This week on the Perl 6 mailing lists
"...I think you're the path toward sanity."
-- Larry Wall, in 'Patterns <http://xrl.us/t9mx>'
Language
Numeric Semantics <http://xrl.us/t3o7>
Earlier, Luke Palmer asked for a clear definition of when math should
use floating points and when it should be integer-based. This led to a
great deal of discussion.
This week, a subthread started by TSa continued from Darren Duncan's
previous post which proposed distinct operators for integer
division/modulus and non-integer division/modulus. TSa felt that
modulus should be defined by the Euclidean definition. Mark J. Reed
proposed to define it in the conventional way. Several other people
replied to the thread.
Patterns <http://xrl.us/t9mx>
Luke Palmer suggested removing two items from the smart match table in
S03, namely the Hash and Array with Any on the right side. He
preferred an extensible `~~` operator, which would allow him to define
his own patterns. In short, with his proposal, `~~` would be
singly-dispatched based upon the right argument, which would determine
how the left was interpreted.
Larry Wall replied that he was concerned about the consistency between
compile time and run time, but that was in fact also an argument
against an anonymous Any on the right.
Jonathan Lang had some suggestions on how to implement reverse test
instances. There was a brief discussion between Jonathan and Larry on
this subject. Ashley Winters also offered a comment.
[svn:perl6-synopsis] r13515 - doc/trunk/design/syn <http://xrl.us/t9my>
Larry Wall committed a change to S03 which affects smartmatching. He
noted that it is still subject to change. Nicholas Clark and Luke
Palmer offered some suggestions, which Larry responded to. TSa also
commented on the thread.
[svn:perl6-synopsis] r13516 - doc/trunk/design/syn <http://xrl.us/t9mz>
In this commit to S03, Larry Wall clarified how the Grammar pattern
finds its top rule. Jerry Gay questioned the use of `top` as a
lowercase reserved word; he suggested `TOP`.
[svn:perl6-synopsis] r13519 - doc/trunk/design/syn <http://xrl.us/t9m3>
Another commit to S03 by Larry Wall modified smartmatching semantics.
Darren Duncan noted a few possible errors, and Luke Palmer added some
thoughts. This led Larry to consider a different approach, to avoid
confusion.
[svn:perl6-synopsis] r13522 - doc/trunk/design/syn <http://xrl.us/t9m4>
This commit to S03 by Larry Wall included renaming `LazyCat` to `Cat`;
eliminating `.exists`, replacing it with `.contains`; and removing
`Subset` and `Superset` types.
Suggestion: minmax operator <http://xrl.us/t9m5>
Joe Gottman proposed an infix minmax operator, which could be used as
a reduction operator.
Parrot Porters
[perl #41196] [PATCH]: File misplaced in MANIFEST <http://xrl.us/t9m6>
In ticket [perl #41196] <http://xrl.us/t9m7>, James Keenan reported
that the `README` file in `t/tools/README` mentioned in the MANIFEST
did not exist. He included a patch to remove the entry from the
MANIFEST.
[perl #41197] Does change to config/gen/makefiles/dynoplibs_pl.in cause
make to fail? <http://xrl.us/t9m8>
James Keenan created ticket [perl #41197] <http://xrl.us/t9m9> to
report problems with a failing make. He elaborated on the problem,
which happened just a couple of hours after his last successful build.
use diff for string in some test <http://xrl.us/t9na>
Lee Duhem proposed a facility for string differences in Test::More
which could be used to perform tasks like ignoring insignificant
whitespace. This would allow tests to continue passing even if the
source had been changed to remove undesired whitespace.
Nicholas Clark felt that patches should be checked against the test
suite, and that there were dangers in relaxing the tests to allow a
broader definition of a string. Bernhard Schmalhofer replied that he
felt `t/examples/past.t` was one of the few examples where ignoring
whitespace would be useful, and noted that it is now being handled
with a regular expression.
[BUG]: io/io_win32.c <http://xrl.us/t9nb>
Xi Wang suggested a change in `io/io_win32.c` to prevent a crash.
[perl #41198] [TODO] tools/dev/mk_manifest_and_skip.pl should be aware
of MANIFEST.generated <http://xrl.us/t9nc>
In ticket [perl #41198] <http://xrl.us/t9nd>, Bernhard Schmalhofer
pointed out that several files are in the repository and mentioned in
MANIFEST.generated, but that they are added to MANIFEST by
`tools/dev/mk_manifest_and_skip.pl`. Jerry Gay explained that the
files belonged in MANIFEST, not MANIFEST.generated. Paul Cochrane
fixed this in r16482.
[perl #41201] [TODO] Remove temporary conf hack in Configure.pl
<http://xrl.us/t9ne>
In ticket [perl #41201] <http://xrl.us/t9nf>, Paul Cochrane noted that
there is a temporary hack in `Configure.pl` which should be
implemented properly.
PIR grammar in PGE <http://xrl.us/t9ng>
Klaas-Jan Stol was working on implementing a PIR grammar which allows
more complex expressions to be written. He submitted a patch of the
grammar to date.
[perl #40905] [CAGE] coding standards hammer too big
<http://xrl.us/t9nh>
Ticket [perl #40905] <http://xrl.us/tc8z> was addressed with r16498.
This task called for certain files to be exempted from coding
standards.
[svn:parrot-pdd] r16498 - in trunk: . docs/pdds <http://xrl.us/t9ni>
This commit, by Paul Cochrane, adds a section explaining which files
can be excluded from coding standards tests.
[perl #41214] [CAGE]: files from 'make languages-test' survive 'make
clean' <http://xrl.us/t9nj>
In ticket [perl #41214] <http://xrl.us/t9nk>, Patrick R. Michaud
pointed out that `make languages-test` generates some files which
aren't removed in a subsequent `make clean` or `make realclean`. He
stated that, at the minimum, `make clean` should remove them, but that
perhaps the tests should clean them up. Nicholas Clark commented that
a pitfall with the tests doing the cleanup is that the files aren't
deleted if the tests crash. Patrick agreed that in either case, `make
clean` should remove them.
[perl #39905] [TODO] TGE - line number reporting. <http://xrl.us/t9nm>
In ticket [perl #39905] <http://xrl.us/qvin>, Will Coleda requested
that compiled PIR files report error lines against the original .tg
file. Patrick R. Michaud wanted to know if there was an imcc pragma or
other standard approach to getting the correct line number. Will
Coleda referenced a document with this information, and Patrick
reported the issue resolved in r16509.
[perl #41217] [BUG] warnings in refactored calling convention code
(src/inter_call.c) <http://xrl.us/t9nn>
Jerry Gay created ticket [perl #41217] <http://xrl.us/t9no> to report
that he had been unable to eliminate the warnings which were being
generated in `src/inter_call.c`.
[perl #41218] [BUG] warnings in imcc lexer code <http://xrl.us/t9np>
In ticket [perl #41218] <http://xrl.us/t9nq>, Jerry Gay reported some
warnings coming from the imcc lexer code.
Re: [perl #38584] [BUG] Punie test failures in set_node method on
Solaris/SPARC <http://xrl.us/t9ns>
Andy Dougherty replied to Will Coleda about a test file which no
longer exists. He stated that he did not mind closing the ticket
([perl #38584] <http://xrl.us/t9nt>), because the problem was probably
not about Punie, but how Punie and PGE interacted. He included some
information about his recent attempts to repeat the tests.
Allison Randal asked Andy if there was any way that someone could get
access to the machine he was running the tests on, as they were not
able to duplicate the problems.
[perl #41224] [BUG] SKIP behaves differently in Test::Builder and
Test/Builder.pir <http://xrl.us/t9nu>
In ticket [perl #41224] <http://xrl.us/t9nv>, Jerry Gay noted that
Test::Builder and Test skip differently. He wondered which was the
correct way to handle things. He felt that Perl's 'ok' was better than
Parrot's 'not ok' because the Perl module had been around for a while.
chromatic agreed with Jerry and changed the Parrot module in r16553.
[perl #41226] [TODO] hunt through DEPRECATED.pod and find things to
deprecate <http://xrl.us/t9nw>
In ticket [perl #41226] <http://xrl.us/t9nx>, Jerry Gay suggested that
people could look through DEPRECATED.pod and deprecate things which
have been scheduled for deprecation for some time.
[perl #41227] [TODO] update NEWS in preparation for 0.4.8 release
<http://xrl.us/t9ny>
Ticket [perl #41227] <http://xrl.us/t9nz> is a reminder that the NEWS
needs to be updated in preparation for release 0.4.8. Ticket [perl
#41228] <http://xrl.us/t9n2> makes the same point about the CREDITS
file.
[perl #41230] [BUG] t/codingstd/perlcritic.t uses too many resources
<http://xrl.us/t9n3>
Jerry Gay complained that the perlcritic coding standards test was
using too many resources, and asked in ticket [perl #41230]
<http://xrl.us/t9n4> if someone could look in to this problem. Paul
Cochrane reported that he thought there was a memory issue relating to
`critique()` and that the memory was only freed up when the tests for
a given policy are complete. Paul elaborated on what what he had
attempted to address the issue.
[perl #41231] [TODO] exempt languages/ files from perlcritic testing
<http://xrl.us/t9n5>
In ticket [perl #41231] <http://xrl.us/t9n6>, Jerry Gay noted that
coding standards must apply to core code, but not to languages.
[PATCH] Add get_name() Method to Namespaces <http://xrl.us/t3pi>
Earlier, chromatic submitted a patch to implement `get_name()` as
specified in PDD21. Jerry Gay created ticket [perl #41235]
<http://xrl.us/t9n7> to track the status of the patch, which he would
like to see added before release 0.4.8. chromatic said that he hadn't
applied it because a deprecation cycle was needed for the `name()` to
`get_name()` renaming.
[perl #41237] [TODO] PMC Class name IDs will require a dot in front
<http://xrl.us/t9n8>
Jerry Gay created ticket [perl #41237] <http://xrl.us/t9n9> to address
an item in DEPRECATED.pod about PMC Class name IDs. He felt that
either it should use one syntax or the other, but not both.
[perl #41238] [TODO] Perl PMCs <http://xrl.us/t9oa>
Jerry Gay created ticket [perl #41238] <http://xrl.us/t9ob> as a
placeholder for an item in DEPRECATED.pod, namely removing unused PMCS
PerlString, PerlUndef, etc.
[perl #41239] [TODO] undertested pmcs <http://xrl.us/t9oc>
Jerry Gay made a list of some of the core PMCs which he feels are
undertested. The ticket [perl #41239] <http://xrl.us/t9od> suggests
that more tests be created.
[perl #41241] [BUG] Tcl doesn't compile/run on win32.
<http://xrl.us/t9oe>
Will Coleda requested additional information on ticket [perl #41241]
<http://xrl.us/t9of>, about Tcl not running on Win32.
[perl #41243] Link on Win32 with Borland C++ <http://xrl.us/t9og>
Steve Peters reported that Parrot can now be compiled with Borland C++
on Win32, but that this had linking problems. The ticket is [perl
#41243] <http://xrl.us/t9oh>.
[perl #41244] [TODO] update copyright data to 2007 <http://xrl.us/t9oi>
Jerry Gay reminded people to update copyright notices from 2006 to
2007. This was ticket [perl #41244] <http://xrl.us/t9oj>.
[perl #41247] [tru64] failure in tge/parser <http://xrl.us/t9ok>
In ticket [perl #41247] <http://xrl.us/t9om>, Jarkko Hietaniemi
reported a failure on tru64 for `tge/parser`. Patrick R. Michaud
reported that it had been fixed in r16570.
[perl #41248] [tru64] failure in pge_util <http://xrl.us/t9on>
In ticket [perl #41248] <http://xrl.us/t9oo>, Jarkko Hietaniemi
reported a failure with `pge_util` on the tru64 platform. Patrick R.
Michaud reported that it was fixed in r16570.
[perl #41249] [tru64] core dump in t/pmc/interp_3.pir
<http://xrl.us/t9op>
Jarkko Hietaniemi reported a core dump in `t/pmc/io_1.pir` on tru64,
in ticket [perl #41249] <http://xrl.us/t9oq>
[perl #41250] [tru64] failures in p5regex/p5rx <http://xrl.us/t9or>
In ticket [perl #41250] <http://xrl.us/t9os>, Jarkko Hietaniemi
informed about failures in `p5regex/p5rx` on the tru64 platform.
Patrick R. Michaud reported that he believed the failures were
resolved in r16593 and asked for a confirmation.
[perl #41251] [tru64] core dump from t/pmc/resizablebooleanarray_20.pasm
<http://xrl.us/t9ot>
Ticket [perl #41251] <http://xrl.us/t9ou> holds a report from Jarkko
Hietaniemi about a core dump caused by
`t/pmc/resizeablebooleanarray_20.pasm`.
[perl #41253] [tru64] core dump from t/dynoplibs/myops_3.pir
<http://xrl.us/t9ov>
Jarkko Hietaniemi reported a core dump on tru64 from
`t/dynoplibs/myops_3.pir`. This was done in ticket [perl #41253]
<http://xrl.us/t9ow>.
[perl #41254] [tru64] core dump from library/pg <http://xrl.us/t9ox>
In ticket [perl #41254] <http://xrl.us/t9oy>, Jarkko Hietaniemi gave
information about a core dump from `library/pg` on tru64.
[perl #41255] [tru64] core dump from t/pmc/pmc_5.pasm
<http://xrl.us/t9oz>
In ticket [perl #41255] <http://xrl.us/t9o9>, Jarkko Hietaniemi
reported core dumps from `t/pmc/pmc_5.pasm` with tru64.
[perl #41256] [tru64] NaNQ failures in t/pmc/complex
<http://xrl.us/t9o2>
In ticket [perl #41256] <http://xrl.us/t9o3>, Jarkko Hietaniemi
reported that many tests in `t/pmc/complex` fail because of
nonportable assumptions about floating point operations.
[perl #41257] [tru64] core dump in t/pmc/io_1.pir <http://xrl.us/t9o4>
Jarkko Hietaniemi created ticket [perl #41257] <http://xrl.us/t9o5> to
report a core dump from `t/pmc/pmc_5.pasm` on tru64.
Tcl windows make problems <http://xrl.us/t9o6>
Klaas-Jan Stol looked at why Tcl cannot build on windows. He was
unable to fix it, but passed on what he had gleaned from his
experience. Matt Diephouse appreciated the information, and committed
a fix to resolve the issue. Jerry Gay confirmed that r16596 worked.
embedding <http://xrl.us/t9o7>
Isaac Freeman was wondering how communication between the embedding
program and the scripts run by the interpreter is implemented. He
offered to implement it if it was likely to be used. Jeff Horwitz
pointed Isaac to some code Jeff wrote over a year ago, which could be
used as a starting point.
Users
99problems: 9, 11, 13 <http://xrl.us/t9o8>
Gabriele Renzi worked problem 13 from Ovid's list of 99 Perl 6
examples. The code was submitted, and the question of if it should be
committed was asked. Ovid replied that if there's a bit, there should
be a commit.
Acknowlegements
This summary was prepared using Mail::Summary::Tools
<http://xrl.us/qvno>, available on CPAN.
If you appreciate Perl, consider contributing to the Perl Foundation
<http://donate.perlfoundation.org> to help support the development of
Perl.
Thank you to everyone who has pointed out mistakes and offered
suggestions for improving this series. Comments on this summary can be
sent to Ann Barcomb, <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
Distribution
This summary can be found in the following places:
* use.perl.org <http://use.perl.org/>
* The Pugs blog <http://pugs.blogs.com/>
* The perl6-announce mailing list <http://xrl.us/qycj>
* ONLamp <http://www.oreillynet.com/onlamp/blog/>
See Also
* Perl Foundation activities <http://blog.perlfoundation.org>
* Perl 6 Development <http://dev.perl.org/perl6>
* Planet Perl Six <http://planetsix.perlfoundation.org/>
