X-Git-Url: https://perl5.git.perl.org/perl5.git/blobdiff_plain/82e1c0d96852007516f20ad25f6a264b63de34de..09700023a7729ab6e41f68e6182f832913c327f0:/pod/perlfunc.pod

diff --git a/pod/perlfunc.pod b/pod/perlfunc.pod
index f76c47c..0541bfd 100644
--- a/pod/perlfunc.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfunc.pod
@@ -107,52 +107,80 @@ than one place.
 =item Functions for SCALARs or strings
 X<scalar> X<string> X<character>
 
-C<chomp>, C<chop>, C<chr>, C<crypt>, C<hex>, C<index>, C<lc>, C<lcfirst>,
-C<length>, C<oct>, C<ord>, C<pack>, C<q//>, C<qq//>, C<reverse>,
+=for Pod::Functions =String
+
+C<chomp>, C<chop>, C<chr>, C<crypt>, C<fc>, C<hex>, C<index>, C<lc>,
+C<lcfirst>, C<length>, C<oct>, C<ord>, C<pack>, C<q//>, C<qq//>, C<reverse>,
 C<rindex>, C<sprintf>, C<substr>, C<tr///>, C<uc>, C<ucfirst>, C<y///>
 
+C<fc> is available only if the C<"fc"> feature is enabled or if it is
+prefixed with C<CORE::>.  The C<"fc"> feature is enabled automatically
+with a C<use v5.16> (or higher) declaration in the current scope.
+
+
 =item Regular expressions and pattern matching
 X<regular expression> X<regex> X<regexp>
 
-C<m//>, C<pos>, C<quotemeta>, C<s///>, C<split>, C<study>, C<qr//>
+=for Pod::Functions =Regexp
+
+C<m//>, C<pos>, C<qr//>, C<quotemeta>, C<s///>, C<split>, C<study>
 
 =item Numeric functions
 X<numeric> X<number> X<trigonometric> X<trigonometry>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =Math
+
 C<abs>, C<atan2>, C<cos>, C<exp>, C<hex>, C<int>, C<log>, C<oct>, C<rand>,
 C<sin>, C<sqrt>, C<srand>
 
 =item Functions for real @ARRAYs
 X<array>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =ARRAY
+
 C<each>, C<keys>, C<pop>, C<push>, C<shift>, C<splice>, C<unshift>, C<values>
 
 =item Functions for list data
 X<list>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =LIST
+
 C<grep>, C<join>, C<map>, C<qw//>, C<reverse>, C<sort>, C<unpack>
 
 =item Functions for real %HASHes
 X<hash>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =HASH
+
 C<delete>, C<each>, C<exists>, C<keys>, C<values>
 
 =item Input and output functions
 X<I/O> X<input> X<output> X<dbm>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =I/O
+
 C<binmode>, C<close>, C<closedir>, C<dbmclose>, C<dbmopen>, C<die>, C<eof>,
 C<fileno>, C<flock>, C<format>, C<getc>, C<print>, C<printf>, C<read>,
-C<readdir>, C<rewinddir>, C<say>, C<seek>, C<seekdir>, C<select>, C<syscall>,
-C<sysread>, C<sysseek>, C<syswrite>, C<tell>, C<telldir>, C<truncate>,
-C<warn>, C<write>
+C<readdir>, C<readline> C<rewinddir>, C<say>, C<seek>, C<seekdir>, C<select>,
+C<syscall>, C<sysread>, C<sysseek>, C<syswrite>, C<tell>, C<telldir>,
+C<truncate>, C<warn>, C<write>
+
+C<say> is available only if the C<"say"> feature is enabled or if it is
+prefixed with C<CORE::>.  The C<"say"> feature is enabled automatically
+with a C<use v5.10> (or higher) declaration in the current scope.
 
 =item Functions for fixed-length data or records
 
-C<pack>, C<read>, C<syscall>, C<sysread>, C<syswrite>, C<unpack>, C<vec>
+=for Pod::Functions =Binary
+
+C<pack>, C<read>, C<syscall>, C<sysread>, C<sysseek>, C<syswrite>, C<unpack>,
+C<vec>
 
 =item Functions for filehandles, files, or directories
 X<file> X<filehandle> X<directory> X<pipe> X<link> X<symlink>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =File
+
 C<-I<X>>, C<chdir>, C<chmod>, C<chown>, C<chroot>, C<fcntl>, C<glob>,
 C<ioctl>, C<link>, C<lstat>, C<mkdir>, C<open>, C<opendir>,
 C<readlink>, C<rename>, C<rmdir>, C<stat>, C<symlink>, C<sysopen>,
@@ -161,55 +189,73 @@ C<umask>, C<unlink>, C<utime>
 =item Keywords related to the control flow of your Perl program
 X<control flow>
 
-C<caller>, C<continue>, C<die>, C<do>, C<dump>, C<eval>, C<exit>,
-C<__FILE__>, C<goto>, C<last>, C<__LINE__>, C<next>, C<__PACKAGE__>,
-C<redo>, C<return>, C<sub>, C<wantarray>,
-
-=item Keywords related to the switch feature
+=for Pod::Functions =Flow
 
-C<break>, C<continue>, C<default>, C<given>, C<when>
-
-Except for C<continue>, these are available only if you enable the
-C<"switch"> feature or use the C<CORE::> prefix.
-See L<feature> and L<perlsyn/"Switch statements">.  
-Alternately, include a C<use v5.10> or later to the current scope.  In Perl
-5.14 and earlier, C<continue> required the C<"switch"> feature, like the
-other keywords.
+C<break>, C<caller>, C<continue>, C<die>, C<do>,
+C<dump>, C<eval>, C<evalbytes> C<exit>,
+C<__FILE__>, C<goto>, C<last>, C<__LINE__>, C<next>, C<__PACKAGE__>,
+C<redo>, C<return>, C<sub>, C<__SUB__>, C<wantarray>
+
+C<break> is available only if you enable the experimental C<"switch">
+feature or use the C<CORE::> prefix. The C<"switch"> feature also enables
+the C<default>, C<given> and C<when> statements, which are documented in
+L<perlsyn/"Switch Statements">. The C<"switch"> feature is enabled
+automatically with a C<use v5.10> (or higher) declaration in the current
+scope. In Perl v5.14 and earlier, C<continue> required the C<"switch">
+feature, like the other keywords.
+
+C<evalbytes> is only available with the C<"evalbytes"> feature (see
+L<feature>) or if prefixed with C<CORE::>.  C<__SUB__> is only available
+with the C<"current_sub"> feature or if prefixed with C<CORE::>. Both
+the C<"evalbytes"> and C<"current_sub"> features are enabled automatically
+with a C<use v5.16> (or higher) declaration in the current scope.
 
 =item Keywords related to scoping
 
+=for Pod::Functions =Namespace
+
 C<caller>, C<import>, C<local>, C<my>, C<our>, C<package>, C<state>, C<use>
 
-C<state> is available only if the C<"state"> feature
-is enabled or if it is prefixed with C<CORE::>. See
-L<feature>.  Alternately, include a C<use v5.10> or later to the current scope.
+C<state> is available only if the C<"state"> feature is enabled or if it is
+prefixed with C<CORE::>.  The C<"state"> feature is enabled automatically
+with a C<use v5.10> (or higher) declaration in the current scope.
 
 =item Miscellaneous functions
 
-C<defined>, C<dump>, C<eval>, C<formline>, C<local>, C<my>, C<our>,
-C<reset>, C<scalar>, C<state>, C<undef>, C<wantarray>
+=for Pod::Functions =Misc
+
+C<defined>, C<formline>, C<lock>, C<prototype>, C<reset>, C<scalar>, C<undef>
 
 =item Functions for processes and process groups
 X<process> X<pid> X<process id>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =Process
+
 C<alarm>, C<exec>, C<fork>, C<getpgrp>, C<getppid>, C<getpriority>, C<kill>,
-C<pipe>, C<qx//>, C<setpgrp>, C<setpriority>, C<sleep>, C<system>,
+C<pipe>, C<qx//>, C<readpipe>, C<setpgrp>,
+C<setpriority>, C<sleep>, C<system>,
 C<times>, C<wait>, C<waitpid>
 
 =item Keywords related to Perl modules
 X<module>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =Modules
+
 C<do>, C<import>, C<no>, C<package>, C<require>, C<use>
 
 =item Keywords related to classes and object-orientation
 X<object> X<class> X<package>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =Objects
+
 C<bless>, C<dbmclose>, C<dbmopen>, C<package>, C<ref>, C<tie>, C<tied>,
 C<untie>, C<use>
 
 =item Low-level socket functions
 X<socket> X<sock>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =Socket
+
 C<accept>, C<bind>, C<connect>, C<getpeername>, C<getsockname>,
 C<getsockopt>, C<listen>, C<recv>, C<send>, C<setsockopt>, C<shutdown>,
 C<socket>, C<socketpair>
@@ -217,12 +263,16 @@ C<socket>, C<socketpair>
 =item System V interprocess communication functions
 X<IPC> X<System V> X<semaphore> X<shared memory> X<memory> X<message>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =SysV
+
 C<msgctl>, C<msgget>, C<msgrcv>, C<msgsnd>, C<semctl>, C<semget>, C<semop>,
 C<shmctl>, C<shmget>, C<shmread>, C<shmwrite>
 
 =item Fetching user and group info
 X<user> X<group> X<password> X<uid> X<gid>  X<passwd> X</etc/passwd>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =User
+
 C<endgrent>, C<endhostent>, C<endnetent>, C<endpwent>, C<getgrent>,
 C<getgrgid>, C<getgrnam>, C<getlogin>, C<getpwent>, C<getpwnam>,
 C<getpwuid>, C<setgrent>, C<setpwent>
@@ -230,6 +280,8 @@ C<getpwuid>, C<setgrent>, C<setpwent>
 =item Fetching network info
 X<network> X<protocol> X<host> X<hostname> X<IP> X<address> X<service>
 
+=for Pod::Functions =Network
+
 C<endprotoent>, C<endservent>, C<gethostbyaddr>, C<gethostbyname>,
 C<gethostent>, C<getnetbyaddr>, C<getnetbyname>, C<getnetent>,
 C<getprotobyname>, C<getprotobynumber>, C<getprotoent>,
@@ -239,23 +291,19 @@ C<setnetent>, C<setprotoent>, C<setservent>
 =item Time-related functions
 X<time> X<date>
 
-C<gmtime>, C<localtime>, C<time>, C<times>
-
-=item Functions new in perl5
-X<perl5>
+=for Pod::Functions =Time
 
-C<abs>, C<bless>, C<break>, C<chomp>, C<chr>, C<continue>, C<default>, 
-C<exists>, C<formline>, C<given>, C<glob>, C<import>, C<lc>, C<lcfirst>,
-C<lock>, C<map>, C<my>, C<no>, C<our>, C<prototype>, C<qr//>, C<qw//>, C<qx//>,
-C<readline>, C<readpipe>, C<ref>, C<sub>*, C<sysopen>, C<tie>, C<tied>, C<uc>,
-C<ucfirst>, C<untie>, C<use>, C<when>
+C<gmtime>, C<localtime>, C<time>, C<times>
 
-* C<sub> was a keyword in Perl 4, but in Perl 5 it is an
-operator, which can be used in expressions.
+=item Non-function keywords
 
-=item Functions obsoleted in perl5
+=for Pod::Functions =!Non-functions
 
-C<dbmclose>, C<dbmopen>
+C<and>, C<AUTOLOAD>, C<BEGIN>, C<CHECK>, C<cmp>, C<CORE>, C<__DATA__>,
+C<default>, C<DESTROY>, C<else>, C<elseif>, C<elsif>, C<END>, C<__END__>,
+C<eq>, C<for>, C<foreach>, C<ge>, C<given>, C<gt>, C<if>, C<INIT>, C<le>,
+C<lt>, C<ne>, C<not>, C<or>, C<UNITCHECK>, C<unless>, C<until>, C<when>,
+C<while>, C<x>, C<xor>
 
 =back
 
@@ -303,6 +351,8 @@ X<-S>X<-b>X<-c>X<-t>X<-u>X<-g>X<-k>X<-T>X<-B>X<-M>X<-A>X<-C>
 
 =item -X
 
+=for Pod::Functions a file test (-r, -x, etc)
+
 A file test, where X is one of the letters listed below.  This unary
 operator takes one argument, either a filename, a filehandle, or a dirhandle, 
 and tests the associated file to see if something is true about it.  If the
@@ -344,7 +394,8 @@ operator may be any of:
 
     -M  Script start time minus file modification time, in days.
     -A  Same for access time.
-    -C  Same for inode change time (Unix, may differ for other platforms)
+    -C  Same for inode change time (Unix, may differ for other
+	platforms)
 
 Example:
 
@@ -391,7 +442,7 @@ test whether the permission can(not) be granted using the
 access(2) family of system calls.  Also note that the C<-x> and C<-X> may
 under this pragma return true even if there are no execute permission
 bits set (nor any extra execute permission ACLs).  This strangeness is
-due to the underlying system calls' definitions. Note also that, due to
+due to the underlying system calls' definitions.  Note also that, due to
 the implementation of C<use filetest 'access'>, the C<_> special
 filehandle won't cache the results of the file tests when this pragma is
 in effect.  Read the documentation for the C<filetest> pragma for more
@@ -429,25 +480,34 @@ Example:
     print "Text\n" if -T _;
     print "Binary\n" if -B _;
 
-As of Perl 5.9.1, as a form of purely syntactic sugar, you can stack file
+As of Perl 5.10.0, as a form of purely syntactic sugar, you can stack file
 test operators, in a way that C<-f -w -x $file> is equivalent to
-C<-x $file && -w _ && -f _>. (This is only fancy fancy: if you use
+C<-x $file && -w _ && -f _>.  (This is only fancy fancy: if you use
 the return value of C<-f $file> as an argument to another filetest
 operator, no special magic will happen.)
 
 Portability issues: L<perlport/-X>.
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code with mysterious
+syntax errors, put something like this at the top of your script:
+
+    use 5.010;  # so filetest ops can stack
+
 =item abs VALUE
 X<abs> X<absolute>
 
 =item abs
 
+=for Pod::Functions absolute value function
+
 Returns the absolute value of its argument.
 If VALUE is omitted, uses C<$_>.
 
 =item accept NEWSOCKET,GENERICSOCKET
 X<accept>
 
+=for Pod::Functions accept an incoming socket connect
+
 Accepts an incoming socket connect, just as accept(2) 
 does.  Returns the packed address if it succeeded, false otherwise.
 See the example in L<perlipc/"Sockets: Client/Server Communication">.
@@ -463,9 +523,11 @@ X<timer>
 
 =item alarm
 
+=for Pod::Functions schedule a SIGALRM
+
 Arranges to have a SIGALRM delivered to this process after the
 specified number of wallclock seconds has elapsed.  If SECONDS is not
-specified, the value stored in C<$_> is used. (On some machines,
+specified, the value stored in C<$_> is used.  (On some machines,
 unfortunately, the elapsed time may be up to one second less or more
 than you specified because of how seconds are counted, and process
 scheduling may delay the delivery of the signal even further.)
@@ -480,7 +542,7 @@ For delays of finer granularity than one second, the Time::HiRes module
 distribution) provides ualarm().  You may also use Perl's four-argument
 version of select() leaving the first three arguments undefined, or you
 might be able to use the C<syscall> interface to access setitimer(2) if
-your system supports it. See L<perlfaq8> for details.
+your system supports it.  See L<perlfaq8> for details.
 
 It is usually a mistake to intermix C<alarm> and C<sleep> calls, because
 C<sleep> may be internally implemented on your system with C<alarm>.
@@ -512,6 +574,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/alarm>.
 =item atan2 Y,X
 X<atan2> X<arctangent> X<tan> X<tangent>
 
+=for Pod::Functions arctangent of Y/X in the range -PI to PI
+
 Returns the arctangent of Y/X in the range -PI to PI.
 
 For the tangent operation, you may use the C<Math::Trig::tan>
@@ -527,6 +591,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/atan2>.
 =item bind SOCKET,NAME
 X<bind>
 
+=for Pod::Functions binds an address to a socket
+
 Binds a network address to a socket, just as bind(2)
 does.  Returns true if it succeeded, false otherwise.  NAME should be a
 packed address of the appropriate type for the socket.  See the examples in
@@ -537,6 +603,8 @@ X<binmode> X<binary> X<text> X<DOS> X<Windows>
 
 =item binmode FILEHANDLE
 
+=for Pod::Functions prepare binary files for I/O
+
 Arranges for FILEHANDLE to be read or written in "binary" or "text"
 mode on systems where the run-time libraries distinguish between
 binary and text files.  If FILEHANDLE is an expression, the value is
@@ -553,16 +621,16 @@ In other words: regardless of platform, use binmode() on binary data,
 like images, for example.
 
 If LAYER is present it is a single string, but may contain multiple
-directives. The directives alter the behaviour of the filehandle.
+directives.  The directives alter the behaviour of the filehandle.
 When LAYER is present, using binmode on a text file makes sense.
 
 If LAYER is omitted or specified as C<:raw> the filehandle is made
-suitable for passing binary data. This includes turning off possible CRLF
+suitable for passing binary data.  This includes turning off possible CRLF
 translation and marking it as bytes (as opposed to Unicode characters).
 Note that, despite what may be implied in I<"Programming Perl"> (the
 Camel, 3rd edition) or elsewhere, C<:raw> is I<not> simply the inverse of C<:crlf>.
 Other layers that would affect the binary nature of the stream are
-I<also> disabled. See L<PerlIO>, L<perlrun>, and the discussion about the
+I<also> disabled.  See L<PerlIO>, L<perlrun>, and the discussion about the
 PERLIO environment variable.
 
 The C<:bytes>, C<:crlf>, C<:utf8>, and any other directives of the
@@ -579,7 +647,7 @@ of this version of Perl therefore refers to "layers" rather than to
 To mark FILEHANDLE as UTF-8, use C<:utf8> or C<:encoding(UTF-8)>.
 C<:utf8> just marks the data as UTF-8 without further checking,
 while C<:encoding(UTF-8)> checks the data for actually being valid
-UTF-8. More details can be found in L<PerlIO::encoding>.
+UTF-8.  More details can be found in L<PerlIO::encoding>.
 
 In general, binmode() should be called after open() but before any I/O
 is done on the filehandle.  Calling binmode() normally flushes any
@@ -602,7 +670,7 @@ one character.
 All variants of Unix, Mac OS (old and new), and Stream_LF files on VMS use
 a single character to end each line in the external representation of text
 (even though that single character is CARRIAGE RETURN on old, pre-Darwin
-flavors of Mac OS, and is LINE FEED on Unix and most VMS files). In other
+flavors of Mac OS, and is LINE FEED on Unix and most VMS files).  In other
 systems like OS/2, DOS, and the various flavors of MS-Windows, your program
 sees a C<\n> as a simple C<\cJ>, but what's stored in text files are the
 two characters C<\cM\cJ>.  That means that if you don't use binmode() on
@@ -630,16 +698,18 @@ X<bless>
 
 =item bless REF
 
+=for Pod::Functions create an object
+
 This function tells the thingy referenced by REF that it is now an object
 in the CLASSNAME package.  If CLASSNAME is omitted, the current package
 is used.  Because a C<bless> is often the last thing in a constructor,
 it returns the reference for convenience.  Always use the two-argument
 version if a derived class might inherit the function doing the blessing.
-SeeL<perlobj> for more about the blessing (and blessings) of objects.
+See L<perlobj> for more about the blessing (and blessings) of objects.
 
 Consider always blessing objects in CLASSNAMEs that are mixed case.
 Namespaces with all lowercase names are considered reserved for
-Perl pragmata.  Builtin types have all uppercase names. To prevent
+Perl pragmata.  Builtin types have all uppercase names.  To prevent
 confusion, you may wish to avoid such package names as well.  Make sure
 that CLASSNAME is a true value.
 
@@ -647,18 +717,22 @@ See L<perlmod/"Perl Modules">.
 
 =item break
 
+=for Pod::Functions +switch break out of a C<given> block
+
 Break out of a C<given()> block.
 
-This keyword is enabled by the C<"switch"> feature: see
-L<feature> for more information.  You can also access it by
-prefixing it with C<CORE::>.  Alternately, include a C<use
-v5.10> or later to the current scope.
+This keyword is enabled by the C<"switch"> feature; see L<feature> for
+more information on C<"switch">.  You can also access it by prefixing it
+with C<CORE::>.  Alternatively, include a C<use v5.10> or later to the
+current scope.
 
 =item caller EXPR
 X<caller> X<call stack> X<stack> X<stack trace>
 
 =item caller
 
+=for Pod::Functions get context of the current subroutine call
+
 Returns the context of the current subroutine call.  In scalar context,
 returns the caller's package name if there I<is> a caller (that is, if
 we're in a subroutine or C<eval> or C<require>) and the undefined value
@@ -689,14 +763,17 @@ frame.)  $subroutine may also be C<(unknown)> if this particular
 subroutine happens to have been deleted from the symbol table.
 C<$hasargs> is true if a new instance of C<@_> was set up for the frame.
 C<$hints> and C<$bitmask> contain pragmatic hints that the caller was
-compiled with.  The C<$hints> and C<$bitmask> values are subject to change
-between versions of Perl, and are not meant for external use.
+compiled with.  C<$hints> corresponds to C<$^H>, and C<$bitmask>
+corresponds to C<${^WARNING_BITS}>.  The
+C<$hints> and C<$bitmask> values are subject
+to change between versions of Perl, and are not meant for external use.
 
 C<$hinthash> is a reference to a hash containing the value of C<%^H> when the
-caller was compiled, or C<undef> if C<%^H> was empty. Do not modify the values
+caller was compiled, or C<undef> if C<%^H> was empty.  Do not modify the values
 of this hash, as they are the actual values stored in the optree.
 
-Furthermore, when called from within the DB package, caller returns more
+Furthermore, when called from within the DB package in
+list context, and with an argument, caller returns more
 detailed information: it sets the list variable C<@DB::args> to be the
 arguments with which the subroutine was invoked.
 
@@ -707,18 +784,18 @@ C<< N > 1 >>.  In particular, C<@DB::args> might have information from the
 previous time C<caller> was called.
 
 Be aware that setting C<@DB::args> is I<best effort>, intended for
-debugging or generating backtraces, and should not be relied upon. In
+debugging or generating backtraces, and should not be relied upon.  In
 particular, as C<@_> contains aliases to the caller's arguments, Perl does
 not take a copy of C<@_>, so C<@DB::args> will contain modifications the
 subroutine makes to C<@_> or its contents, not the original values at call
-time. C<@DB::args>, like C<@_>, does not hold explicit references to its
+time.  C<@DB::args>, like C<@_>, does not hold explicit references to its
 elements, so under certain cases its elements may have become freed and
-reallocated for other variables or temporary values. Finally, a side effect
+reallocated for other variables or temporary values.  Finally, a side effect
 of the current implementation is that the effects of C<shift @_> can
 I<normally> be undone (but not C<pop @_> or other splicing, I<and> not if a
 reference to C<@_> has been taken, I<and> subject to the caveat about reallocated
 elements), so C<@DB::args> is actually a hybrid of the current state and
-initial state of C<@_>. Buyer beware.
+initial state of C<@_>.  Buyer beware.
 
 =item chdir EXPR
 X<chdir>
@@ -731,12 +808,14 @@ X<directory, change>
 
 =item chdir
 
-Changes the working directory to EXPR, if possible. If EXPR is omitted,
+=for Pod::Functions change your current working directory
+
+Changes the working directory to EXPR, if possible.  If EXPR is omitted,
 changes to the directory specified by C<$ENV{HOME}>, if set; if not,
-changes to the directory specified by C<$ENV{LOGDIR}>. (Under VMS, the
-variable C<$ENV{SYS$LOGIN}> is also checked, and used if it is set.) If
-neither is set, C<chdir> does nothing. It returns true on success,
-false otherwise. See the example under C<die>.
+changes to the directory specified by C<$ENV{LOGDIR}>.  (Under VMS, the
+variable C<$ENV{SYS$LOGIN}> is also checked, and used if it is set.)  If
+neither is set, C<chdir> does nothing.  It returns true on success,
+false otherwise.  See the example under C<die>.
 
 On systems that support fchdir(2), you may pass a filehandle or
 directory handle as the argument.  On systems that don't support fchdir(2),
@@ -745,6 +824,8 @@ passing handles raises an exception.
 =item chmod LIST
 X<chmod> X<permission> X<mode>
 
+=for Pod::Functions changes the permissions on a list of files
+
 Changes the permissions of a list of files.  The first element of the
 list must be the numeric mode, which should probably be an octal
 number, and which definitely should I<not> be a string of octal digits:
@@ -783,6 +864,8 @@ X<chomp> X<INPUT_RECORD_SEPARATOR> X<$/> X<newline> X<eol>
 
 =item chomp
 
+=for Pod::Functions remove a trailing record separator from a string
+
 This safer version of L</chop> removes any trailing string
 that corresponds to the current value of C<$/> (also known as
 $INPUT_RECORD_SEPARATOR in the C<English> module).  It returns the total
@@ -825,6 +908,8 @@ X<chop>
 
 =item chop
 
+=for Pod::Functions remove the last character from a string
+
 Chops off the last character of a string and returns the character
 chopped.  It is much more efficient than C<s/.$//s> because it neither
 scans nor copies the string.  If VARIABLE is omitted, chops C<$_>.
@@ -843,6 +928,8 @@ See also L</chomp>.
 =item chown LIST
 X<chown> X<owner> X<user> X<group>
 
+=for Pod::Functions change the ownership on a list of files
+
 Changes the owner (and group) of a list of files.  The first two
 elements of the list must be the I<numeric> uid and gid, in that
 order.  A value of -1 in either position is interpreted by most
@@ -886,6 +973,8 @@ X<chr> X<character> X<ASCII> X<Unicode>
 
 =item chr
 
+=for Pod::Functions get character this number represents
+
 Returns the character represented by that NUMBER in the character set.
 For example, C<chr(65)> is C<"A"> in either ASCII or Unicode, and
 chr(0x263a) is a Unicode smiley face.  
@@ -908,6 +997,8 @@ X<chroot> X<root>
 
 =item chroot
 
+=for Pod::Functions make directory new root for path lookups
+
 This function works like the system call by the same name: it makes the
 named directory the new root directory for all further pathnames that
 begin with a C</> by your process and all its children.  (It doesn't
@@ -922,6 +1013,8 @@ X<close>
 
 =item close
 
+=for Pod::Functions close file (or pipe or socket) handle
+
 Closes the file or pipe associated with the filehandle, flushes the IO
 buffers, and closes the system file descriptor.  Returns true if those
 operations succeed and if no error was reported by any PerlIO
@@ -967,12 +1060,16 @@ filehandle, usually the real filehandle name or an autovivified handle.
 =item closedir DIRHANDLE
 X<closedir>
 
+=for Pod::Functions close directory handle
+
 Closes a directory opened by C<opendir> and returns the success of that
 system call.
 
 =item connect SOCKET,NAME
 X<connect>
 
+=for Pod::Functions connect to a remote socket
+
 Attempts to connect to a remote socket, just like connect(2).
 Returns true if it succeeded, false otherwise.  NAME should be a
 packed address of the appropriate type for the socket.  See the examples in
@@ -983,6 +1080,8 @@ X<continue>
 
 =item continue
 
+=for Pod::Functions optional trailing block in a while or foreach
+
 When followed by a BLOCK, C<continue> is actually a
 flow control statement rather than a function.  If
 there is a C<continue> BLOCK attached to a BLOCK (typically in a C<while> or
@@ -1016,7 +1115,7 @@ falls through the current C<when> or C<default> block instead of iterating
 a dynamically enclosing C<foreach> or exiting a lexically enclosing C<given>.
 In Perl 5.14 and earlier, this form of C<continue> was
 only available when the C<"switch"> feature was enabled.
-See L<feature> and L<perlsyn/"Switch statements"> for more
+See L<feature> and L<perlsyn/"Switch Statements"> for more
 information.
 
 =item cos EXPR
@@ -1024,6 +1123,8 @@ X<cos> X<cosine> X<acos> X<arccosine>
 
 =item cos
 
+=for Pod::Functions cosine function
+
 Returns the cosine of EXPR (expressed in radians).  If EXPR is omitted,
 takes the cosine of C<$_>.
 
@@ -1036,6 +1137,8 @@ function, or use this relation:
 X<crypt> X<digest> X<hash> X<salt> X<plaintext> X<password>
 X<decrypt> X<cryptography> X<passwd> X<encrypt>
 
+=for Pod::Functions one-way passwd-style encryption
+
 Creates a digest string exactly like the crypt(3) function in the C
 library (assuming that you actually have a version there that has not
 been extirpated as a potential munition).
@@ -1068,7 +1171,7 @@ of SALT may matter.
 
 Traditionally the result is a string of 13 bytes: two first bytes of
 the salt, followed by 11 bytes from the set C<[./0-9A-Za-z]>, and only
-the first eight bytes of PLAINTEXT mattered. But alternative
+the first eight bytes of PLAINTEXT mattered.  But alternative
 hashing schemes (like MD5), higher level security schemes (like C2),
 and implementations on non-Unix platforms may produce different
 strings.
@@ -1116,6 +1219,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/crypt>.
 =item dbmclose HASH
 X<dbmclose>
 
+=for Pod::Functions breaks binding on a tied dbm file
+
 [This function has been largely superseded by the C<untie> function.]
 
 Breaks the binding between a DBM file and a hash.
@@ -1125,6 +1230,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/dbmclose>.
 =item dbmopen HASH,DBNAME,MASK
 X<dbmopen> X<dbm> X<ndbm> X<sdbm> X<gdbm>
 
+=for Pod::Functions create binding on a tied dbm file
+
 [This function has been largely superseded by the
 L<tie|/tie VARIABLE,CLASSNAME,LIST> function.]
 
@@ -1133,7 +1240,10 @@ hash.  HASH is the name of the hash.  (Unlike normal C<open>, the first
 argument is I<not> a filehandle, even though it looks like one).  DBNAME
 is the name of the database (without the F<.dir> or F<.pag> extension if
 any).  If the database does not exist, it is created with protection
-specified by MASK (as modified by the C<umask>).  If your system supports
+specified by MASK (as modified by the C<umask>).  To prevent creation of
+the database if it doesn't exist, you may specify a MODE
+of 0, and the function will return a false value if it
+can't find an existing database.  If your system supports
 only the older DBM functions, you may make only one C<dbmopen> call in your
 program.  In older versions of Perl, if your system had neither DBM nor
 ndbm, calling C<dbmopen> produced a fatal error; it now falls back to
@@ -1168,18 +1278,13 @@ before you call dbmopen():
 
 Portability issues: L<perlport/dbmopen>.
 
-=item default BLOCK
-
-Within a C<foreach> or a C<given>, a C<default> BLOCK acts like a C<when>
-that's always true.  Only available after Perl 5.10, and only if the
-C<switch> feature has been requested or if the keyword is prefixed with
-C<CORE::>.  See L</when>.
-
 =item defined EXPR
 X<defined> X<undef> X<undefined>
 
 =item defined
 
+=for Pod::Functions test whether a value, variable, or function is defined
+
 Returns a Boolean value telling whether EXPR has a value other than
 the undefined value C<undef>.  If EXPR is not present, C<$_> is
 checked.
@@ -1242,6 +1347,8 @@ See also L</undef>, L</exists>, L</ref>.
 =item delete EXPR
 X<delete>
 
+=for Pod::Functions deletes a value from a hash
+
 Given an expression that specifies an element or slice of a hash, C<delete>
 deletes the specified elements from that hash so that exists() on that element
 no longer returns true.  Setting a hash element to the undefined value does
@@ -1273,9 +1380,9 @@ temporarily no longer exist.  See L<perlsub/"Localized deletion of elements
 of composite types">.
 
     %hash = (foo => 11, bar => 22, baz => 33);
-    $scalar = delete $hash{foo};             # $scalar is 11
-    $scalar = delete @hash{qw(foo bar)};     # $scalar is 22
-    @array  = delete @hash{qw(foo bar baz)}; # @array  is (undef,undef,33)
+    $scalar = delete $hash{foo};         # $scalar is 11
+    $scalar = delete @hash{qw(foo bar)}; # $scalar is 22
+    @array  = delete @hash{qw(foo baz)}; # @array  is (undef,33)
 
 The following (inefficiently) deletes all the values of %HASH and @ARRAY:
 
@@ -1315,10 +1422,12 @@ final operation is an element or slice of an aggregate:
 =item die LIST
 X<die> X<throw> X<exception> X<raise> X<$@> X<abort>
 
-C<die> raises an exception. Inside an C<eval> the error message is stuffed
+=for Pod::Functions raise an exception or bail out
+
+C<die> raises an exception.  Inside an C<eval> the error message is stuffed
 into C<$@> and the C<eval> is terminated with the undefined value.
 If the exception is outside of all enclosing C<eval>s, then the uncaught
-exception prints LIST to C<STDERR> and exits with a non-zero value. If you
+exception prints LIST to C<STDERR> and exits with a non-zero value.  If you
 need to exit the process with a specific exit code, see L</exit>.
 
 Equivalent examples:
@@ -1368,7 +1477,8 @@ determined from the values of C<$!> and C<$?> with this pseudocode:
     exit 255;                   # last resort
 
 The intent is to squeeze as much possible information about the likely cause
-into the limited space of the system exit code. However, as C<$!> is the value
+into the limited space of the system exit
+code.  However, as C<$!> is the value
 of C's C<errno>, which can be set by any system call, this means that the value
 of the exit code used by C<die> can be non-predictable, so should not be relied
 upon, other than to be non-zero.
@@ -1387,7 +1497,8 @@ before any manipulations.  Here's an example:
 
     eval { ... ; die Some::Module::Exception->new( FOO => "bar" ) };
     if (my $ev_err = $@) {
-        if (blessed($ev_err) && $ev_err->isa("Some::Module::Exception")) {
+        if (blessed($ev_err)
+            && $ev_err->isa("Some::Module::Exception")) {
             # handle Some::Module::Exception
         }
         else {
@@ -1421,10 +1532,12 @@ See also exit(), warn(), and the Carp module.
 =item do BLOCK
 X<do> X<block>
 
+=for Pod::Functions turn a BLOCK into a TERM
+
 Not really a function.  Returns the value of the last command in the
 sequence of commands indicated by BLOCK.  When modified by the C<while> or
 C<until> loop modifier, executes the BLOCK once before testing the loop
-condition. (On other statements the loop modifiers test the conditional
+condition.  (On other statements the loop modifiers test the conditional
 first.)
 
 C<do BLOCK> does I<not> count as a loop, so the loop control statements
@@ -1434,8 +1547,8 @@ See L<perlsyn> for alternative strategies.
 =item do SUBROUTINE(LIST)
 X<do>
 
-This form of subroutine call is deprecated.  SUBROUTINE can be a bareword,
-a scalar variable or a subroutine beginning with C<&>.
+This form of subroutine call is deprecated.  SUBROUTINE can be a bareword
+or scalar variable.
 
 =item do EXPR
 X<do>
@@ -1484,8 +1597,12 @@ file.  Manual error checking can be done this way:
 =item dump LABEL
 X<dump> X<core> X<undump>
 
+=item dump EXPR
+
 =item dump
 
+=for Pod::Functions create an immediate core dump
+
 This function causes an immediate core dump.  See also the B<-u>
 command-line switch in L<perlrun>, which does the same thing.
 Primarily this is so that you can use the B<undump> program (not
@@ -1494,17 +1611,24 @@ having initialized all your variables at the beginning of the
 program.  When the new binary is executed it will begin by executing
 a C<goto LABEL> (with all the restrictions that C<goto> suffers).
 Think of it as a goto with an intervening core dump and reincarnation.
-If C<LABEL> is omitted, restarts the program from the top.
+If C<LABEL> is omitted, restarts the program from the top.  The
+C<dump EXPR> form, available starting in Perl 5.18.0, allows a name to be
+computed at run time, being otherwise identical to C<dump LABEL>.
 
 B<WARNING>: Any files opened at the time of the dump will I<not>
 be open any more when the program is reincarnated, with possible
 resulting confusion by Perl.
 
 This function is now largely obsolete, mostly because it's very hard to
-convert a core file into an executable. That's why you should now invoke
+convert a core file into an executable.  That's why you should now invoke
 it as C<CORE::dump()>, if you don't want to be warned against a possible
 typo.
 
+Unlike most named operators, this has the same precedence as assignment.
+It is also exempt from the looks-like-a-function rule, so
+C<dump ("foo")."bar"> will cause "bar" to be part of the argument to
+C<dump>.
+
 Portability issues: L<perlport/dump>.
 
 =item each HASH
@@ -1515,11 +1639,14 @@ X<array, iterator>
 
 =item each EXPR
 
-When called in list context, returns a 2-element list consisting of the key
-and value for the next element of a hash, or the index and value for the
-next element of an array, so that you can iterate over it.  When called in
-scalar context, returns only the key (not the value) in a hash, or the index
-in an array.
+=for Pod::Functions retrieve the next key/value pair from a hash
+
+When called on a hash in list context, returns a 2-element list
+consisting of the key and value for the next element of a hash.  In Perl
+5.12 and later only, it will also return the index and value for the next
+element of an array so that you can iterate over it; older Perls consider
+this a syntax error.  When called in scalar context, returns only the key
+(not the value) in a hash, or the index in an array.
 
 Hash entries are returned in an apparently random order.  The actual random
 order is subject to change in future versions of Perl, but it is
@@ -1530,14 +1657,15 @@ for security reasons (see L<perlsec/"Algorithmic Complexity Attacks">).
 
 After C<each> has returned all entries from the hash or array, the next
 call to C<each> returns the empty list in list context and C<undef> in
-scalar context.  The next call following that one restarts iteration.  Each
-hash or array has its own internal iterator, accessed by C<each>, C<keys>,
-and C<values>.  The iterator is implicitly reset when C<each> has reached
-the end as just described; it can be explicitly reset by calling C<keys> or
-C<values> on the hash or array.  If you add or delete a hash's elements
-while iterating over it, entries may be skipped or duplicated--so don't do
-that.  Exception: It is always safe to delete the item most recently
-returned by C<each()>, so the following code works properly:
+scalar context; the next call following I<that> one restarts iteration.
+Each hash or array has its own internal iterator, accessed by C<each>,
+C<keys>, and C<values>.  The iterator is implicitly reset when C<each> has
+reached the end as just described; it can be explicitly reset by calling
+C<keys> or C<values> on the hash or array.  If you add or delete a hash's
+elements while iterating over it, entries may be skipped or duplicated--so
+don't do that.  Exception: In the current implementation, it is always safe
+to delete the item most recently returned by C<each()>, so the following
+code works properly:
 
         while (($key, $value) = each %hash) {
           print $key, "\n";
@@ -1558,6 +1686,22 @@ The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.
 
     while (($key,$value) = each $hashref) { ... }
 
+As of Perl 5.18 you can use a bare C<each> in a C<while> loop,
+which will set C<$_> on every iteration.
+
+    while(each %ENV) {
+	print "$_=$ENV{$_}\n";
+    }
+
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at
+the top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of
+a recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.012;	# so keys/values/each work on arrays
+    use 5.014;	# so keys/values/each work on scalars (experimental)
+    use 5.018;	# so each assigns to $_ in a lone while test
+
 See also C<keys>, C<values>, and C<sort>.
 
 =item eof FILEHANDLE
@@ -1569,6 +1713,8 @@ X<end-of-file>
 
 =item eof
 
+=for Pod::Functions test a filehandle for its end
+
 Returns 1 if the next read on FILEHANDLE will return end of file I<or> if
 FILEHANDLE is not open.  FILEHANDLE may be an expression whose value
 gives the real filehandle.  (Note that this function actually
@@ -1606,7 +1752,7 @@ of the very last file only.  Examples:
             print "--------------\n";
         }
         print;
-        last if eof();      # needed if we're reading from a terminal
+        last if eof();     # needed if we're reading from a terminal
     }
 
 Practical hint: you almost never need to use C<eof> in Perl, because the
@@ -1621,6 +1767,8 @@ X<error, handling> X<exception, handling>
 
 =item eval
 
+=for Pod::Functions catch exceptions or compile and run code
+
 In the first form, the return value of EXPR is parsed and executed as if it
 were a little Perl program.  The value of the expression (which is itself
 determined within scalar context) is first parsed, and if there were no
@@ -1633,6 +1781,17 @@ Note that the value is parsed every time the C<eval> executes.
 If EXPR is omitted, evaluates C<$_>.  This form is typically used to
 delay parsing and subsequent execution of the text of EXPR until run time.
 
+If the C<unicode_eval> feature is enabled (which is the default under a
+C<use 5.16> or higher declaration), EXPR or C<$_> is treated as a string of
+characters, so C<use utf8> declarations have no effect, and source filters
+are forbidden.  In the absence of the C<unicode_eval> feature, the string
+will sometimes be treated as characters and sometimes as bytes, depending
+on the internal encoding, and source filters activated within the C<eval>
+exhibit the erratic, but historical, behaviour of affecting some outer file
+scope that is still compiling.  See also the L</evalbytes> keyword, which
+always treats its input as a byte stream and works properly with source
+filters, and the L<feature> pragma.
+
 In the second form, the code within the BLOCK is parsed only once--at the
 same time the code surrounding the C<eval> itself was parsed--and executed
 within the context of the current Perl program.  This form is typically
@@ -1652,11 +1811,10 @@ determined.
 
 If there is a syntax error or runtime error, or a C<die> statement is
 executed, C<eval> returns C<undef> in scalar context
-or an empty list--or, for syntax errors, a list containing a single
-undefined value--in list context, and C<$@> is set to the error
-message.  The discrepancy in the return values in list context is
-considered a bug by some, and will probably be fixed in a future
-release.  If there was no error, C<$@> is set to the empty string.  A
+or an empty list in list context, and C<$@> is set to the error
+message.  (Prior to 5.16, a bug caused C<undef> to be returned
+in list context for syntax errors, but not for runtime errors.)
+If there was no error, C<$@> is set to the empty string.  A
 control flow operator like C<last> or C<goto> can bypass the setting of
 C<$@>.  Beware that using C<eval> neither silences Perl from printing
 warnings to STDERR, nor does it stuff the text of warning messages into C<$@>.
@@ -1738,7 +1896,7 @@ particular situation, you can just use symbolic references instead, as
 in case 6.
 
 Before Perl 5.14, the assignment to C<$@> occurred before restoration 
-of localised variables, which means that for your code to run on older
+of localized variables, which means that for your code to run on older
 versions, a temporary is required if you want to mask some but not all
 errors:
 
@@ -1746,10 +1904,10 @@ errors:
     {
        my $e;
        {
-          local $@; # protect existing $@
-          eval { test_repugnancy() };
-          # $@ =~ /nefarious/ and die $@; # Perl 5.14 and higher only
-          $@ =~ /nefarious/ and $e = $@;
+         local $@; # protect existing $@
+         eval { test_repugnancy() };
+         # $@ =~ /nefarious/ and die $@; # Perl 5.14 and higher only
+         $@ =~ /nefarious/ and $e = $@;
        }
        die $e if defined $e
     }
@@ -1757,26 +1915,46 @@ errors:
 C<eval BLOCK> does I<not> count as a loop, so the loop control statements
 C<next>, C<last>, or C<redo> cannot be used to leave or restart the block.
 
-An C<eval ''> executed within the C<DB> package doesn't see the usual
+An C<eval ''> executed within a subroutine defined
+in the C<DB> package doesn't see the usual
 surrounding lexical scope, but rather the scope of the first non-DB piece
 of code that called it.  You don't normally need to worry about this unless
 you are writing a Perl debugger.
 
+=item evalbytes EXPR
+X<evalbytes>
+
+=item evalbytes
+
+=for Pod::Functions +evalbytes similar to string eval, but intend to parse a bytestream
+
+This function is like L</eval> with a string argument, except it always
+parses its argument, or C<$_> if EXPR is omitted, as a string of bytes.  A
+string containing characters whose ordinal value exceeds 255 results in an
+error.  Source filters activated within the evaluated code apply to the
+code itself.
+
+This function is only available under the C<evalbytes> feature, a
+C<use v5.16> (or higher) declaration, or with a C<CORE::> prefix.  See
+L<feature> for more information.
+
 =item exec LIST
 X<exec> X<execute>
 
 =item exec PROGRAM LIST
 
+=for Pod::Functions abandon this program to run another
+
 The C<exec> function executes a system command I<and never returns>;
 use C<system> instead of C<exec> if you want it to return.  It fails and
 returns false only if the command does not exist I<and> it is executed
 directly instead of via your system's command shell (see below).
 
 Since it's a common mistake to use C<exec> instead of C<system>, Perl
-warns you if there is a following statement that isn't C<die>, C<warn>,
-or C<exit> (if C<-w> is set--but you always do that, right?).   If you
-I<really> want to follow an C<exec> with some other statement, you
-can use one of these styles to avoid the warning:
+warns you if C<exec> is called in void context and if there is a following
+statement that isn't C<die>, C<warn>, or C<exit> (if C<-w> is set--but
+you always do that, right?).  If you I<really> want to follow an C<exec>
+with some other statement, you can use one of these styles to avoid the warning:
 
     exec ('foo')   or print STDERR "couldn't exec foo: $!";
     { exec ('foo') }; print STDERR "couldn't exec foo: $!";
@@ -1829,11 +2007,11 @@ program, passing it C<"surprise"> an argument.  The second version didn't;
 it tried to run a program named I<"echo surprise">, didn't find it, and set
 C<$?> to a non-zero value indicating failure.
 
-Beginning with v5.6.0, Perl attempts to flush all files opened for
-output before the exec, but this may not be supported on some platforms
-(see L<perlport>).  To be safe, you may need to set C<$|> ($AUTOFLUSH
-in English) or call the C<autoflush()> method of C<IO::Handle> on any
-open handles to avoid lost output.
+Perl attempts to flush all files opened for output before the exec,
+but this may not be supported on some platforms (see L<perlport>).
+To be safe, you may need to set C<$|> ($AUTOFLUSH in English) or
+call the C<autoflush()> method of C<IO::Handle> on any open handles
+to avoid lost output.
 
 Note that C<exec> will not call your C<END> blocks, nor will it invoke
 C<DESTROY> methods on your objects.
@@ -1843,6 +2021,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/exec>.
 =item exists EXPR
 X<exists> X<autovivification>
 
+=for Pod::Functions test whether a hash key is present
+
 Given an expression that specifies an element of a hash, returns true if the
 specified element in the hash has ever been initialized, even if the
 corresponding value is undefined.
@@ -1885,7 +2065,7 @@ operation is a hash or array key lookup or subroutine name:
 
     if (exists &{$ref->{A}{B}{$key}})   { }
 
-Although the mostly deeply nested array or hash will not spring into
+Although the most deeply nested array or hash element will not spring into
 existence just because its existence was tested, any intervening ones will.
 Thus C<< $ref->{"A"} >> and C<< $ref->{"A"}->{"B"} >> will spring
 into existence due to the existence test for the $key element above.
@@ -1910,6 +2090,8 @@ X<exit> X<terminate> X<abort>
 
 =item exit
 
+=for Pod::Functions terminate this program
+
 Evaluates EXPR and exits immediately with that value.    Example:
 
     $ans = <STDIN>;
@@ -1930,8 +2112,8 @@ The exit() function does not always exit immediately.  It calls any
 defined C<END> routines first, but these C<END> routines may not
 themselves abort the exit.  Likewise any object destructors that need to
 be called are called before the real exit.  C<END> routines and destructors
-can change the exit status by modifying C<$?>. If this is a problem, you
-can call C<POSIX:_exit($status)> to avoid END and destructor processing.
+can change the exit status by modifying C<$?>.  If this is a problem, you
+can call C<POSIX::_exit($status)> to avoid END and destructor processing.
 See L<perlmod> for details.
 
 Portability issues: L<perlport/exit>.
@@ -1941,12 +2123,68 @@ X<exp> X<exponential> X<antilog> X<antilogarithm> X<e>
 
 =item exp
 
+=for Pod::Functions raise I<e> to a power
+
 Returns I<e> (the natural logarithm base) to the power of EXPR.
 If EXPR is omitted, gives C<exp($_)>.
 
+=item fc EXPR
+X<fc> X<foldcase> X<casefold> X<fold-case> X<case-fold>
+
+=item fc
+
+=for Pod::Functions +fc return casefolded version of a string
+
+Returns the casefolded version of EXPR.  This is the internal function
+implementing the C<\F> escape in double-quoted strings.
+
+Casefolding is the process of mapping strings to a form where case
+differences are erased; comparing two strings in their casefolded
+form is effectively a way of asking if two strings are equal,
+regardless of case.
+
+Roughly, if you ever found yourself writing this
+
+    lc($this) eq lc($that)    # Wrong!
+        # or
+    uc($this) eq uc($that)    # Also wrong!
+        # or
+    $this =~ /^\Q$that\E\z/i  # Right!
+
+Now you can write
+
+    fc($this) eq fc($that)
+
+And get the correct results.
+
+Perl only implements the full form of casefolding,
+but you can access the simple folds using L<Unicode::UCD/casefold()> and
+L<Unicode::UCD/prop_invmap()>.
+For further information on casefolding, refer to
+the Unicode Standard, specifically sections 3.13 C<Default Case Operations>,
+4.2 C<Case-Normative>, and 5.18 C<Case Mappings>,
+available at L<http://www.unicode.org/versions/latest/>, as well as the
+Case Charts available at L<http://www.unicode.org/charts/case/>.
+
+If EXPR is omitted, uses C<$_>.
+
+This function behaves the same way under various pragma, such as in a locale,
+as L</lc> does.
+
+While the Unicode Standard defines two additional forms of casefolding,
+one for Turkic languages and one that never maps one character into multiple
+characters, these are not provided by the Perl core; However, the CPAN module
+C<Unicode::Casing> may be used to provide an implementation.
+
+This keyword is available only when the C<"fc"> feature is enabled,
+or when prefixed with C<CORE::>; See L<feature>. Alternately,
+include a C<use v5.16> or later to the current scope.
+
 =item fcntl FILEHANDLE,FUNCTION,SCALAR
 X<fcntl>
 
+=for Pod::Functions file control system call
+
 Implements the fcntl(2) function.  You'll probably have to say
 
     use Fcntl;
@@ -1986,11 +2224,15 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/fcntl>.
 =item __FILE__
 X<__FILE__>
 
+=for Pod::Functions the name of the current source file
+
 A special token that returns the name of the file in which it occurs.
 
 =item fileno FILEHANDLE
 X<fileno>
 
+=for Pod::Functions return file descriptor from filehandle
+
 Returns the file descriptor for a filehandle, or undefined if the
 filehandle is not open.  If there is no real file descriptor at the OS
 level, as can happen with filehandles connected to memory objects via
@@ -2011,6 +2253,8 @@ same underlying descriptor:
 =item flock FILEHANDLE,OPERATION
 X<flock> X<lock> X<locking>
 
+=for Pod::Functions lock an entire file with an advisory lock
+
 Calls flock(2), or an emulation of it, on FILEHANDLE.  Returns true
 for success, false on failure.  Produces a fatal error if used on a
 machine that doesn't implement flock(2), fcntl(2) locking, or lockf(3).
@@ -2060,7 +2304,8 @@ and build a new Perl.
 
 Here's a mailbox appender for BSD systems.
 
-    use Fcntl qw(:flock SEEK_END); # import LOCK_* and SEEK_END constants
+    # import LOCK_* and SEEK_END constants
+    use Fcntl qw(:flock SEEK_END);
 
     sub lock {
         my ($fh) = @_;
@@ -2093,6 +2338,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/flock>.
 =item fork
 X<fork> X<child> X<parent>
 
+=for Pod::Functions create a new process just like this one
+
 Does a fork(2) system call to create a new process running the
 same program at the same point.  It returns the child pid to the
 parent process, C<0> to the child process, or C<undef> if the fork is
@@ -2102,7 +2349,7 @@ fork(), great care has gone into making it extremely efficient (for
 example, using copy-on-write technology on data pages), making it the
 dominant paradigm for multitasking over the last few decades.
 
-Beginning with v5.6.0, Perl attempts to flush all files opened for
+Perl attempts to flush all files opened for
 output before forking the child process, but this may not be supported
 on some platforms (see L<perlport>).  To be safe, you may need to set
 C<$|> ($AUTOFLUSH in English) or call the C<autoflush()> method of
@@ -2120,8 +2367,9 @@ backgrounded job launched from a remote shell) won't think you're done.
 You should reopen those to F</dev/null> if it's any issue.
 
 On some platforms such as Windows, where the fork() system call is not available,
-Perl can be built to emulate fork() in the Perl interpreter. The emulation is designed to,
-at the level of the Perl program, be as compatible as possible with the "Unix" fork().
+Perl can be built to emulate fork() in the Perl interpreter.
+The emulation is designed, at the level of the Perl program,
+to be as compatible as possible with the "Unix" fork().
 However it has limitations that have to be considered in code intended to be portable.
 See L<perlfork> for more details.
 
@@ -2130,6 +2378,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/fork>.
 =item format
 X<format>
 
+=for Pod::Functions declare a picture format with use by the write() function
+
 Declare a picture format for use by the C<write> function.  For
 example:
 
@@ -2148,6 +2398,8 @@ See L<perlform> for many details and examples.
 =item formline PICTURE,LIST
 X<formline>
 
+=for Pod::Functions internal function used for formats
+
 This is an internal function used by C<format>s, though you may call it,
 too.  It formats (see L<perlform>) a list of values according to the
 contents of PICTURE, placing the output into the format output
@@ -2174,6 +2426,8 @@ X<getc> X<getchar> X<character> X<file, read>
 
 =item getc
 
+=for Pod::Functions get the next character from the filehandle
+
 Returns the next character from the input file attached to FILEHANDLE,
 or the undefined value at end of file or if there was an error (in
 the latter case C<$!> is set).  If FILEHANDLE is omitted, reads from
@@ -2209,6 +2463,8 @@ L<perlmodlib/CPAN>.
 =item getlogin
 X<getlogin> X<login>
 
+=for Pod::Functions return who logged in at this tty
+
 This implements the C library function of the same name, which on most
 systems returns the current login from F</etc/utmp>, if any.  If it
 returns the empty string, use C<getpwuid>.
@@ -2223,6 +2479,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/getlogin>.
 =item getpeername SOCKET
 X<getpeername> X<peer>
 
+=for Pod::Functions find the other end of a socket connection
+
 Returns the packed sockaddr address of the other end of the SOCKET
 connection.
 
@@ -2235,6 +2493,8 @@ connection.
 =item getpgrp PID
 X<getpgrp> X<group>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get process group
+
 Returns the current process group for the specified PID.  Use
 a PID of C<0> to get the current process group for the
 current process.  Will raise an exception if used on a machine that
@@ -2247,20 +2507,23 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/getpgrp>.
 =item getppid
 X<getppid> X<parent> X<pid>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get parent process ID
+
 Returns the process id of the parent process.
 
-Note for Linux users: on Linux, the C functions C<getpid()> and
-C<getppid()> return different values from different threads. In order to
-be portable, this behavior is not reflected by the Perl-level function
-C<getppid()>, that returns a consistent value across threads. If you want
-to call the underlying C<getppid()>, you may use the CPAN module
-C<Linux::Pid>.
+Note for Linux users: Between v5.8.1 and v5.16.0 Perl would work
+around non-POSIX thread semantics the minority of Linux systems (and
+Debian GNU/kFreeBSD systems) that used LinuxThreads, this emulation
+has since been removed. See the documentation for L<$$|perlvar/$$> for
+details.
 
 Portability issues: L<perlport/getppid>.
 
 =item getpriority WHICH,WHO
 X<getpriority> X<priority> X<nice>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get current nice value
+
 Returns the current priority for a process, a process group, or a user.
 (See L<getpriority(2)>.)  Will raise a fatal exception if used on a
 machine that doesn't implement getpriority(2).
@@ -2275,64 +2538,124 @@ X<getnetent> X<getprotoent> X<getservent> X<setpwent> X<setgrent> X<sethostent>
 X<setnetent> X<setprotoent> X<setservent> X<endpwent> X<endgrent> X<endhostent>
 X<endnetent> X<endprotoent> X<endservent> 
 
+=for Pod::Functions get passwd record given user login name
+
 =item getgrnam NAME
 
+=for Pod::Functions get group record given group name
+
 =item gethostbyname NAME
 
+=for Pod::Functions get host record given name
+
 =item getnetbyname NAME
 
+=for Pod::Functions get networks record given name
+
 =item getprotobyname NAME
 
+=for Pod::Functions get protocol record given name
+
 =item getpwuid UID
 
+=for Pod::Functions get passwd record given user ID
+
 =item getgrgid GID
 
+=for Pod::Functions get group record given group user ID
+
 =item getservbyname NAME,PROTO
 
+=for Pod::Functions get services record given its name
+
 =item gethostbyaddr ADDR,ADDRTYPE
 
+=for Pod::Functions get host record given its address
+
 =item getnetbyaddr ADDR,ADDRTYPE
 
+=for Pod::Functions get network record given its address
+
 =item getprotobynumber NUMBER
 
+=for Pod::Functions get protocol record numeric protocol
+
 =item getservbyport PORT,PROTO
 
+=for Pod::Functions get services record given numeric port
+
 =item getpwent
 
+=for Pod::Functions get next passwd record
+
 =item getgrent
 
+=for Pod::Functions get next group record
+
 =item gethostent
 
+=for Pod::Functions get next hosts record
+
 =item getnetent
 
+=for Pod::Functions get next networks record
+
 =item getprotoent
 
+=for Pod::Functions get next protocols record
+
 =item getservent
 
+=for Pod::Functions get next services record
+
 =item setpwent
 
+=for Pod::Functions prepare passwd file for use
+
 =item setgrent
 
+=for Pod::Functions prepare group file for use
+
 =item sethostent STAYOPEN
 
+=for Pod::Functions prepare hosts file for use
+
 =item setnetent STAYOPEN
 
+=for Pod::Functions prepare networks file for use
+
 =item setprotoent STAYOPEN
 
+=for Pod::Functions prepare protocols file for use
+
 =item setservent STAYOPEN
 
+=for Pod::Functions prepare services file for use
+
 =item endpwent
 
+=for Pod::Functions be done using passwd file
+
 =item endgrent
 
+=for Pod::Functions be done using group file
+
 =item endhostent
 
+=for Pod::Functions be done using hosts file
+
 =item endnetent
 
+=for Pod::Functions be done using networks file
+
 =item endprotoent
 
+=for Pod::Functions be done using protocols file
+
 =item endservent
 
+=for Pod::Functions be done using services file
+
 These routines are the same as their counterparts in the
 system C library.  In list context, the return values from the
 various get routines are as follows:
@@ -2450,6 +2773,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/getpwnam> to L<perlport/endservent>.
 =item getsockname SOCKET
 X<getsockname>
 
+=for Pod::Functions retrieve the sockaddr for a given socket
+
 Returns the packed sockaddr address of this end of the SOCKET connection,
 in case you don't know the address because you have several different
 IPs that the connection might have come in on.
@@ -2464,18 +2789,20 @@ IPs that the connection might have come in on.
 =item getsockopt SOCKET,LEVEL,OPTNAME
 X<getsockopt>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get socket options on a given socket
+
 Queries the option named OPTNAME associated with SOCKET at a given LEVEL.
 Options may exist at multiple protocol levels depending on the socket
 type, but at least the uppermost socket level SOL_SOCKET (defined in the
-C<Socket> module) will exist. To query options at another level the
+C<Socket> module) will exist.  To query options at another level the
 protocol number of the appropriate protocol controlling the option
-should be supplied. For example, to indicate that an option is to be
+should be supplied.  For example, to indicate that an option is to be
 interpreted by the TCP protocol, LEVEL should be set to the protocol
 number of TCP, which you can get using C<getprotobyname>.
 
 The function returns a packed string representing the requested socket
 option, or C<undef> on error, with the reason for the error placed in
-C<$!>. Just what is in the packed string depends on LEVEL and OPTNAME;
+C<$!>.  Just what is in the packed string depends on LEVEL and OPTNAME;
 consult getsockopt(2) for details.  A common case is that the option is an
 integer, in which case the result is a packed integer, which you can decode
 using C<unpack> with the C<i> (or C<I>) format.
@@ -2490,44 +2817,23 @@ Here's an example to test whether Nagle's algorithm is enabled on a socket:
     my $packed = getsockopt($socket, $tcp, TCP_NODELAY)
         or die "getsockopt TCP_NODELAY: $!";
     my $nodelay = unpack("I", $packed);
-    print "Nagle's algorithm is turned ", $nodelay ? "off\n" : "on\n";
+    print "Nagle's algorithm is turned ",
+           $nodelay ? "off\n" : "on\n";
 
 Portability issues: L<perlport/getsockopt>.
 
-=item given EXPR BLOCK
-X<given>
-
-=item given BLOCK
-
-C<given> is analogous to the C<switch> keyword in other languages. C<given>
-and C<when> are used in Perl to implement C<switch>/C<case> like statements.
-Only available after Perl 5.10.  For example:
-
-    use v5.10;
-    given ($fruit) {
-        when (/apples?/) {
-            print "I like apples."
-        }
-        when (/oranges?/) {
-            print "I don't like oranges."
-        }
-        default {
-            print "I don't like anything"
-        }
-    }
-
-See L<perlsyn/"Switch statements"> for detailed information.
-
 =item glob EXPR
 X<glob> X<wildcard> X<filename, expansion> X<expand>
 
 =item glob
 
+=for Pod::Functions expand filenames using wildcards
+
 In list context, returns a (possibly empty) list of filename expansions on
-the value of EXPR such as the standard Unix shell F</bin/csh> would do. In
+the value of EXPR such as the standard Unix shell F</bin/csh> would do.  In
 scalar context, glob iterates through such filename expansions, returning
-undef when the list is exhausted. This is the internal function
-implementing the C<< <*.c> >> operator, but you can use it directly. If
+undef when the list is exhausted.  This is the internal function
+implementing the C<< <*.c> >> operator, but you can use it directly.  If
 EXPR is omitted, C<$_> is used.  The C<< <*.c> >> operator is discussed in
 more detail in L<perlop/"I/O Operators">.
 
@@ -2535,6 +2841,19 @@ Note that C<glob> splits its arguments on whitespace and treats
 each segment as separate pattern.  As such, C<glob("*.c *.h")> 
 matches all files with a F<.c> or F<.h> extension.  The expression
 C<glob(".* *")> matches all files in the current working directory.
+If you want to glob filenames that might contain whitespace, you'll
+have to use extra quotes around the spacey filename to protect it.
+For example, to glob filenames that have an C<e> followed by a space
+followed by an C<f>, use either of:
+
+    @spacies = <"*e f*">;
+    @spacies = glob '"*e f*"';
+    @spacies = glob q("*e f*");
+
+If you had to get a variable through, you could do this:
+
+    @spacies = glob "'*${var}e f*'";
+    @spacies = glob qq("*${var}e f*");
 
 If non-empty braces are the only wildcard characters used in the
 C<glob>, no filenames are matched, but potentially many strings
@@ -2543,7 +2862,7 @@ each pairing of fruits and colors:
 
     @many =  glob "{apple,tomato,cherry}={green,yellow,red}";
 
-Beginning with v5.6.0, this operator is implemented using the standard
+This operator is implemented using the standard
 C<File::Glob> extension.  See L<File::Glob> for details, including
 C<bsd_glob> which does not treat whitespace as a pattern separator.
 
@@ -2554,6 +2873,8 @@ X<gmtime> X<UTC> X<Greenwich>
 
 =item gmtime
 
+=for Pod::Functions convert UNIX time into record or string using Greenwich time
+
 Works just like L</localtime> but the returned values are
 localized for the standard Greenwich time zone.
 
@@ -2570,8 +2891,10 @@ X<goto> X<jump> X<jmp>
 
 =item goto &NAME
 
+=for Pod::Functions create spaghetti code
+
 The C<goto-LABEL> form finds the statement labeled with LABEL and
-resumes execution there. It can't be used to get out of a block or
+resumes execution there.  It can't be used to get out of a block or
 subroutine given to C<sort>.  It can be used to go almost anywhere
 else within the dynamic scope, including out of subroutines, but it's
 usually better to use some other construct such as C<last> or C<die>.
@@ -2587,8 +2910,10 @@ necessarily recommended if you're optimizing for maintainability:
     goto ("FOO", "BAR", "GLARCH")[$i];
 
 As shown in this example, C<goto-EXPR> is exempt from the "looks like a
-function" rule. A pair of parentheses following it does not (necessarily)
-delimit its argument. C<goto("NE")."XT"> is equivalent to C<goto NEXT>.
+function" rule.  A pair of parentheses following it does not (necessarily)
+delimit its argument.  C<goto("NE")."XT"> is equivalent to C<goto NEXT>.
+Also, unlike most named operators, this has the same precedence as
+assignment.
 
 Use of C<goto-LABEL> or C<goto-EXPR> to jump into a construct is
 deprecated and will issue a warning.  Even then, it may not be used to
@@ -2617,6 +2942,8 @@ X<grep>
 
 =item grep EXPR,LIST
 
+=for Pod::Functions locate elements in a list test true against a given criterion
+
 This is similar in spirit to, but not the same as, grep(1) and its
 relatives.  In particular, it is not limited to using regular expressions.
 
@@ -2641,7 +2968,8 @@ or another C<grep>) actually modifies the element in the original list.
 This is usually something to be avoided when writing clear code.
 
 If C<$_> is lexical in the scope where the C<grep> appears (because it has
-been declared with C<my $_>) then, in addition to being locally aliased to
+been declared with the deprecated C<my $_> construct)
+then, in addition to being locally aliased to
 the list elements, C<$_> keeps being lexical inside the block; i.e., it
 can't be seen from the outside, avoiding any potential side-effects.
 
@@ -2652,6 +2980,8 @@ X<hex> X<hexadecimal>
 
 =item hex
 
+=for Pod::Functions convert a string to a hexadecimal number
+
 Interprets EXPR as a hex string and returns the corresponding value.
 (To convert strings that might start with either C<0>, C<0x>, or C<0b>, see
 L</oct>.)  If EXPR is omitted, uses C<$_>.
@@ -2661,12 +2991,14 @@ L</oct>.)  If EXPR is omitted, uses C<$_>.
 
 Hex strings may only represent integers.  Strings that would cause
 integer overflow trigger a warning.  Leading whitespace is not stripped,
-unlike oct(). To present something as hex, look into L</printf>,
+unlike oct().  To present something as hex, look into L</printf>,
 L</sprintf>, and L</unpack>.
 
 =item import LIST
 X<import>
 
+=for Pod::Functions patch a module's namespace into your own
+
 There is no builtin C<import> function.  It is just an ordinary
 method (subroutine) defined (or inherited) by modules that wish to export
 names to another module.  The C<use> function calls the C<import> method
@@ -2677,21 +3009,24 @@ X<index> X<indexOf> X<InStr>
 
 =item index STR,SUBSTR
 
+=for Pod::Functions find a substring within a string
+
 The index function searches for one string within another, but without
 the wildcard-like behavior of a full regular-expression pattern match.
 It returns the position of the first occurrence of SUBSTR in STR at
 or after POSITION.  If POSITION is omitted, starts searching from the
 beginning of the string.  POSITION before the beginning of the string
 or after its end is treated as if it were the beginning or the end,
-respectively.  POSITION and the return value are based at C<0> (or whatever
-you've set the C<$[> variable to--but don't do that).  If the substring
-is not found, C<index> returns one less than the base, ordinarily C<-1>.
+respectively.  POSITION and the return value are based at zero.
+If the substring is not found, C<index> returns -1.
 
 =item int EXPR
 X<int> X<integer> X<truncate> X<trunc> X<floor>
 
 =item int
 
+=for Pod::Functions get the integer portion of a number
+
 Returns the integer portion of EXPR.  If EXPR is omitted, uses C<$_>.
 You should not use this function for rounding: one because it truncates
 towards C<0>, and two because machine representations of floating-point
@@ -2704,9 +3039,12 @@ functions will serve you better than will int().
 =item ioctl FILEHANDLE,FUNCTION,SCALAR
 X<ioctl>
 
+=for Pod::Functions system-dependent device control system call
+
 Implements the ioctl(2) function.  You'll probably first have to say
 
-    require "sys/ioctl.ph";  # probably in $Config{archlib}/sys/ioctl.ph
+    require "sys/ioctl.ph";  # probably in
+                             # $Config{archlib}/sys/ioctl.ph
 
 to get the correct function definitions.  If F<sys/ioctl.ph> doesn't
 exist or doesn't have the correct definitions you'll have to roll your
@@ -2743,6 +3081,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/ioctl>.
 =item join EXPR,LIST
 X<join>
 
+=for Pod::Functions join a list into a string using a separator
+
 Joins the separate strings of LIST into a single string with fields
 separated by the value of EXPR, and returns that new string.  Example:
 
@@ -2758,8 +3098,12 @@ X<keys> X<key>
 
 =item keys EXPR
 
-Returns a list consisting of all the keys of the named hash, or the indices
-of an array. (In scalar context, returns the number of keys or indices.)
+=for Pod::Functions retrieve list of indices from a hash
+
+Called in list context, returns a list consisting of all the keys of the
+named hash, or in Perl 5.12 or later only, the indices of an array.  Perl
+releases prior to 5.12 will produce a syntax error if you try to use an
+array argument.  In scalar context, returns the number of keys or indices.
 
 The keys of a hash are returned in an apparently random order.  The actual
 random order is subject to change in future versions of Perl, but it
@@ -2769,8 +3113,8 @@ Perl 5.8.1 the ordering can be different even between different runs of
 Perl for security reasons (see L<perlsec/"Algorithmic Complexity
 Attacks">).
 
-As a side effect, calling keys() resets the internal interator of the HASH or ARRAY
-(see L</each>).  In particular, calling keys() in void context resets
+As a side effect, calling keys() resets the internal iterator of the HASH or
+ARRAY (see L</each>).  In particular, calling keys() in void context resets
 the iterator with no other overhead.
 
 Here is yet another way to print your environment:
@@ -2810,7 +3154,7 @@ buckets will be retained even if you do C<%hash = ()>, use C<undef
 %hash> if you want to free the storage while C<%hash> is still in scope.
 You can't shrink the number of buckets allocated for the hash using
 C<keys> in this way (but you needn't worry about doing this by accident,
-as trying has no effect). C<keys @array> in an lvalue context is a syntax
+as trying has no effect).  C<keys @array> in an lvalue context is a syntax
 error.
 
 Starting with Perl 5.14, C<keys> can take a scalar EXPR, which must contain
@@ -2821,11 +3165,23 @@ experimental.  The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.
     for (keys $hashref) { ... }
     for (keys $obj->get_arrayref) { ... }
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at
+the top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of
+a recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.012;	# so keys/values/each work on arrays
+    use 5.014;	# so keys/values/each work on scalars (experimental)
+
 See also C<each>, C<values>, and C<sort>.
 
 =item kill SIGNAL, LIST
+
+=item kill SIGNAL
 X<kill> X<signal>
 
+=for Pod::Functions send a signal to a process or process group
+
 Sends a signal to a list of processes.  Returns the number of
 processes successfully signaled (which is not necessarily the
 same as the number actually killed).
@@ -2841,12 +3197,22 @@ alive (even if only as a zombie) and hasn't changed its UID.  See
 L<perlport> for notes on the portability of this construct.
 
 Unlike in the shell, if SIGNAL is negative, it kills process groups instead
-of processes. That means you usually want to use positive not negative signals.
-You may also use a signal name in quotes.
+of processes.  That means you usually
+want to use positive not negative signals.
+
+You may also use a signal name in quotes.  A negative signal name is the
+same as a negative signal number, killing process groups instead of processes.
+For example, C<kill -KILL, $pgrp> will send C<SIGKILL> to the entire process
+group specified.
 
 The behavior of kill when a I<PROCESS> number is zero or negative depends on
 the operating system.  For example, on POSIX-conforming systems, zero will
-signal the current process group and -1 will signal all processes.
+signal the current process group, -1 will signal all processes, and any
+other negative PROCESS number will act as a negative signal number and
+kill the entire process group specified.
+
+If both the SIGNAL and the PROCESS are negative, the results are undefined.
+A warning may be produced in a future version.
 
 See L<perlipc/"Signals"> for more details.
 
@@ -2857,16 +3223,28 @@ for code running on Windows and in code intended to be portable.
 
 See L<perlfork> for more details.
 
+If there is no I<LIST> of processes, no signal is sent, and the return
+value is 0.  This form is sometimes used, however, because it causes
+tainting checks to be run.  But see
+L<perlsec/Laundering and Detecting Tainted Data>.
+
 Portability issues: L<perlport/kill>.
 
 =item last LABEL
 X<last> X<break>
 
+=item last EXPR
+
 =item last
 
+=for Pod::Functions exit a block prematurely
+
 The C<last> command is like the C<break> statement in C (as used in
 loops); it immediately exits the loop in question.  If the LABEL is
-omitted, the command refers to the innermost enclosing loop.  The
+omitted, the command refers to the innermost enclosing
+loop.  The C<last EXPR> form, available starting in Perl
+5.18.0, allows a label name to be computed at run time,
+and is otherwise identical to C<last LABEL>.  The
 C<continue> block, if any, is not executed:
 
     LINE: while (<STDIN>) {
@@ -2885,11 +3263,18 @@ exit out of such a block.
 See also L</continue> for an illustration of how C<last>, C<next>, and
 C<redo> work.
 
+Unlike most named operators, this has the same precedence as assignment.
+It is also exempt from the looks-like-a-function rule, so
+C<last ("foo")."bar"> will cause "bar" to be part of the argument to
+C<last>.
+
 =item lc EXPR
 X<lc> X<lowercase>
 
 =item lc
 
+=for Pod::Functions return lower-case version of a string
+
 Returns a lowercased version of EXPR.  This is the internal function
 implementing the C<\L> escape in double-quoted strings.
 
@@ -2914,15 +3299,27 @@ respectively.
 
 =back
 
-=item Otherwise, If EXPR has the UTF8 flag set
+=item Otherwise, if C<use locale> (but not C<use locale ':not_characters'>) is in effect:
 
-Unicode semantics are used for the case change.
+Respects current LC_CTYPE locale for code points < 256; and uses Unicode
+semantics for the remaining code points (this last can only happen if
+the UTF8 flag is also set).  See L<perllocale>.
+
+A deficiency in this is that case changes that cross the 255/256
+boundary are not well-defined.  For example, the lower case of LATIN CAPITAL
+LETTER SHARP S (U+1E9E) in Unicode semantics is U+00DF (on ASCII
+platforms).   But under C<use locale>, the lower case of U+1E9E is
+itself, because 0xDF may not be LATIN SMALL LETTER SHARP S in the
+current locale, and Perl has no way of knowing if that character even
+exists in the locale, much less what code point it is.  Perl returns
+the input character unchanged, for all instances (and there aren't
+many) where the 255/256 boundary would otherwise be crossed.
 
-=item Otherwise, if C<use locale> is in effect
+=item Otherwise, If EXPR has the UTF8 flag set:
 
-Respects current LC_CTYPE locale.  See L<perllocale>.
+Unicode semantics are used for the case change.
 
-=item Otherwise, if C<use feature 'unicode_strings'> is in effect:
+=item Otherwise, if C<use feature 'unicode_strings'> or C<use locale ':not_characters'>) is in effect:
 
 Unicode semantics are used for the case change.
 
@@ -2948,6 +3345,8 @@ X<lcfirst> X<lowercase>
 
 =item lcfirst
 
+=for Pod::Functions return a string with just the next letter in lower case
+
 Returns the value of EXPR with the first character lowercased.  This
 is the internal function implementing the C<\l> escape in
 double-quoted strings.
@@ -2962,6 +3361,8 @@ X<length> X<size>
 
 =item length
 
+=for Pod::Functions return the number of characters in a string
+
 Returns the length in I<characters> of the value of EXPR.  If EXPR is
 omitted, returns the length of C<$_>.  If EXPR is undefined, returns
 C<undef>.
@@ -2978,11 +3379,15 @@ to C<use Encode> first).  See L<Encode> and L<perlunicode>.
 =item __LINE__
 X<__LINE__>
 
+=for Pod::Functions the current source line number
+
 A special token that compiles to the current line number.
 
 =item link OLDFILE,NEWFILE
 X<link>
 
+=for Pod::Functions create a hard link in the filesystem
+
 Creates a new filename linked to the old filename.  Returns true for
 success, false otherwise.
 
@@ -2991,6 +3396,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/link>.
 =item listen SOCKET,QUEUESIZE
 X<listen>
 
+=for Pod::Functions register your socket as a server
+
 Does the same thing that the listen(2) system call does.  Returns true if
 it succeeded, false otherwise.  See the example in
 L<perlipc/"Sockets: Client/Server Communication">.
@@ -2998,6 +3405,8 @@ L<perlipc/"Sockets: Client/Server Communication">.
 =item local EXPR
 X<local>
 
+=for Pod::Functions create a temporary value for a global variable (dynamic scoping)
+
 You really probably want to be using C<my> instead, because C<local> isn't
 what most people think of as "local".  See
 L<perlsub/"Private Variables via my()"> for details.
@@ -3016,6 +3425,8 @@ X<localtime> X<ctime>
 
 =item localtime
 
+=for Pod::Functions convert UNIX time into record or string using local time
+
 Converts a time as returned by the time function to a 9-element list
 with the time analyzed for the local time zone.  Typically used as
 follows:
@@ -3032,19 +3443,15 @@ C<$mday> is the day of the month and C<$mon> the month in
 the range C<0..11>, with 0 indicating January and 11 indicating December.
 This makes it easy to get a month name from a list:
 
-    my @abbr = qw( Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec );
+    my @abbr = qw(Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec);
     print "$abbr[$mon] $mday";
     # $mon=9, $mday=18 gives "Oct 18"
 
-C<$year> is the number of years since 1900, B<not> just the last two digits
-of the year.  That is, C<$year> is C<123> in year 2023.  The proper way
-to get a 4-digit year is simply:
+C<$year> contains the number of years since 1900.  To get a 4-digit
+year write:
 
     $year += 1900;
 
-Otherwise you create non-Y2K-compliant programs--and you wouldn't want
-to do that, would you?
-
 To get the last two digits of the year (e.g., "01" in 2001) do:
 
     $year = sprintf("%02d", $year % 100);
@@ -3063,8 +3470,9 @@ In scalar context, C<localtime()> returns the ctime(3) value:
 
     $now_string = localtime;  # e.g., "Thu Oct 13 04:54:34 1994"
 
-This scalar value is B<not> locale-dependent but is a Perl builtin. For GMT
-instead of local time use the L</gmtime> builtin. See also the
+The format of this scalar value is B<not> locale-dependent
+but built into Perl.  For GMT instead of local
+time use the L</gmtime> builtin.  See also the
 C<Time::Local> module (for converting seconds, minutes, hours, and such back to
 the integer value returned by time()), and the L<POSIX> module's strftime(3)
 and mktime(3) functions.
@@ -3093,6 +3501,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/localtime>.
 =item lock THING
 X<lock>
 
+=for Pod::Functions +5.005 get a thread lock on a variable, subroutine, or method
+
 This function places an advisory lock on a shared variable or referenced
 object contained in I<THING> until the lock goes out of scope.
 
@@ -3109,6 +3519,8 @@ X<log> X<logarithm> X<e> X<ln> X<base>
 
 =item log
 
+=for Pod::Functions retrieve the natural logarithm for a number
+
 Returns the natural logarithm (base I<e>) of EXPR.  If EXPR is omitted,
 returns the log of C<$_>.  To get the
 log of another base, use basic algebra:
@@ -3131,6 +3543,8 @@ X<lstat>
 
 =item lstat
 
+=for Pod::Functions stat a symbolic link
+
 Does the same thing as the C<stat> function (including setting the
 special C<_> filehandle) but stats a symbolic link instead of the file
 the symbolic link points to.  If symbolic links are unimplemented on
@@ -3143,6 +3557,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/lstat>.
 
 =item m//
 
+=for Pod::Functions match a string with a regular expression pattern
+
 The match operator.  See L<perlop/"Regexp Quote-Like Operators">.
 
 =item map BLOCK LIST
@@ -3150,6 +3566,8 @@ X<map>
 
 =item map EXPR,LIST
 
+=for Pod::Functions apply a change to a list to get back a new list with the changes
+
 Evaluates the BLOCK or EXPR for each element of LIST (locally setting
 C<$_> to each element) and returns the list value composed of the
 results of each such evaluation.  In scalar context, returns the
@@ -3168,7 +3586,7 @@ translates a list of numbers to their squared values.
     my @squares = map { $_ > 5 ? ($_ * $_) : () } @numbers;
 
 shows that number of returned elements can differ from the number of
-input elements. To omit an element, return an empty list ().
+input elements.  To omit an element, return an empty list ().
 This could also be achieved by writing
 
     my @squares = map { $_ * $_ } grep { $_ > 5 } @numbers;
@@ -3177,7 +3595,7 @@ which makes the intention more clear.
 
 Map always returns a list, which can be
 assigned to a hash such that the elements
-become key/value pairs. See L<perldata> for more details.
+become key/value pairs.  See L<perldata> for more details.
 
     %hash = map { get_a_key_for($_) => $_ } @array;
 
@@ -3196,30 +3614,33 @@ most cases.  See also L</grep> for an array composed of those items of
 the original list for which the BLOCK or EXPR evaluates to true.
 
 If C<$_> is lexical in the scope where the C<map> appears (because it has
-been declared with C<my $_>), then, in addition to being locally aliased to
+been declared with the deprecated C<my $_> construct),
+then, in addition to being locally aliased to
 the list elements, C<$_> keeps being lexical inside the block; that is, it
 can't be seen from the outside, avoiding any potential side-effects.
 
 C<{> starts both hash references and blocks, so C<map { ...> could be either
-the start of map BLOCK LIST or map EXPR, LIST. Because Perl doesn't look
+the start of map BLOCK LIST or map EXPR, LIST.  Because Perl doesn't look
 ahead for the closing C<}> it has to take a guess at which it's dealing with
-based on what it finds just after the C<{>. Usually it gets it right, but if it
+based on what it finds just after the
+C<{>.  Usually it gets it right, but if it
 doesn't it won't realize something is wrong until it gets to the C<}> and
-encounters the missing (or unexpected) comma. The syntax error will be
+encounters the missing (or unexpected) comma.  The syntax error will be
 reported close to the C<}>, but you'll need to change something near the C<{>
 such as using a unary C<+> to give Perl some help:
 
-    %hash = map {  "\L$_" => 1  } @array  # perl guesses EXPR.  wrong
-    %hash = map { +"\L$_" => 1  } @array  # perl guesses BLOCK. right
-    %hash = map { ("\L$_" => 1) } @array  # this also works
-    %hash = map {  lc($_) => 1  } @array  # as does this.
-    %hash = map +( lc($_) => 1 ), @array  # this is EXPR and works!
+    %hash = map {  "\L$_" => 1  } @array # perl guesses EXPR. wrong
+    %hash = map { +"\L$_" => 1  } @array # perl guesses BLOCK. right
+    %hash = map { ("\L$_" => 1) } @array # this also works
+    %hash = map {  lc($_) => 1  } @array # as does this.
+    %hash = map +( lc($_) => 1 ), @array # this is EXPR and works!
 
-    %hash = map  ( lc($_), 1 ),   @array  # evaluates to (1, @array)
+    %hash = map  ( lc($_), 1 ),   @array # evaluates to (1, @array)
 
 or to force an anon hash constructor use C<+{>:
 
-   @hashes = map +{ lc($_) => 1 }, @array # EXPR, so needs comma at end
+    @hashes = map +{ lc($_) => 1 }, @array # EXPR, so needs
+                                           # comma at end
 
 to get a list of anonymous hashes each with only one entry apiece.
 
@@ -3230,6 +3651,8 @@ X<mkdir> X<md> X<directory, create>
 
 =item mkdir
 
+=for Pod::Functions create a directory
+
 Creates the directory specified by FILENAME, with permissions
 specified by MASK (as modified by C<umask>).  If it succeeds it
 returns true; otherwise it returns false and sets C<$!> (errno).
@@ -3254,6 +3677,8 @@ the C<mkpath> function of the L<File::Path> module.
 =item msgctl ID,CMD,ARG
 X<msgctl>
 
+=for Pod::Functions SysV IPC message control operations
+
 Calls the System V IPC function msgctl(2).  You'll probably have to say
 
     use IPC::SysV;
@@ -3270,6 +3695,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/msgctl>.
 =item msgget KEY,FLAGS
 X<msgget>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get SysV IPC message queue
+
 Calls the System V IPC function msgget(2).  Returns the message queue
 id, or C<undef> on error.  See also
 L<perlipc/"SysV IPC"> and the documentation for C<IPC::SysV> and
@@ -3280,6 +3707,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/msgget>.
 =item msgrcv ID,VAR,SIZE,TYPE,FLAGS
 X<msgrcv>
 
+=for Pod::Functions receive a SysV IPC message from a message queue
+
 Calls the System V IPC function msgrcv to receive a message from
 message queue ID into variable VAR with a maximum message size of
 SIZE.  Note that when a message is received, the message type as a
@@ -3294,6 +3723,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/msgrcv>.
 =item msgsnd ID,MSG,FLAGS
 X<msgsnd>
 
+=for Pod::Functions send a SysV IPC message to a message queue
+
 Calls the System V IPC function msgsnd to send the message MSG to the
 message queue ID.  MSG must begin with the native long integer message
 type, be followed by the length of the actual message, and then finally
@@ -3313,6 +3744,8 @@ X<my>
 
 =item my TYPE EXPR : ATTRS
 
+=for Pod::Functions declare and assign a local variable (lexical scoping)
+
 A C<my> declares the listed variables to be local (lexically) to the
 enclosing block, file, or C<eval>.  If more than one value is listed,
 the list must be placed in parentheses.
@@ -3327,8 +3760,12 @@ L<attributes>, and L<Attribute::Handlers>.
 =item next LABEL
 X<next> X<continue>
 
+=item next EXPR
+
 =item next
 
+=for Pod::Functions iterate a block prematurely
+
 The C<next> command is like the C<continue> statement in C; it starts
 the next iteration of the loop:
 
@@ -3339,7 +3776,9 @@ the next iteration of the loop:
 
 Note that if there were a C<continue> block on the above, it would get
 executed even on discarded lines.  If LABEL is omitted, the command
-refers to the innermost enclosing loop.
+refers to the innermost enclosing loop.  The C<next EXPR> form, available
+as of Perl 5.18.0, allows a label name to be computed at run time, being
+otherwise identical to C<next LABEL>.
 
 C<next> cannot be used to exit a block which returns a value such as
 C<eval {}>, C<sub {}>, or C<do {}>, and should not be used to exit
@@ -3351,6 +3790,11 @@ that executes once.  Thus C<next> will exit such a block early.
 See also L</continue> for an illustration of how C<last>, C<next>, and
 C<redo> work.
 
+Unlike most named operators, this has the same precedence as assignment.
+It is also exempt from the looks-like-a-function rule, so
+C<next ("foo")."bar"> will cause "bar" to be part of the argument to
+C<next>.
+
 =item no MODULE VERSION LIST
 X<no declarations>
 X<unimporting>
@@ -3363,6 +3807,8 @@ X<unimporting>
 
 =item no VERSION
 
+=for Pod::Functions unimport some module symbols or semantics at compile time
+
 See the C<use> function, of which C<no> is the opposite.
 
 =item oct EXPR
@@ -3370,6 +3816,8 @@ X<oct> X<octal> X<hex> X<hexadecimal> X<binary> X<bin>
 
 =item oct
 
+=for Pod::Functions convert a string to an octal number
+
 Interprets EXPR as an octal string and returns the corresponding
 value.  (If EXPR happens to start off with C<0x>, interprets it as a
 hex string.  If EXPR starts off with C<0b>, it is interpreted as a
@@ -3405,6 +3853,8 @@ X<open> X<pipe> X<file, open> X<fopen>
 
 =item open FILEHANDLE
 
+=for Pod::Functions open a file, pipe, or descriptor
+
 Opens the file whose filename is given by EXPR, and associates it with
 FILEHANDLE.
 
@@ -3445,7 +3895,7 @@ created if necessary.
 You can put a C<+> in front of the C<< > >> or C<< < >> to
 indicate that you want both read and write access to the file; thus
 C<< +< >> is almost always preferred for read/write updates--the 
-C<< +> >> mode would clobber the file first.  You cant usually use
+C<< +> >> mode would clobber the file first.  You can't usually use
 either read-write mode for updating textfiles, since they have
 variable-length records.  See the B<-i> switch in L<perlrun> for a
 better approach.  The file is created with permissions of C<0666>
@@ -3484,15 +3934,18 @@ or C<-> opens STDIN and opening C<< >- >> opens STDOUT.
 You may (and usually should) use the three-argument form of open to specify
 I/O layers (sometimes referred to as "disciplines") to apply to the handle
 that affect how the input and output are processed (see L<open> and
-L<PerlIO> for more details). For example:
+L<PerlIO> for more details).  For example:
 
   open(my $fh, "<:encoding(UTF-8)", "filename")
     || die "can't open UTF-8 encoded filename: $!";
 
 opens the UTF8-encoded file containing Unicode characters;
-see L<perluniintro>. Note that if layers are specified in the
+see L<perluniintro>.  Note that if layers are specified in the
 three-argument form, then default layers stored in ${^OPEN} (see L<perlvar>;
 usually set by the B<open> pragma or the switch B<-CioD>) are ignored.
+Those layers will also be ignored if you specifying a colon with no name
+following it.  In that case the default layer for the operating system
+(:raw on Unix, :crlf on Windows) is used.
 
 Open returns nonzero on success, the undefined value otherwise.  If
 the C<open> involved a pipe, the return value happens to be the pid of
@@ -3523,7 +3976,7 @@ works for symmetry, but you really should consider writing something
 to the temporary file first.  You will need to seek() to do the
 reading.
 
-Since v5.8.0, Perl has built using PerlIO by default.  Unless you've
+Perl is built using PerlIO by default; Unless you've
 changed this (such as building Perl with C<Configure -Uuseperlio>), you can
 open filehandles directly to Perl scalars via:
 
@@ -3562,7 +4015,7 @@ General examples:
     # in-memory files
     open(MEMORY, ">", \$var)
         or die "Can't open memory file: $!";
-    print MEMORY "foo!\n";                   # output will appear in $var
+    print MEMORY "foo!\n";              # output will appear in $var
 
     # process argument list of files along with any includes
 
@@ -3597,7 +4050,8 @@ duped (as C<dup(2)>) and opened.  You may use C<&> after C<< > >>,
 C<<< >> >>>, C<< < >>, C<< +> >>, C<<< +>> >>>, and C<< +< >>.
 The mode you specify should match the mode of the original filehandle.
 (Duping a filehandle does not take into account any existing contents
-of IO buffers.) If you use the three-argument form, then you can pass either a
+of IO buffers.)  If you use the three-argument
+form, then you can pass either a
 number, the name of a filehandle, or the normal "reference to a glob".
 
 Here is a script that saves, redirects, and restores C<STDOUT> and
@@ -3672,6 +4126,7 @@ For example, use either
     $child_pid = open(FROM_KID, "-|") 	// die "can't fork: $!";
 
 or
+
     $child_pid = open(TO_KID,   "|-") 	// die "can't fork: $!";
 
 followed by 
@@ -3680,7 +4135,7 @@ followed by
 	# am the parent:
 	# either write TO_KID or else read FROM_KID
 	...
-	wait $child_pid;
+       waitpid $child_pid, 0;
     } else {
 	# am the child; use STDIN/STDOUT normally
 	...
@@ -3721,7 +4176,7 @@ that intentionally contain shell metacharacters, such as:
 
 See L<perlipc/"Safe Pipe Opens"> for more examples of this.
 
-Beginning with v5.6.0, Perl will attempt to flush all files opened for
+Perl will attempt to flush all files opened for
 output before any operation that may do a fork, but this may not be
 supported on some platforms (see L<perlport>).  To be safe, you may need
 to set C<$|> ($AUTOFLUSH in English) or call the C<autoflush()> method
@@ -3804,7 +4259,7 @@ zero, typically at scope exit:
     }
 
 B<WARNING:> The previous example has a bug because the automatic
-close that happens when the refcount on C<handle> does not
+close that happens when the refcount on C<handle> reaches zero does not
 properly detect and report failures.  I<Always> close the handle
 yourself and inspect the return value.
 
@@ -3818,6 +4273,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/open>.
 =item opendir DIRHANDLE,EXPR
 X<opendir>
 
+=for Pod::Functions open a directory
+
 Opens a directory named EXPR for processing by C<readdir>, C<telldir>,
 C<seekdir>, C<rewinddir>, and C<closedir>.  Returns true if successful.
 DIRHANDLE may be an expression whose value can be used as an indirect
@@ -3833,8 +4290,9 @@ X<ord> X<encoding>
 
 =item ord
 
-Returns the numeric (the native 8-bit encoding, like ASCII or EBCDIC,
-or Unicode) value of the first character of EXPR.  
+=for Pod::Functions find a character's numeric representation
+
+Returns the numeric value of the first character of EXPR.
 If EXPR is an empty string, returns 0.  If EXPR is omitted, uses C<$_>.
 (Note I<character>, not byte.)
 
@@ -3850,18 +4308,20 @@ X<our> X<global>
 
 =item our TYPE EXPR : ATTRS
 
-C<our> associates a simple name with a package variable in the current
-package for use within the current scope.  When C<use strict 'vars'> is in
-effect, C<our> lets you use declared global variables without qualifying
-them with package names, within the lexical scope of the C<our> declaration.
-In this way C<our> differs from C<use vars>, which is package-scoped.
+=for Pod::Functions +5.6.0 declare and assign a package variable (lexical scoping)
+
+C<our> makes a lexical alias to a package variable of the same name in the current
+package for use within the current lexical scope.
 
-Unlike C<my> or C<state>, which allocates storage for a variable and
-associates a simple name with that storage for use within the current
-scope, C<our> associates a simple name with a package (read: global)
-variable in the current package, for use within the current lexical scope.
-In other words, C<our> has the same scoping rules as C<my> or C<state>, but
-does not necessarily create a variable.
+C<our> has the same scoping rules as C<my> or C<state>, but C<our> only
+declares an alias, whereas C<my> or C<state> both declare a variable name and
+allocate storage for that name within the current scope.
+
+This means that when C<use strict 'vars'> is in effect, C<our> lets you use
+a package variable without qualifying it with the package name, but only within
+the lexical scope of the C<our> declaration.  In this way, C<our> differs from
+C<use vars>, which allows use of an unqualified name I<only> within the
+affected package, but across scopes.
 
 If more than one value is listed, the list must be placed
 in parentheses.
@@ -3869,7 +4329,7 @@ in parentheses.
     our $foo;
     our($bar, $baz);
 
-An C<our> declaration declares a global variable that will be visible
+An C<our> declaration declares an alias for a package variable that will be visible
 across its entire lexical scope, even across package boundaries.  The
 package in which the variable is entered is determined at the point
 of the declaration, not at the point of use.  This means the following
@@ -3906,15 +4366,17 @@ An C<our> declaration may also have a list of attributes associated
 with it.
 
 The exact semantics and interface of TYPE and ATTRS are still
-evolving.  TYPE is currently bound to the use of C<fields> pragma,
-and attributes are handled using the C<attributes> pragma, or starting
-from Perl 5.8.0 also via the C<Attribute::Handlers> module.  See
+evolving.  TYPE is currently bound to the use of the C<fields> pragma,
+and attributes are handled using the C<attributes> pragma, or, starting
+from Perl 5.8.0, also via the C<Attribute::Handlers> module.  See
 L<perlsub/"Private Variables via my()"> for details, and L<fields>,
 L<attributes>, and L<Attribute::Handlers>.
 
 =item pack TEMPLATE,LIST
 X<pack>
 
+=for Pod::Functions convert a list into a binary representation
+
 Takes a LIST of values and converts it into a string using the rules
 given by the TEMPLATE.  The resulting string is the concatenation of
 the converted values.  Typically, each converted value looks
@@ -4008,8 +4470,8 @@ TEMPLATE (the second column lists letters for which the modifier is valid):
         nNvV       Treat integers as signed instead of unsigned.
 
         @.         Specify position as byte offset in the internal
-                   representation of the packed string. Efficient but
-                   dangerous.
+                   representation of the packed string.  Efficient
+                   but dangerous.
 
     >   sSiIlLqQ   Force big-endian byte-order on the type.
         jJfFdDpP   (The "big end" touches the construct.)
@@ -4021,6 +4483,28 @@ The C<< > >> and C<< < >> modifiers can also be used on C<()> groups
 to force a particular byte-order on all components in that group, 
 including all its subgroups.
 
+=begin comment
+
+Larry recalls that the hex and bit string formats (H, h, B, b) were added to
+pack for processing data from NASA's Magellan probe. Magellan was in an
+elliptical orbit, using the antenna for the radar mapping when close to
+Venus and for communicating data back to Earth for the rest of the orbit.
+There were two transmission units, but one of these failed, and then the
+other developed a fault whereby it would randomly flip the sense of all the
+bits. It was easy to automatically detect complete records with the correct
+sense, and complete records with all the bits flipped. However, this didn't
+recover the records where the sense flipped midway. A colleague of Larry's
+was able to pretty much eyeball where the records flipped, so they wrote an
+editor named kybble (a pun on the dog food Kibbles 'n Bits) to enable him to
+manually correct the records and recover the data. For this purpose pack
+gained the hex and bit string format specifiers.
+
+git shows that they were added to perl 3.0 in patch #44 (Jan 1991, commit
+27e2fb84680b9cc1), but the patch description makes no mention of their
+addition, let alone the story behind them.
+
+=end comment
+
 The following rules apply:
 
 =over 
@@ -4091,7 +4575,7 @@ bigger then the group level.
 =back
 
 The repeat count for C<u> is interpreted as the maximal number of bytes
-to encode per line of output, with 0, 1 and 2 replaced by 45. The repeat 
+to encode per line of output, with 0, 1 and 2 replaced by 45.  The repeat 
 count should not be more than 65.
 
 =item *
@@ -4184,18 +4668,18 @@ unpacking has encoded the sizes or repeat counts for some of its fields
 within the structure itself as separate fields.
 
 For C<pack>, you write I<length-item>C</>I<sequence-item>, and the
-I<length-item> describes how the length value is packed. Formats likely
+I<length-item> describes how the length value is packed.  Formats likely
 to be of most use are integer-packing ones like C<n> for Java strings,
 C<w> for ASN.1 or SNMP, and C<N> for Sun XDR.
 
 For C<pack>, I<sequence-item> may have a repeat count, in which case
 the minimum of that and the number of available items is used as the argument
-for I<length-item>. If it has no repeat count or uses a '*', the number
+for I<length-item>.  If it has no repeat count or uses a '*', the number
 of available items is used.
 
 For C<unpack>, an internal stack of integer arguments unpacked so far is
-used. You write C</>I<sequence-item> and the repeat count is obtained by
-popping off the last element from the stack. The I<sequence-item> must not
+used.  You write C</>I<sequence-item> and the repeat count is obtained by
+popping off the last element from the stack.  The I<sequence-item> must not
 have a repeat count.
 
 If I<sequence-item> refers to a string type (C<"A">, C<"a">, or C<"Z">),
@@ -4203,14 +4687,14 @@ the I<length-item> is the string length, not the number of strings.  With
 an explicit repeat count for pack, the packed string is adjusted to that
 length.  For example:
 
- This code:                              gives this result:
- 
-  unpack("W/a", "\004Gurusamy")          ("Guru")
-  unpack("a3/A A*", "007 Bond  J ")      (" Bond", "J")
-  unpack("a3 x2 /A A*", "007: Bond, J.") ("Bond, J", ".")
+ This code:                             gives this result:
+
+ unpack("W/a", "\004Gurusamy")          ("Guru")
+ unpack("a3/A A*", "007 Bond  J ")      (" Bond", "J")
+ unpack("a3 x2 /A A*", "007: Bond, J.") ("Bond, J", ".")
 
-  pack("n/a* w/a","hello,","world")     "\000\006hello,\005world"
-  pack("a/W2", ord("a") .. ord("z"))    "2ab"
+ pack("n/a* w/a","hello,","world")     "\000\006hello,\005world"
+ pack("a/W2", ord("a") .. ord("z"))    "2ab"
 
 The I<length-item> is not returned explicitly from C<unpack>.
 
@@ -4309,7 +4793,7 @@ immediately below.  See also L<perlport>.
 
 =item *
 
-Starting with Perl 5.9.2, integer and floating-point formats, along with
+Starting with Perl 5.10.0, integer and floating-point formats, along with
 the C<p> and C<P> formats and C<()> groups, may all be followed by the 
 C<< > >> or C<< < >> endianness modifiers to respectively enforce big-
 or little-endian byte-order.  These modifiers are especially useful 
@@ -4375,8 +4859,9 @@ will not in general equal $foo.
 Pack and unpack can operate in two modes: character mode (C<C0> mode) where
 the packed string is processed per character, and UTF-8 mode (C<U0> mode)
 where the packed string is processed in its UTF-8-encoded Unicode form on
-a byte-by-byte basis. Character mode is the default unless the format string 
-starts with C<U>. You can always switch mode mid-format with an explicit 
+a byte-by-byte basis.  Character mode is the default
+unless the format string starts with C<U>.  You
+can always switch mode mid-format with an explicit 
 C<C0> or C<U0> in the format.  This mode remains in effect until the next 
 mode change, or until the end of the C<()> group it (directly) applies to.
 
@@ -4412,7 +4897,7 @@ handle their output and input as flat sequences of characters.
 A C<()> group is a sub-TEMPLATE enclosed in parentheses.  A group may
 take a repeat count either as postfix, or for unpack(), also via the C</>
 template character.  Within each repetition of a group, positioning with
-C<@> starts over at 0. Therefore, the result of
+C<@> starts over at 0.  Therefore, the result of
 
     pack("@1A((@2A)@3A)", qw[X Y Z])
 
@@ -4422,7 +4907,7 @@ is the string C<"\0X\0\0YZ">.
 
 C<x> and C<X> accept the C<!> modifier to act as alignment commands: they
 jump forward or back to the closest position aligned at a multiple of C<count>
-characters. For example, to pack() or unpack() a C structure like
+characters.  For example, to pack() or unpack() a C structure like
 
     struct {
 	char   c;    /* one signed, 8-bit character */
@@ -4470,7 +4955,7 @@ Examples:
     $foo = pack("W4",0x24b6,0x24b7,0x24b8,0x24b9);
     # same thing with Unicode circled letters.
     $foo = pack("U4",0x24b6,0x24b7,0x24b8,0x24b9);
-    # same thing with Unicode circled letters. You don't get the
+    # same thing with Unicode circled letters.  You don't get the
     # UTF-8 bytes because the U at the start of the format caused
     # a switch to U0-mode, so the UTF-8 bytes get joined into
     # characters
@@ -4543,6 +5028,8 @@ X<package> X<module> X<namespace> X<version>
 =item package NAMESPACE VERSION BLOCK
 X<package> X<module> X<namespace> X<version>
 
+=for Pod::Functions declare a separate global namespace
+
 Declares the BLOCK or the rest of the compilation unit as being in the
 given namespace.  The scope of the package declaration is either the
 supplied code BLOCK or, in the absence of a BLOCK, from the declaration
@@ -4555,7 +5042,7 @@ when they're one of the special identifiers that qualify into C<main::>,
 like C<STDOUT>, C<ARGV>, C<ENV>, and the punctuation variables.
 
 A package statement affects dynamic variables only, including those
-you've used C<local> on, but I<not> lexical variables, which are created
+you've used C<local> on, but I<not> lexically-scoped variables, which are created
 with C<my>, C<state>, or C<our>.  Typically it would be the first 
 declaration in a file included by C<require> or C<use>.  You can switch into a
 package in more than one place, since this only determines which default 
@@ -4577,15 +5064,26 @@ components.  You should set C<$VERSION> only once per package.
 See L<perlmod/"Packages"> for more information about packages, modules,
 and classes.  See L<perlsub> for other scoping issues.
 
+=item __PACKAGE__
+X<__PACKAGE__>
+
+=for Pod::Functions +5.004 the current package
+
+A special token that returns the name of the package in which it occurs.
+
 =item pipe READHANDLE,WRITEHANDLE
 X<pipe>
 
+=for Pod::Functions open a pair of connected filehandles
+
 Opens a pair of connected pipes like the corresponding system call.
 Note that if you set up a loop of piped processes, deadlock can occur
 unless you are very careful.  In addition, note that Perl's pipes use
 IO buffering, so you may need to set C<$|> to flush your WRITEHANDLE
 after each command, depending on the application.
 
+Returns true on success.
+
 See L<IPC::Open2>, L<IPC::Open3>, and
 L<perlipc/"Bidirectional Communication with Another Process">
 for examples of such things.
@@ -4594,11 +5092,6 @@ On systems that support a close-on-exec flag on files, that flag is set
 on all newly opened file descriptors whose C<fileno>s are I<higher> than 
 the current value of $^F (by default 2 for C<STDERR>).  See L<perlvar/$^F>.
 
-=item __PACKAGE__
-X<__PACKAGE__>
-
-A special token that returns the name of the package in which it occurs.
-
 =item pop ARRAY
 X<pop> X<stack>
 
@@ -4606,6 +5099,8 @@ X<pop> X<stack>
 
 =item pop
 
+=for Pod::Functions remove the last element from an array and return it
+
 Pops and returns the last value of the array, shortening the array by
 one element.
 
@@ -4618,21 +5113,30 @@ reference to an unblessed array.  The argument will be dereferenced
 automatically.  This aspect of C<pop> is considered highly experimental.
 The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at
+the top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of
+a recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.014;	# so push/pop/etc work on scalars (experimental)
+
 =item pos SCALAR
 X<pos> X<match, position>
 
 =item pos
 
+=for Pod::Functions find or set the offset for the last/next m//g search
+
 Returns the offset of where the last C<m//g> search left off for the
 variable in question (C<$_> is used when the variable is not
-specified). Note that 0 is a valid match offset. C<undef> indicates
+specified).  Note that 0 is a valid match offset.  C<undef> indicates
 that the search position is reset (usually due to match failure, but
 can also be because no match has yet been run on the scalar).
 
 C<pos> directly accesses the location used by the regexp engine to
 store the offset, so assigning to C<pos> will change that offset, and
 so will also influence the C<\G> zero-width assertion in regular
-expressions. Both of these effects take place for the next match, so
+expressions.  Both of these effects take place for the next match, so
 you can't affect the position with C<pos> during the current match,
 such as in C<(?{pos() = 5})> or C<s//pos() = 5/e>.
 
@@ -4652,12 +5156,14 @@ X<print>
 
 =item print
 
+=for Pod::Functions output a list to a filehandle
+
 Prints a string or a list of strings.  Returns true if successful.
 FILEHANDLE may be a scalar variable containing the name of or a reference
 to the filehandle, thus introducing one level of indirection.  (NOTE: If
 FILEHANDLE is a variable and the next token is a term, it may be
 misinterpreted as an operator unless you interpose a C<+> or put
-parentheses around the arguments.) If FILEHANDLE is omitted, prints to the
+parentheses around the arguments.)  If FILEHANDLE is omitted, prints to the
 last selected (see L</select>) output handle.  If LIST is omitted, prints
 C<$_> to the currently selected output handle.  To use FILEHANDLE alone to
 print the content of C<$_> to it, you must use a real filehandle like
@@ -4694,17 +5200,27 @@ X<printf>
 
 =item printf
 
+=for Pod::Functions output a formatted list to a filehandle
+
 Equivalent to C<print FILEHANDLE sprintf(FORMAT, LIST)>, except that C<$\>
-(the output record separator) is not appended.  The first argument of the
-list will be interpreted as the C<printf> format. See
+(the output record separator) is not appended.  The FORMAT and the
+LIST are actually parsed as a single list.  The first argument
+of the list will be interpreted as the C<printf> format.  This
+means that C<printf(@_)> will use C<$_[0]> as the format.  See
 L<sprintf|/sprintf FORMAT, LIST> for an
-explanation of the format argument.    If you omit the LIST, C<$_> is used;
-to use FILEHANDLE without a LIST, you must use a real filehandle like
-C<FH>, not an indirect one like C<$fh>.  If C<use locale> is in effect and
+explanation of the format argument.  If C<use locale> (including
+C<use locale ':not_characters'>) is in effect and
 POSIX::setlocale() has been called, the character used for the decimal
 separator in formatted floating-point numbers is affected by the LC_NUMERIC
 locale setting.  See L<perllocale> and L<POSIX>.
 
+For historical reasons, if you omit the list, C<$_> is used as the format;
+to use FILEHANDLE without a list, you must use a real filehandle like
+C<FH>, not an indirect one like C<$fh>.  However, this will rarely do what
+you want; if $_ contains formatting codes, they will be replaced with the
+empty string and a warning will be emitted if warnings are enabled.  Just
+use C<print> if you want to print the contents of $_.
+
 Don't fall into the trap of using a C<printf> when a simple
 C<print> would do.  The C<print> is more efficient and less
 error prone.
@@ -4712,13 +5228,15 @@ error prone.
 =item prototype FUNCTION
 X<prototype>
 
+=for Pod::Functions +5.002 get the prototype (if any) of a subroutine
+
 Returns the prototype of a function as a string (or C<undef> if the
 function has no prototype).  FUNCTION is a reference to, or the name of,
 the function whose prototype you want to retrieve.
 
 If FUNCTION is a string starting with C<CORE::>, the rest is taken as a
-name for a Perl builtin.  If the builtin is not I<overridable> (such as
-C<qw//>) or if its arguments cannot be adequately expressed by a prototype
+name for a Perl builtin.  If the builtin's arguments
+cannot be adequately expressed by a prototype
 (such as C<system>), prototype() returns C<undef>, because the builtin
 does not really behave like a Perl function.  Otherwise, the string
 describing the equivalent prototype is returned.
@@ -4728,6 +5246,8 @@ X<push> X<stack>
 
 =item push EXPR,LIST
 
+=for Pod::Functions append one or more elements to an array
+
 Treats ARRAY as a stack by appending the values of LIST to the end of
 ARRAY.  The length of ARRAY increases by the length of LIST.  Has the same
 effect as
@@ -4744,18 +5264,35 @@ reference to an unblessed array.  The argument will be dereferenced
 automatically.  This aspect of C<push> is considered highly experimental.
 The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at
+the top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of
+a recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.014;	# so push/pop/etc work on scalars (experimental)
+
 =item q/STRING/
 
+=for Pod::Functions singly quote a string
+
 =item qq/STRING/
 
-=item qx/STRING/
+=for Pod::Functions doubly quote a string
 
 =item qw/STRING/
 
+=for Pod::Functions quote a list of words
+
+=item qx/STRING/
+
+=for Pod::Functions backquote quote a string
+
 Generalized quotes.  See L<perlop/"Quote-Like Operators">.
 
 =item qr/STRING/
 
+=for Pod::Functions +5.005 compile pattern
+
 Regexp-like quote.  See L<perlop/"Regexp Quote-Like Operators">.
 
 =item quotemeta EXPR
@@ -4763,18 +5300,21 @@ X<quotemeta> X<metacharacter>
 
 =item quotemeta
 
-Returns the value of EXPR with all non-"word"
-characters backslashed.  (That is, all characters not matching
+=for Pod::Functions quote regular expression magic characters
+
+Returns the value of EXPR with all the ASCII non-"word"
+characters backslashed.  (That is, all ASCII characters not matching
 C</[A-Za-z_0-9]/> will be preceded by a backslash in the
 returned string, regardless of any locale settings.)
 This is the internal function implementing
 the C<\Q> escape in double-quoted strings.
+(See below for the behavior on non-ASCII code points.)
 
 If EXPR is omitted, uses C<$_>.
 
 quotemeta (and C<\Q> ... C<\E>) are useful when interpolating strings into
 regular expressions, because by default an interpolated variable will be
-considered a mini-regular expression. For example:
+considered a mini-regular expression.  For example:
 
     my $sentence = 'The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog';
     my $substring = 'quick.*?fox';
@@ -4795,19 +5335,72 @@ Or:
     my $quoted_substring = quotemeta($substring);
     $sentence =~ s{$quoted_substring}{big bad wolf};
 
-Will both leave the sentence as is. Normally, when accepting literal string
+Will both leave the sentence as is.
+Normally, when accepting literal string
 input from the user, quotemeta() or C<\Q> must be used.
 
-In Perl 5.14, all characters whose code points are above 127 are not
-quoted in UTF8-encoded strings, but all are quoted in UTF-8 strings.
-It is planned to change this behavior in 5.16, but the exact rules
-haven't been determined yet.
+In Perl v5.14, all non-ASCII characters are quoted in non-UTF-8-encoded
+strings, but not quoted in UTF-8 strings.
+
+Starting in Perl v5.16, Perl adopted a Unicode-defined strategy for
+quoting non-ASCII characters; the quoting of ASCII characters is
+unchanged.
+
+Also unchanged is the quoting of non-UTF-8 strings when outside the
+scope of a C<use feature 'unicode_strings'>, which is to quote all
+characters in the upper Latin1 range.  This provides complete backwards
+compatibility for old programs which do not use Unicode.  (Note that
+C<unicode_strings> is automatically enabled within the scope of a
+S<C<use v5.12>> or greater.)
+
+Within the scope of C<use locale>, all non-ASCII Latin1 code points
+are quoted whether the string is encoded as UTF-8 or not.  As mentioned
+above, locale does not affect the quoting of ASCII-range characters.
+This protects against those locales where characters such as C<"|"> are
+considered to be word characters.
+
+Otherwise, Perl quotes non-ASCII characters using an adaptation from
+Unicode (see L<http://www.unicode.org/reports/tr31/>.)
+The only code points that are quoted are those that have any of the
+Unicode properties:  Pattern_Syntax, Pattern_White_Space, White_Space,
+Default_Ignorable_Code_Point, or General_Category=Control.
+
+Of these properties, the two important ones are Pattern_Syntax and
+Pattern_White_Space.  They have been set up by Unicode for exactly this
+purpose of deciding which characters in a regular expression pattern
+should be quoted.  No character that can be in an identifier has these
+properties.
+
+Perl promises, that if we ever add regular expression pattern
+metacharacters to the dozen already defined
+(C<\ E<verbar> ( ) [ { ^ $ * + ? .>), that we will only use ones that have the
+Pattern_Syntax property.  Perl also promises, that if we ever add
+characters that are considered to be white space in regular expressions
+(currently mostly affected by C</x>), they will all have the
+Pattern_White_Space property.
+
+Unicode promises that the set of code points that have these two
+properties will never change, so something that is not quoted in v5.16
+will never need to be quoted in any future Perl release.  (Not all the
+code points that match Pattern_Syntax have actually had characters
+assigned to them; so there is room to grow, but they are quoted
+whether assigned or not.  Perl, of course, would never use an
+unassigned code point as an actual metacharacter.)
+
+Quoting characters that have the other 3 properties is done to enhance
+the readability of the regular expression and not because they actually
+need to be quoted for regular expression purposes (characters with the
+White_Space property are likely to be indistinguishable on the page or
+screen from those with the Pattern_White_Space property; and the other
+two properties contain non-printing characters).
 
 =item rand EXPR
 X<rand> X<random>
 
 =item rand
 
+=for Pod::Functions retrieve the next pseudorandom number
+
 Returns a random fractional number greater than or equal to C<0> and less
 than the value of EXPR.  (EXPR should be positive.)  If EXPR is
 omitted, the value C<1> is used.  Currently EXPR with the value C<0> is
@@ -4830,14 +5423,16 @@ B<C<rand()> is not cryptographically secure.  You should not rely
 on it in security-sensitive situations.>  As of this writing, a
 number of third-party CPAN modules offer random number generators
 intended by their authors to be cryptographically secure,
-including: L<Math::Random::Secure>, L<Math::Random::MT::Perl>, and
-L<Math::TrulyRandom>.
+including: L<Data::Entropy>, L<Crypt::Random>, L<Math::Random::Secure>,
+and L<Math::TrulyRandom>.
 
 =item read FILEHANDLE,SCALAR,LENGTH,OFFSET
 X<read> X<file, read>
 
 =item read FILEHANDLE,SCALAR,LENGTH
 
+=for Pod::Functions fixed-length buffered input from a filehandle
+
 Attempts to read LENGTH I<characters> of data into variable SCALAR
 from the specified FILEHANDLE.  Returns the number of characters
 actually read, C<0> at end of file, or undef if there was an error (in
@@ -4867,6 +5462,8 @@ in that case pretty much any characters can be read.
 =item readdir DIRHANDLE
 X<readdir>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get a directory from a directory handle
+
 Returns the next directory entry for a directory opened by C<opendir>.
 If used in list context, returns all the rest of the entries in the
 directory.  If there are no more entries, returns the undefined value in
@@ -4880,7 +5477,7 @@ C<chdir> there, it would have been testing the wrong file.
     @dots = grep { /^\./ && -f "$some_dir/$_" } readdir($dh);
     closedir $dh;
 
-As of Perl 5.11.2 you can use a bare C<readdir> in a C<while> loop,
+As of Perl 5.12 you can use a bare C<readdir> in a C<while> loop,
 which will set C<$_> on every iteration.
 
     opendir(my $dh, $some_dir) || die;
@@ -4889,11 +5486,20 @@ which will set C<$_> on every iteration.
     }
     closedir $dh;
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious failures, put this sort of thing at the
+top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of a
+recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.012; # so readdir assigns to $_ in a lone while test
+
 =item readline EXPR
 
 =item readline
 X<readline> X<gets> X<fgets>
 
+=for Pod::Functions fetch a record from a file
+
 Reads from the filehandle whose typeglob is contained in EXPR (or from
 C<*ARGV> if EXPR is not provided).  In scalar context, each call reads and
 returns the next line until end-of-file is reached, whereupon the
@@ -4925,7 +5531,7 @@ C<readline> and dies if the result is not defined.
     }
 
 Note that you have can't handle C<readline> errors that way with the
-C<ARGV> filehandle. In that case, you have to open each element of
+C<ARGV> filehandle.  In that case, you have to open each element of
 C<@ARGV> yourself since C<eof> handles C<ARGV> differently.
 
     foreach my $arg (@ARGV) {
@@ -4943,6 +5549,8 @@ X<readlink>
 
 =item readlink
 
+=for Pod::Functions determine where a symbolic link is pointing
+
 Returns the value of a symbolic link, if symbolic links are
 implemented.  If not, raises an exception.  If there is a system
 error, returns the undefined value and sets C<$!> (errno).  If EXPR is
@@ -4955,6 +5563,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/readlink>.
 =item readpipe
 X<readpipe>
 
+=for Pod::Functions execute a system command and collect standard output
+
 EXPR is executed as a system command.
 The collected standard output of the command is returned.
 In scalar context, it comes back as a single (potentially
@@ -4968,6 +5578,8 @@ If EXPR is omitted, uses C<$_>.
 =item recv SOCKET,SCALAR,LENGTH,FLAGS
 X<recv>
 
+=for Pod::Functions receive a message over a Socket
+
 Receives a message on a socket.  Attempts to receive LENGTH characters
 of data into variable SCALAR from the specified SOCKET filehandle.
 SCALAR will be grown or shrunk to the length actually read.  Takes the
@@ -4988,12 +5600,18 @@ case pretty much any characters can be read.
 =item redo LABEL
 X<redo>
 
+=item redo EXPR
+
 =item redo
 
+=for Pod::Functions start this loop iteration over again
+
 The C<redo> command restarts the loop block without evaluating the
 conditional again.  The C<continue> block, if any, is not executed.  If
 the LABEL is omitted, the command refers to the innermost enclosing
-loop.  Programs that want to lie to themselves about what was just input 
+loop.  The C<redo EXPR> form, available starting in Perl 5.18.0, allows a
+label name to be computed at run time, and is otherwise identical to C<redo
+LABEL>.  Programs that want to lie to themselves about what was just input 
 normally use this command:
 
     # a simpleminded Pascal comment stripper
@@ -5024,13 +5642,20 @@ turn it into a looping construct.
 See also L</continue> for an illustration of how C<last>, C<next>, and
 C<redo> work.
 
+Unlike most named operators, this has the same precedence as assignment.
+It is also exempt from the looks-like-a-function rule, so
+C<redo ("foo")."bar"> will cause "bar" to be part of the argument to
+C<redo>.
+
 =item ref EXPR
 X<ref> X<reference>
 
 =item ref
 
+=for Pod::Functions find out the type of thing being referenced
+
 Returns a non-empty string if EXPR is a reference, the empty
-string otherwise. If EXPR
+string otherwise.  If EXPR
 is not specified, C<$_> will be used.  The value returned depends on the
 type of thing the reference is a reference to.
 Builtin types include:
@@ -5058,8 +5683,8 @@ name is returned instead.  You can think of C<ref> as a C<typeof> operator.
     }
 
 The return value C<LVALUE> indicates a reference to an lvalue that is not
-a variable. You get this from taking the reference of function calls like
-C<pos()> or C<substr()>. C<VSTRING> is returned if the reference points
+a variable.  You get this from taking the reference of function calls like
+C<pos()> or C<substr()>.  C<VSTRING> is returned if the reference points
 to a L<version string|perldata/"Version Strings">.
 
 The result C<Regexp> indicates that the argument is a regular expression
@@ -5070,6 +5695,8 @@ See also L<perlref>.
 =item rename OLDNAME,NEWNAME
 X<rename> X<move> X<mv> X<ren>
 
+=for Pod::Functions change a filename
+
 Changes the name of a file; an existing file NEWNAME will be
 clobbered.  Returns true for success, false otherwise.
 
@@ -5092,6 +5719,8 @@ X<require>
 
 =item require
 
+=for Pod::Functions load in external functions from a library at runtime
+
 Demands a version of Perl specified by VERSION, or demands some semantics
 specified by EXPR or by C<$_> if EXPR is not supplied.
 
@@ -5108,7 +5737,8 @@ version should be used instead.
 
     require v5.6.1;     # run time version check
     require 5.6.1;      # ditto
-    require 5.006_001;  # ditto; preferred for backwards compatibility
+    require 5.006_001;  # ditto; preferred for backwards
+                          compatibility
 
 Otherwise, C<require> demands that a library file be included if it
 hasn't already been included.  The file is included via the do-FILE
@@ -5181,7 +5811,7 @@ will complain about not finding "F<Foo::Bar>" there.  In this case you can do:
 Now that you understand how C<require> looks for files with a
 bareword argument, there is a little extra functionality going on behind
 the scenes.  Before C<require> looks for a "F<.pm>" extension, it will
-first look for a similar filename with a "F<.pmc>" extension. If this file
+first look for a similar filename with a "F<.pmc>" extension.  If this file
 is found, it will be loaded in place of any file ending in a "F<.pm>"
 extension.
 
@@ -5204,7 +5834,7 @@ A filehandle, from which the file will be read.
 
 =item 2
 
-A reference to a subroutine. If there is no filehandle (previous item),
+A reference to a subroutine.  If there is no filehandle (previous item),
 then this subroutine is expected to generate one line of source code per
 call, writing the line into C<$_> and returning 1, then finally at end of
 file returning 0.  If there is a filehandle, then the subroutine will be
@@ -5214,7 +5844,7 @@ returned.
 
 =item 3
 
-Optional state for the subroutine. The state is passed in as C<$_[1]>. A
+Optional state for the subroutine.  The state is passed in as C<$_[1]>.  A
 reference to the subroutine itself is passed in as C<$_[0]>.
 
 =back
@@ -5265,7 +5895,7 @@ into package C<main>.)  Here is a typical code layout:
     push @INC, Foo->new(...);
 
 These hooks are also permitted to set the %INC entry
-corresponding to the files they have loaded. See L<perlvar/%INC>.
+corresponding to the files they have loaded.  See L<perlvar/%INC>.
 
 For a yet-more-powerful import facility, see L</use> and L<perlmod>.
 
@@ -5274,6 +5904,8 @@ X<reset>
 
 =item reset
 
+=for Pod::Functions clear all variables of a given name
+
 Generally used in a C<continue> block at the end of a loop to clear
 variables and reset C<??> searches so that they work again.  The
 expression is interpreted as a list of single characters (hyphens
@@ -5298,6 +5930,8 @@ X<return>
 
 =item return
 
+=for Pod::Functions get out of a function early
+
 Returns from a subroutine, C<eval>, or C<do FILE> with the value
 given in EXPR.  Evaluation of EXPR may be in list, scalar, or void
 context, depending on how the return value will be used, and the context
@@ -5309,9 +5943,15 @@ scalar context, and (of course) nothing at all in void context.
 or do FILE automatically returns the value of the last expression
 evaluated.)
 
+Unlike most named operators, this is also exempt from the
+looks-like-a-function rule, so C<return ("foo")."bar"> will
+cause "bar" to be part of the argument to C<return>.
+
 =item reverse LIST
 X<reverse> X<rev> X<invert>
 
+=for Pod::Functions flip a string or a list
+
 In list context, returns a list value consisting of the elements
 of LIST in the opposite order.  In scalar context, concatenates the
 elements of LIST and returns a string value with all characters
@@ -5324,12 +5964,12 @@ in the opposite order.
 Used without arguments in scalar context, reverse() reverses C<$_>.
 
     $_ = "dlrow ,olleH";
-    print reverse;                              # No output, list context
-    print scalar reverse;                       # Hello, world
+    print reverse;                         # No output, list context
+    print scalar reverse;                  # Hello, world
 
 Note that reversing an array to itself (as in C<@a = reverse @a>) will
-preserve non-existent elements whenever possible, i.e., for non magical
-arrays or tied arrays with C<EXISTS> and C<DELETE> methods.
+preserve non-existent elements whenever possible; i.e., for non-magical
+arrays or for tied arrays with C<EXISTS> and C<DELETE> methods.
 
 This operator is also handy for inverting a hash, although there are some
 caveats.  If a value is duplicated in the original hash, only one of those
@@ -5342,6 +5982,8 @@ on a large hash, such as from a DBM file.
 =item rewinddir DIRHANDLE
 X<rewinddir>
 
+=for Pod::Functions reset directory handle
+
 Sets the current position to the beginning of the directory for the
 C<readdir> routine on DIRHANDLE.
 
@@ -5352,6 +5994,8 @@ X<rindex>
 
 =item rindex STR,SUBSTR
 
+=for Pod::Functions right-to-left substring search
+
 Works just like index() except that it returns the position of the I<last>
 occurrence of SUBSTR in STR.  If POSITION is specified, returns the
 last occurrence beginning at or before that position.
@@ -5361,6 +6005,8 @@ X<rmdir> X<rd> X<directory, remove>
 
 =item rmdir
 
+=for Pod::Functions remove a directory
+
 Deletes the directory specified by FILENAME if that directory is
 empty.  If it succeeds it returns true; otherwise it returns false and
 sets C<$!> (errno).  If FILENAME is omitted, uses C<$_>.
@@ -5370,6 +6016,8 @@ the C<rmtree> function of the L<File::Path> module.
 
 =item s///
 
+=for Pod::Functions replace a pattern with a string
+
 The substitution operator.  See L<perlop/"Regexp Quote-Like Operators">.
 
 =item say FILEHANDLE LIST
@@ -5381,6 +6029,8 @@ X<say>
 
 =item say
 
+=for Pod::Functions +say output a list to a filehandle, appending a newline
+
 Just like C<print>, but implicitly appends a newline.  C<say LIST> is
 simply an abbreviation for C<{ local $\ = "\n"; print LIST }>.  To use
 FILEHANDLE without a LIST to print the contents of C<$_> to it, you must
@@ -5394,6 +6044,8 @@ scope.
 =item scalar EXPR
 X<scalar> X<context>
 
+=for Pod::Functions force a scalar context
+
 Forces EXPR to be interpreted in scalar context and returns the value
 of EXPR.
 
@@ -5424,6 +6076,8 @@ See L<perlop> for more details on unary operators and the comma operator.
 =item seek FILEHANDLE,POSITION,WHENCE
 X<seek> X<fseek> X<filehandle, position>
 
+=for Pod::Functions reposition file pointer for random-access I/O
+
 Sets FILEHANDLE's position, just like the C<fseek> call of C<stdio>.
 FILEHANDLE may be an expression whose value gives the name of the
 filehandle.  The values for WHENCE are C<0> to set the new position
@@ -5471,6 +6125,8 @@ cantankerous), you might need something like this:
 =item seekdir DIRHANDLE,POS
 X<seekdir>
 
+=for Pod::Functions reposition directory pointer
+
 Sets the current position for the C<readdir> routine on DIRHANDLE.  POS
 must be a value returned by C<telldir>.  C<seekdir> also has the same caveats
 about possible directory compaction as the corresponding system library
@@ -5481,6 +6137,8 @@ X<select> X<filehandle, default>
 
 =item select
 
+=for Pod::Functions reset default output or do I/O multiplexing
+
 Returns the currently selected filehandle.  If FILEHANDLE is supplied,
 sets the new current default filehandle for output.  This has two
 effects: first, a C<write> or a C<print> without a filehandle 
@@ -5562,8 +6220,8 @@ On error, C<select> behaves just like select(2): it returns
 
 On some Unixes, select(2) may report a socket file descriptor as "ready for
 reading" even when no data is available, and thus any subsequent C<read>
-would block. This can be avoided if you always use O_NONBLOCK on the
-socket. See select(2) and fcntl(2) for further details.
+would block.  This can be avoided if you always use O_NONBLOCK on the
+socket.  See select(2) and fcntl(2) for further details.
 
 The standard C<IO::Select> module provides a user-friendlier interface
 to C<select>, mostly because it does all the bit-mask work for you.
@@ -5577,6 +6235,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/select>.
 =item semctl ID,SEMNUM,CMD,ARG
 X<semctl>
 
+=for Pod::Functions SysV semaphore control operations
+
 Calls the System V IPC function semctl(2).  You'll probably have to say
 
     use IPC::SysV;
@@ -5595,6 +6255,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/semctl>.
 =item semget KEY,NSEMS,FLAGS
 X<semget>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get set of SysV semaphores
+
 Calls the System V IPC function semget(2).  Returns the semaphore id, or
 the undefined value on error.  See also
 L<perlipc/"SysV IPC">, C<IPC::SysV>, C<IPC::SysV::Semaphore>
@@ -5605,6 +6267,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/semget>.
 =item semop KEY,OPSTRING
 X<semop>
 
+=for Pod::Functions SysV semaphore operations
+
 Calls the System V IPC function semop(2) for semaphore operations
 such as signalling and waiting.  OPSTRING must be a packed array of
 semop structures.  Each semop structure can be generated with
@@ -5627,6 +6291,8 @@ X<send>
 
 =item send SOCKET,MSG,FLAGS
 
+=for Pod::Functions send a message over a socket
+
 Sends a message on a socket.  Attempts to send the scalar MSG to the SOCKET
 filehandle.  Takes the same flags as the system call of the same name.  On
 unconnected sockets, you must specify a destination to I<send to>, in which
@@ -5645,6 +6311,8 @@ pragma: in that case pretty much any characters can be sent.
 =item setpgrp PID,PGRP
 X<setpgrp> X<group>
 
+=for Pod::Functions set the process group of a process
+
 Sets the current process group for the specified PID, C<0> for the current
 process.  Raises an exception when used on a machine that doesn't
 implement POSIX setpgid(2) or BSD setpgrp(2).  If the arguments are omitted,
@@ -5657,6 +6325,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/setpgrp>.
 =item setpriority WHICH,WHO,PRIORITY
 X<setpriority> X<priority> X<nice> X<renice>
 
+=for Pod::Functions set a process's nice value
+
 Sets the current priority for a process, a process group, or a user.
 (See setpriority(2).)  Raises an exception when used on a machine
 that doesn't implement setpriority(2).
@@ -5666,6 +6336,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/setpriority>.
 =item setsockopt SOCKET,LEVEL,OPTNAME,OPTVAL
 X<setsockopt>
 
+=for Pod::Functions set some socket options
+
 Sets the socket option requested.  Returns C<undef> on error.
 Use integer constants provided by the C<Socket> module for
 LEVEL and OPNAME.  Values for LEVEL can also be obtained from
@@ -5686,6 +6358,8 @@ X<shift>
 
 =item shift
 
+=for Pod::Functions remove the first element of an array, and return it
+
 Shifts the first value of the array off and returns it, shortening the
 array by 1 and moving everything down.  If there are no elements in the
 array, returns the undefined value.  If ARRAY is omitted, shifts the
@@ -5699,6 +6373,13 @@ reference to an unblessed array.  The argument will be dereferenced
 automatically.  This aspect of C<shift> is considered highly experimental.
 The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at
+the top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of
+a recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.014;	# so push/pop/etc work on scalars (experimental)
+
 See also C<unshift>, C<push>, and C<pop>.  C<shift> and C<unshift> do the
 same thing to the left end of an array that C<pop> and C<push> do to the
 right end.
@@ -5706,6 +6387,8 @@ right end.
 =item shmctl ID,CMD,ARG
 X<shmctl>
 
+=for Pod::Functions SysV shared memory operations
+
 Calls the System V IPC function shmctl.  You'll probably have to say
 
     use IPC::SysV;
@@ -5721,6 +6404,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/shmctl>.
 =item shmget KEY,SIZE,FLAGS
 X<shmget>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get SysV shared memory segment identifier
+
 Calls the System V IPC function shmget.  Returns the shared memory
 segment id, or C<undef> on error.
 See also L<perlipc/"SysV IPC"> and C<IPC::SysV> documentation.
@@ -5731,15 +6416,19 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/shmget>.
 X<shmread>
 X<shmwrite>
 
+=for Pod::Functions read SysV shared memory
+
 =item shmwrite ID,STRING,POS,SIZE
 
+=for Pod::Functions write SysV shared memory
+
 Reads or writes the System V shared memory segment ID starting at
 position POS for size SIZE by attaching to it, copying in/out, and
 detaching from it.  When reading, VAR must be a variable that will
 hold the data read.  When writing, if STRING is too long, only SIZE
 bytes are used; if STRING is too short, nulls are written to fill out
 SIZE bytes.  Return true if successful, false on error.
-shmread() taints the variable. See also L<perlipc/"SysV IPC">,
+shmread() taints the variable.  See also L<perlipc/"SysV IPC">,
 C<IPC::SysV>, and the C<IPC::Shareable> module from CPAN.
 
 Portability issues: L<perlport/shmread> and L<perlport/shmwrite>.
@@ -5747,6 +6436,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/shmread> and L<perlport/shmwrite>.
 =item shutdown SOCKET,HOW
 X<shutdown>
 
+=for Pod::Functions close down just half of a socket connection
+
 Shuts down a socket connection in the manner indicated by HOW, which
 has the same interpretation as in the syscall of the same name.
 
@@ -5769,6 +6460,8 @@ X<sin> X<sine> X<asin> X<arcsine>
 
 =item sin
 
+=for Pod::Functions return the sine of a number
+
 Returns the sine of EXPR (expressed in radians).  If EXPR is omitted,
 returns sine of C<$_>.
 
@@ -5782,6 +6475,8 @@ X<sleep> X<pause>
 
 =item sleep
 
+=for Pod::Functions block for some number of seconds
+
 Causes the script to sleep for (integer) EXPR seconds, or forever if no 
 argument is given.  Returns the integer number of seconds actually slept.  
 
@@ -5807,13 +6502,15 @@ For delays of finer granularity than one second, the Time::HiRes module
 distribution) provides usleep().  You may also use Perl's four-argument
 version of select() leaving the first three arguments undefined, or you
 might be able to use the C<syscall> interface to access setitimer(2) if
-your system supports it. See L<perlfaq8> for details.
+your system supports it.  See L<perlfaq8> for details.
 
 See also the POSIX module's C<pause> function.
 
 =item socket SOCKET,DOMAIN,TYPE,PROTOCOL
 X<socket>
 
+=for Pod::Functions create a socket
+
 Opens a socket of the specified kind and attaches it to filehandle
 SOCKET.  DOMAIN, TYPE, and PROTOCOL are specified the same as for
 the syscall of the same name.  You should C<use Socket> first
@@ -5827,6 +6524,8 @@ value of $^F.  See L<perlvar/$^F>.
 =item socketpair SOCKET1,SOCKET2,DOMAIN,TYPE,PROTOCOL
 X<socketpair>
 
+=for Pod::Functions create a pair of sockets
+
 Creates an unnamed pair of sockets in the specified domain, of the
 specified type.  DOMAIN, TYPE, and PROTOCOL are specified the same as
 for the syscall of the same name.  If unimplemented, raises an exception.
@@ -5857,6 +6556,8 @@ X<sort> X<qsort> X<quicksort> X<mergesort>
 
 =item sort LIST
 
+=for Pod::Functions sort a list of values
+
 In list context, this sorts the LIST and returns the sorted list value.
 In scalar context, the behaviour of C<sort()> is undefined.
 
@@ -5877,13 +6578,18 @@ into the subroutine as the package global variables $a and $b (see example
 below).  Note that in the latter case, it is usually highly counter-productive
 to declare $a and $b as lexicals.
 
+If the subroutine is an XSUB, the elements to be compared are pushed on to
+the stack, the way arguments are usually passed to XSUBs.  $a and $b are
+not set.
+
 The values to be compared are always passed by reference and should not
 be modified.
 
 You also cannot exit out of the sort block or subroutine using any of the
 loop control operators described in L<perlsyn> or with C<goto>.
 
-When C<use locale> is in effect, C<sort LIST> sorts LIST according to the
+When C<use locale> (but not C<use locale 'not_characters'>) is in
+effect, C<sort LIST> sorts LIST according to the
 current collation locale.  See L<perllocale>.
 
 sort() returns aliases into the original list, much as a for loop's index
@@ -5910,32 +6616,32 @@ Examples:
 
     # sort lexically
     @articles = sort @files;
-    
+
     # same thing, but with explicit sort routine
     @articles = sort {$a cmp $b} @files;
-    
+
     # now case-insensitively
-    @articles = sort {uc($a) cmp uc($b)} @files;
-    
+    @articles = sort {fc($a) cmp fc($b)} @files;
+
     # same thing in reversed order
     @articles = sort {$b cmp $a} @files;
-    
+
     # sort numerically ascending
     @articles = sort {$a <=> $b} @files;
-    
+
     # sort numerically descending
     @articles = sort {$b <=> $a} @files;
-    
+
     # this sorts the %age hash by value instead of key
     # using an in-line function
     @eldest = sort { $age{$b} <=> $age{$a} } keys %age;
-    
+
     # sort using explicit subroutine name
     sub byage {
         $age{$a} <=> $age{$b};  # presuming numeric
     }
     @sortedclass = sort byage @class;
-    
+
     sub backwards { $b cmp $a }
     @harry  = qw(dog cat x Cain Abel);
     @george = qw(gone chased yz Punished Axed);
@@ -5953,7 +6659,7 @@ Examples:
     my @new = sort {
         ($b =~ /=(\d+)/)[0] <=> ($a =~ /=(\d+)/)[0]
                             ||
-                    uc($a)  cmp  uc($b)
+                    fc($a)  cmp  fc($b)
     } @old;
 
     # same thing, but much more efficiently;
@@ -5962,7 +6668,7 @@ Examples:
     my @nums = @caps = ();
     for (@old) {
         push @nums, ( /=(\d+)/ ? $1 : undef );
-        push @caps, uc($_);
+        push @caps, fc($_);
     }
 
     my @new = @old[ sort {
@@ -5977,26 +6683,26 @@ Examples:
            sort { $b->[1] <=> $a->[1]
                            ||
                   $a->[2] cmp $b->[2]
-           } map { [$_, /=(\d+)/, uc($_)] } @old;
+           } map { [$_, /=(\d+)/, fc($_)] } @old;
 
     # using a prototype allows you to use any comparison subroutine
     # as a sort subroutine (including other package's subroutines)
     package other;
-    sub backwards ($$) { $_[1] cmp $_[0]; }  # $a and $b are not set here
-    
+    sub backwards ($$) { $_[1] cmp $_[0]; }  # $a and $b are
+                                             # not set here    
     package main;
     @new = sort other::backwards @old;
-    
+
     # guarantee stability, regardless of algorithm
     use sort 'stable';
     @new = sort { substr($a, 3, 5) cmp substr($b, 3, 5) } @old;
-    
+
     # force use of mergesort (not portable outside Perl 5.8)
     use sort '_mergesort';  # note discouraging _
     @new = sort { substr($a, 3, 5) cmp substr($b, 3, 5) } @old;
 
 Warning: syntactical care is required when sorting the list returned from
-a function. If you want to sort the list returned by the function call
+a function.  If you want to sort the list returned by the function call
 C<find_records(@key)>, you can use:
 
     @contact = sort { $a cmp $b } find_records @key;
@@ -6029,8 +6735,7 @@ sometimes saying the opposite, for example) the results are not
 well-defined.
 
 Because C<< <=> >> returns C<undef> when either operand is C<NaN>
-(not-a-number), and also because C<sort> raises an exception unless the
-result of a comparison is defined, be careful when sorting with a
+(not-a-number), be careful when sorting with a
 comparison function like C<< $a <=> $b >> any lists that might contain a
 C<NaN>.  The following example takes advantage that C<NaN != NaN> to
 eliminate any C<NaN>s from the input list.
@@ -6046,6 +6751,8 @@ X<splice>
 
 =item splice ARRAY or EXPR
 
+=for Pod::Functions add or remove elements anywhere in an array
+
 Removes the elements designated by OFFSET and LENGTH from an array, and
 replaces them with the elements of LIST, if any.  In list context,
 returns the elements removed from the array.  In scalar context,
@@ -6055,11 +6762,11 @@ If OFFSET is negative then it starts that far from the end of the array.
 If LENGTH is omitted, removes everything from OFFSET onward.
 If LENGTH is negative, removes the elements from OFFSET onward
 except for -LENGTH elements at the end of the array.
-If both OFFSET and LENGTH are omitted, removes everything. If OFFSET is
+If both OFFSET and LENGTH are omitted, removes everything.  If OFFSET is
 past the end of the array, Perl issues a warning, and splices at the
 end of the array.
 
-The following equivalences hold (assuming C<< $[ == 0 and $#a >= $i >> )
+The following equivalences hold (assuming C<< $#a >= $i >> )
 
     push(@a,$x,$y)      splice(@a,@a,0,$x,$y)
     pop(@a)             splice(@a,-1)
@@ -6085,6 +6792,13 @@ reference to an unblessed array.  The argument will be dereferenced
 automatically.  This aspect of C<splice> is considered highly experimental.
 The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at
+the top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of
+a recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.014;	# so push/pop/etc work on scalars (experimental)
+
 =item split /PATTERN/,EXPR,LIMIT
 X<split>
 
@@ -6094,121 +6808,159 @@ X<split>
 
 =item split
 
-Splits the string EXPR into a list of strings and returns that list.  By
-default, empty leading fields are preserved, and empty trailing ones are
-deleted.  (If all fields are empty, they are considered to be trailing.)
+=for Pod::Functions split up a string using a regexp delimiter
+
+Splits the string EXPR into a list of strings and returns the
+list in list context, or the size of the list in scalar context.
+
+If only PATTERN is given, EXPR defaults to C<$_>.
+
+Anything in EXPR that matches PATTERN is taken to be a separator
+that separates the EXPR into substrings (called "I<fields>") that
+do B<not> include the separator.  Note that a separator may be
+longer than one character or even have no characters at all (the
+empty string, which is a zero-width match).
+
+The PATTERN need not be constant; an expression may be used
+to specify a pattern that varies at runtime.
+
+If PATTERN matches the empty string, the EXPR is split at the match
+position (between characters).  As an example, the following:
 
-In scalar context, returns the number of fields found.
+    print join(':', split('b', 'abc')), "\n";
 
-If EXPR is omitted, splits the C<$_> string.  If PATTERN is also omitted,
-splits on whitespace (after skipping any leading whitespace).  Anything
-matching PATTERN is taken to be a delimiter separating the fields.  (Note
-that the delimiter may be longer than one character.)
+uses the 'b' in 'abc' as a separator to produce the output 'a:c'.
+However, this:
+
+    print join(':', split('', 'abc')), "\n";
+
+uses empty string matches as separators to produce the output
+'a:b:c'; thus, the empty string may be used to split EXPR into a
+list of its component characters.
+
+As a special case for C<split>, the empty pattern given in
+L<match operator|perlop/"m/PATTERN/msixpodualgc"> syntax (C<//>) specifically matches the empty string, which is contrary to its usual
+interpretation as the last successful match.
+
+If PATTERN is C</^/>, then it is treated as if it used the
+L<multiline modifier|perlreref/OPERATORS> (C</^/m>), since it
+isn't much use otherwise.
+
+As another special case, C<split> emulates the default behavior of the
+command line tool B<awk> when the PATTERN is either omitted or a I<literal
+string> composed of a single space character (such as S<C<' '>> or
+S<C<"\x20">>, but not e.g. S<C</ />>).  In this case, any leading
+whitespace in EXPR is removed before splitting occurs, and the PATTERN is
+instead treated as if it were C</\s+/>; in particular, this means that
+I<any> contiguous whitespace (not just a single space character) is used as
+a separator.  However, this special treatment can be avoided by specifying
+the pattern S<C</ />> instead of the string S<C<" ">>, thereby allowing
+only a single space character to be a separator.
+
+If omitted, PATTERN defaults to a single space, S<C<" ">>, triggering
+the previously described I<awk> emulation.
 
 If LIMIT is specified and positive, it represents the maximum number
-of fields the EXPR will be split into, though the actual number of
-fields returned depends on the number of times PATTERN matches within
-EXPR.  If LIMIT is unspecified or zero, trailing null fields are
-stripped (which potential users of C<pop> would do well to remember).
-If LIMIT is negative, it is treated as if an arbitrarily large LIMIT
-had been specified.  Note that splitting an EXPR that evaluates to the
-empty string always returns the empty list, regardless of the LIMIT
-specified.
+of fields into which the EXPR may be split; in other words, LIMIT is
+one greater than the maximum number of times EXPR may be split.  Thus,
+the LIMIT value C<1> means that EXPR may be split a maximum of zero
+times, producing a maximum of one field (namely, the entire value of
+EXPR).  For instance:
 
-A pattern matching the empty string (not to be confused with
-an empty pattern C<//>, which is just one member of the set of patterns
-matching the empty string), splits EXPR into individual
-characters.  For example:
+    print join(':', split(//, 'abc', 1)), "\n";
 
-    print join(':', split(/ */, 'hi there')), "\n";
+produces the output 'abc', and this:
 
-produces the output 'h:i:t:h:e:r:e'.
+    print join(':', split(//, 'abc', 2)), "\n";
 
-As a special case for C<split>, the empty pattern C<//> specifically
-matches the empty string; this is not be confused with the normal use
-of an empty pattern to mean the last successful match.  So to split
-a string into individual characters, the following:
+produces the output 'a:bc', and each of these:
 
-    print join(':', split(//, 'hi there')), "\n";
+    print join(':', split(//, 'abc', 3)), "\n";
+    print join(':', split(//, 'abc', 4)), "\n";
 
-produces the output 'h:i: :t:h:e:r:e'.
+produces the output 'a:b:c'.
 
-Empty leading fields are produced when there are positive-width matches at
-the beginning of the string; a zero-width match at the beginning of
-the string does not produce an empty field. For example:
+If LIMIT is negative, it is treated as if it were instead arbitrarily
+large; as many fields as possible are produced.
 
-   print join(':', split(/(?=\w)/, 'hi there!'));
+If LIMIT is omitted (or, equivalently, zero), then it is usually
+treated as if it were instead negative but with the exception that
+trailing empty fields are stripped (empty leading fields are always
+preserved); if all fields are empty, then all fields are considered to
+be trailing (and are thus stripped in this case).  Thus, the following:
 
-produces the output 'h:i :t:h:e:r:e!'. Empty trailing fields, on the other
-hand, are produced when there is a match at the end of the string (and
-when LIMIT is given and is not 0), regardless of the length of the match.
-For example:
+    print join(':', split(',', 'a,b,c,,,')), "\n";
 
-   print join(':', split(//,   'hi there!', -1)), "\n";
-   print join(':', split(/\W/, 'hi there!', -1)), "\n";
+produces the output 'a:b:c', but the following:
 
-produce the output 'h:i: :t:h:e:r:e:!:' and 'hi:there:', respectively,
-both with an empty trailing field.
+    print join(':', split(',', 'a,b,c,,,', -1)), "\n";
 
-The LIMIT parameter can be used to split a line partially
+produces the output 'a:b:c:::'.
 
-    ($login, $passwd, $remainder) = split(/:/, $_, 3);
+In time-critical applications, it is worthwhile to avoid splitting
+into more fields than necessary.  Thus, when assigning to a list,
+if LIMIT is omitted (or zero), then LIMIT is treated as though it
+were one larger than the number of variables in the list; for the
+following, LIMIT is implicitly 3:
 
-When assigning to a list, if LIMIT is omitted, or zero, Perl supplies
-a LIMIT one larger than the number of variables in the list, to avoid
-unnecessary work.  For the list above LIMIT would have been 4 by
-default.  In time critical applications it behooves you not to split
-into more fields than you really need.
+    ($login, $passwd) = split(/:/);
 
-If the PATTERN contains parentheses, additional list elements are
-created from each matching substring in the delimiter.
+Note that splitting an EXPR that evaluates to the empty string always
+produces zero fields, regardless of the LIMIT specified.
 
-    split(/([,-])/, "1-10,20", 3);
+An empty leading field is produced when there is a positive-width
+match at the beginning of EXPR.  For instance:
 
-produces the list value
+    print join(':', split(/ /, ' abc')), "\n";
 
-    (1, '-', 10, ',', 20)
+produces the output ':abc'.  However, a zero-width match at the
+beginning of EXPR never produces an empty field, so that:
 
-If you had the entire header of a normal Unix email message in $header,
-you could split it up into fields and their values this way:
+    print join(':', split(//, ' abc'));
 
-    $header =~ s/\n(?=\s)//g;  # fix continuation lines
-    %hdrs   =  (UNIX_FROM => split /^(\S*?):\s*/m, $header);
+produces the output S<' :a:b:c'> (rather than S<': :a:b:c'>).
 
-The pattern C</PATTERN/> may be replaced with an expression to specify
-patterns that vary at runtime.  (To do runtime compilation only once,
-use C</$variable/o>.)
+An empty trailing field, on the other hand, is produced when there is a
+match at the end of EXPR, regardless of the length of the match
+(of course, unless a non-zero LIMIT is given explicitly, such fields are
+removed, as in the last example).  Thus:
 
-As a special case, specifying a PATTERN of space (S<C<' '>>) will split on
-white space just as C<split> with no arguments does.  Thus, S<C<split(' ')>> can
-be used to emulate B<awk>'s default behavior, whereas S<C<split(/ /)>>
-will give you as many initial null fields (empty string) as there are leading spaces.
-A C<split> on C</\s+/> is like a S<C<split(' ')>> except that any leading
-whitespace produces a null first field.  A C<split> with no arguments
-really does a S<C<split(' ', $_)>> internally.
+    print join(':', split(//, ' abc', -1)), "\n";
 
-A PATTERN of C</^/> is treated as if it were C</^/m>, since it isn't
-much use otherwise.
+produces the output S<' :a:b:c:'>.
 
-Example:
+If the PATTERN contains
+L<capturing groups|perlretut/Grouping things and hierarchical matching>,
+then for each separator, an additional field is produced for each substring
+captured by a group (in the order in which the groups are specified,
+as per L<backreferences|perlretut/Backreferences>); if any group does not
+match, then it captures the C<undef> value instead of a substring.  Also,
+note that any such additional field is produced whenever there is a
+separator (that is, whenever a split occurs), and such an additional field
+does B<not> count towards the LIMIT.  Consider the following expressions
+evaluated in list context (each returned list is provided in the associated
+comment):
 
-    open(PASSWD, '/etc/passwd');
-    while (<PASSWD>) {
-        chomp;
-        ($login, $passwd, $uid, $gid,
-         $gcos, $home, $shell) = split(/:/);
-        #...
-    }
+    split(/-|,/, "1-10,20", 3)
+    # ('1', '10', '20')
+
+    split(/(-|,)/, "1-10,20", 3)
+    # ('1', '-', '10', ',', '20')
+
+    split(/-|(,)/, "1-10,20", 3)
+    # ('1', undef, '10', ',', '20')
 
-As with regular pattern matching, any capturing parentheses that are not
-matched in a C<split()> will be set to C<undef> when returned:
+    split(/(-)|,/, "1-10,20", 3)
+    # ('1', '-', '10', undef, '20')
 
-    @fields = split /(A)|B/, "1A2B3";
-    # @fields is (1, 'A', 2, undef, 3)
+    split(/(-)|(,)/, "1-10,20", 3)
+    # ('1', '-', undef, '10', undef, ',', '20')
 
 =item sprintf FORMAT, LIST
 X<sprintf>
 
+=for Pod::Functions formatted print into a string
+
 Returns a string formatted by the usual C<printf> conventions of the C
 library function C<sprintf>.  See below for more details
 and see L<sprintf(3)> or L<printf(3)> on your system for an explanation of
@@ -6229,7 +6981,8 @@ Non-standard extensions in your local sprintf(3) are
 therefore unavailable from Perl.
 
 Unlike C<printf>, C<sprintf> does not do what you probably mean when you
-pass it an array as your first argument. The array is given scalar context,
+pass it an array as your first argument. 
+The array is given scalar context,
 and instead of using the 0th element of the array as the format, Perl will
 use the count of elements in the array as the format, which is almost never
 useful.
@@ -6256,7 +7009,7 @@ In addition, Perl permits the following widely-supported conversions:
    %B    like %b, but using an upper-case "B" with the # flag
    %p    a pointer (outputs the Perl value's address in hexadecimal)
    %n    special: *stores* the number of characters output so far
-         into the next variable in the parameter list
+         into the next argument in the parameter list
 
 Finally, for backward (and we do mean "backward") compatibility, Perl
 permits these unnecessary but widely-supported conversions:
@@ -6281,7 +7034,7 @@ In order, these are:
 
 =item format parameter index
 
-An explicit format parameter index, such as C<2$>. By default sprintf
+An explicit format parameter index, such as C<2$>.  By default sprintf
 will format the next unused argument in the list, but this allows you
 to take the arguments out of order:
 
@@ -6329,9 +7082,9 @@ the precision is incremented if it's necessary for the leading "0".
 =item vector flag
 
 This flag tells Perl to interpret the supplied string as a vector of
-integers, one for each character in the string. Perl applies the format to
+integers, one for each character in the string.  Perl applies the format to
 each integer in turn, then joins the resulting strings with a separator (a
-dot C<.> by default). This can be useful for displaying ordinal values of
+dot C<.> by default).  This can be useful for displaying ordinal values of
 characters in arbitrary strings:
 
   printf "%vd", "AB\x{100}";           # prints "65.66.256"
@@ -6346,20 +7099,21 @@ use to separate the numbers:
 You can also explicitly specify the argument number to use for
 the join string using something like C<*2$v>; for example:
 
-  printf '%*4$vX %*4$vX %*4$vX', @addr[1..3], ":";   # 3 IPv6 addresses
+  printf '%*4$vX %*4$vX %*4$vX',       # 3 IPv6 addresses
+          @addr[1..3], ":";
 
 =item (minimum) width
 
 Arguments are usually formatted to be only as wide as required to
-display the given value. You can override the width by putting
+display the given value.  You can override the width by putting
 a number here, or get the width from the next argument (with C<*>)
 or from a specified argument (e.g., with C<*2$>):
 
-  printf "<%s>", "a";       # prints "<a>"
-  printf "<%6s>", "a";      # prints "<     a>"
-  printf "<%*s>", 6, "a";   # prints "<     a>"
-  printf "<%*2$s>", "a", 6; # prints "<     a>"
-  printf "<%2s>", "long";   # prints "<long>" (does not truncate)
+ printf "<%s>", "a";       # prints "<a>"
+ printf "<%6s>", "a";      # prints "<     a>"
+ printf "<%*s>", 6, "a";   # prints "<     a>"
+ printf '<%*2$s>', "a", 6; # prints "<     a>"
+ printf "<%2s>", "long";   # prints "<long>" (does not truncate)
 
 If a field width obtained through C<*> is negative, it has the same
 effect as the C<-> flag: left-justification.
@@ -6438,27 +7192,34 @@ You cannot currently get the precision from a specified number,
 but it is intended that this will be possible in the future, for
 example using C<.*2$>:
 
-  printf "<%.*2$x>", 1, 6;   # INVALID, but in future will print "<000001>"
+  printf '<%.*2$x>', 1, 6;   # INVALID, but in future will print
+                             # "<000001>"
 
 =item size
 
 For numeric conversions, you can specify the size to interpret the
-number as using C<l>, C<h>, C<V>, C<q>, C<L>, or C<ll>. For integer
+number as using C<l>, C<h>, C<V>, C<q>, C<L>, or C<ll>.  For integer
 conversions (C<d u o x X b i D U O>), numbers are usually assumed to be
 whatever the default integer size is on your platform (usually 32 or 64
 bits), but you can override this to use instead one of the standard C types,
 as supported by the compiler used to build Perl:
 
-   hh          interpret integer as C type "char" or "unsigned char"
-	       on Perl 5.14 or later
-   h           interpret integer as C type "short" or "unsigned short"
-   j	       interpret integer as C type "intmax_t" on Perl 5.14 
-	       or later, and only with a C99 compiler (unportable)
-   l           interpret integer as C type "long" or "unsigned long"
-   q, L, or ll interpret integer as C type "long long", "unsigned long long",
-               or "quad" (typically 64-bit integers)
-   t	       interpret integer as C type "ptrdiff_t" on Perl 5.14 or later
-   z	       interpret integer as C type "size_t" on Perl 5.14 or later
+   hh          interpret integer as C type "char" or "unsigned
+               char" on Perl 5.14 or later
+   h           interpret integer as C type "short" or
+               "unsigned short"
+   j           interpret integer as C type "intmax_t" on Perl
+               5.14 or later, and only with a C99 compiler
+               (unportable)
+   l           interpret integer as C type "long" or
+               "unsigned long"
+   q, L, or ll interpret integer as C type "long long",
+               "unsigned long long", or "quad" (typically
+               64-bit integers)
+   t           interpret integer as C type "ptrdiff_t" on Perl
+               5.14 or later
+   z           interpret integer as C type "size_t" on Perl 5.14
+               or later
 
 As of 5.14, none of these raises an exception if they are not supported on
 your platform.  However, if warnings are enabled, a warning of the
@@ -6475,14 +7236,15 @@ start running the program, put something like this at its top:
 You can find out whether your Perl supports quads via L<Config>:
 
     use Config;
-    if ($Config{use64bitint} eq "define" || $Config{longsize} >= 8) {
+    if ($Config{use64bitint} eq "define"
+        || $Config{longsize} >= 8) {
         print "Nice quads!\n";
     }
 
 For floating-point conversions (C<e f g E F G>), numbers are usually assumed
 to be the default floating-point size on your platform (double or long double),
 but you can force "long double" with C<q>, C<L>, or C<ll> if your
-platform supports them. You can find out whether your Perl supports long
+platform supports them.  You can find out whether your Perl supports long
 doubles via L<Config>:
 
     use Config;
@@ -6493,7 +7255,7 @@ floating-point size to use on your platform via L<Config>:
 
     use Config;
     if ($Config{uselongdouble} eq "define") {
-	print "long doubles by default\n";
+        print "long doubles by default\n";
     }
 
 It can also be that long doubles and doubles are the same thing:
@@ -6509,7 +7271,7 @@ integer or floating-point number", which is the default.
 =item order of arguments
 
 Normally, sprintf() takes the next unused argument as the value to
-format for each format specification. If the format specification
+format for each format specification.  If the format specification
 uses C<*> to require additional arguments, these are consumed from
 the argument list in the order they appear in the format
 specification I<before> the value to format.  Where an argument is
@@ -6524,7 +7286,7 @@ So:
 uses C<$a> for the width, C<$b> for the precision, and C<$c>
 as the value to format; while:
 
-  printf "<%*1$.*s>", $a, $b;
+  printf '<%*1$.*s>', $a, $b;
 
 would use C<$a> for the width and precision, and C<$b> as the
 value to format.
@@ -6532,14 +7294,15 @@ value to format.
 Here are some more examples; be aware that when using an explicit
 index, the C<$> may need escaping:
 
-  printf "%2\$d %d\n",    12, 34;        # will print "34 12\n"
-  printf "%2\$d %d %d\n", 12, 34;        # will print "34 12 34\n"
-  printf "%3\$d %d %d\n", 12, 34, 56;    # will print "56 12 34\n"
-  printf "%2\$*3\$d %d\n", 12, 34, 3;    # will print " 34 12\n"
+  printf "%2\$d %d\n",    12, 34;      # will print "34 12\n"
+  printf "%2\$d %d %d\n", 12, 34;      # will print "34 12 34\n"
+  printf "%3\$d %d %d\n", 12, 34, 56;  # will print "56 12 34\n"
+  printf "%2\$*3\$d %d\n", 12, 34, 3;  # will print " 34 12\n"
 
 =back
 
-If C<use locale> is in effect and POSIX::setlocale() has been called,
+If C<use locale> (including C<use locale 'not_characters'>) is in effect
+and POSIX::setlocale() has been called,
 the character used for the decimal separator in formatted floating-point
 numbers is affected by the LC_NUMERIC locale.  See L<perllocale>
 and L<POSIX>.
@@ -6549,6 +7312,8 @@ X<sqrt> X<root> X<square root>
 
 =item sqrt
 
+=for Pod::Functions square root function
+
 Return the positive square root of EXPR.  If EXPR is omitted, uses
 C<$_>.  Works only for non-negative operands unless you've
 loaded the C<Math::Complex> module.
@@ -6561,27 +7326,25 @@ X<srand> X<seed> X<randseed>
 
 =item srand
 
+=for Pod::Functions seed the random number generator
+
 Sets and returns the random number seed for the C<rand> operator.
 
-The point of the function is to "seed" the C<rand> function so that
-C<rand> can produce a different sequence each time you run your
-program.  When called with a parameter, C<srand> uses that for the seed;
-otherwise it (semi-)randomly chooses a seed.  In either case, starting with
-Perl 5.14, it returns the seed.
+The point of the function is to "seed" the C<rand> function so that C<rand>
+can produce a different sequence each time you run your program.  When
+called with a parameter, C<srand> uses that for the seed; otherwise it
+(semi-)randomly chooses a seed.  In either case, starting with Perl 5.14,
+it returns the seed.  To signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls
+of a recent vintage:
 
-If C<srand()> is not called explicitly, it is called implicitly without a
-parameter at the first use of the C<rand> operator.  However, this was not true
-of versions of Perl before 5.004, so if your script will run under older
-Perl versions, it should call C<srand>; otherwise most programs won't call
-C<srand()> at all.
+    use 5.014;	# so srand returns the seed
 
-But there are a few situations in recent Perls where programs are likely to
-want to call C<srand>.  One is for generating predictable results generally for
+If C<srand()> is not called explicitly, it is called implicitly without a
+parameter at the first use of the C<rand> operator.
+However, there are a few situations where programs are likely to
+want to call C<srand>.  One is for generating predictable results, generally for
 testing or debugging.  There, you use C<srand($seed)>, with the same C<$seed>
-each time.  Another other case is where you need a cryptographically-strong
-starting point rather than the generally acceptable default, which is based on
-time of day, process ID, and memory allocation, or the F</dev/urandom> device
-if available.  And still another case is that you may want to call C<srand()>
+each time.  Another case is that you may want to call C<srand()>
 after a C<fork()> to avoid child processes sharing the same seed value as the
 parent (and consequently each other).
 
@@ -6595,36 +7358,18 @@ truncate decimal numbers.  This means C<srand(42)> will usually
 produce the same results as C<srand(42.1)>.  To be safe, always pass
 C<srand> an integer.
 
-In versions of Perl prior to 5.004 the default seed was just the
-current C<time>.  This isn't a particularly good seed, so many old
-programs supply their own seed value (often C<time ^ $$> or C<time ^
-($$ + ($$ << 15))>), but that isn't necessary any more.
-
-For cryptographic purposes, however, you need something much more random 
-than the default seed.  Checksumming the compressed output of one or more
-rapidly changing operating system status programs is the usual method.  For
-example:
-
-    srand (time ^ $$ ^ unpack "%L*", `ps axww | gzip -f`);
-
-If you're particularly concerned with this, search the CPAN for
-random number generator modules instead of rolling out your own.
-
-Frequently called programs (like CGI scripts) that simply use
-
-    time ^ $$
-
-for a seed can fall prey to the mathematical property that
-
-    a^b == (a+1)^(b+1)
-
-one-third of the time.  So don't do that.
-
 A typical use of the returned seed is for a test program which has too many
 combinations to test comprehensively in the time available to it each run.  It
 can test a random subset each time, and should there be a failure, log the seed
 used for that run so that it can later be used to reproduce the same results.
 
+B<C<rand()> is not cryptographically secure.  You should not rely
+on it in security-sensitive situations.>  As of this writing, a
+number of third-party CPAN modules offer random number generators
+intended by their authors to be cryptographically secure,
+including: L<Data::Entropy>, L<Crypt::Random>, L<Math::Random::Secure>,
+and L<Math::TrulyRandom>.
+
 =item stat FILEHANDLE
 X<stat> X<file, status> X<ctime>
 
@@ -6634,6 +7379,8 @@ X<stat> X<file, status> X<ctime>
 
 =item stat
 
+=for Pod::Functions get a file's status information
+
 Returns a 13-element list giving the status info for a file, either
 the file opened via FILEHANDLE or DIRHANDLE, or named by EXPR.  If EXPR is 
 omitted, it stats C<$_> (not C<_>!).  Returns the empty list if C<stat> fails.  Typically
@@ -6657,12 +7404,14 @@ meanings of the fields:
   8 atime    last access time in seconds since the epoch
   9 mtime    last modify time in seconds since the epoch
  10 ctime    inode change time in seconds since the epoch (*)
- 11 blksize  preferred block size for file system I/O
- 12 blocks   actual number of blocks allocated
+ 11 blksize  preferred I/O size in bytes for interacting with the
+             file (may vary from file to file)
+ 12 blocks   actual number of system-specific blocks allocated
+             on disk (often, but not always, 512 bytes each)
 
 (The epoch was at 00:00 January 1, 1970 GMT.)
 
-(*) Not all fields are supported on all filesystem types. Notably, the
+(*) Not all fields are supported on all filesystem types.  Notably, the
 ctime field is non-portable.  In particular, you cannot expect it to be a
 "creation time"; see L<perlport/"Files and Filesystems"> for details.
 
@@ -6772,20 +7521,25 @@ X<state>
 
 =item state TYPE EXPR : ATTRS
 
+=for Pod::Functions +state declare and assign a persistent lexical variable
+
 C<state> declares a lexically scoped variable, just like C<my>.
 However, those variables will never be reinitialized, contrary to
 lexical variables that are reinitialized each time their enclosing block
 is entered.
+See L<perlsub/"Persistent Private Variables"> for details.
 
 C<state> variables are enabled only when the C<use feature "state"> pragma 
 is in effect, unless the keyword is written as C<CORE::state>.
-See L<feature>.
+See also L<feature>.
 
 =item study SCALAR
 X<study>
 
 =item study
 
+=for Pod::Functions optimize input data for repeated searches
+
 Takes extra time to study SCALAR (C<$_> if unspecified) in anticipation of
 doing many pattern matches on the string before it is next modified.
 This may or may not save time, depending on the nature and number of
@@ -6849,6 +7603,8 @@ X<sub>
 
 =item sub NAME (PROTO) : ATTRS BLOCK
 
+=for Pod::Functions declare a subroutine, possibly anonymously
+
 This is subroutine definition, not a real function I<per se>.  Without a
 BLOCK it's just a forward declaration.  Without a NAME, it's an anonymous
 function declaration, so does return a value: the CODE ref of the closure
@@ -6858,6 +7614,17 @@ See L<perlsub> and L<perlref> for details about subroutines and
 references; see L<attributes> and L<Attribute::Handlers> for more
 information about attributes.
 
+=item __SUB__
+X<__SUB__>
+
+=for Pod::Functions +current_sub the current subroutine, or C<undef> if not in a subroutine
+
+A special token that returns the a reference to the current subroutine, or
+C<undef> outside of a subroutine.
+
+This token is only available under C<use v5.16> or the "current_sub"
+feature.  See L<feature>.
+
 =item substr EXPR,OFFSET,LENGTH,REPLACEMENT
 X<substr> X<substring> X<mid> X<left> X<right>
 
@@ -6865,9 +7632,10 @@ X<substr> X<substring> X<mid> X<left> X<right>
 
 =item substr EXPR,OFFSET
 
+=for Pod::Functions get or alter a portion of a string
+
 Extracts a substring out of EXPR and returns it.  First character is at
-offset C<0> (or whatever you've set C<$[> to (but B<<don't do that>)).
-If OFFSET is negative (or more precisely, less than C<$[>), starts
+offset zero.  If OFFSET is negative, starts
 that far back from the end of the string.  If LENGTH is omitted, returns
 everything through the end of the string.  If LENGTH is negative, leaves that
 many characters off the end of the string.
@@ -6919,12 +7687,25 @@ of the original string is being modified; for example:
         $_ = 'pq';  print $x,"\n";    # prints 5pq9
     }
 
-Prior to Perl version 5.9.1, the result of using an lvalue multiple times was
+With negative offsets, it remembers its position from the end of the string
+when the target string is modified:
+
+    $x = '1234';
+    for (substr($x, -3, 2)) {
+        $_ = 'a';   print $x,"\n";    # prints 1a4, as above
+        $x = 'abcdefg';
+        print $_,"\n";                # prints f
+    }
+
+Prior to Perl version 5.10, the result of using an lvalue multiple times was
+unspecified.  Prior to 5.16, the result with negative offsets was
 unspecified.
 
 =item symlink OLDFILE,NEWFILE
 X<symlink> X<link> X<symbolic link> X<link, symbolic>
 
+=for Pod::Functions create a symbolic link to a file
+
 Creates a new filename symbolically linked to the old filename.
 Returns C<1> for success, C<0> otherwise.  On systems that don't support
 symbolic links, raises an exception.  To check for that,
@@ -6937,6 +7718,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/symlink>.
 =item syscall NUMBER, LIST
 X<syscall> X<system call>
 
+=for Pod::Functions execute an arbitrary system call
+
 Calls the system call specified as the first element of the list,
 passing the remaining elements as arguments to the system call.  If
 unimplemented, raises an exception.  The arguments are interpreted
@@ -6976,9 +7759,11 @@ X<sysopen>
 
 =item sysopen FILEHANDLE,FILENAME,MODE,PERMS
 
+=for Pod::Functions +5.002 open a file, pipe, or descriptor
+
 Opens the file whose filename is given by FILENAME, and associates it with
 FILEHANDLE.  If FILEHANDLE is an expression, its value is used as the real
-filehandle wanted; an undefined scalar will be suitably autovivified. This
+filehandle wanted; an undefined scalar will be suitably autovivified.  This
 function calls the underlying operating system's I<open>(2) function with the
 parameters FILENAME, MODE, and PERMS.
 
@@ -6996,7 +7781,7 @@ X<O_RDONLY> X<O_RDWR> X<O_WRONLY>
 For historical reasons, some values work on almost every system
 supported by Perl: 0 means read-only, 1 means write-only, and 2
 means read/write.  We know that these values do I<not> work under
-OS/390 & VM/ESA Unix and on the Macintosh; you probably don't want to
+OS/390 and on the Macintosh; you probably don't want to
 use them in new code.
 
 If the file named by FILENAME does not exist and the C<open> call creates
@@ -7028,7 +7813,7 @@ on this.
 
 Note that C<sysopen> depends on the fdopen() C library function.
 On many Unix systems, fdopen() is known to fail when file descriptors
-exceed a certain value, typically 255. If you need more file
+exceed a certain value, typically 255.  If you need more file
 descriptors than that, consider rebuilding Perl to use the C<sfio>
 library, or perhaps using the POSIX::open() function.
 
@@ -7041,6 +7826,8 @@ X<sysread>
 
 =item sysread FILEHANDLE,SCALAR,LENGTH
 
+=for Pod::Functions fixed-length unbuffered input from a filehandle
+
 Attempts to read LENGTH bytes of data into variable SCALAR from the
 specified FILEHANDLE, using the read(2).  It bypasses
 buffered IO, so mixing this with other kinds of reads, C<print>,
@@ -7071,6 +7858,8 @@ See L</binmode>, L</open>, and the C<open> pragma, L<open>.
 =item sysseek FILEHANDLE,POSITION,WHENCE
 X<sysseek> X<lseek>
 
+=for Pod::Functions +5.004 position I/O pointer on handle used with sysread and syswrite
+
 Sets FILEHANDLE's system position in bytes using lseek(2).  FILEHANDLE may
 be an expression whose value gives the name of the filehandle.  The values
 for WHENCE are C<0> to set the new position to POSITION; C<1> to set the it
@@ -7104,6 +7893,8 @@ X<system> X<shell>
 
 =item system PROGRAM LIST
 
+=for Pod::Functions run a separate program
+
 Does exactly the same thing as C<exec LIST>, except that a fork is
 done first and the parent process waits for the child process to
 exit.  Note that argument processing varies depending on the
@@ -7118,7 +7909,7 @@ platforms).  If there are no shell metacharacters in the argument,
 it is split into words and passed directly to C<execvp>, which is
 more efficient.
 
-Beginning with v5.6.0, Perl will attempt to flush all files opened for
+Perl will attempt to flush all files opened for
 output before any operation that may do a fork, but this may not be
 supported on some platforms (see L<perlport>).  To be safe, you may need
 to set C<$|> ($AUTOFLUSH in English) or call the C<autoflush()> method
@@ -7126,7 +7917,7 @@ of C<IO::Handle> on any open handles.
 
 The return value is the exit status of the program as returned by the
 C<wait> call.  To get the actual exit value, shift right by eight (see
-below). See also L</exec>.  This is I<not> what you want to use to capture
+below).  See also L</exec>.  This is I<not> what you want to use to capture
 the output from a command; for that you should use merely backticks or
 C<qx//>, as described in L<perlop/"`STRING`">.  Return value of -1
 indicates a failure to start the program or an error of the wait(2) system
@@ -7169,7 +7960,7 @@ results and return codes are subject to its quirks.
 See L<perlop/"`STRING`"> and L</exec> for details.
 
 Since C<system> does a C<fork> and C<wait> it may affect a C<SIGCHLD>
-handler. See L<perlipc> for details.
+handler.  See L<perlipc> for details.
 
 Portability issues: L<perlport/system>.
 
@@ -7180,6 +7971,8 @@ X<syswrite>
 
 =item syswrite FILEHANDLE,SCALAR
 
+=for Pod::Functions fixed-length unbuffered output to a filehandle
+
 Attempts to write LENGTH bytes of data from variable SCALAR to the
 specified FILEHANDLE, using write(2).  If LENGTH is
 not specified, writes whole SCALAR.  It bypasses buffered IO, so
@@ -7209,6 +8002,8 @@ X<tell>
 
 =item tell
 
+=for Pod::Functions get current seekpointer on a filehandle
+
 Returns the current position I<in bytes> for FILEHANDLE, or -1 on
 error.  FILEHANDLE may be an expression whose value gives the name of
 the actual filehandle.  If FILEHANDLE is omitted, assumes the file
@@ -7232,6 +8027,8 @@ Those functions ignore the buffering, while tell() does not.
 =item telldir DIRHANDLE
 X<telldir>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get current seekpointer on a directory handle
+
 Returns the current position of the C<readdir> routines on DIRHANDLE.
 Value may be given to C<seekdir> to access a particular location in a
 directory.  C<telldir> has the same caveats about possible directory
@@ -7240,6 +8037,8 @@ compaction as the corresponding system library routine.
 =item tie VARIABLE,CLASSNAME,LIST
 X<tie>
 
+=for Pod::Functions +5.002 bind a variable to an object class
+
 This function binds a variable to a package class that will provide the
 implementation for the variable.  VARIABLE is the name of the variable
 to be enchanted.  CLASSNAME is the name of a class implementing objects
@@ -7332,6 +8131,8 @@ For further details see L<perltie>, L<"tied VARIABLE">.
 =item tied VARIABLE
 X<tied>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get a reference to the object underlying a tied variable
+
 Returns a reference to the object underlying VARIABLE (the same value
 that was originally returned by the C<tie> call that bound the variable
 to a package.)  Returns the undefined value if VARIABLE isn't tied to a
@@ -7340,9 +8141,11 @@ package.
 =item time
 X<time> X<epoch>
 
+=for Pod::Functions return number of seconds since 1970
+
 Returns the number of non-leap seconds since whatever time the system
 considers to be the epoch, suitable for feeding to C<gmtime> and
-C<localtime>. On most systems the epoch is 00:00:00 UTC, January 1, 1970;
+C<localtime>.  On most systems the epoch is 00:00:00 UTC, January 1, 1970;
 a prominent exception being Mac OS Classic which uses 00:00:00, January 1,
 1904 in the current local time zone for its epoch.
 
@@ -7358,6 +8161,8 @@ L<DateTime> module.
 =item times
 X<times>
 
+=for Pod::Functions return elapsed time for self and child processes
+
 Returns a four-element list giving the user and system times in
 seconds for this process and any exited children of this process.
 
@@ -7371,6 +8176,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/times>.
 
 =item tr///
 
+=for Pod::Functions transliterate a string
+
 The transliteration operator.  Same as C<y///>.  See
 L<perlop/"Quote and Quote-like Operators">.
 
@@ -7379,6 +8186,8 @@ X<truncate>
 
 =item truncate EXPR,LENGTH
 
+=for Pod::Functions shorten a file
+
 Truncates the file opened on FILEHANDLE, or named by EXPR, to the
 specified length.  Raises an exception if truncate isn't implemented
 on your system.  Returns true if successful, C<undef> on error.
@@ -7396,6 +8205,8 @@ X<uc> X<uppercase> X<toupper>
 
 =item uc
 
+=for Pod::Functions return upper-case version of a string
+
 Returns an uppercased version of EXPR.  This is the internal function
 implementing the C<\U> escape in double-quoted strings.
 It does not attempt to do titlecase mapping on initial letters.  See
@@ -7411,6 +8222,8 @@ X<ucfirst> X<uppercase>
 
 =item ucfirst
 
+=for Pod::Functions return a string with just the next letter in upper case
+
 Returns the value of EXPR with the first character in uppercase
 (titlecase in Unicode).  This is the internal function implementing
 the C<\u> escape in double-quoted strings.
@@ -7425,6 +8238,8 @@ X<umask>
 
 =item umask
 
+=for Pod::Functions set file creation mode mask
+
 Sets the umask for the process to EXPR and returns the previous value.
 If EXPR is omitted, merely returns the current umask.
 
@@ -7465,6 +8280,8 @@ X<undef> X<undefine>
 
 =item undef
 
+=for Pod::Functions remove a variable or function definition
+
 Undefines the value of EXPR, which must be an lvalue.  Use only on a
 scalar value, an array (using C<@>), a hash (using C<%>), a subroutine
 (using C<&>), or a typeglob (using C<*>).  Saying C<undef $hash{$key}>
@@ -7492,8 +8309,10 @@ X<unlink> X<delete> X<remove> X<rm> X<del>
 
 =item unlink
 
-Deletes a list of files. On success, it returns the number of files
-it successfully deleted. On failure, it returns false and sets C<$!>
+=for Pod::Functions remove one link to a file
+
+Deletes a list of files.  On success, it returns the number of files
+it successfully deleted.  On failure, it returns false and sets C<$!>
 (errno):
 
     my $unlinked = unlink 'a', 'b', 'c';
@@ -7509,7 +8328,7 @@ at a time:
      }
 
 Note: C<unlink> will not attempt to delete directories unless you are
-superuser and the B<-U> flag is supplied to Perl. Even if these
+superuser and the B<-U> flag is supplied to Perl.  Even if these
 conditions are met, be warned that unlinking a directory can inflict
 damage on your filesystem.  Finally, using C<unlink> on directories is
 not supported on many operating systems.  Use C<rmdir> instead.
@@ -7521,6 +8340,8 @@ X<unpack>
 
 =item unpack TEMPLATE
 
+=for Pod::Functions convert binary structure into normal perl variables
+
 C<unpack> does the reverse of C<pack>: it takes a string
 and expands it out into a list of values.
 (In scalar context, it returns merely the first value produced.)
@@ -7578,18 +8399,13 @@ the remainder of that input string is ignored.
 
 See L</pack> for more examples and notes.
 
-=item untie VARIABLE
-X<untie>
-
-Breaks the binding between a variable and a package.
-(See L<tie|/tie VARIABLE,CLASSNAME,LIST>.)
-Has no effect if the variable is not tied.
-
 =item unshift ARRAY,LIST
 X<unshift>
 
 =item unshift EXPR,LIST
 
+=for Pod::Functions prepend more elements to the beginning of a list
+
 Does the opposite of a C<shift>.  Or the opposite of a C<push>,
 depending on how you look at it.  Prepends list to the front of the
 array and returns the new number of elements in the array.
@@ -7605,6 +8421,22 @@ a reference to an unblessed array.  The argument will be dereferenced
 automatically.  This aspect of C<unshift> is considered highly
 experimental.  The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at
+the top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of
+a recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.014;	# so push/pop/etc work on scalars (experimental)
+
+=item untie VARIABLE
+X<untie>
+
+=for Pod::Functions break a tie binding to a variable
+
+Breaks the binding between a variable and a package.
+(See L<tie|/tie VARIABLE,CLASSNAME,LIST>.)
+Has no effect if the variable is not tied.
+
 =item use Module VERSION LIST
 X<use> X<module> X<import>
 
@@ -7616,6 +8448,8 @@ X<use> X<module> X<import>
 
 =item use VERSION
 
+=for Pod::Functions load in a module at compile time and import its namespace
+
 Imports some semantics into the current package from the named module,
 generally by aliasing certain subroutine or variable names into your
 package.  It is exactly equivalent to
@@ -7623,7 +8457,7 @@ package.  It is exactly equivalent to
     BEGIN { require Module; Module->import( LIST ); }
 
 except that Module I<must> be a bareword.
-The importation can be made conditional; see L<if>.
+The importation can be made conditional by using the L<if> module.
 
 In the peculiar C<use VERSION> form, VERSION may be either a positive
 decimal fraction such as 5.006, which will be compared to C<$]>, or a v-string
@@ -7647,12 +8481,15 @@ This is often useful if you need to check the current Perl version before
 C<use>ing library modules that won't work with older versions of Perl.
 (We try not to do this more than we have to.)
 
-Also, if the specified Perl version is greater than or equal to 5.9.5,
-C<use VERSION> will also load the C<feature> pragma and enable all
-features available in the requested version.  See L<feature>.
+C<use VERSION> also enables all features available in the requested
+version as defined by the C<feature> pragma, disabling any features
+not in the requested version's feature bundle.  See L<feature>.
 Similarly, if the specified Perl version is greater than or equal to
-5.11.0, strictures are enabled lexically as with C<use strict> (except
-that the F<strict.pm> file is not actually loaded).
+5.12.0, strictures are enabled lexically as
+with C<use strict>.  Any explicit use of
+C<use strict> or C<no strict> overrides C<use VERSION>, even if it comes
+before it.  In both cases, the F<feature.pm> and F<strict.pm> files are
+not actually loaded.
 
 The C<BEGIN> forces the C<require> and C<import> to happen at compile time.  The
 C<require> makes sure the module is loaded into memory if it hasn't been
@@ -7731,6 +8568,8 @@ functionality from the command-line.
 =item utime LIST
 X<utime>
 
+=for Pod::Functions set a file's last access and modify times
+
 Changes the access and modification times on each file of a list of
 files.  The first two elements of the list must be the NUMERIC access
 and modification times, in that order.  Returns the number of files
@@ -7743,9 +8582,9 @@ the user running the program:
     $atime = $mtime = time;
     utime $atime, $mtime, @ARGV;
 
-Since Perl 5.7.2, if the first two elements of the list are C<undef>, 
+Since Perl 5.8.0, if the first two elements of the list are C<undef>, 
 the utime(2) syscall from your C library is called with a null second
-argument. On most systems, this will set the file's access and
+argument.  On most systems, this will set the file's access and
 modification times to the current time (i.e., equivalent to the example
 above) and will work even on files you don't own provided you have write
 permission:
@@ -7780,30 +8619,33 @@ X<values>
 
 =item values EXPR
 
-Returns a list consisting of all the values of the named hash, or the values
-of an array. (In scalar context, returns the number of values.)
+=for Pod::Functions return a list of the values in a hash
 
-The values are returned in an apparently random order.  The actual
-random order is subject to change in future versions of Perl, but it
-is guaranteed to be the same order as either the C<keys> or C<each>
-function would produce on the same (unmodified) hash.  Since Perl
-5.8.1 the ordering is different even between different runs of Perl
-for security reasons (see L<perlsec/"Algorithmic Complexity Attacks">).
+In list context, returns a list consisting of all the values of the named
+hash.  In Perl 5.12 or later only, will also return a list of the values of
+an array; prior to that release, attempting to use an array argument will
+produce a syntax error.  In scalar context, returns the number of values.
+
+When called on a hash, the values are returned in an apparently random
+order.  The actual random order is subject to change in future versions of
+Perl, but it is guaranteed to be the same order as either the C<keys> or
+C<each> function would produce on the same (unmodified) hash.  Since Perl
+5.8.1 the ordering is different even between different runs of Perl for
+security reasons (see L<perlsec/"Algorithmic Complexity Attacks">).
 
 As a side effect, calling values() resets the HASH or ARRAY's internal
-iterator;
-see L</each>. (In particular, calling values() in void context resets
-the iterator with no other overhead. Apart from resetting the iterator,
-C<values @array> in list context is the same as plain C<@array>.
-We recommend that you use void context C<keys @array> for this, but reasoned
-that it taking C<values @array> out would require more documentation than
-leaving it in.)
+iterator, see L</each>.  (In particular, calling values() in void context
+resets the iterator with no other overhead.  Apart from resetting the
+iterator, C<values @array> in list context is the same as plain C<@array>.
+(We recommend that you use void context C<keys @array> for this, but
+reasoned that taking C<values @array> out would require more
+documentation than leaving it in.)
 
 Note that the values are not copied, which means modifying them will
 modify the contents of the hash:
 
-    for (values %hash)      { s/foo/bar/g }   # modifies %hash values
-    for (@hash{keys %hash}) { s/foo/bar/g }   # same
+    for (values %hash)      { s/foo/bar/g }  # modifies %hash values
+    for (@hash{keys %hash}) { s/foo/bar/g }  # same
 
 Starting with Perl 5.14, C<values> can take a scalar EXPR, which must hold
 a reference to an unblessed hash or array.  The argument will be
@@ -7813,11 +8655,21 @@ experimental.  The exact behaviour may change in a future version of Perl.
     for (values $hashref) { ... }
     for (values $obj->get_arrayref) { ... }
 
+To avoid confusing would-be users of your code who are running earlier
+versions of Perl with mysterious syntax errors, put this sort of thing at
+the top of your file to signal that your code will work I<only> on Perls of
+a recent vintage:
+
+    use 5.012;	# so keys/values/each work on arrays
+    use 5.014;	# so keys/values/each work on scalars (experimental)
+
 See also C<keys>, C<each>, and C<sort>.
 
 =item vec EXPR,OFFSET,BITS
 X<vec> X<bit> X<bit vector>
 
+=for Pod::Functions test or set particular bits in a string
+
 Treats the string in EXPR as a bit vector made up of elements of
 width BITS and returns the value of the element specified by OFFSET
 as an unsigned integer.  BITS therefore specifies the number of bits
@@ -7890,172 +8742,174 @@ If you know the exact length in bits, it can be used in place of the C<*>.
 
 Here is an example to illustrate how the bits actually fall in place:
 
-    #!/usr/bin/perl -wl
-
-    print <<'EOT';
-                                      0         1         2         3
-                       unpack("V",$_) 01234567890123456789012345678901
-    ------------------------------------------------------------------
-    EOT
-
-    for $w (0..3) {
-        $width = 2**$w;
-        for ($shift=0; $shift < $width; ++$shift) {
-            for ($off=0; $off < 32/$width; ++$off) {
-                $str = pack("B*", "0"x32);
-                $bits = (1<<$shift);
-                vec($str, $off, $width) = $bits;
-                $res = unpack("b*",$str);
-                $val = unpack("V", $str);
-                write;
-            }
-        }
-    }
-
-    format STDOUT =
-    vec($_,@#,@#) = @<< == @######### @>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
-    $off, $width, $bits, $val, $res
-    .
-    __END__
+  #!/usr/bin/perl -wl
+
+  print <<'EOT';
+                                    0         1         2         3
+                     unpack("V",$_) 01234567890123456789012345678901
+  ------------------------------------------------------------------
+  EOT
+
+  for $w (0..3) {
+      $width = 2**$w;
+      for ($shift=0; $shift < $width; ++$shift) {
+          for ($off=0; $off < 32/$width; ++$off) {
+              $str = pack("B*", "0"x32);
+              $bits = (1<<$shift);
+              vec($str, $off, $width) = $bits;
+              $res = unpack("b*",$str);
+              $val = unpack("V", $str);
+              write;
+          }
+      }
+  }
+
+  format STDOUT =
+  vec($_,@#,@#) = @<< == @######### @>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
+  $off, $width, $bits, $val, $res
+  .
+  __END__
 
 Regardless of the machine architecture on which it runs, the 
 example above should print the following table:
 
-                                      0         1         2         3
-                       unpack("V",$_) 01234567890123456789012345678901
-    ------------------------------------------------------------------
-    vec($_, 0, 1) = 1   ==          1 10000000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 1) = 1   ==          2 01000000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 1) = 1   ==          4 00100000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 1) = 1   ==          8 00010000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 4, 1) = 1   ==         16 00001000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 5, 1) = 1   ==         32 00000100000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 6, 1) = 1   ==         64 00000010000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 7, 1) = 1   ==        128 00000001000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 8, 1) = 1   ==        256 00000000100000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 9, 1) = 1   ==        512 00000000010000000000000000000000
-    vec($_,10, 1) = 1   ==       1024 00000000001000000000000000000000
-    vec($_,11, 1) = 1   ==       2048 00000000000100000000000000000000
-    vec($_,12, 1) = 1   ==       4096 00000000000010000000000000000000
-    vec($_,13, 1) = 1   ==       8192 00000000000001000000000000000000
-    vec($_,14, 1) = 1   ==      16384 00000000000000100000000000000000
-    vec($_,15, 1) = 1   ==      32768 00000000000000010000000000000000
-    vec($_,16, 1) = 1   ==      65536 00000000000000001000000000000000
-    vec($_,17, 1) = 1   ==     131072 00000000000000000100000000000000
-    vec($_,18, 1) = 1   ==     262144 00000000000000000010000000000000
-    vec($_,19, 1) = 1   ==     524288 00000000000000000001000000000000
-    vec($_,20, 1) = 1   ==    1048576 00000000000000000000100000000000
-    vec($_,21, 1) = 1   ==    2097152 00000000000000000000010000000000
-    vec($_,22, 1) = 1   ==    4194304 00000000000000000000001000000000
-    vec($_,23, 1) = 1   ==    8388608 00000000000000000000000100000000
-    vec($_,24, 1) = 1   ==   16777216 00000000000000000000000010000000
-    vec($_,25, 1) = 1   ==   33554432 00000000000000000000000001000000
-    vec($_,26, 1) = 1   ==   67108864 00000000000000000000000000100000
-    vec($_,27, 1) = 1   ==  134217728 00000000000000000000000000010000
-    vec($_,28, 1) = 1   ==  268435456 00000000000000000000000000001000
-    vec($_,29, 1) = 1   ==  536870912 00000000000000000000000000000100
-    vec($_,30, 1) = 1   == 1073741824 00000000000000000000000000000010
-    vec($_,31, 1) = 1   == 2147483648 00000000000000000000000000000001
-    vec($_, 0, 2) = 1   ==          1 10000000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 2) = 1   ==          4 00100000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 2) = 1   ==         16 00001000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 2) = 1   ==         64 00000010000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 4, 2) = 1   ==        256 00000000100000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 5, 2) = 1   ==       1024 00000000001000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 6, 2) = 1   ==       4096 00000000000010000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 7, 2) = 1   ==      16384 00000000000000100000000000000000
-    vec($_, 8, 2) = 1   ==      65536 00000000000000001000000000000000
-    vec($_, 9, 2) = 1   ==     262144 00000000000000000010000000000000
-    vec($_,10, 2) = 1   ==    1048576 00000000000000000000100000000000
-    vec($_,11, 2) = 1   ==    4194304 00000000000000000000001000000000
-    vec($_,12, 2) = 1   ==   16777216 00000000000000000000000010000000
-    vec($_,13, 2) = 1   ==   67108864 00000000000000000000000000100000
-    vec($_,14, 2) = 1   ==  268435456 00000000000000000000000000001000
-    vec($_,15, 2) = 1   == 1073741824 00000000000000000000000000000010
-    vec($_, 0, 2) = 2   ==          2 01000000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 2) = 2   ==          8 00010000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 2) = 2   ==         32 00000100000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 2) = 2   ==        128 00000001000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 4, 2) = 2   ==        512 00000000010000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 5, 2) = 2   ==       2048 00000000000100000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 6, 2) = 2   ==       8192 00000000000001000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 7, 2) = 2   ==      32768 00000000000000010000000000000000
-    vec($_, 8, 2) = 2   ==     131072 00000000000000000100000000000000
-    vec($_, 9, 2) = 2   ==     524288 00000000000000000001000000000000
-    vec($_,10, 2) = 2   ==    2097152 00000000000000000000010000000000
-    vec($_,11, 2) = 2   ==    8388608 00000000000000000000000100000000
-    vec($_,12, 2) = 2   ==   33554432 00000000000000000000000001000000
-    vec($_,13, 2) = 2   ==  134217728 00000000000000000000000000010000
-    vec($_,14, 2) = 2   ==  536870912 00000000000000000000000000000100
-    vec($_,15, 2) = 2   == 2147483648 00000000000000000000000000000001
-    vec($_, 0, 4) = 1   ==          1 10000000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 4) = 1   ==         16 00001000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 4) = 1   ==        256 00000000100000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 4) = 1   ==       4096 00000000000010000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 4, 4) = 1   ==      65536 00000000000000001000000000000000
-    vec($_, 5, 4) = 1   ==    1048576 00000000000000000000100000000000
-    vec($_, 6, 4) = 1   ==   16777216 00000000000000000000000010000000
-    vec($_, 7, 4) = 1   ==  268435456 00000000000000000000000000001000
-    vec($_, 0, 4) = 2   ==          2 01000000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 4) = 2   ==         32 00000100000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 4) = 2   ==        512 00000000010000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 4) = 2   ==       8192 00000000000001000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 4, 4) = 2   ==     131072 00000000000000000100000000000000
-    vec($_, 5, 4) = 2   ==    2097152 00000000000000000000010000000000
-    vec($_, 6, 4) = 2   ==   33554432 00000000000000000000000001000000
-    vec($_, 7, 4) = 2   ==  536870912 00000000000000000000000000000100
-    vec($_, 0, 4) = 4   ==          4 00100000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 4) = 4   ==         64 00000010000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 4) = 4   ==       1024 00000000001000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 4) = 4   ==      16384 00000000000000100000000000000000
-    vec($_, 4, 4) = 4   ==     262144 00000000000000000010000000000000
-    vec($_, 5, 4) = 4   ==    4194304 00000000000000000000001000000000
-    vec($_, 6, 4) = 4   ==   67108864 00000000000000000000000000100000
-    vec($_, 7, 4) = 4   == 1073741824 00000000000000000000000000000010
-    vec($_, 0, 4) = 8   ==          8 00010000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 4) = 8   ==        128 00000001000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 4) = 8   ==       2048 00000000000100000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 4) = 8   ==      32768 00000000000000010000000000000000
-    vec($_, 4, 4) = 8   ==     524288 00000000000000000001000000000000
-    vec($_, 5, 4) = 8   ==    8388608 00000000000000000000000100000000
-    vec($_, 6, 4) = 8   ==  134217728 00000000000000000000000000010000
-    vec($_, 7, 4) = 8   == 2147483648 00000000000000000000000000000001
-    vec($_, 0, 8) = 1   ==          1 10000000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 8) = 1   ==        256 00000000100000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 8) = 1   ==      65536 00000000000000001000000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 8) = 1   ==   16777216 00000000000000000000000010000000
-    vec($_, 0, 8) = 2   ==          2 01000000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 8) = 2   ==        512 00000000010000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 8) = 2   ==     131072 00000000000000000100000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 8) = 2   ==   33554432 00000000000000000000000001000000
-    vec($_, 0, 8) = 4   ==          4 00100000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 8) = 4   ==       1024 00000000001000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 8) = 4   ==     262144 00000000000000000010000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 8) = 4   ==   67108864 00000000000000000000000000100000
-    vec($_, 0, 8) = 8   ==          8 00010000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 8) = 8   ==       2048 00000000000100000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 8) = 8   ==     524288 00000000000000000001000000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 8) = 8   ==  134217728 00000000000000000000000000010000
-    vec($_, 0, 8) = 16  ==         16 00001000000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 8) = 16  ==       4096 00000000000010000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 8) = 16  ==    1048576 00000000000000000000100000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 8) = 16  ==  268435456 00000000000000000000000000001000
-    vec($_, 0, 8) = 32  ==         32 00000100000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 8) = 32  ==       8192 00000000000001000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 8) = 32  ==    2097152 00000000000000000000010000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 8) = 32  ==  536870912 00000000000000000000000000000100
-    vec($_, 0, 8) = 64  ==         64 00000010000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 8) = 64  ==      16384 00000000000000100000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 8) = 64  ==    4194304 00000000000000000000001000000000
-    vec($_, 3, 8) = 64  == 1073741824 00000000000000000000000000000010
-    vec($_, 0, 8) = 128 ==        128 00000001000000000000000000000000
-    vec($_, 1, 8) = 128 ==      32768 00000000000000010000000000000000
-    vec($_, 2, 8) = 128 ==    8388608 00000000000000000000000100000000
-    vec($_, 3, 8) = 128 == 2147483648 00000000000000000000000000000001
+                                    0         1         2         3
+                     unpack("V",$_) 01234567890123456789012345678901
+  ------------------------------------------------------------------
+  vec($_, 0, 1) = 1   ==          1 10000000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 1) = 1   ==          2 01000000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 1) = 1   ==          4 00100000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 1) = 1   ==          8 00010000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 4, 1) = 1   ==         16 00001000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 5, 1) = 1   ==         32 00000100000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 6, 1) = 1   ==         64 00000010000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 7, 1) = 1   ==        128 00000001000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 8, 1) = 1   ==        256 00000000100000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 9, 1) = 1   ==        512 00000000010000000000000000000000
+  vec($_,10, 1) = 1   ==       1024 00000000001000000000000000000000
+  vec($_,11, 1) = 1   ==       2048 00000000000100000000000000000000
+  vec($_,12, 1) = 1   ==       4096 00000000000010000000000000000000
+  vec($_,13, 1) = 1   ==       8192 00000000000001000000000000000000
+  vec($_,14, 1) = 1   ==      16384 00000000000000100000000000000000
+  vec($_,15, 1) = 1   ==      32768 00000000000000010000000000000000
+  vec($_,16, 1) = 1   ==      65536 00000000000000001000000000000000
+  vec($_,17, 1) = 1   ==     131072 00000000000000000100000000000000
+  vec($_,18, 1) = 1   ==     262144 00000000000000000010000000000000
+  vec($_,19, 1) = 1   ==     524288 00000000000000000001000000000000
+  vec($_,20, 1) = 1   ==    1048576 00000000000000000000100000000000
+  vec($_,21, 1) = 1   ==    2097152 00000000000000000000010000000000
+  vec($_,22, 1) = 1   ==    4194304 00000000000000000000001000000000
+  vec($_,23, 1) = 1   ==    8388608 00000000000000000000000100000000
+  vec($_,24, 1) = 1   ==   16777216 00000000000000000000000010000000
+  vec($_,25, 1) = 1   ==   33554432 00000000000000000000000001000000
+  vec($_,26, 1) = 1   ==   67108864 00000000000000000000000000100000
+  vec($_,27, 1) = 1   ==  134217728 00000000000000000000000000010000
+  vec($_,28, 1) = 1   ==  268435456 00000000000000000000000000001000
+  vec($_,29, 1) = 1   ==  536870912 00000000000000000000000000000100
+  vec($_,30, 1) = 1   == 1073741824 00000000000000000000000000000010
+  vec($_,31, 1) = 1   == 2147483648 00000000000000000000000000000001
+  vec($_, 0, 2) = 1   ==          1 10000000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 2) = 1   ==          4 00100000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 2) = 1   ==         16 00001000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 2) = 1   ==         64 00000010000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 4, 2) = 1   ==        256 00000000100000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 5, 2) = 1   ==       1024 00000000001000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 6, 2) = 1   ==       4096 00000000000010000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 7, 2) = 1   ==      16384 00000000000000100000000000000000
+  vec($_, 8, 2) = 1   ==      65536 00000000000000001000000000000000
+  vec($_, 9, 2) = 1   ==     262144 00000000000000000010000000000000
+  vec($_,10, 2) = 1   ==    1048576 00000000000000000000100000000000
+  vec($_,11, 2) = 1   ==    4194304 00000000000000000000001000000000
+  vec($_,12, 2) = 1   ==   16777216 00000000000000000000000010000000
+  vec($_,13, 2) = 1   ==   67108864 00000000000000000000000000100000
+  vec($_,14, 2) = 1   ==  268435456 00000000000000000000000000001000
+  vec($_,15, 2) = 1   == 1073741824 00000000000000000000000000000010
+  vec($_, 0, 2) = 2   ==          2 01000000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 2) = 2   ==          8 00010000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 2) = 2   ==         32 00000100000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 2) = 2   ==        128 00000001000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 4, 2) = 2   ==        512 00000000010000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 5, 2) = 2   ==       2048 00000000000100000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 6, 2) = 2   ==       8192 00000000000001000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 7, 2) = 2   ==      32768 00000000000000010000000000000000
+  vec($_, 8, 2) = 2   ==     131072 00000000000000000100000000000000
+  vec($_, 9, 2) = 2   ==     524288 00000000000000000001000000000000
+  vec($_,10, 2) = 2   ==    2097152 00000000000000000000010000000000
+  vec($_,11, 2) = 2   ==    8388608 00000000000000000000000100000000
+  vec($_,12, 2) = 2   ==   33554432 00000000000000000000000001000000
+  vec($_,13, 2) = 2   ==  134217728 00000000000000000000000000010000
+  vec($_,14, 2) = 2   ==  536870912 00000000000000000000000000000100
+  vec($_,15, 2) = 2   == 2147483648 00000000000000000000000000000001
+  vec($_, 0, 4) = 1   ==          1 10000000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 4) = 1   ==         16 00001000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 4) = 1   ==        256 00000000100000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 4) = 1   ==       4096 00000000000010000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 4, 4) = 1   ==      65536 00000000000000001000000000000000
+  vec($_, 5, 4) = 1   ==    1048576 00000000000000000000100000000000
+  vec($_, 6, 4) = 1   ==   16777216 00000000000000000000000010000000
+  vec($_, 7, 4) = 1   ==  268435456 00000000000000000000000000001000
+  vec($_, 0, 4) = 2   ==          2 01000000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 4) = 2   ==         32 00000100000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 4) = 2   ==        512 00000000010000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 4) = 2   ==       8192 00000000000001000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 4, 4) = 2   ==     131072 00000000000000000100000000000000
+  vec($_, 5, 4) = 2   ==    2097152 00000000000000000000010000000000
+  vec($_, 6, 4) = 2   ==   33554432 00000000000000000000000001000000
+  vec($_, 7, 4) = 2   ==  536870912 00000000000000000000000000000100
+  vec($_, 0, 4) = 4   ==          4 00100000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 4) = 4   ==         64 00000010000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 4) = 4   ==       1024 00000000001000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 4) = 4   ==      16384 00000000000000100000000000000000
+  vec($_, 4, 4) = 4   ==     262144 00000000000000000010000000000000
+  vec($_, 5, 4) = 4   ==    4194304 00000000000000000000001000000000
+  vec($_, 6, 4) = 4   ==   67108864 00000000000000000000000000100000
+  vec($_, 7, 4) = 4   == 1073741824 00000000000000000000000000000010
+  vec($_, 0, 4) = 8   ==          8 00010000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 4) = 8   ==        128 00000001000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 4) = 8   ==       2048 00000000000100000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 4) = 8   ==      32768 00000000000000010000000000000000
+  vec($_, 4, 4) = 8   ==     524288 00000000000000000001000000000000
+  vec($_, 5, 4) = 8   ==    8388608 00000000000000000000000100000000
+  vec($_, 6, 4) = 8   ==  134217728 00000000000000000000000000010000
+  vec($_, 7, 4) = 8   == 2147483648 00000000000000000000000000000001
+  vec($_, 0, 8) = 1   ==          1 10000000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 8) = 1   ==        256 00000000100000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 8) = 1   ==      65536 00000000000000001000000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 8) = 1   ==   16777216 00000000000000000000000010000000
+  vec($_, 0, 8) = 2   ==          2 01000000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 8) = 2   ==        512 00000000010000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 8) = 2   ==     131072 00000000000000000100000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 8) = 2   ==   33554432 00000000000000000000000001000000
+  vec($_, 0, 8) = 4   ==          4 00100000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 8) = 4   ==       1024 00000000001000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 8) = 4   ==     262144 00000000000000000010000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 8) = 4   ==   67108864 00000000000000000000000000100000
+  vec($_, 0, 8) = 8   ==          8 00010000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 8) = 8   ==       2048 00000000000100000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 8) = 8   ==     524288 00000000000000000001000000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 8) = 8   ==  134217728 00000000000000000000000000010000
+  vec($_, 0, 8) = 16  ==         16 00001000000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 8) = 16  ==       4096 00000000000010000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 8) = 16  ==    1048576 00000000000000000000100000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 8) = 16  ==  268435456 00000000000000000000000000001000
+  vec($_, 0, 8) = 32  ==         32 00000100000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 8) = 32  ==       8192 00000000000001000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 8) = 32  ==    2097152 00000000000000000000010000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 8) = 32  ==  536870912 00000000000000000000000000000100
+  vec($_, 0, 8) = 64  ==         64 00000010000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 8) = 64  ==      16384 00000000000000100000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 8) = 64  ==    4194304 00000000000000000000001000000000
+  vec($_, 3, 8) = 64  == 1073741824 00000000000000000000000000000010
+  vec($_, 0, 8) = 128 ==        128 00000001000000000000000000000000
+  vec($_, 1, 8) = 128 ==      32768 00000000000000010000000000000000
+  vec($_, 2, 8) = 128 ==    8388608 00000000000000000000000100000000
+  vec($_, 3, 8) = 128 == 2147483648 00000000000000000000000000000001
 
 =item wait
 X<wait>
 
+=for Pod::Functions wait for any child process to die
+
 Behaves like wait(2) on your system: it waits for a child
 process to terminate and returns the pid of the deceased process, or
 C<-1> if there are no child processes.  The status is returned in C<$?>
@@ -8064,13 +8918,15 @@ Note that a return value of C<-1> could mean that child processes are
 being automatically reaped, as described in L<perlipc>.
 
 If you use wait in your handler for $SIG{CHLD} it may accidentally for the
-child created by qx() or system(). See L<perlipc> for details.
+child created by qx() or system().  See L<perlipc> for details.
 
 Portability issues: L<perlport/wait>.
 
 =item waitpid PID,FLAGS
 X<waitpid>
 
+=for Pod::Functions wait for a particular child process to die
+
 Waits for a particular child process to terminate and returns the pid of
 the deceased process, or C<-1> if there is no such child process.  On some
 systems, a value of 0 indicates that there are processes still running.
@@ -8098,6 +8954,8 @@ Portability issues: L<perlport/waitpid>.
 =item wantarray
 X<wantarray> X<context>
 
+=for Pod::Functions get void vs scalar vs list context of current subroutine call
+
 Returns true if the context of the currently executing subroutine or
 C<eval> is looking for a list value.  Returns false if the context is
 looking for a scalar.  Returns the undefined value if the context is
@@ -8116,6 +8974,8 @@ This function should have been named wantlist() instead.
 =item warn LIST
 X<warn> X<warning> X<STDERR>
 
+=for Pod::Functions print debugging info
+
 Prints the value of LIST to STDERR.  If the last element of LIST does
 not end in a newline, it appends the same file/line number text as C<die>
 does.
@@ -8158,53 +9018,6 @@ See L<perlvar> for details on setting C<%SIG> entries and for more
 examples.  See the Carp module for other kinds of warnings using its
 carp() and cluck() functions.
 
-=item when EXPR BLOCK
-X<when>
-
-=item when BLOCK
-
-C<when> is analogous to the C<case> keyword in other languages. Used with a
-C<foreach> loop or the experimental C<given> block, C<when> can be used in
-Perl to implement C<switch>/C<case> like statements.  Available as a
-statement after Perl 5.10 and as a statement modifier after 5.14.  
-Here are three examples:
-
-    use v5.10;
-    foreach (@fruits) {
-        when (/apples?/) {
-            say "I like apples."
-        }
-        when (/oranges?/) {
-            say "I don't like oranges."
-        }
-        default {
-            say "I don't like anything"
-        }
-    }
-
-    # require 5.14 for when as statement modifier
-    use v5.14;
-    foreach (@fruits) {
-	say "I like apples." 	    when /apples?/; 
-	say "I don't like oranges." when /oranges?;
-        default { say "I don't like anything" }
-    }
-
-    use v5.10;
-    given ($fruit) {
-        when (/apples?/) {
-            say "I like apples."
-        }
-        when (/oranges?/) {
-            say "I don't like oranges."
-        }
-        default {
-            say "I don't like anything"
-        }
-    }
-
-See L<perlsyn/"Switch statements"> for detailed information.
-
 =item write FILEHANDLE
 X<write>
 
@@ -8212,6 +9025,8 @@ X<write>
 
 =item write
 
+=for Pod::Functions print a picture record
+
 Writes a formatted record (possibly multi-line) to the specified FILEHANDLE,
 using the format associated with that file.  By default the format for
 a file is the one having the same name as the filehandle, but the
@@ -8222,7 +9037,7 @@ Top of form processing is handled automatically:  if there is insufficient
 room on the current page for the formatted record, the page is advanced by
 writing a form feed, a special top-of-page format is used to format the new
 page header before the record is written.  By default, the top-of-page
-format is the name of the filehandle with "_TOP" appended. This would be a
+format is the name of the filehandle with "_TOP" appended.  This would be a
 problem with autovivified filehandles, but it may be dynamically set to the
 format of your choice by assigning the name to the C<$^> variable while
 that filehandle is selected.  The number of lines remaining on the current
@@ -8238,9 +9053,134 @@ Note that write is I<not> the opposite of C<read>.  Unfortunately.
 
 =item y///
 
+=for Pod::Functions transliterate a string
+
 The transliteration operator.  Same as C<tr///>.  See
 L<perlop/"Quote and Quote-like Operators">.
 
 =back
 
+=head2 Non-function Keywords by Cross-reference
+
+=head3 perldata
+
+=over
+
+=item __DATA__
+
+=item __END__
+
+These keywords are documented in L<perldata/"Special Literals">.
+
+=back
+
+=head3 perlmod
+
+=over
+
+=item BEGIN
+
+=item CHECK
+
+=item END
+
+=item INIT
+
+=item UNITCHECK
+
+These compile phase keywords are documented in L<perlmod/"BEGIN, UNITCHECK, CHECK, INIT and END">.
+
+=back
+
+=head3 perlobj
+
+=over
+
+=item DESTROY
+
+This method keyword is documented in L<perlobj/"Destructors">.
+
+=back
+
+=head3 perlop
+
+=over
+
+=item and
+
+=item cmp
+
+=item eq
+
+=item ge
+
+=item gt
+
+=item if
+
+=item le
+
+=item lt
+
+=item ne
+
+=item not
+
+=item or
+
+=item x
+
+=item xor
+
+These operators are documented in L<perlop>.
+
+=back
+
+=head3 perlsub
+
+=over
+
+=item AUTOLOAD
+
+This keyword is documented in L<perlsub/"Autoloading">.
+
+=back
+
+=head3 perlsyn
+
+=over
+
+=item else
+
+=item elseif
+
+=item elsif
+
+=item for
+
+=item foreach
+
+=item unless
+
+=item until
+
+=item while
+
+These flow-control keywords are documented in L<perlsyn/"Compound Statements">.
+
+=back
+
+=over
+
+=item default
+
+=item given
+
+=item when
+
+These flow-control keywords related to the experimental switch feature are
+documented in L<perlsyn/"Switch Statements"> .
+
+=back
+
 =cut