Dropping 5.5.x

[Nicholas Clark]

On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 05:54:12PM -0400, David Golden wrote:
> On Wed, Mar 11, 2009 at 5:06 PM, Nicholas Clark <nick at ccl4.org> wrote:
> > ie this is an argument against worrying about whether the current version
> > of Test::Harness or any other CPAN module runs on 5.6.anything or
> > 5.005_anything, because all that really matters in those situations is
> > that the core will build at all, to run the modules it shipped with back then.
> 
> I was implying that a modern T::H would be backported into 5.6.3, but
> rather posing whether anyone in p5p really cares enough to keep 5.6
> moving forward.  I have a hard time imagining there would ever be a
> 5.6.3.  I could imagine a 5.8.10 (even though 5.8.9's release notes
> suggest it's not likely).  I see that issue as a good threshold
> trigger for deciding on what should or shouldn't be supported.

People keep reading that into them. What I meant was that a 5.8.10 is as
likely as a 5.005_05, and likely to much the same sort of update.

But it's also why I'd be happy to drop 5.6.anything support going forwards.

Partly because Andy removing the 5.6.everything smokers makes life easier for
anyone committing, developing on 5.8.something, as they won't have a "Whoops"
if they happen to commit syntax that isn't valid on older perls.

Partly because I would like to provide some pressure on the world out there
"stuck" on 5.6.whatever that they need to seriously think about moving on.
They don't have to *do* anything. They just need to start thinking that
they are getting left out in the cold, and whether they consider frostbite,
or death by exposure, to be what they want happening in their near future.
(Oh, and that if they do nothing, they don't have a distant future full stop)

Nicholas Clark