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 v5.21.5
12 This document describes differences between the 5.21.4 release and the 5.21.5
15 If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.21.3, first read
16 L<perl5214delta>, which describes differences between 5.21.3 and 5.21.4.
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 Perl now supports POSIX 2008 locale currency additions.
32 On platforms that are able to handle POSIX.1-2008, the
34 L<C<POSIX::localeconv()>|perllocale/The localeconv function>
35 includes the international currency fields added by that version of the
36 POSIX standard. These are
38 C<int_n_sep_by_space>,
41 C<int_p_sep_by_space>,
47 XXX Any security-related notices go here. In particular, any security
48 vulnerabilities closed should be noted here rather than in the
49 L</Selected Bug Fixes> section.
51 [ List each security issue as a =head2 entry ]
53 =head1 Incompatible Changes
55 XXX For a release on a stable branch, this section aspires to be:
57 There are no changes intentionally incompatible with 5.XXX.XXX
58 If any exist, they are bugs, and we request that you submit a
59 report. See L</Reporting Bugs> below.
61 [ List each incompatible change as a =head2 entry ]
65 XXX Any deprecated features, syntax, modules etc. should be listed here.
67 =head2 Module removals
69 XXX Remove this section if inapplicable.
71 The following modules will be removed from the core distribution in a
72 future release, and will at that time need to be installed from CPAN.
73 Distributions on CPAN which require these modules will need to list them as
76 The core versions of these modules will now issue C<"deprecated">-category
77 warnings to alert you to this fact. To silence these deprecation warnings,
78 install the modules in question from CPAN.
80 Note that these are (with rare exceptions) fine modules that you are encouraged
81 to continue to use. Their disinclusion from core primarily hinges on their
82 necessity to bootstrapping a fully functional, CPAN-capable Perl installation,
83 not usually on concerns over their design.
89 XXX Note that deprecated modules should be listed here even if they are listed
90 as an updated module in the L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
94 [ List each other deprecation as a =head2 entry ]
96 =head1 Performance Enhancements
98 XXX Changes which enhance performance without changing behaviour go here.
99 There may well be none in a stable release.
101 [ List each enhancement as a =item entry ]
107 C<length> is up to 20% faster for non-magical/non-tied scalars containing a
108 string if it is a non-utf8 string or if C<use bytes;> is in scope.
112 Non-magical/non-tied scalars that contain only a floating point value and are
113 on most Perl builds with 64 bit integers now use 8-32 less bytes of memory
118 =head1 Modules and Pragmata
120 XXX All changes to installed files in F<cpan/>, F<dist/>, F<ext/> and F<lib/>
121 go here. If Module::CoreList is updated, generate an initial draft of the
122 following sections using F<Porting/corelist-perldelta.pl>. A paragraph summary
123 for important changes should then be added by hand. In an ideal world,
124 dual-life modules would have a F<Changes> file that could be cribbed.
126 [ Within each section, list entries as a =item entry ]
128 =head2 New Modules and Pragmata
138 =head2 Updated Modules and Pragmata
144 L<Module::CoreList> has been upgraded from version 5.20140920 to 5.20141020.
146 Updated to cover the latest releases of Perl.
150 =head2 Removed Modules and Pragmata
162 XXX Changes to files in F<pod/> go here. Consider grouping entries by
163 file and be sure to link to the appropriate page, e.g. L<perlfunc>.
165 =head2 New Documentation
167 XXX Changes which create B<new> files in F<pod/> go here.
171 XXX Description of the purpose of the new file here
173 =head2 Changes to Existing Documentation
175 XXX Changes which significantly change existing files in F<pod/> go here.
176 However, any changes to F<pod/perldiag.pod> should go in the L</Diagnostics>
185 XXX Description of the change here
191 The following additions or changes have been made to diagnostic output,
192 including warnings and fatal error messages. For the complete list of
193 diagnostic messages, see L<perldiag>.
195 XXX New or changed warnings emitted by the core's C<C> code go here. Also
196 include any changes in L<perldiag> that reconcile it to the C<C> code.
198 =head2 New Diagnostics
200 XXX Newly added diagnostic messages go under here, separated into New Errors
209 XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
219 XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
223 =head2 Changes to Existing Diagnostics
225 XXX Changes (i.e. rewording) of diagnostic messages go here
231 XXX Describe change here
235 =head1 Utility Changes
237 XXX Changes to installed programs such as F<perlbug> and F<xsubpp> go here.
238 Most of these are built within the directory F<utils>.
240 [ List utility changes as a =head2 entry for each utility and =item
241 entries for each change
242 Use L<XXX> with program names to get proper documentation linking. ]
254 =head1 Configuration and Compilation
256 XXX Changes to F<Configure>, F<installperl>, F<installman>, and analogous tools
257 go here. Any other changes to the Perl build process should be listed here.
258 However, any platform-specific changes should be listed in the
259 L</Platform Support> section, instead.
261 [ List changes as a =item entry ].
273 XXX Any significant changes to the testing of a freshly built perl should be
274 listed here. Changes which create B<new> files in F<t/> go here as do any
275 large changes to the testing harness (e.g. when parallel testing was added).
276 Changes to existing files in F<t/> aren't worth summarizing, although the bugs
277 that they represent may be covered elsewhere.
279 [ List each test improvement as a =item entry ]
289 =head1 Platform Support
291 XXX Any changes to platform support should be listed in the sections below.
293 [ Within the sections, list each platform as a =item entry with specific
294 changes as paragraphs below it. ]
298 XXX List any platforms that this version of perl compiles on, that previous
299 versions did not. These will either be enabled by new files in the F<hints/>
300 directories, or new subdirectories and F<README> files at the top level of the
305 =item XXX-some-platform
311 =head2 Discontinued Platforms
313 XXX List any platforms that this version of perl no longer compiles on.
317 =item XXX-some-platform
323 =head2 Platform-Specific Notes
325 XXX List any changes for specific platforms. This could include configuration
326 and compilation changes or changes in portability/compatibility. However,
327 changes within modules for platforms should generally be listed in the
328 L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
332 =item XXX-some-platform
338 =head1 Internal Changes
340 XXX Changes which affect the interface available to C<XS> code go here. Other
341 significant internal changes for future core maintainers should be noted as
344 [ List each change as a =item entry ]
354 =head1 Selected Bug Fixes
356 XXX Important bug fixes in the core language are summarized here. Bug fixes in
357 files in F<ext/> and F<lib/> are best summarized in L</Modules and Pragmata>.
359 [ List each fix as a =item entry ]
369 =head1 Known Problems
371 XXX Descriptions of platform agnostic bugs we know we can't fix go here. Any
372 tests that had to be C<TODO>ed for the release would be noted here. Unfixed
373 platform specific bugs also go here.
375 [ List each fix as a =item entry ]
385 =head1 Errata From Previous Releases
391 XXX Add anything here that we forgot to add, or were mistaken about, in
392 the perldelta of a previous release.
396 SVs of type SVt_NV are now bodyless when a build configure and platform allow
397 it, specifically C<sizeof(NV) <= sizeof(IV)>. The bodyless trick is the same one
398 as for IVs since 5.9.2, but for NVs, unlike IVs, is not guarenteed on all
399 platforms and build configurations.
405 XXX If any significant core contributor has died, we've added a short obituary
408 =head1 Acknowledgements
410 XXX Generate this with:
412 perl Porting/acknowledgements.pl v5.21.4..HEAD
414 =head1 Reporting Bugs
416 If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles recently
417 posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl bug database at
418 https://rt.perl.org/ . There may also be information at
419 http://www.perl.org/ , the Perl Home Page.
421 If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the L<perlbug> program
422 included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down to a tiny but
423 sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the output of C<perl -V>,
424 will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be analysed by the Perl porting team.
426 If the bug you are reporting has security implications, which make it
427 inappropriate to send to a publicly archived mailing list, then please send it
428 to perl5-security-report@perl.org. This points to a closed subscription
429 unarchived mailing list, which includes all the core committers, who will be
430 able to help assess the impact of issues, figure out a resolution, and help
431 co-ordinate the release of patches to mitigate or fix the problem across all
432 platforms on which Perl is supported. Please only use this address for
433 security issues in the Perl core, not for modules independently distributed on
438 The F<Changes> file for an explanation of how to view exhaustive details on
441 The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl.
443 The F<README> file for general stuff.
445 The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information.