v2.3.0: Enhanced Syntax, Regex, and New Modules

v2.3.0: Modern Perl Features, Expanded Modules, and Developer Tools

This release delivers substantial enhancements to PerlOnJava, introducing advanced language features, powerful regex capabilities, and tools to simplify module development and command-line usage.

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Highlights

1. New Modules for Data Handling and Unicode:

Added YAML, YAML::PP, Text::Balanced, and Unicode::Normalize modules, enabling structured data serialization, text parsing, and Unicode processing.

2. Subroutine Signatures and class Keyword:

Support for subroutine signatures (sub foo ($x, $y) { ... }) and the experimental class keyword, modernizing Perl’s syntax for clearer code structure.

3. Advanced Regex Engine:

Added named capture groups ((?'name'...)), Unicode property support (\p{...}), possessive quantifiers (*+, ++), atomic groups ((?>...)), and modifiers (/p, /c, /n).

4. Wrapper Scripts for Seamless Execution:

Introducing jperl and jperl.bat scripts to simplify running Perl scripts on the JVM.

5. Operator and Overload Improvements:

Chained operators, stacked file tests (-f -r $file), and new overload methods ("", 0+, bool) for custom object behavior.

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All Changes

New Features:

• Syntax Enhancements:

  • Subroutine signatures (signature feature).
  • class keyword for experimental OOP.
  • Chained comparison operators (e.g., 1 < $x < 10).
  • Stacked file test operators (e.g., -f -r $file).
  • Here documents (<< and <<~ for indented text).
  • module_true feature for module boolean handling.

• Regular Expressions:

  • Modifiers: /p (preserve match data), /c (continue match), /n (non-capturing groups).
  • Named capture groups (?'name'...) and backreferences \k<name>, \g{name}.
  • Unicode properties (\p{...}, \P{...}) and relative backreferences (\g{-n}).
  • Possessive quantifiers (*+, ++, ?+, {n,m}+).
  • Atomic groups ((?>...)) and (?^ to clear modifiers.

• Overloading:

  • Added "" (stringify), 0+ (numerify), bool, fallback, and nomethod handlers.

New Modules:

• YAML and YAML::PP for YAML data serialization.
• Text::Balanced for extracting delimited text structures.
• Unicode::Normalize for Unicode normalization forms.

Command-Line Improvements:

• Added jperl and jperl.bat wrapper scripts for streamlined execution.

Configuration and Documentation:

• Updated project description to "A Perl Distribution for the JVM" in README.md.
• Added docs/PORTING_MODULES.md guide for porting Perl modules to the JVM.

Library Upgrades:

• Updated Maven and Gradle dependencies to their latest versions.

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This release empowers developers with cutting-edge Perl syntax, robust regex tools, and expanded module support, further bridging Perl’s flexibility with the JVM ecosystem.

Explore the project: GitHub
Porting Modules? Check the new PORTING_MODULES.md guide!