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.tXXX.cXXX
12 This document describes differences between the 5.sXXX.bXXX release and the 5.tXXX.cXXX
15 If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.rXXX.aXXX, first read
16 L<perl5XXXdelta>, which describes differences between 5.rXXX.aXXX and 5.sXXX.bXXX.
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 XXX Any deprecated features, syntax, modules etc. should be listed here. In
51 particular, deprecated modules should be listed here even if they are listed as
52 an updated module in the L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
54 [ List each deprecation as a =head2 entry ]
56 =head1 Performance Enhancements
58 XXX Changes which enhance performance without changing behaviour go here.
59 There may well be none in a stable release.
61 [ List each enhancement as a =item entry ]
71 =head1 Modules and Pragmata
73 XXX All changes to installed files in F<cpan/>, F<dist/>, F<ext/> and F<lib/>
74 go here. If Module::CoreList is updated, generate an initial draft of the
75 following sections using F<Porting/corelist-perldelta.pl>, which prints stub
76 entries to STDOUT. Results can be pasted in place of the '=head2' entries
77 below. A paragraph summary for important changes should then be added by hand.
78 In an ideal world, dual-life modules would have a F<Changes> file that could be
81 [ Within each section, list entries as a =item entry ]
83 =head2 New Modules and Pragmata
93 =head2 Updated Modules and Pragmata
99 L<XXX> has been upgraded from version A.xx to B.yy.
103 =head2 Removed Modules and Pragmata
115 XXX Changes to files in F<pod/> go here. Consider grouping entries by
116 file and be sure to link to the appropriate page, e.g. L<perlfunc>.
118 =head2 New Documentation
120 XXX Changes which create B<new> files in F<pod/> go here.
124 XXX Description of the purpose of the new file here
126 =head2 Changes to Existing Documentation
128 XXX Changes which significantly change existing files in F<pod/> go here.
129 However, any changes to F<pod/perldiag.pod> should go in the L</Diagnostics>
138 XXX Description of the change here
144 The following additions or changes have been made to diagnostic output,
145 including warnings and fatal error messages. For the complete list of
146 diagnostic messages, see L<perldiag>.
148 XXX New or changed warnings emitted by the core's C<C> code go here. Also
149 include any changes in L<perldiag> that reconcile it to the C<C> code.
151 =head2 New Diagnostics
153 XXX Newly added diagnostic messages go under here, separated into New Errors
162 XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
172 XXX L<message|perldiag/"message">
176 =head2 Changes to Existing Diagnostics
178 XXX Changes (i.e. rewording) of diagnostic messages go here
184 XXX Describe change here
188 =head1 Utility Changes
190 XXX Changes to installed programs such as F<perlbug> and F<xsubpp> go here.
191 Most of these are built within the directories F<utils> and F<x2p>.
193 [ List utility changes as a =head3 entry for each utility and =item
194 entries for each change
195 Use L<XXX> with program names to get proper documentation linking. ]
207 =head1 Configuration and Compilation
209 XXX Changes to F<Configure>, F<installperl>, F<installman>, and analogous tools
210 go here. Any other changes to the Perl build process should be listed here.
211 However, any platform-specific changes should be listed in the
212 L</Platform Support> section, instead.
214 [ List changes as a =item entry ].
226 XXX Any significant changes to the testing of a freshly built perl should be
227 listed here. Changes which create B<new> files in F<t/> go here as do any
228 large changes to the testing harness (e.g. when parallel testing was added).
229 Changes to existing files in F<t/> aren't worth summarizing, although the bugs
230 that they represent may be covered elsewhere.
232 [ List each test improvement as a =item entry ]
242 =head1 Platform Support
244 XXX Any changes to platform support should be listed in the sections below.
246 [ Within the sections, list each platform as a =item entry with specific
247 changes as paragraphs below it. ]
251 XXX List any platforms that this version of perl compiles on, that previous
252 versions did not. These will either be enabled by new files in the F<hints/>
253 directories, or new subdirectories and F<README> files at the top level of the
258 =item XXX-some-platform
264 =head2 Discontinued Platforms
266 XXX List any platforms that this version of perl no longer compiles on.
270 =item XXX-some-platform
276 =head2 Platform-Specific Notes
278 XXX List any changes for specific platforms. This could include configuration
279 and compilation changes or changes in portability/compatibility. However,
280 changes within modules for platforms should generally be listed in the
281 L</Modules and Pragmata> section.
285 =item XXX-some-platform
291 =head1 Internal Changes
293 XXX Changes which affect the interface available to C<XS> code go here. Other
294 significant internal changes for future core maintainers should be noted as
297 [ List each change as a =item entry ]
307 =head1 Selected Bug Fixes
309 XXX Important bug fixes in the core language are summarized here. Bug fixes in
310 files in F<ext/> and F<lib/> are best summarized in L</Modules and Pragmata>.
312 [ List each fix as a =item entry ]
322 =head1 Known Problems
324 XXX Descriptions of platform agnostic bugs we know we can't fix go here. Any
325 tests that had to be C<TODO>ed for the release would be noted here. Unfixed
326 platform specific bugs also go here.
328 [ List each fix as a =item entry ]
340 XXX If any significant core contributor has died, we've added a short obituary
343 =head1 Acknowledgements
345 XXX Generate this with:
347 perl Porting/acknowledgements.pl v5.17.3..HEAD
349 =head1 Reporting Bugs
351 If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles recently
352 posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl bug database at
353 http://rt.perl.org/perlbug/ . There may also be information at
354 http://www.perl.org/ , the Perl Home Page.
356 If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the L<perlbug> program
357 included with your release. Be sure to trim your bug down to a tiny but
358 sufficient test case. Your bug report, along with the output of C<perl -V>,
359 will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be analysed by the Perl porting team.
361 If the bug you are reporting has security implications, which make it
362 inappropriate to send to a publicly archived mailing list, then please send it
363 to perl5-security-report@perl.org. This points to a closed subscription
364 unarchived mailing list, which includes all the core committers, who will be
365 able to help assess the impact of issues, figure out a resolution, and help
366 co-ordinate the release of patches to mitigate or fix the problem across all
367 platforms on which Perl is supported. Please only use this address for
368 security issues in the Perl core, not for modules independently distributed on
373 The F<Changes> file for an explanation of how to view exhaustive details on
376 The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl.
378 The F<README> file for general stuff.
380 The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information.