FAQ 1.3 Which version of Perl should I use?
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From: PerlFAQ Server on 6 Aug 2010 06:00 This is an excerpt from the latest version perlfaq1.pod, which comes with the standard Perl distribution. These postings aim to reduce the number of repeated questions as well as allow the community to review and update the answers. The latest version of the complete perlfaq is at http://faq.perl.org . -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1.3: Which version of Perl should I use? (contributed by brian d foy) There is often a matter of opinion and taste, and there isn't any one answer that fits everyone. In general, you want to use either the current stable release, or the stable release immediately prior to that one. Currently, those are perl5.10.x and perl5.8.x, respectively. Beyond that, you have to consider several things and decide which is best for you. * If things aren't broken, upgrading perl may break them (or at least issue new warnings). * The latest versions of perl have more bug fixes. * The Perl community is geared toward supporting the most recent releases, so you'll have an easier time finding help for those. * Versions prior to perl5.004 had serious security problems with buffer overflows, and in some cases have CERT advisories (for instance, http://www.cert.org/advisories/CA-1997-17.html ). * The latest versions are probably the least deployed and widely tested, so you may want to wait a few months after their release and see what problems others have if you are risk averse. * The immediate, previous releases (i.e. perl5.8.x ) are usually maintained for a while, although not at the same level as the current releases. * No one is actively supporting Perl 4. Five years ago it was a dead camel carcass (according to this document). Now it's barely a skeleton as its whitewashed bones have fractured or eroded. * There is no Perl 6 release scheduled, but it will be available when it's ready. Stay tuned, but don't worry that you'll have to change major versions of Perl; no one is going to take Perl 5 away from you. * There are really two tracks of perl development: a maintenance version and an experimental version. The maintenance versions are stable, and have an even number as the minor release (i.e. perl5.10.x, where 10 is the minor release). The experimental versions may include features that don't make it into the stable versions, and have an odd number as the minor release (i.e. perl5.9.x, where 9 is the minor release). -------------------------------------------------------------------- The perlfaq-workers, a group of volunteers, maintain the perlfaq. They are not necessarily experts in every domain where Perl might show up, so please include as much information as possible and relevant in any corrections. The perlfaq-workers also don't have access to every operating system or platform, so please include relevant details for corrections to examples that do not work on particular platforms. Working code is greatly appreciated. If you'd like to help maintain the perlfaq, see the details in perlfaq.pod. |