1. Perl 5
Today, Tomorrow, and Christmas

2. The Perl Dev That Was

3. The Perl Dev That Was
- between perl 5.10 and perl 5.12, we changed
how the release cycle works

4. The Perl Dev That Was
- between perl 5.10 and perl 5.12, we changed
how the release cycle works
- that was three years ago (!!)

5. The Perl Dev That Was
- between perl 5.10 and perl 5.12, we changed
how the release cycle works
- that was three years ago (!!)
- hopefully this is the last time we need to talk
about the old ways

6. The Old Days
5.9.0 5.9.1 5.9.2
blead
5.8.0 5.8.1 5.8.2
maint
5.10.0

8. The Old Days

9. The Old Days
- what merits a new dev release?

10. The Old Days
- what merits a new dev release?
- when is a new major release done?

11. The Old Days
- what merits a new dev release?
- when is a new major release done?
- what can get backported?

12. The Old Days
- what merits a new dev release?
- when is a new major release done?
- what can get backported?
- i.e., how stable is a stable release?

13. When I say so is when!

14. When I say so is when!
- not a terrible idea in theory

15. When I say so is when!
- not a terrible idea in theory
- but in practice, it led to very long waits for
new features to be usable

16. When I say so is when!
- not a terrible idea in theory
- but in practice, it led to very long waits for
new features to be usable
- ...which led to bad designs surviving

18. - worse, the pumpking is now busy doing

19. - worse, the pumpking is now busy doing
- "cherrymaint"

20. - worse, the pumpking is now busy doing
- "cherrymaint"
- release planning

21. - worse, the pumpking is now busy doing
- "cherrymaint"
- release planning
- release "paperwork"

22. - worse, the pumpking is now busy doing
- "cherrymaint"
- release planning
- release "paperwork"
- cat herding (read: arguing with angries)

23. - worse, the pumpking is now busy doing
- "cherrymaint"
- release planning
- release "paperwork"
- cat herding (read: arguing with angries)
- ...but is actually a hugely valuable coder

25. The Interregnum

26. The Interregnum
- the 5.10 crisis

27. The Interregnum
- the 5.10 crisis
- the San Diego call

28. The Interregnum
- the 5.10 crisis
- the San Diego call
- 5.11 and the release engineers corps

29. The Interregnum
- the 5.10 crisis
- the San Diego call
- 5.11 and the release engineers corps
- any idiot can do it!

30. New Blead
2011-06
5.15.0
blead

31. New Blead
2011-06 2011-07
5.15.0 5.15.1
blead

32. New Blead
2011-06 2011-07 2011-08
5.15.0 5.15.1 5.15.2
blead

33. New Blead
2011-06 2011-07 2011-08 2011-09
5.15.0 5.15.1 5.15.2 5.15.3
blead

34. New Blead
2011-06 2011-07 2011-08 2011-09 2012-05
5.15.0 5.15.1 5.15.2 5.15.3 5.15.9
blead

35. New Blead
2011-06 2011-07 2011-08 2011-09 2012-05
5.15.0 5.15.1 5.15.2 5.15.3 5.15.9
blead
maint
2012-06
5.16.0

36. New Blead
2011-06 2011-07 2011-08 2011-09 2012-05 2012-06
5.15.0 5.15.1 5.15.2 5.15.3 5.15.9 5.17.0
blead
maint
2012-06
5.16.0

37. New Blead
David G. Zefram Rik Stevan Abigail Zefram
2011-06 2011-07 2011-08 2011-09 2012-05 2012-06
5.15.0 5.15.1 5.15.2 5.15.3 5.15.9 5.17.0
blead
maint
2012-06
5.16.0
Rik

38. New Maint
Zefram
2012-06
5.17.0
blead
maint
2012-06
5.16.0
Rik

39. New Maint
Zefram
2012-06
5.17.0
blead
maint
2012-06 2012-07
5.16.0 5.16.1
Rik ?

40. New Maint
Zefram
2012-06
5.17.0
blead
maint
2012-06 2012-07 2012-09
5.16.0 5.16.1 5.16.2
Rik ? ?

41. New Maint
Zefram
2012-06
5.17.0
blead
maint
2012-06 2012-07 2012-09 2013-??
5.16.0 5.16.1 5.16.2 5.16.2
Rik ? ? ?

42. Minimal Maint

43. Minimal Maint
- almost all dev. burden is kept in blead

44. Minimal Maint
- almost all dev. burden is kept in blead
- the rules about changing maint are strict

45. Minimal Maint
- almost all dev. burden is kept in blead
- the rules about changing maint are strict
- must be critical bug fix

46. Minimal Maint
- almost all dev. burden is kept in blead
- the rules about changing maint are strict
- must be critical bug fix
- (which includes security)

47. Minimal Maint
- almost all dev. burden is kept in blead
- the rules about changing maint are strict
- must be critical bug fix
- (which includes security)
- very effective! in fact, so effective that...

48. Multimaint
Zefram
2012-06
5.17.0
blead
maint-5.16
2012-06 2012-07 2012-09 2013-??
5.16.0 5.16.1 5.16.2 5.16.2
Rik ? ? ?
maint-5.14
2011-05
5.14.0
Jesse

50. New Cherrymaint
Zefram
2012-05
5.17.0
blead
maint
2012-05 2012-07 2012-09 2013-??
5.16.0 5.16.1 5.16.2 5.16.2
Rik ? ? ?

51. New Cherrymaint
Zefram
2012-06
5.17.0
blead
maint
2012-06 2012-07 2012-09 2013-??
5.16.0 5.16.1 5.16.2 5.16.2
Rik ? ? ?

52. Pumpking?

54. What is the Pumpking?

55. What is the Pumpking?
- the patch pumpkin

56. What is the Pumpking?
- the patch pumpkin
- the person with the conch

57. What is the Pumpking?
- the patch pumpkin
- the person with the conch
- the benevolent dictator for now

58. What is the Pumpking?
- the patch pumpkin
- the person with the conch
- the benevolent dictator for now
- was: the one who could do everything

59. What is the Pumpking?
- the patch pumpkin
- the person with the conch
- the benevolent dictator for now
- was: the one who could do everything
- now: the one who manages

60. Jesse and Rik

61. Jesse and Rik
- we get along well

62. Jesse and Rik
- we get along well
- we both want what is good for Perl 5

63. Jesse and Rik
- we get along well
- we both want what is good for Perl 5
- but we see the future very differently

66. Rik and Jesse

67. Rik and Jesse
- Jesse's "5.16 and Beyond" was inspired by his
hopes and dreams

68. Rik and Jesse
- Jesse's "5.16 and Beyond" was inspired by his
hopes and dreams
- This talk is inspired by my fears and anxieties

69. The Pumpking's Job

70. The Pumpking's Job
- ...is not to make sure perl gets better.
- It's to make sure perl doesn't get worse.

71. Designing Perl

72. Designing Perl
- So, does that mean that the pumpking is
Perl's designer?

73. Designing Perl
- So, does that mean that the pumpking is
Perl's designer?
- Only to the extent that the designs he offers
are carried out.

74. Designing Perl
- So, does that mean that the pumpking is
Perl's designer?
- Only to the extent that the designs he offers
are carried out.
- Saying "make it so" depends on having a crew
who will make it so.

75. Designing Perl
- So, does that mean that the pumpking is
Perl's designer?
- Only to the extent that the designs he offers
are carried out.
- Saying "make it so" depends on having a crew
who will make it so.
- Instead, he or she is the decider.

76. How a Bill Becomes a Law

77. Mailing List Judo

78. Mailing List Judo
- how do you get your change applied?

79. Mailing List Judo
- how do you get your change applied?
- by avoiding controversy

80. Mailing List Judo
- how do you get your change applied?
- by avoiding controversy
- ...at least on the list

81. Syntax

82. Syntax
- perl programmers obsess over it

83. Syntax
- perl programmers obsess over it
- even when the semantics are the real
problem

84. Syntax
- perl programmers obsess over it
- even when the semantics are the real
problem
- ?->

85. Syntax
- perl programmers obsess over it
- even when the semantics are the real
problem
- ?->
- letting a syntax discussion start can be fatal

86. Changing Anything

87. Changing Anything
- some argue that change itself is bad

88. Changing Anything
- some argue that change itself is bad
- "someone might be relying on this error"

89. Other Lunacy

90. Other Lunacy
- "Your patch is nice, but why don't we do
fifteen other things along with it?"

91. Other Lunacy
- "Your patch is nice, but why don't we do
fifteen other things along with it?"
- "There are serious problems with this patch,
too large to fit in the margin of this email."

92. ...and in reality...

93. ...and in reality...
- These observations are true.

94. ...and in reality...
- These observations are true.
- So the advice to "lobby in private" seems
promising.

95. ...and in reality...
- These observations are true.
- So the advice to "lobby in private" seems
promising.
- Everybody wants to avoid a long p5p thread

96. ...and in reality...
- These observations are true.
- So the advice to "lobby in private" seems
promising.
- Everybody wants to avoid a long p5p thread
- …because p5p can be a horrible place.

97. U+1F4A9

98. U+1F4A9
- In most cases, everything I've just said is true.

99. U+1F4A9
- In most cases, everything I've just said is true.
- …and also crap.

100. U+1F4A9
- In most cases, everything I've just said is true.
- …and also crap.
- p5p has, in part, a culture of fear

101. U+1F4A9
- In most cases, everything I've just said is true.
- …and also crap.
- p5p has, in part, a culture of fear
- …of endless, horrible argument

102. Improving p5p

103. Improving p5p
- if discussion on p5p was not only reliably
civil…

104. Improving p5p
- if discussion on p5p was not only reliably
civil…
- …but also technically on point…

105. Improving p5p
- if discussion on p5p was not only reliably
civil…
- …but also technically on point…
- contributors would want to engage in it

106. Improving p5p

107. Improving p5p
- we would still try to avoid controversy

108. Improving p5p
- we would still try to avoid controversy
- …but by reaching consensus, not with tricks

109. Improving p5p
- we would still try to avoid controversy
- …but by reaching consensus, not with tricks
- so the pumpking never needs to decide!

110. The Pumpking's Job

111. The Pumpking's Job
- What will I do with all that free time?

112. The Pumpking's Job
- What will I do with all that free time?
- I will try to improve the list's culture.

113. The Pumpking's Job
- What will I do with all that free time?
- I will try to improve the list's culture.
- My promise:

114. The Pumpking's Job
- What will I do with all that free time?
- I will try to improve the list's culture.
- My promise:
- I will call out unreasonable arguments
and, even more, unreasonable behavior.

115. The Pumpking's Job

116. The Pumpking's Job
- ...is to make sure p5p culture gets better.

117. The Final Decision

118. The Final Decision
- sometimes, controversy is unavoidable

119. The Final Decision
- sometimes, controversy is unavoidable
- there is no consensus on whether a new
feature is a good idea

120. The Final Decision
- sometimes, controversy is unavoidable
- there is no consensus on whether a new
feature is a good idea
- how can Rik still avoid having to decide?

121. CPAN, not perl

122. CPAN, not perl
- can the feature be implemented on CPAN?

123. CPAN, not perl
- can the feature be implemented on CPAN?
- if not, why not? can that be fixed?

124. CPAN, not perl
- can the feature be implemented on CPAN?
- if not, why not? can that be fixed?
- can its semantics be simulated for testing?

125. feature

126. feature
- can the feature be lexically hidden behind
feature.pm?

127. feature
- can the feature be lexically hidden behind
feature.pm?
- (remember, not every feature needs to be in a
version bundle)

128. feature
- can the feature be lexically hidden behind
feature.pm?
- (remember, not every feature needs to be in a
version bundle)
- use experimental

129. :=
use experimental ‘bind_op’;
my $y = “Foo bar”;
my $x := $y;

130. :=
use experimental ‘bind_op’;
my $y = “Foo bar”;
my $x := $y;
Feature “experimental_bind_op” is
not supported by Perl 5.22.0

131. Strategy of Last Resort

132. Strategy of Last Resort
- the change is controversial

133. Strategy of Last Resort
- the change is controversial
- and can't be prototyped on CPAN

134. Strategy of Last Resort
- the change is controversial
- and can't be prototyped on CPAN
- and can or can't go into feature.pm

135. Strategy of Last Resort
- the change is controversial
- and can't be prototyped on CPAN
- and can or can't go into feature.pm
- how do we decide?

136. The Final Decision

137. The Final Decision
- is the feature small and specific?

138. The Final Decision
- is the feature small and specific?
- is the feature generic and unsurprising?

139. The Final Decision
- is the feature small and specific?
- is the feature generic and unsurprising?
- is the feature teachable?

140. The Final Decision
- is the feature small and specific?
- is the feature generic and unsurprising?
- is the feature teachable?
- what's the maintenance burden?

141. The Final Decision
- is the feature small and specific?
- is the feature generic and unsurprising?
- is the feature teachable?
- what's the maintenance burden?
- does it feel like it makes Perl more Perlish?

142. Perlishness

143. Perlishness
- I know it when I see it.

144. Perlishness
- I know it when I see it.
- "gets us further along our road map"

145. The Road Map

146. The Road Map
- I don't make one.

147. The Road Map
- I don't make one.
- I don't see the point. I don't implement
perl.

148. The Road Map
- I don't make one.
- I don't see the point. I don't implement
perl.
- Submitted patches are the roads

149. Pathfinding

150. Pathfinding
- Backward compatibility

151. Pathfinding
- Backward compatibility
- POLS

152. Pathfinding
- Backward compatibility
- POLS
- Utility

153. Pathfinding
- Backward compatibility
- POLS
- Utility
- Conceptual simplicity

154. Pathfinding
- Backward compatibility
- POLS
- Utility
- Conceptual simplicity
- Readability

155. Intelligent Design

156. Intelligent Design
- always the best way to build something

157. Intelligent Design
- always the best way to build something
- assuming sufficient intelligence

158. Intelligent Design
- always the best way to build something
- assuming sufficient intelligence
- and omnipotence

159. Intelligent Design
- always the best way to build something
- assuming sufficient intelligence
- and omnipotence
- i.e., great if you're God

160. Evolution

161. Evolution
- seems to have worked pretty well

162. Evolution
- seems to have worked pretty well
- except for the billions of required deaths

163. Evolution
- seems to have worked pretty well
- except for the billions of required deaths
- and millions of years

164. Evolution
- seems to have worked pretty well
- except for the billions of required deaths
- and millions of years
- and all those extinct species

165. Evolution
- seems to have worked pretty well
- except for the billions of required deaths
- and millions of years
- and all those extinct species
- and I still ended up with an appendix

166. Intelligent Evolution

167. Intelligent Evolution
- mutations are designed, not random

168. Intelligent Evolution
- mutations are designed, not random
- then further mutated in captivity

169. Intelligent Evolution
- mutations are designed, not random
- then further mutated in captivity
- and possibly slaughtered before reaching the
wild

172. Recovering from Error

173. Oops

174. Oops
- so, Rik had to decide something

175. Oops
- so, Rik had to decide something
- and he made the wrong choice

176. Oops
- so, Rik had to decide something
- and he made the wrong choice
- and everybody can tell

177. Oops
- so, Rik had to decide something
- and he made the wrong choice
- and everybody can tell
- and he wants to fix it up so the new
smartassign operator is not legacy

178. Experimental?

179. Experimental?
- was it marked experimental?

180. Experimental?
- was it marked experimental?
- if so, we can just remove the thing

181. Experimental?
- was it marked experimental?
- if so, we can just remove the thing
- ...in theory

182. Current Experiments

183. Current Experiments
- fork emulation

184. Current Experiments
- fork emulation
- lvalue subroutines

185. Current Experiments
- fork emulation
- lvalue subroutines
- weak references (!?)

186. Experimental?

187. Experimental?
- was it marked experimental?

188. Experimental?
- was it marked experimental?
- if so, we can just remove the thing

189. Experimental?
- was it marked experimental?
- if so, we can just remove the thing
- ...in theory

190. Experimental?
- was it marked experimental?
- if so, we can just remove the thing
- ...in theory
- if not, we'll do a deprecation

191. Deprecation Cycle

192. Deprecation Cycle
1. (optional) announce in 5.16 delta that we'll
probably deprecate a behavior next time

193. Deprecation Cycle
1. (optional) announce in 5.16 delta that we'll
probably deprecate a behavior next time
2. start issuing warnings in 5.18

194. Deprecation Cycle
1. (optional) announce in 5.16 delta that we'll
probably deprecate a behavior next time
2. start issuing warnings in 5.18
3. keep issuing them in 5.20

195. Deprecation Cycle
1. (optional) announce in 5.16 delta that we'll
probably deprecate a behavior next time
2. start issuing warnings in 5.18
3. keep issuing them in 5.20
4. remove the behavior in 5.22

196. The Eternal Bug

197. The Eternal Bug
- some behaviors can't be detected and made
fatal practically

198. The Eternal Bug
- some behaviors can't be detected and made
fatal practically
- arybase feature: we could remove it

199. The Eternal Bug
- some behaviors can't be detected and made
fatal practically
- arybase feature: we could remove it
- The Unicode Bug...

200. The Unicode Bug

201. The Unicode Bug
my $x = acquire_input;

202. The Unicode Bug
my $x = acquire_input;
$x .= “Á”; # <-- that’s an A-acute

203. The Unicode Bug
my $x = acquire_input;
$x .= “Á”; # <-- that’s an A-acute
print $x =~ /á/i ? ‘match’ : ‘no match’;

204. Features in Flight

205. pluggable syntax

206. (the MOP)

207. regexp class sets

208. regex class sets
$str = /A
(?[a-z] - [aeiou])
z/x

209. casemod escapes

210. casemod escapes

211. casemod escapes
$input = <STDIN>;

212. casemod escapes
$input = <STDIN>;
# ricardo

213. casemod escapes
$input = <STDIN>;
# ricardo
# RICARDO

214. casemod escapes
$input = <STDIN>;
# ricardo
# RICARDO
# Ricardo

215. casemod escapes
$input = <STDIN>;
# ricardo
# RICARDO
# Ricardo
$str = “uL$input”; # Ricardo

216. casemod escapes

217. casemod escapes
$let = “LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}”;

218. casemod escapes
$let = “LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}”;
# $let is now ‘a’

219. casemod escapes
$let = “LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}”;
# $let is now ‘a’
$let =~ /LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}/;

220. casemod escapes
$let = “LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}”;
# $let is now ‘a’
$let =~ /LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}/;
# fails!!

221. casemod escapes
$let = “LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}”;
# $let is now ‘a’
$let =~ /LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}/;
# fails!!
qr<N{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}>

222. casemod escapes
$let = “LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}”;
# $let is now ‘a’
$let =~ /LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}/;
# fails!!
qr<N{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}>
# (?^u:N{U+41})

223. casemod escapes
$let = “LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}”;
# $let is now ‘a’
$let =~ /LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}/;
# fails!!
qr<N{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}>
# (?^u:N{U+41})
qr<LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}>

224. casemod escapes
$let = “LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}”;
# $let is now ‘a’
$let =~ /LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}/;
# fails!!
qr<N{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}>
# (?^u:N{U+41})
qr<LN{LATIN CAPITAL LETTER A}>
# (?^u:n{u+41})

225. ÅÂÃÄÉÃ

226. EBCDIC

227. smartmatch

228. The Future of ~~

229. The Future of ~~
- deprecate and remove?

230. The Future of ~~
- deprecate and remove?
- make pluggable with simple replacement?

231. The Future of ~~
- deprecate and remove?
- make pluggable with simple replacement?
- leave as is with giant warning sign?

232. The Future of ~~
- deprecate and remove?
- make pluggable with simple replacement?
- leave as is with giant warning sign?
- and then what about given/when?

233. magic flags

234. utf8 strictness

235. (??{{ ... }})

236. The Secret Roadmap

237. slim core

238. multiple cores

239. fatal implicit close()

240. fatal implicit close()

241. fatal implicit close()
{

242. fatal implicit close()
{
use autodie;

243. fatal implicit close()
{
use autodie;
open my $fh, ‘>’, $filename;

244. fatal implicit close()
{
use autodie;
open my $fh, ‘>’, $filename;
$fh->print( ... );

245. fatal implicit close()
{
use autodie;
open my $fh, ‘>’, $filename;
$fh->print( ... );
} # should die if close fails!

246. better exceptions

247. better exceptions
my $x = try {
$y / $z
} catch {
return $Infinity
if $_->tagged(‘divbyzero’);
die $_;
}

248. MOP and pluggable OO

249. chars v. bytes

250. chars v. bytes

251. chars v. bytes
my $buf = $fh->readline;

252. chars v. bytes
my $buf = $fh->readline;
my $str = decode_utf8($buf);

253. chars v. bytes
my $buf = $fh->readline;
my $str = decode_utf8($buf);
STDOUT->print( $str );

254. chars v. bytes
my $buf = $fh->readline;
my $str = decode_utf8($buf);
STDOUT->print( $str );
# fatal or autoencode

255. autoboxing

256. autoboxing

257. autoboxing
@array->push(@list);

258. autoboxing
@array->push(@list);
$arrayref->push(@list);

259. autoboxing
@array->push(@list);
$arrayref->push(@list);
for ($x->values) { ... }

260. Any questions?

261. Thank you!