> Perl in basesrc would have many other headaches for maintenance that =
we
> really don't want, just the least of which is that it's not cross-bui=
ld
> capable.

Exactly.  I consider having perl decoupled from the base system is a
feature.  I have heard (admittedly second-hand) accounts that sometimes=

a new version of a perl module changes sufficiently for a user program
of the old version of the module to break unless it is upgraded too.

Forcing a perl upgrade at the same time you do a general OS upgrade (as=

some other systems who shall remain nameless here do) can therefore
cause unwanted collateral damage if you run Perl applications on the
host in question (especially if you're not aware of the changes in
interface triggered by the upgrade).  So, even though the base OS might=

have excellent backward compatibility for it's base functionality (if
you disregard perl as a part of that base functionality), the end resul=
t
is that the system as a whole had some pieces which were not backward
compatible.

Divide and conquer!

Regards,

- H=E5vard