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 v5.17.6
12 This document describes differences between the 5.17.5 release and the 5.17.6
15 If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.17.4, first read
16 L<perl5175delta>, which describes differences between 5.17.4 and 5.17.5.
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 ]
30 =head2 Character name aliases may now include non-Latin1-range characters
32 It is possible to define your own names for characters for use in
33 C<\N{...}>, C<charnames::vianame()>, etc. These names can now be
34 comprised of characters from the whole Unicode range. This allows for
35 names to be in your native language, and not just English. Certain
36 restrictions apply to the characters that may be used (you can't define
37 a name that has punctuation in it, for example). See L<charnames/CUSTOM
42 XXX Any security-related notices go here. In particular, any security
43 vulnerabilities closed should be noted here rather than in the
44 L</Selected Bug Fixes> section.
46 [ List each security issue as a =head2 entry ]
48 =head1 Incompatible Changes
50 XXX For a release on a stable branch, this section aspires to be:
52 There are no changes intentionally incompatible with 5.XXX.XXX
53 If any exist, they are bugs, and we request that you submit a
54 report. See L</Reporting Bugs> below.
56 [ List each incompatible change as a =head2 entry ]
58 =head2 An unknown character name in C<\N{...}> is now a syntax error
60 Previously, it warned, and the Unicode REPLACEMENT CHARACTER was
61 substituted. Unicode now recommends that this situation be a syntax
62 error. Also, the previous behavior led to some confusing warnings and
63 behaviors, and since the REPLACEMENT CHARACTER has no use other than as
64 a stand-in for some unknown character, any code that has this problem is
67 =head2 Formerly deprecated characters in C<\N{}> character name aliases are now errors.
69 Since v5.12.0, it has been deprecated to use certain characters in
70 user-defined C<\N{...}> character names. These now cause a syntax
71 error. For example, it is now an error to begin a name with a digit,
74 my $undraftable = "\N{4F}"; # Syntax error!
76 or to have commas anywhere in the name. See L<charnames/CUSTOM ALIASES>
80 XXX Any deprecated features, syntax, modules etc. should be listed here. In
81 particular, deprecated modules should be listed here even if they are listed as
82 an updated module in the L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
84 [ List each deprecation as a =head2 entry ]
86 =head1 Performance Enhancements
88 XXX Changes which enhance performance without changing behaviour go here.
89 There may well be none in a stable release.
91 [ List each enhancement as a =item entry ]
101 =head1 Modules and Pragmata
103 XXX All changes to installed files in F<cpan/>, F<dist/>, F<ext/> and F<lib/>
104 go here. If Module::CoreList is updated, generate an initial draft of the
105 following sections using F<Porting/corelist-perldelta.pl>, which prints stub
106 entries to STDOUT. Results can be pasted in place of the '=head2' entries
107 below. A paragraph summary for important changes should then be added by hand.
108 In an ideal world, dual-life modules would have a F<Changes> file that could be
111 [ Within each section, list entries as a =item entry ]
113 =head2 New Modules and Pragmata
123 =head2 Updated Modules and Pragmata
129 L<CPAN> has been upgraded from version 1.98 to 1.99_51.
133 L<DynaLoader> has been upgraded from version 1.16 to 1.17.
137 L<Tie::Hash::NamedCapture> has been upgraded from version 0.08 to 0.09.
141 =head2 Removed Modules and Pragmata
153 XXX Changes to files in F<pod/> go here. Consider grouping entries by
154 file and be sure to link to the appropriate page, e.g. L<perlfunc>.
156 =head2 New Documentation
158 XXX Changes which create B<new> files in F<pod/> go here.
162 XXX Description of the purpose of the new file here
164 =head2 Changes to Existing Documentation
166 XXX Changes which significantly change existing files in F<pod/> go here.
167 However, any changes to F<pod/perldiag.pod> should go in the L</Diagnostics>
176 XXX Description of the change here
182 The following additions or changes have been made to diagnostic output,
183 including warnings and fatal error messages. For the complete list of
184 diagnostic messages, see L<perldiag>.
186 XXX New or changed warnings emitted by the core's C<C> code go here. Also
187 include any changes in L<perldiag> that reconcile it to the C<C> code.
189 =head2 New Diagnostics
191 XXX Newly added diagnostic messages go under here, separated into New Errors
200 XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
210 XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
214 =head2 Changes to Existing Diagnostics
216 XXX Changes (i.e. rewording) of diagnostic messages go here
222 XXX Describe change here
226 =head1 Utility Changes
228 XXX Changes to installed programs such as F<perlbug> and F<xsubpp> go here.
229 Most of these are built within the directories F<utils> and F<x2p>.
231 [ List utility changes as a =head3 entry for each utility and =item
232 entries for each change
233 Use L<XXX> with program names to get proper documentation linking. ]
245 =head1 Configuration and Compilation
247 XXX Changes to F<Configure>, F<installperl>, F<installman>, and analogous tools
248 go here. Any other changes to the Perl build process should be listed here.
249 However, any platform-specific changes should be listed in the
250 L</Platform Support> section, instead.
252 [ List changes as a =item entry ].
264 XXX Any significant changes to the testing of a freshly built perl should be
265 listed here. Changes which create B<new> files in F<t/> go here as do any
266 large changes to the testing harness (e.g. when parallel testing was added).
267 Changes to existing files in F<t/> aren't worth summarizing, although the bugs
268 that they represent may be covered elsewhere.
270 [ List each test improvement as a =item entry ]
280 =head1 Platform Support
282 XXX Any changes to platform support should be listed in the sections below.
284 [ Within the sections, list each platform as a =item entry with specific
285 changes as paragraphs below it. ]
289 XXX List any platforms that this version of perl compiles on, that previous
290 versions did not. These will either be enabled by new files in the F<hints/>
291 directories, or new subdirectories and F<README> files at the top level of the
296 =item XXX-some-platform
302 =head2 Discontinued Platforms
304 XXX List any platforms that this version of perl no longer compiles on.
308 =item XXX-some-platform
314 =head2 Platform-Specific Notes
316 XXX List any changes for specific platforms. This could include configuration
317 and compilation changes or changes in portability/compatibility. However,
318 changes within modules for platforms should generally be listed in the
319 L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
323 =item XXX-some-platform
329 =head1 Internal Changes
331 XXX Changes which affect the interface available to C<XS> code go here. Other
332 significant internal changes for future core maintainers should be noted as
335 [ List each change as a =item entry ]
341 The private Perl_croak_no_modify has had its context parameter removed. It is
342 now has a void prototype. Users of the public API croak_no_modify remain
351 =head1 Selected Bug Fixes
353 XXX Important bug fixes in the core language are summarized here. Bug fixes in
354 files in F<ext/> and F<lib/> are best summarized in L</Modules and Pragmata>.
356 [ List each fix as a =item entry ]
366 =head1 Known Problems
368 XXX Descriptions of platform agnostic bugs we know we can't fix go here. Any
369 tests that had to be C<TODO>ed for the release would be noted here. Unfixed
370 platform specific bugs also go here.
372 [ List each fix as a =item entry ]
384 XXX If any significant core contributor has died, we've added a short obituary
387 =head1 Acknowledgements
389 XXX Generate this with:
391 perl Porting/acknowledgements.pl v5.17.5..HEAD
393 =head1 Reporting Bugs
395 If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles recently
396 posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl bug database at
397 http://rt.perl.org/perlbug/ . There may also be information at
398 http://www.perl.org/ , the Perl Home Page.
400 If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the L<perlbug> program
401 included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down to a tiny but
402 sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the output of C<perl -V>,
403 will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be analysed by the Perl porting team.
405 If the bug you are reporting has security implications, which make it
406 inappropriate to send to a publicly archived mailing list, then please send it
407 to perl5-security-report@perl.org. This points to a closed subscription
408 unarchived mailing list, which includes all the core committers, who will be
409 able to help assess the impact of issues, figure out a resolution, and help
410 co-ordinate the release of patches to mitigate or fix the problem across all
411 platforms on which Perl is supported. Please only use this address for
412 security issues in the Perl core, not for modules independently distributed on
417 The F<Changes> file for an explanation of how to view exhaustive details on
420 The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl.
422 The F<README> file for general stuff.
424 The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information.