From @nwc10

We should create a table of platforms for which support is dropped, and the
last version at which they were supported (and, effectively the first version
for which they are no longer supported). For example

* ExtUtils​::MakeMaker dropped MacOS (Classic) support at some point, after
  which it was no longer possible to build perl on Classic. Hence any
  stable version of perl shipping that MakeMaker cannot support Classic.
* Win98 support was dropped at some point. I think that NT support was
  dropped, but I'm not sure about Windows 2000.

and obviously, there are the platforms that we explictly removed (eg Apollo)

This information can be figured out somewhere, but it would be good to do
this once and put it in a easily accessible canonical table somewhere,
presumably in perlport.pod.

We could also include platforms we *think* are dead.

This information is reasonably useful for the Perl core, but also of use
for CPAN authors. If other constraints move a module's minimum supported
version later than the last version supporting an OS, then all portability
code (and cruft) related to that OS can safely be removed. eg

  ### IPC​::Run doesn't run on win98
  return if IS_WIN98;

Nicholas Clark

From @Leont

On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 2​:44 PM, Nicholas Clark
<perlbug-followup@​perl.org> wrote​:

We should create a table of platforms for which support is dropped, and the
last version at which they were supported (and, effectively the first version
for which they are no longer supported). For example

* ExtUtils​::MakeMaker dropped MacOS (Classic) support at some point, after
which it was no longer possible to build perl on Classic. Hence any
stable version of perl shipping that MakeMaker cannot support Classic.
* Win98 support was dropped at some point. I think that NT support was
dropped, but I'm not sure about Windows 2000.

Well, we said we didn't support them anymore, we never got rid of the code :-/.

This information is reasonably useful for the Perl core, but also of use
for CPAN authors. If other constraints move a module's minimum supported
version later than the last version supporting an OS, then all portability
code (and cruft) related to that OS can safely be removed. eg

\#\#\# IPC​::Run doesn't run on win98
return if IS\_WIN98;

Yeah, there's plenty of places in core modules that take such ancient
platforms into account. You find MacOS specific things all over the
place :-|.

Leon

The RT System itself - Status changed from 'new' to 'open'

From @nwc10

On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 04​:03​:15PM +0200, Leon Timmermans wrote​:

On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 2​:44 PM, Nicholas Clark

* Win98 support was dropped at some point. I think that NT support was
dropped, but I'm not sure about Windows 2000.

Well, we said we didn't support them anymore, we never got rid of the code :-/.

Perhaps we should :-)

Yeah, there's plenty of places in core modules that take such ancient
platforms into account. You find MacOS specific things all over the
place :-|.

I believe that they are pretty much zapped from non dual- life code.
And, of course, a chunk of that dual-life code currently officially
supports old enough versions of perl that still built on MacOS.

But *currently* is the key part here.

Nicholas Clark

From @greerga

On Wed, 24 Apr 2013, Nicholas Clark wrote​:

# New Ticket Created by Nicholas Clark
# Please include the string​: [perl #117745]
# in the subject line of all future correspondence about this issue.
# <URL​: https://rt-archive.perl.org/perl5/Ticket/Display.html?id=117745 >

We should create a table of platforms for which support is dropped, and the
last version at which they were supported (and, effectively the first version
for which they are no longer supported). For example

* ExtUtils​::MakeMaker dropped MacOS (Classic) support at some point, after
which it was no longer possible to build perl on Classic. Hence any
stable version of perl shipping that MakeMaker cannot support Classic.
* Win98 support was dropped at some point. I think that NT support was
dropped, but I'm not sure about Windows 2000.

Windows 2000 is still listed as supported in perlport and since that's the
OS my Win32 smoker runs I can say that it definitely works.

--
George Greer

From @jandubois

On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 7​:03 AM, Leon Timmermans <fawaka@​gmail.com> wrote​:

On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 2​:44 PM, Nicholas Clark
<perlbug-followup@​perl.org> wrote​:

* Win98 support was dropped at some point. I think that NT support was
dropped, but I'm not sure about Windows 2000.

Well, we said we didn't support them anymore, we never got rid of the code :-/.

What makes you think that?

http​://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git/commitdiff/8cbe99e

There may be things that I missed, but the code that was only there to
support 98 and NT should be gone.

Cheers,
-Jan

From @b2gills

On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 12​:44 PM, Jan Dubois <jand@​activestate.com> wrote​:

On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 7​:03 AM, Leon Timmermans <fawaka@​gmail.com> wrote​:

On Wed, Apr 24, 2013 at 2​:44 PM, Nicholas Clark
<perlbug-followup@​perl.org> wrote​:

* Win98 support was dropped at some point. I think that NT support was
dropped, but I'm not sure about Windows 2000.

Well, we said we didn't support them anymore, we never got rid of the
code :-/.

What makes you think that?

http​://perl5.git.perl.org/perl.git/commitdiff/8cbe99e

There may be things that I missed, but the code that was only there to
support 98 and NT should be gone.

Cheers,
-Jan

Win9x is indeed dead. (including /Win( 95 [ABC] | 98 (SE)? | ME )/ )

Windows NT is not dead. We just don't support any version of NT
older than NT 5.0 (Windows 2000).

That is a bit of a semantic difference, since Microsoft gives new
versions of WindowsNT actual names now.

( I assume that Jan Dubois knows this, I wrote it for other people that
don't deal with Windows )

Even if we set the minimum to Windows XP that's still NT 5.1
( At that point we also lose George Greer's smoker )

https://metacpan.org/module/Win32#Win32::GetOSVersion

(Note that Win2k came out a few months before WinME,
and we only support the former)

( I find it funny that Win7 is NT 6.1 and Win8 is NT 6.2 )