Perl 6 Essentials is a sneak preview of Perl 6, the widely anticipated rewrite of the Perl programming language. Still in development, the Perl 6 project is a community-based effort to keep Perl vibrant well into the 21st century. This book covers the development not only of Perl 6 syntax but also of Parrot, the language-independent virtual machine developed as part of the Perl 6 design strategy. Although Perl remains a vibrant language with a fiercely loyal following, it has undergone many changes to keep up with new technologies and applications that were not anticipated when Perl was first introduced in 1987. Through its community-based development model, Perl has kept up with changing times and has remained fresh when other languages might have stagnated.

Internally, however, there are still kinks and stumbling blocks that developers need to sidestep, long-abandoned features maintained only for backward compatibility, misdirected phrasings that hinder more intuitive syntax structures, and a cacophony of modules that sometimes work well together, but occasionally don't. Perl 5 continues to have a strong following devoted to its development, but in the meantime, a core group of Perl developers has begun work on Perl 6, a complete rewrite of the Perl language. While Perl's creative philosophy and common-sense syntax are sure to remain in Perl 6, everything else in the language is being reexamined and re-created.

Perl 6 Essentials provides an overview of the current state of Perl 6 for those who await its release. Written by members of the Perl 6 core development team, the book offers an explanation of the various stages of the project, with reference material for programmers who are interested in the planned changes or who want to contribute to the project. This book will satisfy their curiosity and show how changes in the language will make Perl more powerful and easier to use. Perl 6 Essentials is the first book that offers a peek into the next major version of the Perl language This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of Perl. Book jacket.