's C<C> code go here. Also
209include any changes in L<perldiag> that reconcile it to the C<C> code.
2a395b86 210
39c4a6cf 211=head2 New Diagnostics
0f4a583b 212
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213XXX Newly added diagnostic messages go under here, separated into New Errors
214and New Warnings
2a395b86 215
39c4a6cf 216=head3 New Errors
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217
218=over 4
219
220=item *
221
39c4a6cf 222XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
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223
224=back
225
39c4a6cf 226=head3 New Warnings
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227
228=over 4
229
230=item *
231
39c4a6cf 232XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
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233
234=back
6d9b7c7c 235
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236=head2 Changes to Existing Diagnostics
237
238XXX Changes (i.e. rewording) of diagnostic messages go here
7f55cec0 239
13900f93 240=over 4
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241
242=item *
243
39c4a6cf 244XXX Describe change here
aac7f82f 245
13900f93 246=back
aac7f82f 247
39c4a6cf 248=head1 Utility Changes
091fed7c 249
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250XXX Changes to installed programs such as F<perlbug> and F<xsubpp> go here.
251Most of these are built within the directory F<utils>.
902c1f75 252
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253[ List utility changes as a =head2 entry for each utility and =item
254entries for each change
255Use L<XXX> with program names to get proper documentation linking. ]
2901561d 256
39c4a6cf 257=head2 L<XXX>
4594cf53 258
13900f93 259=over 4
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260
261=item *
262
39c4a6cf 263XXX
a1d26ccd 264
39c4a6cf 265=back
a1d26ccd 266
39c4a6cf 267=head1 Configuration and Compilation
7065301c 268
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269XXX Changes to F<Configure>, F<installperl>, F<installman>, and analogous tools
270go here. Any other changes to the Perl build process should be listed here.
271However, any platform-specific changes should be listed in the
272L</Platform Support> section, instead.
58f25ac1 273
39c4a6cf 274[ List changes as a =item entry ].
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275
276=over 4
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277
278=item *
279
39c4a6cf 280XXX
a5873648 281
39c4a6cf 282=back
a5873648 283
39c4a6cf 284=head1 Testing
a5873648 285
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286XXX Any significant changes to the testing of a freshly built perl should be
287listed here. Changes which create B<new> files in F<t/> go here as do any
288large changes to the testing harness (e.g. when parallel testing was added).
289Changes to existing files in F<t/> aren't worth summarizing, although the bugs
290that they represent may be covered elsewhere.
a5873648 291
39c4a6cf 292[ List each test improvement as a =item entry ]
a5873648 293
39c4a6cf 294=over 4
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295
296=item *
297
39c4a6cf 298XXX
a5873648 299
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300=back
301
39c4a6cf 302=head1 Platform Support
b10906fb 303
39c4a6cf 304XXX Any changes to platform support should be listed in the sections below.
b10906fb 305
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306[ Within the sections, list each platform as a =item entry with specific
307changes as paragraphs below it. ]
b10906fb 308
39c4a6cf 309=head2 New Platforms
b10906fb 310
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311XXX List any platforms that this version of perl compiles on, that previous
312versions did not. These will either be enabled by new files in the F<hints/>
313directories, or new subdirectories and F<README> files at the top level of the
314source tree.
13900f93 315
7065301c 316=over 4
24a38d90 317
39c4a6cf 318=item XXX-some-platform
24a38d90 319
39c4a6cf 320XXX
bb076206 321
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322=back
323
39c4a6cf 324=head2 Discontinued Platforms
097675bf 325
39c4a6cf 326XXX List any platforms that this version of perl no longer compiles on.
b3211734 327
6e97d65d 328=over 4
b3211734 329
39c4a6cf 330=item XXX-some-platform
7065301c 331
39c4a6cf 332XXX
13900f93 333
39c4a6cf 334=back
7d0ccdba 335
39c4a6cf 336=head2 Platform-Specific Notes
7d0ccdba 337
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338XXX List any changes for specific platforms. This could include configuration
339and compilation changes or changes in portability/compatibility. However,
340changes within modules for platforms should generally be listed in the
341L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
6e97d65d 342
39c4a6cf 343=over 4
6e97d65d 344
39c4a6cf 345=item XXX-some-platform
6e97d65d 346
39c4a6cf 347XXX
7d0ccdba 348
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349=back
350
351=head1 Internal Changes
352
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353XXX Changes which affect the interface available to C<XS> code go here. Other
354significant internal changes for future core maintainers should be noted as
355well.
c9fcb674 356
39c4a6cf 357[ List each change as a =item entry ]
a835cd47 358
39c4a6cf 359=over 4
c1284011 360
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361=item *
362
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363The parser no longer gets confused by C<\U=> within a double-quoted string.
364It used to roduce a syntax error, but now compile it correctly.
365[perl #80368]
1c43698b 366
6d9b7c7c 367=back
c1284011 368
6d9b7c7c 369=head1 Selected Bug Fixes
375f5f06 370
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371XXX Important bug fixes in the core language are summarized here. Bug fixes in
372files in F<ext/> and F<lib/> are best summarized in L</Modules and Pragmata>.
373
374[ List each fix as a =item entry ]
375
0346c3a9 376=over 4
375f5f06 377
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378=item *
379
39c4a6cf 380XXX
2884baee 381
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382=item *
383
384Compile-time checking of constant dereferencing (e.g.,
385C<< my_constant->() >>) has been removed, since it was not taking
386overloading into account. [perl #69456] [perl #122607]
387
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388=item *
389
390Constant dereferencing now works correctly for typeglob constants.
391Previously the glob was stringified and its name looked up. Now the glob
392itself is used. [perl #69456]
393
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394=item *
395
396When parsing a funny character ($ @ % &) followed by braces, the parser no
397longer tries to guess whether it is a block or a hash constructor (causing
398a syntax error when it guesses the latter), since it can only be a block.
399
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400=item *
401
402C<undef $reference> now frees the referent immediately, instead of hanging
403on to it until the next statement. [perl #122556]
404
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405=item *
406
407Various cases where the name of a sub is used (autoload, overloading, error
408messages) used to crash for lexical subs, but have been fixed.
409
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410=item *
411
412Bareword lookup now tries to avoid vivifying packages if it turns out the
413bareword is not going to be a subroutine name.
414
39c4a6cf 415=back
b756670b 416
39c4a6cf 417=head1 Known Problems
b756670b 418
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419XXX Descriptions of platform agnostic bugs we know we can't fix go here. Any
420tests that had to be C<TODO>ed for the release would be noted here. Unfixed
421platform specific bugs also go here.
e917e94e 422
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423[ List each fix as a =item entry ]
424
425=over 4
e917e94e 426
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427=item *
428
39c4a6cf 429XXX
26dd5fd6 430
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431=back
432
39c4a6cf 433=head1 Errata From Previous Releases
e831f11a 434
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435=over 4
436
437=item *
ff433f2d 438
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439XXX Add anything here that we forgot to add, or were mistaken about, in
440the perldelta of a previous release.
ff433f2d 441
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442=back
443
444=head1 Obituary
ff433f2d 445
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446XXX If any significant core contributor has died, we've added a short obituary
447here.
ff433f2d 448
39c4a6cf 449=head1 Acknowledgements
ff433f2d 450
39c4a6cf 451XXX Generate this with:
e831f11a 452
39c4a6cf 453 perl Porting/acknowledgements.pl v5.21.3..HEAD
f5b73711 454
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455=head1 Reporting Bugs
456
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457If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles recently
458posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl bug database at
238894db 459https://rt.perl.org/ . There may also be information at
7ef8b31d 460http://www.perl.org/ , the Perl Home Page.
44691e6f 461
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462If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the L<perlbug> program
463included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down to a tiny but
464sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the output of C<perl -V>,
465will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be analysed by the Perl porting team.
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466
467If the bug you are reporting has security implications, which make it
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468inappropriate to send to a publicly archived mailing list, then please send it
469to perl5-security-report@perl.org. This points to a closed subscription
470unarchived mailing list, which includes all the core committers, who will be
471able to help assess the impact of issues, figure out a resolution, and help
f9001595 472co-ordinate the release of patches to mitigate or fix the problem across all
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473platforms on which Perl is supported. Please only use this address for
474security issues in the Perl core, not for modules independently distributed on
475CPAN.
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476
477=head1 SEE ALSO
478
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479The F<Changes> file for an explanation of how to view exhaustive details on
480what changed.
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481
482The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl.
483
484The F<README> file for general stuff.
485
486The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information.
487
488=cut