Perhaps we could adopt a TeX-like strategy: * Any executable called "perl" must be 100% conformant, standard, passes the "trip tests." * Any modified version of perl -- whether because certain features have been omitted or because certain modules are "compiled in" -- must be called something else. "siteperl" or "microperl" or what-have-you. This way, we can satisfy both requirements: * Any perl script should be able to rely on a uniform feature set in the perl executable. * Sometimes it's useful to have a stripped-down or extended perl. (Go right ahead, just don't call it perl.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Andrew M. Greene agreene@pageflexinc.com 617.520.8337 www.greenehouse.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- "With type as with philosophy, music and food, it is better to have a little of the best than to be swamped with the derivative, the careless, the routine" -- Robert Bringhurst, The Elements of Typographic Style