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Diffstat (limited to 'Master/tlpkg/tlperl/lib/pods/perlpolicy.pod')
| -rw-r--r-- | Master/tlpkg/tlperl/lib/pods/perlpolicy.pod | 62 |
1 files changed, 59 insertions, 3 deletions
diff --git a/Master/tlpkg/tlperl/lib/pods/perlpolicy.pod b/Master/tlpkg/tlperl/lib/pods/perlpolicy.pod index 2341414cc48..7e713b4920a 100644 --- a/Master/tlpkg/tlperl/lib/pods/perlpolicy.pod +++ b/Master/tlpkg/tlperl/lib/pods/perlpolicy.pod @@ -8,6 +8,57 @@ This document is the master document which records all written policies about how the Perl 5 Porters collectively develop and maintain the Perl core. +=head1 GOVERNANCE + +=head2 Perl 5 Porters + +Subscribers to perl5-porters (the porters themselves) come in several flavours. +Some are quiet curious lurkers, who rarely pitch in and instead watch +the ongoing development to ensure they're forewarned of new changes or +features in Perl. Some are representatives of vendors, who are there +to make sure that Perl continues to compile and work on their +platforms. Some patch any reported bug that they know how to fix, +some are actively patching their pet area (threads, Win32, the regexp +-engine), while others seem to do nothing but complain. In other +words, it's your usual mix of technical people. + +Over this group of porters presides Larry Wall. He has the final word +in what does and does not change in any of the Perl programming languages. +These days, Larry spends most of his time on Perl 6, while Perl 5 is +shepherded by a "pumpking", a porter responsible for deciding what +goes into each release and ensuring that releases happen on a regular +basis. + +Larry sees Perl development along the lines of the US government: +there's the Legislature (the porters), the Executive branch (the +-pumpking), and the Supreme Court (Larry). The legislature can +discuss and submit patches to the executive branch all they like, but +the executive branch is free to veto them. Rarely, the Supreme Court +will side with the executive branch over the legislature, or the +legislature over the executive branch. Mostly, however, the +legislature and the executive branch are supposed to get along and +work out their differences without impeachment or court cases. + +You might sometimes see reference to Rule 1 and Rule 2. Larry's power +as Supreme Court is expressed in The Rules: + +=over 4 + +=item 1 + +Larry is always by definition right about how Perl should behave. +This means he has final veto power on the core functionality. + +=item 2 + +Larry is allowed to change his mind about any matter at a later date, +regardless of whether he previously invoked Rule 1. + +=back + +Got that? Larry is always right, even when he was wrong. It's rare +to see either Rule exercised, but they are often alluded to. + =head1 MAINTENANCE AND SUPPORT Perl 5 is developed by a community, not a corporate entity. Every change @@ -31,9 +82,9 @@ the Perl community should expect from Perl's developers: =item * -We "officially" support the two most recent stable release -series. As of the release of 5.14.0, we will "officially" -end support for Perl 5.10, other than providing security +We "officially" support the two most recent stable release series. 5.12.x +and earlier are now out of support. As of the release of 5.18.0, we will +"officially" end support for Perl 5.14.x, other than providing security updates as described below. =item * @@ -220,6 +271,11 @@ rather than applied directly. =item * +Patches that fix regressions in perl's behavior relative to previous +releases are acceptable. + +=item * + Updates to dual-life modules should consist of minimal patches to fix crashing or security issues (as above). |