+ include::{partialsdir}/entities.adoc[]

+ 

+ [[sect-perl]]

+ = Perl

+ 

+ [[perl-5-38]]

+ == Perl 5.38

+ 

+ The `perl` package has been upgraded to version 5.38, which provides multiple bug fixes and enhancements. Notable changes include:

+ 

+ * New `class` feature - new experimental syntax is now available for defining object classes, where per-instance data is stored in "field" variables that behave like lexicals.

+ 

+ * Support for Unicode 15.0 encoding standard.

+ 

+ * Locale category `LC_NAME` is now supported on the participating platforms.

+ 

+ * Deprecation warnings now have specific subcategories - it is still possible to disable all deprecation warnings in a single statement. However, now it is possible to have a more fine-grain control.

+ 

+ * Syntax errors no longer produce `phantom error messages`.

+ 

+ * The `readline()` function no longer clears the stream error and eof flags.

+ 

+ 

+ For more details, see the link:https://metacpan.org/release/RJBS/perl-5.38.0/view/pod/perldelta.pod[upstream release notes].