
 Perl/Pollution/Portability Version 1.0005

 Copyright (C) 1999, Kenneth Albanowski. This archive may be used and
 distributed under the same license as any version of Perl.

 This is not an actual Perl module, but rather a distribution containing a
 small header file designed to aid the portability of the XS modules you
 write. The Makefile.PL is provided primarily to aid in testing the code. 
 (Please notify me about any compile warnings or errors, or test failures.)
 
 Perl has changed over time, gaining new features, new functions, increasing
 its flexibility, and reducing the impact on the C namespace environment
 (reduced pollution). This header attempts to bring some of the newer Perl
 features to older versions of Perl, so that you can worry less about
 keeping track of old releases, but users can still reap the benefit.
 
 Why you should use ppport.h in modern code: so that your code will work
 with the widest range of Perl interpreters possible, without significant
 additional work.
 
 Why you should attempt older code to fully use ppport.h: because the
 reduced pollution of newer Perl versions is an important thing, so
 important that the old polluting ways of original Perl modules will not be
 supported very far into the future, and your module will almost certainly
 break! By adapting to it now, you'll gained compatibility and a sense of
 having done the electronic ecology some good.
 

 How to use ppport.h: Don't direct the user to download Devel::PPPort, and
 don't make ppport.h optional. Rather, just take the most recent copy of
 ppport.h that you can find (probably in Devel::PPPort on CPAN), copy it
 into your project, adjust your project to use it, and distribute the header
 along with your module.

 The file may be able to help you make use of itself. It's got some internal
 documentation, and even an automated script to determine how it could be
 used. However, ppport.h is a work in progress, and may not include every
 feature or macro definition. Feel free to add missing parts, just make sure
 to adjust the version mark so that its clear you've branched from the
 original version.
 
	- Kenneth Albanowski <kjahds@kjahds.com>,
	  February, 1999
