Release Notes for P4Perl, Perforce's derived API for Perl Version 2009.2 Introduction This document lists all user-visible changes to P4Perl from release 2007.3, the first supported P4Perl release. Perforce numbers releases YYYY.R/CCCCC, e.g. 2002.1/30547. YYYY is the year; R is the release of that year; CCCCC is the bug fix change level. Each bug fix in these release notes is marked by its change number. Any build includes (1) all bug fixes of all previous releases and (2) all bug fixes of the current release up to the bug fix change level. To determine the version of your P4Perl, issue the following command: perl -MP4 -e "print P4::Identify()" -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Installing P4Perl Windows users can download an installer containing pre-built packages for P4Perl from the Perforce FTP site. Users on other platforms must build from source, as detailed below. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Building P4Perl from Source 1. Download a suitable Perforce C++ API build from the Perforce FTP site at "ftp.perforce.com/perforce". There is typically only one option per platform. Exceptions: - OS X: get the universal binary version of the API in the "bin.darwin*u" directory. - Windows: get "p4api_vs2008_static.zip" in the "bin.ntx86" directory. Unzip the archive into an empty directory. 2. Extract the P4Perl API archive into an empty directory. 3. Issue the following commands: perl Makefile.PL --apidir UNIX: make Windows: nmake To reinstall cleanly, remove the directory created in step 2, then re-extract the archive. After the build has finished, run the test script to verify that the build succeeded: UNIX: make test Windows: nmake test NOTE: The test harness requires the Perforce server executable p4d to be installed and in the PATH. 4. To install P4Perl, run the following command. On UNIX systems, this step must be run as root: UNIX (must be root): make install Windows: nmake install -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Compatibility Statements Server Compatibility You can use any release of P4Perl with any release of the Perforce server later than 2001.1 API Compatibility The 2009.2 release of P4Perl supports the 2009.2 Perforce API. Older releases (down to 2008.2) might work but are not supported. Perl compatibility The 2009.2 release of P4Perl is compatible with Perl 5.8 and Perl 5.10 when built from source. The P4Perl Windows installer was built with Visual Studio 2008 and ActivePerl 5.10. Platform compatibility While P4Perl is generally portable, this release is certified only on the following platforms: Linux 2.6 x86 Solaris 10 x86 NT x86 FreeBSD 6 x86 Mac OSX x86 (10.4 and later) Compiler Compatibility To build P4Perl from source, you must use a version of Perl that has been compiled with the same compiler used to build the Perforce C++ API. For most platforms, use gcc/g++. Attempting to use a different compiler or a different version of the compiler can cause linker errors due to differences in name handling between compilers. Although ActivePerl 5.10 on Windows platforms was not build with Visual Studio 2008, P4Perl can be built using Visual Studio 2008. Most Windows users can use the Windows installer available from the Perforce web site. Compatibility with Previous Releases P4Perl 2009.2 is backwards-compatible with all previous releases from Perforce Software. Compatibility with P4Perl from the Public Depot Perforce P4Perl is significantly different from the version of P4Perl available from the Perforce Public Depot. There have been numerous improvements, and several interface changes intended to make P4Perl consistent with the other scripting interfaces. If you are migrating from the Public Depot version of P4Perl, edit your scripts to ensure that they comply with the new interface. The differences are detailed below. Deleted Methods --------------- The following methods have been deleted from the P4 class and are no longer available. Dropped() Use IsConnected() Final() Use Disconnect() Init() Use Connect() IsParseForms() Form parsing is now always on Login() Use RunLogin() MergeErrors() Errors and warnings are now separate ParseForms() Form parsing is now always on Tag() Tagged mode is on by default [see Tagged()] New Methods ----------- The following methods are new to P4Perl. GetApiLevel() Returns the API compatibility level P4ConfigFile() Returns the path of the P4CONFIG file IsConnected() Returns true if the client is connected Debug() Sets the debug level GetMaxResults() Returns the current maxresults limit GetMaxScanRows() Returns the current maxscanrows limit GetMaxLockTime() Returns the current maxlocktime limit SetMaxLockTime() Sets the current maxlocktime limit GetProg() Returns the name of the program (if set) ServerLevel() Returns the (numeric) level of the server GetTicketFile() Returns the path to the current ticket file SetTicketFile() Sets the path to the current ticket file GetVersion() Returns the version of the script SetVersion() Sets the version of the script Renamed Methods --------------- In the Public Depot version of P4Perl, unknown methods are assumed to be Perforce command and are executed accordingly. For example, you can issue a "p4 info" command as follows: $p4->Info(); This approach causes problems with keywords like "client," which is both a command and a setting in the client environment (P4CLIENT). To resolve this ambiguity and to make P4Perl consistent with other Perforce scripting interfaces, this convention has been changed. In Perforce P4Perl, methods with names prefixed with "Run" are interpreted as Perforce commands. For example: $p4->RunInfo(); Tagged Mode and Form Parsing ---------------------------- In the Public Depot version of P4Perl, tagged output and form parsing mode are off by default but most scripts turn them on immediately. In Perforce P4Perl, both form parsing and tagged output are on by default. Form parsing cannot be explicitly disabled, but tagged output may be turned on and off by using the following calls: $p4->Tagged( 0 ); # Disabled $p4->Tagged( 1 ); # Enabled Because form parsing does not work when tagged output is disabled, this method can be used to disable form parsing. Calling Tagged() without a parameter is no longer supported. Most users can simply delete any old calls to Tagged() from their scripts. Previously it was not possible to disable tagged output after enabling it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Key to symbols used in change notes below. * -- requires new P4Perl ** -- requires P4Perl built with new P4API *** -- requires new p4d server program -------------------------------------------------------------------------- New functionality in 2009.2 #215001 (Bug #35415) A new method, P4::ServerCaseSensitive(), enables scripts to detect whether a server is case-sensitive. Detection can only be done after a command has been executed on the connection. #214996 (Bug #32915) P4::SetPort() no longer permits the user to change the port after the client has connected. Bugs fixed in 2009.2 #215000 (Bug #35411) * P4Perl now correctly tracks disconnects from the server. #222728 (Bug #36569) * The Map class removed '-' and '+' from the path if the form Map::Insert(lhs, rhs) was used, even if these characters did not appear at the beginning of the path. Now dashes and pluses are preserved within the path. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- New functionality in 2009.1 #193914 (Bug #26730) * The P4::Tagged() method now accepts an optional code reference as well as a boolean, which enables you to run a subroutine with the tagged status of the session temporarily toggled. For example: my $GetChangeCounter = sub{ $p4->RunCounter('change')->[ 0 ] }; my $changeno = $p4->Tagged( 0, $GetChangeCounter ); #191642 * The P4::Spec class has a new method, PermittedFields, which lists the field names that are permitted in specs of that type. Bugs fixed in 2009.1 #192044 (Bug #30071) * P4::RunLogin() now supports all valid arguments to "p4 login". #192043 (Bug# 32966) * P4::RunPassword() can now handle the case when the user has not previously set a password. For old password, specify an empty string. For example: $p4->RunPassword( $p4->GetPassword(), "newpassword" ); work regardless of whether a current password is set. #192035 (Bug# 31437) * P4Perl now builds correctly when the API directory is specified using a relative path. #191643 (Bug #28646) * P4Perl now correctly parses jobs when the jobspec contained a field with a name ending in a number. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- New functionality in 2008.2 #165187 (Bug #30362) * A new class, P4::Map, exposes the Perforce mapping logic to P4Perl users. This class enables script writers to create and manipulate Perforce mappings within scripts. The following methods are available in the P4::Map class: Class Methods: new() Constructor Join() Join two maps returning a third Instance Methods: Clear() Empty a map Count() Return the number of entries IsEmpty() Tests whether a map object is empty Insert() Inserts an entry into the map Includes() Tests whether a path is mapped Reverse() Swap left and right sides of the mapping Translate() Translate a string through a map Lhs() Returns the left side as an array rhs() Returns the right side as an array AsArray() Returns the map as an array Bugs fixed in 2008.2 #169807 (Bug #31110) * P4Perl no longer crashes when RunResolve() is passed a P4::Resolver object and a file path. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- New functionality in 2008.1 #158238 (Bug #27433) * P4::RunResolve() now supports interactive resolves through two new classes: P4::Resolver, and P4::MergeData. P4::Resolver is a base class intended to be subclassed by users; simply override the Resolve() method to implement the required merge behavior. P4::Resolver::Resolve() is passed a P4::MergeData object when it is called; this object contains the information about the names and locations of the files in the merge, and the hint from Perforce's built-in merge algorithm. #152357 (Bug #25063) * The 'P4::GetEnv( $var )' method has been added to the P4 class. This instance method enables the caller to interrogate the Perforce environment, including reading Perforce variables from P4CONFIG files and, on Windows, the registry. P4::SetCwd() now loads any P4CONFIG file settings that are appropriate to the new working directory. #151525 * P4Perl now returns P4::Spec objects from all methods that parse Perforce forms. A P4::Spec object is a blessed hash reference, so most existing code is unaffected. Code that iterates over all members of the hash must skip the new '_fields_' member. This member variable is used to store a list of field names that are valid in forms of that type. This approach enables accessor methods for the fields in the form. Simply call a method with the name of the field you want to get or set prefixed with an underscore (_). For example: $client->_Root(); # Get client root $client->_Root( $newroot ); # Set client root Updating the hash directly is still supported and is equivalent to using the method-based interface. #158308 (Bug #29309) * P4Perl now supports Mac OS X 10.5. Bugs fixed in 2008.1 #158323 (Bug #29953) * The P4::GetApiLevel() was missing; it has now been implemented. #150578 (Bug #28760) * The presence of deleted revisions in a file's history might cause the fileSize and digest attributes to be incorrect for other revisions in the output of P4::RunFilelog(). This problem occurred because a digest and file size were allocated to the deleted revision. This problem has been corrected.