The new features of 5.6.0 include generation of C code and support for lightweight processes. This latest version offers increased stability and security features. This version is a stable, production release that compiles out of the box for virtually any Unix, its native environment, plus VMS, OS/2, and 32-bit Microsoft platforms as well. In standard terminology a compiled program can be run multiple times, as opposed to a script which must be translated by a program each time it's used.

An informative site describing the new features in Perl 5.6.0 is titled "What's New in Perl 5.6.0" and located on the internet at the following Url http://www.perl.com/pub/2000/04/whatsnew.html. Perl programs, are neither strictly compiled nor strictly interpreted. Perl is an interpreted language optimized for scanning arbitrary text files, extracting information from those text files, and printing reports based on that information. It's a derivation from C programming language and to a lesser extent from sed, awk, the Unix shell, and at least a dozen other tools and languages. Perl's process, file, and text manipulation facilities make it particularly well-suited for tasks involving quick prototyping, system utilities, software tools, system management tasks, database access, graphical programming, networking, and world wide web programming. Information on debugging compiled Perl scripts can be found at the Perlbug Database v2.23 http://bugs.perl.org/perlbug.cgi. To search on the Perlbug Database website, be sure to change the Operating System drop down box from the default "any" to "Linux", enter the latest version 5.6.0, and click the "Query" button to run the search sequence.