Official docs outline
12 sections- Perl Introduction
Scalars, arrays, hashes, control flow, and subroutines in brief.
- Data Types
Scalar, array, and hash data and context.
- Syntax
Statements, loops, and compound statements.
- Operators
Operators, precedence, and quote-like constructs.
- Subroutines
Defining subs, arguments, scoping, and prototypes.
- References and Data Structures
References and nested data structures.
- Regular Expressions
Pattern syntax, modifiers, and matching.
- Objects and OO Programming
Packages, bless, method resolution, and inheritance.
- Modules
Packages, symbol tables, and module loading.
- Security
Taint mode and safe handling of untrusted data.
- Interprocess Communication
Signals, pipes, sockets, and process management.
- Built-in Functions
Reference of built-in functions.
Each section links to the official page. Titles and summaries by Extra Credit; the docs belong to their authors.
Versions and support
6 release lines 5.44.0 latest release, Jul 15, 2026
| Line | Released | Latest | Support |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.44 | Jul 15, 2026 | 5.44.0 | Until Jul 15, 2029 |
| 5.42 | Jul 3, 2025 | 5.42.3 | Until Jul 3, 2028 |
| 5.40 | Jun 9, 2024 | 5.40.5 | Until Jun 9, 2027 |
| 5.38 | Jul 2, 2023 | 5.38.5 | Ended Jul 2, 2026 |
| 5.36 | May 27, 2022 | 5.36.3 | Ended May 27, 2025 |
| 5.34 | May 20, 2021 | 5.34.3 | Ended May 20, 2024 |
Source: endoflife.date