Skip to content

PerlOnJava v3.1.0: More Perl, More Flexibility, Better Compatibility

Latest
Latest
Compare
Choose a tag to compare
@fglock fglock released this 09 Jul 19:38
· 76 commits to master since this release
v3.1.0
636446e

v3.1.0: More Perl, More Flexibility, Better Compatibility

This release brings PerlOnJava even closer to full Perl 5 compatibility with dozens of new features and bugfixes. It adds powerful operators, enhances I/O capabilities, improves interactivity, and extends module support, making the experience more Perl-like than ever on the JVM.

🚀 Highlights

🆕 Perl 5.42.0 Compatibility

PerlOnJava now targets Perl 5.42.0, bringing in modern language enhancements and keeping up with the latest syntax changes. This includes support for the new built-in keywords all and any, offering concise and readable alternatives for common list operations.

🔡 Multiple Input Modes

You can now run Perl code using several input formats:

  • Pipe: echo 'print "Hello\n"' | ./jperl
  • Interactive shell: ./jperl prompts for input (press Ctrl+D or Ctrl+Z to finish)
  • File redirection: ./jperl < script.pl
  • Arguments: ./jperl -e 'print "Hello\n"' or ./jperl script.pl

🧠 Smarter Operators and Overloading

Overloading support has expanded dramatically, now including:

  • Arithmetic and math functions: +, -, *, /, %, int, neg, log, sqrt, cos, sin, exp, abs, **, atan2
  • Dereferencing types: @{}, %{}, ${}, &{}, *{}
  • Logical operators: !

🧪 Subroutine Prototypes: Fully Implemented

Support now covers all major prototype features, including +, ;, *, \@, \%, \$, and more complex types like \[@%].

🧰 Expanded Built-ins and Operators

Newly supported Perl built-ins include:

  • File and I/O: read, tell, seek, system, exec, sysopen, chmod
  • Xor assignment: ^^=
  • Array index handling: delete, exists
  • Timeout-ready select: select(undef,undef,undef,$time)
  • Lvalue support for $#array

🗃️ Better File Handling

  • In-memory files are now supported via open.
  • Pipe syntax like -|, |-, ls|, |sort works.
  • Full I/O layer support: :raw, :bytes, :crlf, :utf8, :unix, :encoding(...).

📦 New Modules and Features

  • Modules: Fcntl, Test, Text::CSV
  • Test::More: new functions subtest, use_ok, require_ok
  • CORE:: functions now match native Perl prototypes
  • Double-quoted string escapes: added \U, \L, \u, \l
  • Pack/unpack: added C* star-count syntax

🧠 Syntax and Semantics

  • Identifiers starting with :: are now correctly parsed in the main:: package.
  • # line directive is supported for preprocessing tools.
  • Improved autovivification logic distinguishes between contexts where undefined refs should create data structures vs. throw errors.

🐞 Bug Fixes and Developer Tools

  • Fixed newline handling and qw() issues on Windows
  • Fixed mkdir behavior on Windows
  • Fixed list context in certain operators
  • Corrected operator overriding rules
  • Fixed a regression: -E was wrongly enabling strict

🧱 Developer & Packaging Updates

  • Makefile now included
  • Debian package can be built via make deb

PerlOnJava 3.1.0 is a major step toward seamless Perl execution on the JVM. It expands what's possible with embedded Perl, testing, and dynamic scripting, all while staying true to the Perl ethos.

Explore the project: https://github.com/fglock/PerlOnJava

Assets 2
Loading