5 [ this is a template for a new perldelta file. Any text flagged as XXX needs
6 to be processed before release. ]
8 perldelta - what is new for perl v5.20.0
12 This document describes differences between the 5.18.0 release and the
15 If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.16.0, first read
16 L<perl5180delta>, which describes differences between 5.16.0 and 5.18.0.
20 XXX Any important notices here
22 =head1 Core Enhancements
24 XXX New core language features go here. Summarize user-visible core language
25 enhancements. Particularly prominent performance optimisations could go
26 here, but most should go in the L</Performance Enhancements> section.
28 [ List each enhancement as a =head2 entry ]
32 XXX Any security-related notices go here. In particular, any security
33 vulnerabilities closed should be noted here rather than in the
34 L</Selected Bug Fixes> section.
36 [ List each security issue as a =head2 entry ]
38 =head1 Incompatible Changes
40 XXX For a release on a stable branch, this section aspires to be:
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.
46 [ List each incompatible change as a =head2 entry ]
50 The C</\C/> regular expression character class is deprecated. From perl
51 5.22 onwards it will generate a warning, and from perl 5.24 onwards it
52 be a regular expression compiler error. If you need to examine the
53 individual bytes that make up a UTF8-encoded character, then use
54 C<utf8::encode()> on the string (or a copy) first.
56 =head2 Module removals
58 XXX Remove this section if inapplicable.
60 The following modules will be removed from the core distribution in a
61 future release, and will at that time need to be installed from CPAN.
62 Distributions on CPAN which require these modules will need to list them as
65 The core versions of these modules will now issue C<"deprecated">-category
66 warnings to alert you to this fact. To silence these deprecation warnings,
67 install the modules in question from CPAN.
69 Note that these are (with rare exceptions) fine modules that you are encouraged
70 to continue to use. Their disinclusion from core primarily hinges on their
71 necessity to bootstrapping a fully functional, CPAN-capable Perl installation,
72 not usually on concerns over their design.
76 XXX Note that deprecated modules should be listed here even if they are listed
77 as an updated module in the L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
81 [ List each other deprecation as a =head2 entry ]
83 =head1 Performance Enhancements
85 XXX Changes which enhance performance without changing behaviour go here.
86 There may well be none in a stable release.
88 [ List each enhancement as a =item entry ]
98 =head1 Modules and Pragmata
100 XXX All changes to installed files in F<cpan/>, F<dist/>, F<ext/> and F<lib/>
101 go here. If Module::CoreList is updated, generate an initial draft of the
102 following sections using F<Porting/corelist-perldelta.pl>. A paragraph summary
103 for important changes should then be added by hand. In an ideal world,
104 dual-life modules would have a F<Changes> file that could be cribbed.
106 [ Within each section, list entries as a =item entry ]
108 =head2 New Modules and Pragmata
118 =head2 Updated Modules and Pragmata
124 L<XXX> has been upgraded from version A.xx to B.yy.
128 =head2 Removed Modules and Pragmata
140 XXX Changes to files in F<pod/> go here. Consider grouping entries by
141 file and be sure to link to the appropriate page, e.g. L<perlfunc>.
143 =head2 New Documentation
145 XXX Changes which create B<new> files in F<pod/> go here.
149 XXX Description of the purpose of the new file here
151 =head2 Changes to Existing Documentation
153 XXX Changes which significantly change existing files in F<pod/> go here.
154 However, any changes to F<pod/perldiag.pod> should go in the L</Diagnostics>
163 XXX Description of the change here
169 The following additions or changes have been made to diagnostic output,
170 including warnings and fatal error messages. For the complete list of
171 diagnostic messages, see L<perldiag>.
173 XXX New or changed warnings emitted by the core's C<C> code go here. Also
174 include any changes in L<perldiag> that reconcile it to the C<C> code.
176 =head2 New Diagnostics
178 XXX Newly added diagnostic messages go under here, separated into New Errors
187 XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
197 XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
201 =head2 Changes to Existing Diagnostics
203 XXX Changes (i.e. rewording) of diagnostic messages go here
209 XXX Describe change here
213 =head1 Utility Changes
215 XXX Changes to installed programs such as F<perlbug> and F<xsubpp> go here.
216 Most of these are built within the directories F<utils> and F<x2p>.
218 [ List utility changes as a =head3 entry for each utility and =item
219 entries for each change
220 Use L<XXX> with program names to get proper documentation linking. ]
232 =head1 Configuration and Compilation
234 XXX Changes to F<Configure>, F<installperl>, F<installman>, and analogous tools
235 go here. Any other changes to the Perl build process should be listed here.
236 However, any platform-specific changes should be listed in the
237 L</Platform Support> section, instead.
239 [ List changes as a =item entry ].
251 XXX Any significant changes to the testing of a freshly built perl should be
252 listed here. Changes which create B<new> files in F<t/> go here as do any
253 large changes to the testing harness (e.g. when parallel testing was added).
254 Changes to existing files in F<t/> aren't worth summarizing, although the bugs
255 that they represent may be covered elsewhere.
257 [ List each test improvement as a =item entry ]
267 =head1 Platform Support
269 XXX Any changes to platform support should be listed in the sections below.
271 [ Within the sections, list each platform as a =item entry with specific
272 changes as paragraphs below it. ]
276 XXX List any platforms that this version of perl compiles on, that previous
277 versions did not. These will either be enabled by new files in the F<hints/>
278 directories, or new subdirectories and F<README> files at the top level of the
283 =item XXX-some-platform
289 =head2 Discontinued Platforms
291 XXX List any platforms that this version of perl no longer compiles on.
295 =item XXX-some-platform
301 =head2 Platform-Specific Notes
303 XXX List any changes for specific platforms. This could include configuration
304 and compilation changes or changes in portability/compatibility. However,
305 changes within modules for platforms should generally be listed in the
306 L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
310 =item XXX-some-platform
316 =head1 Internal Changes
318 XXX Changes which affect the interface available to C<XS> code go here. Other
319 significant internal changes for future core maintainers should be noted as
322 [ List each change as a =item entry ]
332 =head1 Selected Bug Fixes
334 XXX Important bug fixes in the core language are summarized here. Bug fixes in
335 files in F<ext/> and F<lib/> are best summarized in L</Modules and Pragmata>.
337 [ List each fix as a =item entry ]
347 =head1 Known Problems
349 XXX Descriptions of platform agnostic bugs we know we can't fix go here. Any
350 tests that had to be C<TODO>ed for the release would be noted here. Unfixed
351 platform specific bugs also go here.
353 [ List each fix as a =item entry ]
359 The following modules are known to have test failures with this version of
360 Perl. Patches have been submitted, so there will hopefully be new releases
363 XXX Go through this list just before the release of 5.20 and remove any
364 modules that have been fixed.
370 L<Data::Structure::Util> version 0.15
374 L<Data::Util> version 0.62
378 L<HTML::FormHandler>. The test failures are actually due to a bug in
379 L<Data::Clone> version 0.003. A patch to Data::Clone has been submitted.
383 L<HTML::StripScripts> version 1.05
387 L<LaTeX::Encode> version 0.08
391 L<Mail::SpamAssassin> version 3.3.2
395 L<RDF::Trine>. The test failures are actually due to a bug in
396 L<XML::LibXML> version 2.0108. A patch to XML::LibXML has been submitted.
404 XXX If any significant core contributor has died, we've added a short obituary
407 =head1 Acknowledgements
409 XXX Generate this with:
411 perl Porting/acknowledgements.pl v5.19.11..HEAD
413 =head1 Reporting Bugs
415 If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles recently
416 posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl bug database at
417 http://rt.perl.org/perlbug/ . There may also be information at
418 http://www.perl.org/ , the Perl Home Page.
420 If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the L<perlbug> program
421 included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down to a tiny but
422 sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the output of C<perl -V>,
423 will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be analysed by the Perl porting team.
425 If the bug you are reporting has security implications, which make it
426 inappropriate to send to a publicly archived mailing list, then please send it
427 to perl5-security-report@perl.org. This points to a closed subscription
428 unarchived mailing list, which includes all the core committers, who will be
429 able to help assess the impact of issues, figure out a resolution, and help
430 co-ordinate the release of patches to mitigate or fix the problem across all
431 platforms on which Perl is supported. Please only use this address for
432 security issues in the Perl core, not for modules independently distributed on
437 The F<Changes> file for an explanation of how to view exhaustive details on
440 The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl.
442 The F<README> file for general stuff.
444 The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information.