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database/perl/lib/pods/perl582delta.pod

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+=head1 NAME
+
+perl582delta - what is new for perl v5.8.2
+
+=head1 DESCRIPTION
+
+This document describes differences between the 5.8.1 release and
+the 5.8.2 release.
+
+If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.6.1, first read
+the L<perl58delta>, which describes differences between 5.6.0 and
+5.8.0, and the L<perl581delta>, which describes differences between
+5.8.0 and 5.8.1.
+
+=head1 Incompatible Changes
+
+For threaded builds for modules calling certain re-entrant system calls,
+binary compatibility was accidentally lost between 5.8.0 and 5.8.1.
+Binary compatibility with 5.8.0 has been restored in 5.8.2, which
+necessitates breaking compatibility with 5.8.1. We see this as the
+lesser of two evils.
+
+This will only affect people who have a threaded perl 5.8.1, and compiled
+modules which use these calls, and now attempt to run the compiled modules
+with 5.8.2. The fix is to re-compile and re-install the modules using 5.8.2.
+
+=head1 Core Enhancements
+
+=head2 Hash Randomisation
+
+The hash randomisation introduced with 5.8.1 has been amended. It
+transpired that although the implementation introduced in 5.8.1 was source
+compatible with 5.8.0, it was not binary compatible in certain cases. 5.8.2
+contains an improved implementation which is both source and binary
+compatible with both 5.8.0 and 5.8.1, and remains robust against the form of
+attack which prompted the change for 5.8.1.
+
+We are grateful to the Debian project for their input in this area.
+See L<perlsec/"Algorithmic Complexity Attacks"> for the original
+rationale behind this change.
+
+=head2 Threading
+
+Several memory leaks associated with variables shared between threads
+have been fixed.
+
+=head1 Modules and Pragmata
+
+=head2 Updated Modules And Pragmata
+
+The following modules and pragmata have been updated since Perl 5.8.1:
+
+=over 4
+
+=item Devel::PPPort
+
+=item Digest::MD5
+
+=item I18N::LangTags
+
+=item libnet
+
+=item MIME::Base64
+
+=item Pod::Perldoc
+
+=item strict
+
+Documentation improved
+
+=item Tie::Hash
+
+Documentation improved
+
+=item Time::HiRes
+
+=item Unicode::Collate
+
+=item Unicode::Normalize
+
+=item UNIVERSAL
+
+Documentation improved
+
+=back
+
+=head1 Selected Bug Fixes
+
+Some syntax errors involving unrecognized filetest operators are now handled
+correctly by the parser.
+
+=head1 Changed Internals
+
+Interpreter initialization is more complete when -DMULTIPLICITY is off.
+This should resolve problems with initializing and destroying the Perl
+interpreter more than once in a single process.                      
+
+=head1 Platform Specific Problems
+
+Dynamic linker flags have been tweaked for Solaris and OS X, which should
+solve problems seen while building some XS modules.
+
+Bugs in OS/2 sockets and tmpfile have been fixed.
+
+In OS X C<setreuid> and friends are troublesome - perl will now work
+around their problems as best possible.
+
+=head1 Future Directions
+
+Starting with 5.8.3 we intend to make more frequent maintenance releases,
+with a smaller number of changes in each. The intent is to propagate
+bug fixes out to stable releases more rapidly and make upgrading stable
+releases less of an upheaval. This should give end users more
+flexibility in their choice of upgrade timing, and allow them easier
+assessment of the impact of upgrades. The current plan is for code freezes
+as follows
+
+=over 4
+
+=item *
+
+5.8.3 23:59:59 GMT, Wednesday December 31st 2003
+
+=item *
+
+5.8.4 23:59:59 GMT, Wednesday March 31st 2004
+
+=item *
+
+5.8.5 23:59:59 GMT, Wednesday June 30th 2004
+
+=back
+
+with the release following soon after, when testing is complete.
+
+See L<perl581delta/"Future Directions"> for more soothsaying.
+
+=head1 Reporting Bugs
+
+If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the articles
+recently posted to the comp.lang.perl.misc newsgroup and the perl
+bug database at http://bugs.perl.org/.  There may also be
+information at http://www.perl.com/, the Perl Home Page.
+
+If you believe you have an unreported bug, please run the B<perlbug>
+program included with your release.  Be sure to trim your bug down
+to a tiny but sufficient test case.  Your bug report, along with the
+output of C<perl -V>, will be sent off to perlbug@perl.org to be
+analysed by the Perl porting team.  You can browse and search
+the Perl 5 bugs at http://bugs.perl.org/
+
+=head1 SEE ALSO
+
+The F<Changes> file for exhaustive details on what changed.
+
+The F<INSTALL> file for how to build Perl.
+
+The F<README> file for general stuff.
+
+The F<Artistic> and F<Copying> files for copyright information.
+
+=cut