Perl/Pollution/Portability Version 1.0004 Copyright (C) 1999, Kenneth Albanowski. This archive may be used and distributed under the same license as any version of Perl. This is not an actual Perl module, but rather a distribution containing a small header file designed to aid the portability of the XS modules you write. The Makefile.PL is provided primarily to aid in testing the code. (Please notify me about any compile warnings or errors, or test failures.) Perl has changed over time, gaining new features, new functions, increasing its flexibility, and reducing the impact on the C namespace environment (reduced pollution). This header attempts to bring some of the newer Perl features to older versions of Perl, so that you can worry less about keeping track of old releases, but users can still reap the benefit. Why you should use ppport.h in modern code: so that your code will work with the widest range of Perl interpreters possible, without significant additional work. Why you should attempt older code to fully use ppport.h: because the reduced pollution of newer Perl versions is an important thing, so important that the old polluting ways of original Perl modules will not be supported very far into the future, and your module will almost certainly break! By adapting to it now, you'll gained compatibility and a sense of having done the electronic ecology some good. How to use ppport.h: Don't direct the user to download Devel::PPPort, and don't make ppport.h optional. Rather, just take the most recent copy of ppport.h that you can find (probably in Devel::PPPort on CPAN), copy it into your project, adjust your project to use it, and distribute the header along with your module. The file may be able to help you make use of itself. It's got some internal documentation, and even an automated script to determine how it could be used. However, ppport.h is a work in progress, and may not include every feature or macro definition. Feel free to add missing parts, just make sure to adjust the version mark so that its clear you've branched from the original version. - Kenneth Albanowski , February, 1999