Mailing List Archive

PSC #106 2023-05-05
Porters,

After a meeting around an actual physical table at the Perl Toolchain
Summit last week, the three of us were back to our regular video calls.
The call was longer than usual, as we delved into the code of CPAN.pm.

## Release blockers for 5.038

We looked at the tickets we tagged "Release Blocker" last week, and made
some decisions.

The following issues are NOT release blockers:
- Path-Class (https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues/20039): it's been
broken for the past 2 stable releases
- App-ClusterSSH (https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues/20376): already
failing in 5.036, added comments in the ticket
- XS-Parse-Keyword, Devel-Chitin, others
(https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues/20384): we should add a note to
perldelta explaining the breaking change
- Number-Format (https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues/20571): it should
be adopted to make a new release
- Text-MicroMason (https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues/21037): the
tests depend on the exact error message (this is too fragile)

This last one is definitely a release blocker:
- XML-PathScript (https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues/21044): Rik will
send an email to the list

## Installing modules securily with Perl default install

As much as we want HTTPS support in core, we can't have it for v5.38.
However, we want a newly installed Perl + CPAN.pm to be secure by
default. Currently this is not the case because `HTTP::Tiny` does not
use SSL normally, and even when installed it does not set
`verify_SSL` to true.

`HTTP::Tiny` should be secure by default (set `verify_SSL` to true,
complain if there are no root CAs available).

CPAN.pm is a far more complex question because its code is a deep twisty
maze of years of piled-up workarounds and legacy code (FTP by default?),
and the question of "what should this do?" is far less clear-cut. More
discussions will have to be had with more people who are deeper
involved, to work out what would be best.

We should do this **ASAP**, as it is a release blocker.

--
Philippe Bruhat (BooK)

Everyone's life seems easier from the outside.
(Moral from Groo The Wanderer #45 (Epic))
Re: PSC #106 2023-05-05 [ In reply to ]
On 06.05.23 08:33, Philippe Bruhat (BooK) wrote:
>
> This last one is definitely a release blocker:
> - XML-PathScript (https://github.com/Perl/perl5/issues/21044): Rik will
> send an email to the list

There is a PR that fixes this: https://github.com/Perl/perl5/pull/21064

It should be merged IMO.
Re: PSC #106 2023-05-05 [ In reply to ]
On Sat, May 06, 2023 at 08:33:38AM +0200, Philippe Bruhat (BooK) wrote:
> ## Installing modules securily with Perl default install
>
> As much as we want HTTPS support in core, we can't have it for v5.38.
> However, we want a newly installed Perl + CPAN.pm to be secure by
> default. Currently this is not the case because `HTTP::Tiny` does not
> use SSL normally, and even when installed it does not set
> `verify_SSL` to true.
>
> `HTTP::Tiny` should be secure by default (set `verify_SSL` to true,
> complain if there are no root CAs available).
>
> CPAN.pm is a far more complex question because its code is a deep twisty
> maze of years of piled-up workarounds and legacy code (FTP by default?),
> and the question of "what should this do?" is far less clear-cut. More
> discussions will have to be had with more people who are deeper
> involved, to work out what would be best.
>
> We should do this **ASAP**, as it is a release blocker.

Hi, this thread has just been brought to my attention. I looked at
HTTP::Tiny and default HTTPS a few years ago. In Debian we never actually
got around to applying the patch - we are relunctant to carry such
divergent patches around and it became obvious that the maintainer of
HTTP::Tiny didn't agree: https://github.com/chansen/p5-http-tiny/issues/134

Has the discussion with the maintainer moved on since then? Are we likely
to see this in 5.38?

I still believe that it's the right approach, and I support this change
being made.

In any case, the patch linked from that issue is as far as I know
tested and working, should it be useful.

Cheers
Dominic