=encoding utf8 =head1 NAME perldelta - what is new for perl v5.41.8 =head1 DESCRIPTION This document describes differences between the 5.41.7 release and the 5.41.8 release. If you are upgrading from an earlier release such as 5.41.6, first read L, which describes differences between 5.41.6 and 5.41.7. =head1 Incompatible Changes =head2 Removed containing function references for functions without eval Perl 5.40 reintroduced unconditional references from functions to their containing functions to fix a bug introduced in Perl 5.18 that broke the special behaviour of C in package C which is used by the debugger. In some cases this change led to circular reference chains between closures and other existing references, resulting in memory leaks. This change has been reverted, fixing [L] but re-breaking [L]. This means the reference loops won't occur, and that lexical variables and functions from enclosing functions may not be visible in the debugger. Note that calling C in a function unconditionally causes a function to reference its enclosing functions as it always has. =head1 Performance Enhancements =over 4 =item * The peephole optimizer recognises the following zero-offset C patterns and swaps in a new dedicated operator (C). [L] substr($x, 0, ...) substr($x, 0, ..., '') =back =head1 Modules and Pragmata =head2 Updated Modules and Pragmata =over 4 =item * L has been upgraded from version 1.81 to 1.82. =item * L has been upgraded from version 0.36 to 0.38. =item * L has been upgraded from version 2.190 to 2.191. =item * L has been upgraded from version 0.06 to 0.07. =item * L has been upgraded from version 0.032 to 0.034. =item * L has been upgraded from version 3.56 to 3.57. =item * L has been upgraded from version 3.56 to 3.57. =item * L has been upgraded from version 5.20241220 to 5.20250120. =item * L has been upgraded from version 1.67 to 1.68. =item * L has been upgraded from version 0.023 to 0.024. =item * L has been upgraded from version 1.302204 to 1.302207. =item * L has been upgraded from version 1.3401_01 to 1.35. =back =head1 Documentation =head2 Changes to Existing Documentation We have attempted to update the documentation to reflect the changes listed in this document. If you find any we have missed, open an issue at L. =head1 Testing Tests were added and changed to reflect the other additions and changes in this release. =head1 Selected Bug Fixes =over 4 =item * L and L are no longer limited to 31-bit values for their POS and SIZE arguments. [L] =item * L is now better behaved if VAR is not a plain string. If VAR is a tied variable, it calls C once; previously, it would also call C, but without using the result. If VAR is a reference, the referenced entity has its refcount properly decremented when VAR is turned into a string; previously, it would leak memory. [L] =back =head1 Acknowledgements Perl 5.41.8 represents approximately 4 weeks of development since Perl 5.41.7 and contains approximately 8,800 lines of changes across 370 files from 17 authors. Excluding auto-generated files, documentation and release tools, there were approximately 6,800 lines of changes to 320 .pm, .t, .c and .h files. Perl continues to flourish into its fourth decade thanks to a vibrant community of users and developers. The following people are known to have contributed the improvements that became Perl 5.41.8: Branislav ZahradnĂ­k, Chad Granum, Dan Book, David Mitchell, Graham Knop, H.Merijn Brand, James E Keenan, Karl Williamson, Lukas Mai, Max Maischein, Paul Evans, Philippe Bruhat (BooK), Richard Leach, Sergei Zhmylev, Steve Hay, TAKAI Kousuke, Tony Cook. The list above is almost certainly incomplete as it is automatically generated from version control history. In particular, it does not include the names of the (very much appreciated) contributors who reported issues to the Perl bug tracker. Many of the changes included in this version originated in the CPAN modules included in Perl's core. We're grateful to the entire CPAN community for helping Perl to flourish. For a more complete list of all of Perl's historical contributors, please see the F file in the Perl source distribution. =head1 Reporting Bugs If you find what you think is a bug, you might check the perl bug database at L. There may also be information at L, the Perl Home Page. If you believe you have an unreported bug, please open an issue at L. Be sure to trim your bug down to a tiny but sufficient test case. If the bug you are reporting has security implications which make it inappropriate to send to a public issue tracker, then see L for details of how to report the issue. =head1 Give Thanks If you wish to thank the Perl 5 Porters for the work we had done in Perl 5, you can do so by running the C program: perlthanks This will send an email to the Perl 5 Porters list with your show of thanks. =head1 SEE ALSO The F file for an explanation of how to view exhaustive details on what changed. The F file for how to build Perl. The F file for general stuff. The F and F files for copyright information. =cut