Wow, this is exactly what I've been waiting for this whole year! Now if the final release will only come out before Christmas...hee hee
Jan Dubois wrote: > ActiveState is pleased to announce ActivePerl 5.10.0 Build 1000 Beta, > a beta release of the complete, ready-to-install Perl distribution for > Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris, and AIX. > > This build is based on the first release candidate of the Perl 5.10 > source code. Since Perl 5.10 is not yet complete, this build > is designated as a Beta and will be followed by a final build once > Perl 5.10 is officially released. > > Please use this beta build to try out new features in Perl 5.10 and to > test source level compatibility of your existing Perl code under this > new release (note that Perl 5.10 is not binary compatible to earlier > releases). > > For detailed information or to download this beta release, see: > > http://www.activestate.com/Products/activeperl/beta_download.plex > > New in ActivePerl 5.10.0 Build 1000 Beta > ======================================== > > Some exciting new features to look for: > > * The new switch statement and smart-match operator > > The new smart-matching operator ~~ compares two expressions with each > other; the exact nature of the match is being determined by the types of > both expressions: matching a string and hash will return if the hash > contains a key equal to the string; matching a regular expression > against an array will return if any element of the array matched > successfully against the regexp etc. > > The new switch statement will smart-match a single expression repeatedly > against a list of other expression until one matches. For example: > > given($foo) { > when ("foo") { > say '$foo is the string "foo"'; > } > when ([1,3,5,7,9]) { > say '$foo is an odd digit'; > continue; # Fall through > } > when ($_ < 100) { > say '$foo is numerically less than 100'; > } > default { > die q(I don't know what to do with $foo); > } > } > > * Defined-or operator > > The new defined-or operator // allows you to write > > $a // $b > > instead of repeating the first argument as in > > defined $a ? $a : $b > > Also the statement > > $c //= $d; > > can now be used instead of > > $c = $d unless defined $c; > > * Many improvements to the regular expression engine, including: > > The regular expression engine is no longer recursive, meaning that > patterns that used to overflow the stack will either die with useful > explanations, or run to completion, which, since they were able to blow > the stack before, will likely take a very long time to happen. > > - It is now possible to write recursive patterns that are easy to read > (for a regular expression), and are executed in an efficient manner. > > - It is now possible to name capturing parenthesis in a pattern and > refer to the captured contents by name. The naming syntax is > (?<NAME>....). It's possible to backreference to a named buffer with > the \k<NAME> syntax. After the match the named capture groups are > accessible via the %+ hash: > > my $value = "foo 42"; > if ($value =~ /^(?<name>\w+) \s* (?<number>\d+)$/x) { > say "Name $+{name} and Number $+{number}"; > } > > - possessive quantifiers > - backtracking control verbs > - relative backreferences > > Other new features include: > > * new say() function > * lexical $_ variable > * _ prototype > * UNITCHECK blocks > * state variables > * stacked filetest operators > * byte-order modifiers for pack() and unpack() > > * Many bug fixes > * Additional core modules > * Extended documentation > > Download ActivePerl 5.10.0 Build 1000 Beta now: > > http://www.activestate.com/Products/activeperl/beta_download.plex > > Getting Started > =============== > > Whether you're a first-time user or a long-time fan, our free resources > will help you get the most from ActivePerl. > > Mailing list archives: > > http://aspn.activestate.com/ASPN/Mail/Browse/Threaded/ActivePerl > > Feedback > ======== > > Everyone is encouraged to participate in making Perl an even better > language. > > For bugs related to ActiveState use: > > http://bugs.activestate.com/enter_bug.cgi?product=ActivePerl&version=1000 > > For bugs related directly to Perl please use the 'perlbug' utility. > > Enjoy! > > > _______________________________________________ > ActivePerl mailing list > ActivePerl@listserv.ActiveState.com > To unsubscribe: http://listserv.ActiveState.com/mailman/mysubs > _______________________________________________ ActivePerl mailing list ActivePerl@listserv.ActiveState.com To unsubscribe: http://listserv.ActiveState.com/mailman/mysubs
