What versions of perl are we supporting?

[Michael G Schwern]

Just so I know how far to set the compatibility machine, what versions of Perl
are we trying to support?  Here's my vote...

5.4.x series and back:  Drop it.

Its been eight years since a 5.4.x release.  I don't check Test::More or
MakeMaker on 5.4.5 anymore and I don't get any reports.  If you're still using
5.4.x you're not likely to upgrade anything else either.


5.5.x series:  5.5.4 and up

5.5.3 is just Too Damn Old, eight years.  It's version of File::Spec (0.6) is
missing critical methods like rel2abs().  There's a perfectly safe upgrade to
5.5.4 (three years old) which has slightly less decrepit modules.


5.6.x series:  5.6.2 and up

5.6.0 was wreck, and seven years old.
5.6.1 slightly less so, and six years old.
5.6.2 is usable.


5.8.x series:  5.8.0 and up

I'd like to say 5.8.2 minimum as 5.8.0 and 5.8.1 have serious issues but
that's mostly about threading and doesn't effect us.


5.10.x series:  5.10.0 and up

Gotta support the latest Perl.


In addition, we need to depend on File::Spec 0.8 which adds rel2abs() which we
use.  I'll add that in.


-- 
Hating the web since 1994.