Integrate win32 branch

p4raw-id: //depot/ansiperl@395

31 files changed, 635 insertions, 255 deletions

diff --git a/README.win32 b/README.win32
index 1b596eb1b6..fb42850597 100644
--- a/README.win32
+++ b/README.win32
@@ -503,9 +503,9 @@ The following functions are currently unavailable: C<fork()>,
 C<dump()>, C<chown()>, C<link()>, C<symlink()>, C<chroot()>,
 C<setpgrp()> and related security functions, C<setpriority()>,
 C<getpriority()>, C<syscall()>, C<fcntl()>, C<getpw*()>,
-C<wait*()>, C<msg*()>, C<shm*()>, C<sem*()>, C<alarm()>,
-C<socketpair()>, C<*netent()>, C<*protoent()>, C<*servent()>,
-C<*hostent()>, C<getnetby*()>.
+C<msg*()>, C<shm*()>, C<sem*()>, C<alarm()>, C<socketpair()>,
+C<*netent()>, C<*protoent()>, C<*servent()>, C<*hostent()>,
+C<getnetby*()>.
 This list is possibly incomplete.
 
 =item *
@@ -524,9 +524,9 @@ functionality of ioctlsocket() in the Winsock API).
 
 =item *
 
-C<$?> is set in a way compatible with Unix, so the exitstatus of the
-subprocess is actually obtained by "$? >> 8".  Failure to spawn() the
-subprocess is indicated by setting $? to "255 << 8".
+Failure to spawn() a subprocess is indicated by setting $? to "255 << 8".
+C<$?> is set in a way compatible with Unix (i.e. the exitstatus of the
+subprocess is obtained by "$? >> 8", as described in the documentation).
 
 =item *
 
@@ -598,7 +598,7 @@ sundry hacks since then.
 
 Borland support was added in 5.004_01 (Gurusamy Sarathy).
 
-Last updated: 23 December 1997
+Last updated: 3 January 1998
 
 =cut
 
diff --git a/doio.c b/doio.c
index cd718a947f..dce271d4af 100644
--- a/doio.c
+++ b/doio.c
@@ -500,7 +500,8 @@ nextargv(register GV *gv)
 	    return IoIFP(GvIOp(gv));
 	}
 	else
-	    PerlIO_printf(PerlIO_stderr(), "Can't open %s: %s\n",SvPV(sv, na), Strerror(errno));
+	    PerlIO_printf(PerlIO_stderr(), "Can't open %s: %s\n",
+	      SvPV(sv, na), Strerror(errno));
     }
     if (inplace) {
 	(void)do_close(argvoutgv,FALSE);
diff --git a/dosish.h b/dosish.h
index 5704c78cb2..184d3dfb45 100644
--- a/dosish.h
+++ b/dosish.h
@@ -45,12 +45,6 @@
 #define dXSUB_SYS
 #define TMPPATH "plXXXXXX"
 
-#ifdef WIN32
-#define HAS_IOCTL
-#define HAS_UTIME
-#define HAS_KILL
-#endif
-
 /*
  * 5.003_07 and earlier keyed on #ifdef MSDOS for determining if we were 
  * running on DOS, *and* if we had to cope with 16 bit memory addressing 
@@ -124,11 +118,15 @@
 #ifndef WIN32
 #  define Stat(fname,bufptr) stat((fname),(bufptr))
 #else
+#  define HAS_IOCTL
+#  define HAS_UTIME
+#  define HAS_KILL
+#  define HAS_WAIT
 /*
  * This provides a layer of functions and macros to ensure extensions will
  * get to use the same RTL functions as the core.
  */
-#ifndef HASATTRIBUTE
-#  include <win32iop.h>
-#endif
+#  ifndef HASATTRIBUTE
+#    include <win32iop.h>
+#  endif
 #endif	/* WIN32 */
diff --git a/hv.c b/hv.c
index 079e95297b..21792bda55 100644
--- a/hv.c
+++ b/hv.c
@@ -84,6 +84,7 @@ hv_fetch(HV *hv, char *key, U32 klen, I32 lval)
     register XPVHV* xhv;
     register U32 hash;
     register HE *entry;
+    char *origkey = key;
     SV *sv;
 
     if (!hv)
@@ -97,6 +98,12 @@ hv_fetch(HV *hv, char *key, U32 klen, I32 lval)
 	    Sv = sv;
 	    return &Sv;
 	}
+#ifdef ENV_IS_CASELESS
+	else if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'E')) {
+	    sv = sv_2mortal(newSVpv(key,klen));
+	    key = strupr(SvPVX(sv));
+	}
+#endif
     }
 
     xhv = (XPVHV*)SvANY(hv);
@@ -130,13 +137,13 @@ hv_fetch(HV *hv, char *key, U32 klen, I32 lval)
       if ((gotenv = ENV_getenv(key)) != Nullch) {
         sv = newSVpv(gotenv,strlen(gotenv));
         SvTAINTED_on(sv);
-        return hv_store(hv,key,klen,sv,hash);
+        return hv_store(hv,origkey,klen,sv,hash);
       }
     }
 #endif
     if (lval) {		/* gonna assign to this, so it better be there */
 	sv = NEWSV(61,0);
-	return hv_store(hv,key,klen,sv,hash);
+	return hv_store(hv,origkey,klen,sv,hash);
     }
     return 0;
 }
@@ -150,25 +157,36 @@ hv_fetch_ent(HV *hv, SV *keysv, I32 lval, register U32 hash)
     register char *key;
     STRLEN klen;
     register HE *entry;
+    SV *origkeysv = keysv;
     SV *sv;
 
     if (!hv)
 	return 0;
 
-    if (SvRMAGICAL(hv) && mg_find((SV*)hv,'P')) {
-	static HE mh;
+    if (SvRMAGICAL(hv)) {
+	if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'P')) {
+	    static HE mh;
 
-	sv = sv_newmortal();
-	keysv = sv_2mortal(newSVsv(keysv));
-	mg_copy((SV*)hv, sv, (char*)keysv, HEf_SVKEY);
-	if (!HeKEY_hek(&mh)) {
-	    char *k;
-	    New(54, k, HEK_BASESIZE + sizeof(SV*), char);
-	    HeKEY_hek(&mh) = (HEK*)k;
+	    sv = sv_newmortal();
+	    keysv = sv_2mortal(newSVsv(keysv));
+	    mg_copy((SV*)hv, sv, (char*)keysv, HEf_SVKEY);
+	    if (!HeKEY_hek(&mh)) {
+		char *k;
+		New(54, k, HEK_BASESIZE + sizeof(SV*), char);
+		HeKEY_hek(&mh) = (HEK*)k;
+	    }
+	    HeSVKEY_set(&mh, keysv);
+	    HeVAL(&mh) = sv;
+	    return &mh;
+	}
+#ifdef ENV_IS_CASELESS
+	else if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'E')) {
+	    key = SvPV(keysv, klen);
+	    keysv = sv_2mortal(newSVpv(key,klen));
+	    (void)strupr(SvPVX(keysv));
+	    hash = 0;
 	}
-	HeSVKEY_set(&mh, keysv);
-	HeVAL(&mh) = sv;
-	return &mh;
+#endif
     }
 
     xhv = (XPVHV*)SvANY(hv);
@@ -205,13 +223,13 @@ hv_fetch_ent(HV *hv, SV *keysv, I32 lval, register U32 hash)
       if ((gotenv = ENV_getenv(key)) != Nullch) {
         sv = newSVpv(gotenv,strlen(gotenv));
         SvTAINTED_on(sv);
-        return hv_store_ent(hv,keysv,sv,hash);
+        return hv_store_ent(hv,origkeysv,sv,hash);
       }
     }
 #endif
     if (lval) {		/* gonna assign to this, so it better be there */
 	sv = NEWSV(61,0);
-	return hv_store_ent(hv,keysv,sv,hash);
+	return hv_store_ent(hv,origkeysv,sv,hash);
     }
     return 0;
 }
@@ -256,6 +274,13 @@ hv_store(HV *hv, char *key, U32 klen, SV *val, register U32 hash)
 	    mg_copy((SV*)hv, val, key, klen);
 	    if (!xhv->xhv_array && !needs_store)
 		return 0;
+#ifdef ENV_IS_CASELESS
+	    else if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'E')) {
+		SV *sv = sv_2mortal(newSVpv(key,klen));
+		key = strupr(SvPVX(sv));
+		hash = 0;
+	    }
+#endif
 	}
     }
     if (!hash)
@@ -326,11 +351,19 @@ hv_store_ent(HV *hv, SV *keysv, SV *val, register U32 hash)
  	    TAINT_IF(save_taint);
  	    if (!xhv->xhv_array && !needs_store)
  		return Nullhe;
- 	}
+#ifdef ENV_IS_CASELESS
+	    else if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'E')) {
+		key = SvPV(keysv, klen);
+		keysv = sv_2mortal(newSVpv(key,klen));
+		(void)strupr(SvPVX(keysv));
+		hash = 0;
+	    }
+#endif
+	}
     }
 
     key = SvPV(keysv, klen);
-    
+
     if (!hash)
 	PERL_HASH(hash, key, klen);
 
@@ -389,10 +422,16 @@ hv_delete(HV *hv, char *key, U32 klen, I32 flags)
 	if (mg_find(sv, 's')) {
 	    return Nullsv;		/* %SIG elements cannot be deleted */
 	}
-	if (mg_find(sv, 'p')) {
+	else if (mg_find(sv, 'p')) {
 	    sv_unmagic(sv, 'p');	/* No longer an element */
 	    return sv;
 	}
+#ifdef ENV_IS_CASELESS
+	else if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'E')) {
+	    sv = sv_2mortal(newSVpv(key,klen));
+	    key = strupr(SvPVX(sv));
+	}
+#endif
     }
     xhv = (XPVHV*)SvANY(hv);
     if (!xhv->xhv_array)
@@ -448,6 +487,14 @@ hv_delete_ent(HV *hv, SV *keysv, I32 flags, U32 hash)
 	    sv_unmagic(sv, 'p');	/* No longer an element */
 	    return sv;
 	}
+#ifdef ENV_IS_CASELESS
+	else if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'E')) {
+	    key = SvPV(keysv, klen);
+	    keysv = sv_2mortal(newSVpv(key,klen));
+	    (void)strupr(SvPVX(keysv));
+	    hash = 0; 
+	}
+#endif
     }
     xhv = (XPVHV*)SvANY(hv);
     if (!xhv->xhv_array)
@@ -504,6 +551,12 @@ hv_exists(HV *hv, char *key, U32 klen)
 	    magic_existspack(sv, mg_find(sv, 'p'));
 	    return SvTRUE(sv);
 	}
+#ifdef ENV_IS_CASELESS
+	else if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'E')) {
+	    sv = sv_2mortal(newSVpv(key,klen));
+	    key = strupr(SvPVX(sv));
+	}
+#endif
     }
 
     xhv = (XPVHV*)SvANY(hv);
@@ -547,6 +600,14 @@ hv_exists_ent(HV *hv, SV *keysv, U32 hash)
 	    magic_existspack(sv, mg_find(sv, 'p'));
 	    return SvTRUE(sv);
 	}
+#ifdef ENV_IS_CASELESS
+	else if (mg_find((SV*)hv,'E')) {
+	    key = SvPV(keysv, klen);
+	    keysv = sv_2mortal(newSVpv(key,klen));
+	    (void)strupr(SvPVX(keysv));
+	    hash = 0; 
+	}
+#endif
     }
 
     xhv = (XPVHV*)SvANY(hv);
diff --git a/lib/Cwd.pm b/lib/Cwd.pm
index 6952411ca2..048842b4ac 100644
--- a/lib/Cwd.pm
+++ b/lib/Cwd.pm
@@ -339,13 +339,13 @@ sub _os2_cwd {
 }
 
 sub _win32_cwd {
-    $ENV{'PWD'} = Win32::GetCurrentDirectory();
+    $ENV{'PWD'} = Win32::GetCwd();
     $ENV{'PWD'} =~ s:\\:/:g ;
     return $ENV{'PWD'};
 }
 
 *_NT_cwd = \&_win32_cwd if (!defined &_NT_cwd && 
-                            defined &Win32::GetCurrentDirectory);
+                            defined &Win32::GetCwd);
 
 *_NT_cwd = \&_os2_cwd unless defined &_NT_cwd;
 
diff --git a/lib/ExtUtils/Liblist.pm b/lib/ExtUtils/Liblist.pm
index d821e83729..aebb057d58 100644
--- a/lib/ExtUtils/Liblist.pm
+++ b/lib/ExtUtils/Liblist.pm
@@ -231,7 +231,9 @@ sub _win32_ext {
 	}
 
 	# Handle possible library arguments.
-	$thislib =~ s/^-l//;
+	if ($thislib =~ s/^-l// and $thislib !~ /^lib/i) {
+	    $thislib = "lib$thislib";
+	}
 	$thislib .= $libext if $thislib !~ /\Q$libext\E$/i;
 
 	my($found_lib)=0;
@@ -522,14 +524,14 @@ Unix-OS/2 version in several respects:
 
 Input library and path specifications are accepted with or without the
 C<-l> and C<-L> prefices used by Unix linkers.  C<-lfoo> specifies the
-library C<foo.lib> and C<-Ls:ome\dir> specifies a directory to look for
-the libraries that follow.  If neither prefix is present, a token is
-considered a directory to search if it is in fact a directory, and a
-library to search for otherwise.  The C<$Config{lib_ext}> suffix will
-be appended to any entries that are not directories and don't already
-have the suffix.  Authors who wish their extensions to be portable to
-Unix or OS/2 should use the Unix prefixes, since the Unix-OS/2 version
-of ext() requires them.
+library C<libfoo.lib> (unless C<foo> already starts with C<lib>), and
+C<-Ls:ome\dir> specifies a directory to look for the libraries that follow.
+If neither prefix is present, a token is considered a directory to search
+if it is in fact a directory, and a library to search for otherwise.  The
+C<$Config{lib_ext}> suffix will be appended to any entries that are not
+directories and don't already have the suffix.  Authors who wish their
+extensions to be portable to Unix or OS/2 should use the Unix prefixes,
+since the Unix-OS/2 version of ext() requires them.
 
 =item *
 
diff --git a/lib/FindBin.pm b/lib/FindBin.pm
index 881caa7559..d6bd7b777e 100644
--- a/lib/FindBin.pm
+++ b/lib/FindBin.pm
@@ -82,7 +82,7 @@ use File::Basename;
 %EXPORT_TAGS = (ALL => [qw($Bin $Script $RealBin $RealScript $Dir $RealDir)]);
 @ISA = qw(Exporter);
 
-$VERSION = $VERSION = sprintf("%d.%02d", q$Revision: 1.4 $ =~ /(\d+)\.(\d+)/);
+$VERSION = $VERSION = sprintf("%d.%02d", q$Revision: 1.41 $ =~ /(\d+)\.(\d+)/);
 
 sub is_abs_path
 {
@@ -131,7 +131,7 @@ BEGIN
             && -f $script)
       {
        my $dir;
-       my $pathvar = ($IsWin32) ? 'Path' : 'PATH';
+       my $pathvar = 'PATH';
 
        foreach $dir (split(/$Config{'path_sep'}/,$ENV{$pathvar}))
 	{
diff --git a/lib/dumpvar.pl b/lib/dumpvar.pl
index c32bc2fb5e..cc7da89a62 100644
--- a/lib/dumpvar.pl
+++ b/lib/dumpvar.pl
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@ $printUndef = 1 unless defined $printUndef;
 $tick = "auto" unless defined $tick;
 $unctrl = 'quote' unless defined $unctrl;
 $subdump = 1;
+$dumpReused = 0 unless defined $dumpReused;
 
 sub main::dumpValue {
   local %address;
@@ -118,7 +119,7 @@ sub unwrap {
     # Check for reused addresses
     if (ref $v) { 
       ($address) = $v =~ /(0x[0-9a-f]+)\)$/ ; 
-      if (defined $address) { 
+      if (!$dumpReused && defined $address) { 
 	($type) = $v =~ /=(.*?)\([^=]+$/ ;
 	$address{$address}++ ;
 	if ( $address{$address} > 1 ) { 
diff --git a/lib/perl5db.pl b/lib/perl5db.pl
index ea072e0f3b..f0774bcdac 100644
--- a/lib/perl5db.pl
+++ b/lib/perl5db.pl
@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ $trace = $signal = $single = 0;	# Uninitialized warning suppression
                                 # (local $^W cannot help - other packages!).
 $inhibit_exit = $option{PrintRet} = 1;
 
-@options     = qw(hashDepth arrayDepth DumpDBFiles DumpPackages 
+@options     = qw(hashDepth arrayDepth DumpDBFiles DumpPackages DumpReused
 		  compactDump veryCompact quote HighBit undefPrint
 		  globPrint PrintRet UsageOnly frame AutoTrace
 		  TTY noTTY ReadLine NonStop LineInfo maxTraceLen
@@ -185,6 +185,7 @@ $inhibit_exit = $option{PrintRet} = 1;
 		 arrayDepth	=> \$dumpvar::arrayDepth,
 		 DumpDBFiles	=> \$dumpvar::dumpDBFiles,
 		 DumpPackages	=> \$dumpvar::dumpPackages,
+		 DumpReused	=> \$dumpvar::dumpReused,
 		 HighBit	=> \$dumpvar::quoteHighBit,
 		 undefPrint	=> \$dumpvar::printUndef,
 		 globPrint	=> \$dumpvar::globPrint,
@@ -368,7 +369,7 @@ sub DB {
     &save;
     ($package, $filename, $line) = caller;
     $filename_ini = $filename;
-    $usercontext = '($@, $!, $,, $/, $\, $^W) = @saved;' .
+    $usercontext = '($@, $!, $^E, $,, $/, $\, $^W) = @saved;' .
       "package $package;";	# this won't let them modify, alas
     local(*dbline) = $main::{'_<' . $filename};
     $max = $#dbline;
@@ -1140,7 +1141,7 @@ EOP
 	  &eval;
 	}
     }				# if ($single || $signal)
-    ($@, $!, $,, $/, $\, $^W) = @saved;
+    ($@, $!, $^E, $,, $/, $\, $^W) = @saved;
     ();
 }
 
@@ -1190,7 +1191,7 @@ sub sub {
 }
 
 sub save {
-    @saved = ($@, $!, $,, $/, $\, $^W);
+    @saved = ($@, $!, $^E, $,, $/, $\, $^W);
     $, = ""; $/ = "\n"; $\ = ""; $^W = 0;
 }
 
@@ -1210,7 +1211,7 @@ sub eval {
     }
     my $at = $@;
     local $saved[0];		# Preserve the old value of $@
-    eval "&DB::save";
+    eval { &DB::save };
     if ($at) {
 	print $OUT $at;
     } elsif ($onetimeDump eq 'dump') {
@@ -1785,6 +1786,7 @@ B<O> [I<opt>[B<=>I<val>]] [I<opt>B<\">I<val>B<\">] [I<opt>B<?>]...
     I<globPrint>:			whether to print contents of globs;
     I<DumpDBFiles>:		dump arrays holding debugged files;
     I<DumpPackages>:		dump symbol tables of packages;
+    I<DumpReused>:		dump contents of \"reused\" addresses;
     I<quote>, I<HighBit>, I<undefPrint>:	change style of string dump;
   Option I<PrintRet> affects printing of return value after B<r> command,
          I<frame>    affects printing messages on entry and exit from subroutines.
diff --git a/mg.c b/mg.c
index b032bf3f95..1d0014315d 100644
--- a/mg.c
+++ b/mg.c
@@ -69,7 +69,6 @@ restore_magic(void *p)
     }
 }
 
-
 void
 mg_magical(SV *sv)
 {
@@ -350,10 +349,22 @@ magic_get(SV *sv, MAGIC *mg)
 	    sv_setpv(sv, os2error(Perl_rc));
 	}
 #else
+#ifdef WIN32
+	{
+	    DWORD dwErr = GetLastError();
+	    sv_setnv(sv, (double)dwErr);
+	    if (dwErr)
+		win32_str_os_error(sv, dwErr);
+	    else
+		sv_setpv(sv, "");
+	    SetLastError(dwErr);
+	}
+#else
 	sv_setnv(sv, (double)errno);
 	sv_setpv(sv, errno ? Strerror(errno) : "");
 #endif
 #endif
+#endif
 	SvNOK_on(sv);	/* what a wonderful hack! */
 	break;
     case '\006':		/* ^F */
@@ -1349,9 +1360,13 @@ magic_set(SV *sv, MAGIC *mg)
 #ifdef VMS
 	set_vaxc_errno(SvIOK(sv) ? SvIVX(sv) : sv_2iv(sv));
 #else
+#ifdef WIN32
+	SetLastError( SvIV(sv) );
+#else
 	/* will anyone ever use this? */
 	SETERRNO(SvIOK(sv) ? SvIVX(sv) : sv_2iv(sv), 4);
 #endif
+#endif
 	break;
     case '\006':	/* ^F */
 	maxsysfd = SvIOK(sv) ? SvIVX(sv) : sv_2iv(sv);
diff --git a/perl.h b/perl.h
index 59d729305e..9138ba6571 100644
--- a/perl.h
+++ b/perl.h
@@ -1666,6 +1666,10 @@ struct perl_thread {
 #include "thrdvar.h"
 };
 
+typedef struct perl_thread *Thread;
+
+#else
+typedef void *Thread;
 #endif
 
 /* Done with PERLVAR macros for now ... */
@@ -1673,8 +1677,6 @@ struct perl_thread {
 #undef PERLVARI
 #undef PERLVARIC
 
-typedef struct perl_thread *Thread;
-
 #include "thread.h"
 #include "pp.h"
 #include "proto.h"
diff --git a/pod/perlfaq2.pod b/pod/perlfaq2.pod
index 8a954da64e..bbc361a5ba 100644
--- a/pod/perlfaq2.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfaq2.pod
@@ -15,21 +15,22 @@ development team) is distributed only in source code form.  You can
 find this at http://www.perl.com/CPAN/src/latest.tar.gz, which is a
 gzipped archive in POSIX tar format.  This source builds with no
 porting whatsoever on most Unix systems (Perl's native environment),
-as well as Plan 9, VMS, QNX, OS/2, and the Amiga.
-
-Although it's rumored that the (imminent) 5.004 release may build
-on Windows NT, this is yet to be proven.  Binary distributions
-for 32-bit Microsoft systems and for Apple systems can be found
-http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ports/ directory.  Because these are not part of
-the standard distribution, they may and in fact do differ from the base
-Perl port in a variety of ways.  You'll have to check their respective
-release notes to see just what the differences are.  These differences
-can be either positive (e.g. extensions for the features of the particular
-platform that are not supported in the source release of perl) or negative
-(e.g. might be based upon a less current source release of perl).
-
-A useful FAQ for Win32 Perl users is
+as well as Windows NT, Plan 9, VMS, QNX, OS/2, and the Amiga.
+
+Binary distributions for various platforms can be found
+http://www.perl.com/CPAN/ports/ directory.  Some of these ports (especially
+the ones that are not part of the standard sources) may behave differently
+than what is documented in the standard source documentation.  These
+differences can be either positive (e.g. extensions for the features of the
+particular platform that are not supported in the source release of perl)
+or negative (e.g. might be based upon a less current source release of perl).
+
+A useful FAQ for Win32 Perl users is:
 http://www.endcontsw.com/people/evangelo/Perl_for_Win32_FAQ.html
+[This FAQ is seriously outdated as of Jan 1998--it is only relevant to
+the perl that ActiveState distributes, especially where it describes
+various inadequacies and differences with the standard perl extension
+build support.]
 
 =head2 How can I get a binary version of Perl?
 
diff --git a/pod/perlfunc.pod b/pod/perlfunc.pod
index 49d455b6a2..a89ee99e06 100644
--- a/pod/perlfunc.pod
+++ b/pod/perlfunc.pod
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+
 =head1 NAME
 
 perlfunc - Perl builtin functions
@@ -79,117 +80,120 @@ than one place.
 
 =item Functions for SCALARs or strings
 
-chomp, chop, chr, crypt, hex, index, lc, lcfirst, length,
-oct, ord, pack, q/STRING/, qq/STRING/, reverse, rindex,
-sprintf, substr, tr///, uc, ucfirst, y///
+C<chomp>, C<chop>, C<chr>, C<crypt>, C<hex>, C<index>, C<lc>, C<lcfirst>,
+C<length>, C<oct>, C<ord>, C<pack>, C<q>/STRING/, C<qq>/STRING/, C<reverse>,
+C<rindex>, C<sprintf>, C<substr>, C<tr///>, C<uc>, C<ucfirst>, C<y>///
 
 =item Regular expressions and pattern matching
 
-m//, pos, quotemeta, s///, split, study
+C<m>//, C<pos>, C<quotemeta>, C<s>///, C<split>, C<study>
 
 =item Numeric functions
 
-abs, atan2, cos, exp, hex, int, log, oct, rand, sin, sqrt,
-srand
+C<abs>, C<atan2>, C<cos>, C<exp>, C<hex>, C<int>, C<log>, C<oct>, C<rand>,
+C<sin>, C<sqrt>, C<srand>
 
 =item Functions for real @ARRAYs
 
-pop, push, shift, splice, unshift
+C<pop>, C<push>, C<shift>, C<splice>, C<unshift>
 
 =item Functions for list data
 
-grep, join, map, qw/STRING/, reverse, sort, unpack
+C<grep>, C<join>, C<map>, C<qw>/STRING/, C<reverse>, C<sort>, C<unpack>
 
 =item Functions for real %HASHes
 
-delete, each, exists, keys, values
+C<delete>, C<each>, C<exists>, C<keys>, C<values>
 
 =item Input and output functions
 
-binmode, close, closedir, dbmclose, dbmopen, die, eof,
-fileno, flock, format, getc, print, printf, read, readdir,
-rewinddir, seek, seekdir, select, syscall, sysread, sysseek,
-syswrite, tell, telldir, truncate, warn, write
+C<binmode>, C<close>, C<closedir>, C<dbmclose>, C<dbmopen>, C<die>, C<eof>,
+C<fileno>, C<flock>, C<format>, C<getc>, C<print>, C<printf>, C<read>,
+C<readdir>, C<rewinddir>, C<seek>, C<seekdir>, C<select>, C<syscall>,
+C<sysread>, C<sysseek>, C<syswrite>, C<tell>, C<telldir>, C<truncate>,
+C<warn>, C<write>
 
 =item Functions for fixed length data or records
 
-pack, read, syscall, sysread, syswrite, unpack, vec
+C<pack>, C<read>, C<syscall>, C<sysread>, C<syswrite>, C<unpack>, C<vec>
 
 =item Functions for filehandles, files, or directories
 
-I<-X>, chdir, chmod, chown, chroot, fcntl, glob, ioctl, link,
-lstat, mkdir, open, opendir, readlink, rename, rmdir,
-stat, symlink, umask, unlink, utime
+C<-I<X>>, C<chdir>, C<chmod>, C<chown>, C<chroot>, C<fcntl>, C<glob>,
+C<ioctl>, C<link>, C<lstat>, C<mkdir>, C<open>, C<opendir>, C<readlink>,
+C<rename>, C<rmdir>, C<stat>, C<symlink>, C<umask>, C<unlink>, C<utime>
 
 =item Keywords related to the control flow of your perl program
 
-caller, continue, die, do, dump, eval, exit, goto, last,
-next, redo, return, sub, wantarray
+C<caller>, C<continue>, C<die>, C<do>, C<dump>, C<eval>, C<exit>,
+C<goto>, C<last>, C<next>, C<redo>, C<return>, C<sub>, C<wantarray>
 
 =item Keywords related to scoping
 
-caller, import, local, my, package, use
+C<caller>, C<import>, C<local>, C<my>, C<package>, C<use>
 
 =item Miscellaneous functions
 
-defined, dump, eval, formline, local, my, reset, scalar,
-undef, wantarray
+C<defined>, C<dump>, C<eval>, C<formline>, C<local>, C<my>, C<reset>,
+C<scalar>, C<undef>, C<wantarray>
 
 =item Functions for processes and process groups
 
-alarm, exec, fork, getpgrp, getppid, getpriority, kill,
-pipe, qx/STRING/, setpgrp, setpriority, sleep, system,
-times, wait, waitpid
+C<alarm>, C<exec>, C<fork>, C<getpgrp>, C<getppid>, C<getpriority>, C<kill>,
+C<pipe>, C<qx>/STRING/, C<setpgrp>, C<setpriority>, C<sleep>, C<system>,
+C<times>, C<wait>, C<waitpid>
 
 =item Keywords related to perl modules
 
-do, import, no, package, require, use
+C<do>, C<import>, C<no>, C<package>, C<require>, C<use>
 
 =item Keywords related to classes and object-orientedness
 
-bless, dbmclose, dbmopen, package, ref, tie, tied, untie, use
+C<bless>, C<dbmclose>, C<dbmopen>, C<package>, C<ref>, C<tie>, C<tied>,
+C<untie>, C<use>
 
 =item Low-level socket functions
 
-accept, bind, connect, getpeername, getsockname,
-getsockopt, listen, recv, send, setsockopt, shutdown,
-socket, socketpair
+C<accept>, C<bind>, C<connect>, C<getpeername>, C<getsockname>,
+C<getsockopt>, C<listen>, C<recv>, C<send>, C<setsockopt>, C<shutdown>,
+C<socket>, C<socketpair>
 
 =item System V interprocess communication functions
 
-msgctl, msgget, msgrcv, msgsnd, semctl, semget, semop,
-shmctl, shmget, shmread, shmwrite
+C<msgctl>, C<msgget>, C<msgrcv>, C<msgsnd>, C<semctl>, C<semget>, C<semop>,
+C<shmctl>, C<shmget>, C<shmread>, C<shmwrite>
 
 =item Fetching user and group info
 
-endgrent, endhostent, endnetent, endpwent, getgrent,
-getgrgid, getgrnam, getlogin, getpwent, getpwnam,
-getpwuid, setgrent, setpwent
+C<endgrent>, C<endhostent>, C<endnetent>, C<endpwent>, C<getgrent>,
+C<getgrgid>, C<getgrnam>, C<getlogin>, C<getpwent>, C<getpwnam>,
+C<getpwuid>, C<setgrent>, C<setpwent>
 
 =item Fetching network info
 
-endprotoent, endservent, gethostbyaddr, gethostbyname,
-gethostent, getnetbyaddr, getnetbyname, getnetent,
-getprotobyname, getprotobynumber, getprotoent,
-getservbyname, getservbyport, getservent, sethostent,
-setnetent, setprotoent, setservent
+C<endprotoent>, C<endservent>, C<gethostbyaddr>, C<gethostbyname>,
+C<gethostent>, C<getnetbyaddr>, C<getnetbyname>, C<getnetent>,
+C<getprotobyname>, C<getprotobynumber>, C<getprotoent>,
+C<getservbyname>, C<getservbyport>, C<getservent>, C<sethostent>,
+C<setnetent>, C<setprotoent>, C<setservent>
 
 =item Time-related functions
 
-gmtime, localtime, time, times
+C<gmtime>, C<localtime>, C<time>, C<times>
 
 =item Functions new in perl5
 
-abs, bless, chomp, chr, exists, formline, glob, import, lc,
-lcfirst, map, my, no, prototype, qx, qw, readline, readpipe,
-ref, sub*, sysopen, tie, tied, uc, ucfirst, untie, use
+C<abs>, C<bless>, C<chomp>, C<chr>, C<exists>, C<formline>, C<glob>,
+C<import>, C<lc>, C<lcfirst>, C<map>, C<my>, C<no>, C<prototype>, C<qx>,
+C<qw>, C<readline>, C<readpipe>, C<ref>, C<sub*>, C<sysopen>, C<tie>,
+C<tied>, C<uc>, C<ucfirst>, C<untie>, C<use>
 
 * - C<sub> was a keyword in perl4, but in perl5 it is an
 operator which can be used in expressions.
 
 =item Functions obsoleted in perl5
 
-dbmclose, dbmopen
+C<dbmclose>, C<dbmopen>
 
 =back
 
@@ -197,11 +201,11 @@ dbmclose, dbmopen
 
 =over 8
 
-=item -X FILEHANDLE
+=item I<-X> FILEHANDLE
 
-=item -X EXPR
+=item I<-X> EXPR
 
-=item -X
+=item I<-X>
 
 A file test, where X is one of the letters listed below.  This unary
 operator takes one argument, either a filename or a filehandle, and
diff --git a/pod/perlrun.pod b/pod/perlrun.pod
index a847133bb9..eccb5e00b7 100644
--- a/pod/perlrun.pod
+++ b/pod/perlrun.pod
@@ -600,13 +600,17 @@ The command used to load the debugger code.  The default is:
 =item PERL5SHELL (specific to WIN32 port)
 
 May be set to an alternative shell that perl must use internally for
-executing "backtick" commands or system().  Perl doesn't use COMSPEC
-for this purpose because COMSPEC has a high degree of variability
-among users, leading to portability concerns.  Besides, perl can use
-a shell that may not be fit for interactive use, and setting COMSPEC
-to such a shell may interfere with the proper functioning of other
-programs (which usually look in COMSPEC to find a shell fit for
-interactive use).
+executing "backtick" commands or system().  Default is C<cmd.exe /x/c>
+on WindowsNT and C<command.com /c> on Windows95.  The value is considered
+to be space delimited.  Precede any character that needs to be protected
+(like a space or backslash) with a backslash.
+
+Note that Perl doesn't use COMSPEC for this purpose because
+COMSPEC has a high degree of variability among users, leading to
+portability concerns.  Besides, perl can use a shell that may not be
+fit for interactive use, and setting COMSPEC to such a shell may
+interfere with the proper functioning of other programs (which usually
+look in COMSPEC to find a shell fit for interactive use).
 
 =item PERL_DEBUG_MSTATS
 
diff --git a/pod/perlvar.pod b/pod/perlvar.pod
index 75f4e6d5c2..6a1ed81c5d 100644
--- a/pod/perlvar.pod
+++ b/pod/perlvar.pod
@@ -432,10 +432,10 @@ status.
 
 If used in a numeric context, yields the current value of errno, with
 all the usual caveats.  (This means that you shouldn't depend on the
-value of "C<$!>" to be anything in particular unless you've gotten a
+value of C<$!> to be anything in particular unless you've gotten a
 specific error return indicating a system error.)  If used in a string
 context, yields the corresponding system error string.  You can assign
-to "C<$!>" to set I<errno> if, for instance, you want "C<$!>" to return the
+to C<$!> to set I<errno> if, for instance, you want C<"$!"> to return the
 string for error I<n>, or you want to set the exit value for the die()
 operator.  (Mnemonic: What just went bang?)
 
@@ -443,13 +443,31 @@ operator.  (Mnemonic: What just went bang?)
 
 =item $^E
 
-More specific information about the last system error than that provided by
-C<$!>, if available.  (If not, it's just C<$!> again.)
-At the moment, this differs from C<$!> under only VMS and OS/2, where it
-provides the VMS status value from the last system error, and OS/2 error
-code of the last call to OS/2 API either via CRT, or directly from perl.  The
-caveats mentioned in the description of C<$!> apply here, too.
-(Mnemonic: Extra error explanation.)
+Error information specific to the current operating system.  At
+the moment, this differs from C<$!> under only VMS, OS/2, and Win32
+(and for MacPerl).  On all other platforms, C<$^E> is always just
+the same as C<$!>.
+
+Under VMS, C<$^E> provides the VMS status value from the last
+system error.  This is more specific information about the last
+system error than that provided by C<$!>.  This is particularly
+important when C<$!> is set to E<EVMSERR>.
+
+Under OS/2, C<$^E> is set based on the value returned by the OS/2
+call C<_syserrno()> only when a call into the OS/2 API generates
+an error.  In this case, C<$!> is set to a special value to
+indicate that C<$^E> should be checked.  Otherwise, C<$^E> is
+just the same as C<$!>.
+
+Under Win32, C<$^E> always returns the last error information
+reported by the Win32 call C<GetLastError()> which describes
+the last error from within the Win32 API.  Most Win32-specific
+code will report errors via C<$^E>.  ANSI C and UNIX-like calls
+set C<errno> and so most portable Perl code will report errors
+via C<$!>. 
+
+Caveats mentioned in the description of C<$!> generally apply to
+C<$^E>, also.  (Mnemonic: Extra error explanation.)
 
 =item $EVAL_ERROR
 
diff --git a/pp_sys.c b/pp_sys.c
index 42e8a9c19a..23c7569df5 100644
--- a/pp_sys.c
+++ b/pp_sys.c
@@ -3097,7 +3097,7 @@ PP(pp_fork)
 
 PP(pp_wait)
 {
-#if !defined(DOSISH) || defined(OS2)
+#if !defined(DOSISH) || defined(OS2) || defined(WIN32)
     djSP; dTARGET;
     int childpid;
     int argflags;
@@ -3113,7 +3113,7 @@ PP(pp_wait)
 
 PP(pp_waitpid)
 {
-#if !defined(DOSISH) || defined(OS2)
+#if !defined(DOSISH) || defined(OS2) || defined(WIN32)
     djSP; dTARGET;
     int childpid;
     int optype;
@@ -3126,7 +3126,7 @@ PP(pp_waitpid)
     SETi(childpid);
     RETURN;
 #else
-    DIE(no_func, "Unsupported function wait");
+    DIE(no_func, "Unsupported function waitpid");
 #endif
 }
 
diff --git a/t/op/magic.t b/t/op/magic.t
index 80361ba0b7..ace49b546d 100755
--- a/t/op/magic.t
+++ b/t/op/magic.t
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ $Is_VMS     = $^O eq 'VMS';
 $Is_Dos   = $^O eq 'dos';
 $PERL = ($Is_MSWin32 ? '.\perl' : './perl');
 
-print "1..30\n";
+print "1..34\n";
 
 eval '$ENV{"FOO"} = "hi there";';	# check that ENV is inited inside eval
 if ($Is_MSWin32) { ok 1, `cmd /x /c set FOO` eq "FOO=hi there\n"; }
@@ -37,8 +37,8 @@ ok 2, $!, $!;
 close FOO; # just mention it, squelch used-only-once
 
 if ($Is_MSWin32 || $Is_Dos) {
-    ok 3,1;
-    ok 4,1;
+    ok "3 # skipped",1;
+    ok "4 # skipped",1;
 }
 else {
   # the next tests are embedded inside system simply because sh spits out
@@ -165,8 +165,8 @@ ok 27, $^O;
 ok 28, $^T > 850000000, $^T;
 
 if ($Is_VMS || $Is_Dos) {
-	ok 29, 1;
-	ok 30, 1;
+	ok "29 # skipped", 1;
+	ok "30 # skipped", 1;
 }
 else {
 	$PATH = $ENV{PATH};
@@ -182,3 +182,20 @@ else {
 						: (`echo \$NoNeSuCh` eq "foo\n") );
 }
 
+# test case-insignificance of %ENV (these tests must be enabled only
+# when perl is compiled with -DENV_IS_CASELESS)
+if ($Is_MSWin32) {
+    %ENV = ();
+    $ENV{'Foo'} = 'bar';
+    $ENV{'fOo'} = 'baz';
+    ok 31, (scalar(keys(%ENV)) == 1);
+    ok 32, exists($ENV{'FOo'});
+    ok 33, (delete($ENV{'foO'}) eq 'baz');
+    ok 34, (scalar(keys(%ENV)) == 0);
+}
+else {
+    ok "31 # skipped",1;
+    ok "32 # skipped",1;
+    ok "33 # skipped",1;
+    ok "34 # skipped",1;
+}
diff --git a/util.c b/util.c
index 86e148d720..1c4b79af7f 100644
--- a/util.c
+++ b/util.c
@@ -2024,6 +2024,9 @@ my_pclose(FILE *ptr)
 #ifdef VMS
     int saved_vaxc_errno;
 #endif
+#ifdef WIN32
+    int saved_win32_errno;
+#endif
 
     svp = av_fetch(fdpid,PerlIO_fileno(ptr),TRUE);
     pid = (int)SvIVX(*svp);
@@ -2039,6 +2042,9 @@ my_pclose(FILE *ptr)
 #ifdef VMS
 	saved_vaxc_errno = vaxc$errno;
 #endif
+#ifdef WIN32
+	saved_win32_errno = GetLastError();
+#endif
     }
 #ifdef UTS
     if(kill(pid, 0) < 0) { return(pid); }   /* HOM 12/23/91 */
@@ -2060,7 +2066,7 @@ my_pclose(FILE *ptr)
 }
 #endif /* !DOSISH */
 
-#if  !defined(DOSISH) || defined(OS2)
+#if  !defined(DOSISH) || defined(OS2) || defined(WIN32)
 I32
 wait4pid(int pid, int *statusp, int flags)
 {
@@ -2118,7 +2124,7 @@ wait4pid(int pid, int *statusp, int flags)
     }
 #endif
 }
-#endif /* !DOSISH */
+#endif /* !DOSISH || OS2 || WIN32 */
 
 void
 /*SUPPRESS 590*/
diff --git a/utils/perldoc.PL b/utils/perldoc.PL
index 0ac8e0a806..3acb461f98 100644
--- a/utils/perldoc.PL
+++ b/utils/perldoc.PL
@@ -153,7 +153,7 @@ sub minus_f_nocase {
      # on a case-forgiving file system we can simply use -f $file
      if ($Is_VMS or $Is_MSWin32 or $^O eq 'os2') {
         return $file if -f $file and -r _;
-	warn "Ignored $file: unreadable\n" unless -r _;
+	warn "Ignored $file: unreadable\n" if -f _;
 	return '';
      }
      local *DIR;
diff --git a/win32/config_H.bc b/win32/config_H.bc
index 846d81d1e4..f587e019c8 100644
--- a/win32/config_H.bc
+++ b/win32/config_H.bc
@@ -1467,7 +1467,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define ARCHLIB "c:\\perl\\lib\\MSWin32-x86-thread"		/**/
-#define ARCHLIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
+#define ARCHLIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
 
 /* BINCOMPAT3:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates that Perl 5.004 should be
@@ -1714,7 +1714,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define PRIVLIB "c:\\perl\\lib"		/**/
-#define PRIVLIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(NULL))	/**/
+#define PRIVLIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(NULL))	/**/
 
 /* SH_PATH:
  *	This symbol contains the full pathname to the shell used on this
@@ -1770,7 +1770,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define SITEARCH "c:\\perl\\lib\\site"		/**/
-#define SITEARCH_EXP (win32PerlLibPath("site",ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
+#define SITEARCH_EXP (win32_perllib_path("site",ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
 
 /* SITELIB:
  *	This symbol contains the name of the private library for this package.
@@ -1786,7 +1786,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define SITELIB "c:\\perl\\lib\\site"		/**/
-#define SITELIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath("site",NULL))	/**/
+#define SITELIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path("site",NULL))	/**/
 
 /* STARTPERL:
  *	This variable contains the string to put in front of a perl
diff --git a/win32/config_H.gc b/win32/config_H.gc
index 35737e7ca0..3e56046835 100644
--- a/win32/config_H.gc
+++ b/win32/config_H.gc
@@ -1467,7 +1467,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define ARCHLIB "c:\\perl\\lib\\MSWin32-x86-thread"		/**/
-#define ARCHLIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
+#define ARCHLIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
 
 /* BINCOMPAT3:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates that Perl 5.004 should be
@@ -1714,7 +1714,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define PRIVLIB "c:\\perl\\lib"		/**/
-#define PRIVLIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(NULL))	/**/
+#define PRIVLIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(NULL))	/**/
 
 /* SH_PATH:
  *	This symbol contains the full pathname to the shell used on this
@@ -1770,7 +1770,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define SITEARCH "c:\\perl\\lib\\site"		/**/
-#define SITEARCH_EXP (win32PerlLibPath("site",ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
+#define SITEARCH_EXP (win32_perllib_path("site",ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
 
 /* SITELIB:
  *	This symbol contains the name of the private library for this package.
@@ -1786,7 +1786,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define SITELIB "c:\\perl\\lib\\site"		/**/
-#define SITELIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath("site",NULL))	/**/
+#define SITELIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path("site",NULL))	/**/
 
 /* STARTPERL:
  *	This variable contains the string to put in front of a perl
diff --git a/win32/config_H.vc b/win32/config_H.vc
index 72caabb9f9..42578bad8e 100644
--- a/win32/config_H.vc
+++ b/win32/config_H.vc
@@ -1467,7 +1467,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define ARCHLIB "c:\\perl\\lib\\MSWin32-x86-thread"		/**/
-#define ARCHLIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
+#define ARCHLIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
 
 /* BINCOMPAT3:
  *	This symbol, if defined, indicates that Perl 5.004 should be
@@ -1714,7 +1714,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define PRIVLIB "c:\\perl\\lib"		/**/
-#define PRIVLIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(NULL))	/**/
+#define PRIVLIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(NULL))	/**/
 
 /* SH_PATH:
  *	This symbol contains the full pathname to the shell used on this
@@ -1770,7 +1770,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define SITEARCH "c:\\perl\\lib\\site"		/**/
-#define SITEARCH_EXP (win32PerlLibPath("site",ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
+#define SITEARCH_EXP (win32_perllib_path("site",ARCHNAME,NULL))	/**/
 
 /* SITELIB:
  *	This symbol contains the name of the private library for this package.
@@ -1786,7 +1786,7 @@
  *	in programs that are not prepared to deal with ~ expansion at run-time.
  */
 #define SITELIB "c:\\perl\\lib\\site"		/**/
-#define SITELIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath("site",NULL))	/**/
+#define SITELIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path("site",NULL))	/**/
 
 /* STARTPERL:
  *	This variable contains the string to put in front of a perl
diff --git a/win32/config_h.PL b/win32/config_h.PL
index 7f2869c945..8a1665a75a 100644
--- a/win32/config_h.PL
+++ b/win32/config_h.PL
@@ -37,19 +37,19 @@ while (<SH>)
   s#/[ *\*]*\*/#/**/#;
   if (/^\s*#define\s+ARCHLIB_EXP/)
    {
-     $_ = "#define ARCHLIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(ARCHNAME,NULL))\t/**/\n";
+     $_ = "#define ARCHLIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(ARCHNAME,NULL))\t/**/\n";
    }
   if (/^\s*#define\s+PRIVLIB_EXP/)
    {
-     $_ = "#define PRIVLIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(NULL))\t/**/\n"
+     $_ = "#define PRIVLIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(NULL))\t/**/\n"
    }
   if (/^\s*#define\s+SITEARCH_EXP/)
    {
-     $_ = "#define SITEARCH_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(\"site\",ARCHNAME,NULL))\t/**/\n";
+     $_ = "#define SITEARCH_EXP (win32_perllib_path(\"site\",ARCHNAME,NULL))\t/**/\n";
    }
   if (/^\s*#define\s+SITELIB_EXP/)
    {
-     $_ = "#define SITELIB_EXP (win32PerlLibPath(\"site\",NULL))\t/**/\n";
+     $_ = "#define SITELIB_EXP (win32_perllib_path(\"site\",NULL))\t/**/\n";
    }
   print H;
  }
diff --git a/win32/makedef.pl b/win32/makedef.pl
index 27bcf95295..ddf01fdab8 100644
--- a/win32/makedef.pl
+++ b/win32/makedef.pl
@@ -508,6 +508,8 @@ win32_alarm
 win32_open_osfhandle
 win32_get_osfhandle
 win32_ioctl
+win32_wait
+win32_str_os_error
 Perl_win32_init
 Perl_init_os_extras
 Perl_getTHR
diff --git a/win32/perllib.c b/win32/perllib.c
index b73a12e31b..4b57963a99 100644
--- a/win32/perllib.c
+++ b/win32/perllib.c
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ RunPerl(int argc, char **argv, char **env, void *iosubsystem)
     return (exitstatus);
 }
 
-extern HANDLE PerlDllHandle;
+extern HANDLE w32_perldll_handle;
 
 BOOL APIENTRY
 DllMain(HANDLE hModule,		/* DLL module handle */
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ DllMain(HANDLE hModule,		/* DLL module handle */
 	setmode( fileno( stderr ), O_BINARY );
 	_fmode = O_BINARY;
 #endif
-	PerlDllHandle = hModule;
+	w32_perldll_handle = hModule;
 	break;
 
 	/* The DLL is detaching from a process due to
diff --git a/win32/win32.c b/win32/win32.c
index f75ec6c88d..9ae2a7d70f 100644
--- a/win32/win32.c
+++ b/win32/win32.c
@@ -47,13 +47,23 @@ int _CRT_glob = 0;
 #define EXECF_SPAWN 2
 #define EXECF_SPAWN_NOWAIT 3
 
-static DWORD IdOS(void);
-
-BOOL  ProbeEnv = FALSE;
-DWORD Win32System = (DWORD)-1;
-char  szShellPath[MAX_PATH+1];
-char  szPerlLibRoot[MAX_PATH+1];
-HANDLE PerlDllHandle = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
+static DWORD		os_id(void);
+static void		get_shell(void);
+static long		tokenize(char *str, char **dest, char ***destv);
+static int		do_spawn2(char *cmd, int exectype);
+static BOOL		has_redirection(char *ptr);
+static long		filetime_to_clock(PFILETIME ft);
+
+char *	w32_perlshell_tokens = Nullch;
+char **	w32_perlshell_vec;
+long	w32_perlshell_items = -1;
+DWORD	w32_platform = (DWORD)-1;
+char	w32_perllib_root[MAX_PATH+1];
+HANDLE	w32_perldll_handle = INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE;
+#ifndef __BORLANDC__
+long	w32_num_children = 0;
+HANDLE	w32_child_pids[MAXIMUM_WAIT_OBJECTS];
+#endif
 
 #ifdef USE_THREADS
 #  ifdef USE_DECLSPEC_THREAD
@@ -75,30 +85,28 @@ char	crypt_buffer[30];
 #  endif
 #endif
 
-static int do_spawn2(char *cmd, int exectype);
-
 int 
 IsWin95(void) {
-    return (IdOS() == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS);
+    return (os_id() == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS);
 }
 
 int
 IsWinNT(void) {
-    return (IdOS() == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT);
+    return (os_id() == VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_NT);
 }
 
 char *
-win32PerlLibPath(char *sfx,...)
+win32_perllib_path(char *sfx,...)
 {
     va_list ap;
     char *end;
     va_start(ap,sfx);
-    GetModuleFileName((PerlDllHandle == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) 
+    GetModuleFileName((w32_perldll_handle == INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE) 
 		      ? GetModuleHandle(NULL)
-		      : PerlDllHandle,
-		      szPerlLibRoot, 
-		      sizeof(szPerlLibRoot));
-    *(end = strrchr(szPerlLibRoot, '\\')) = '\0';
+		      : w32_perldll_handle,
+		      w32_perllib_root, 
+		      sizeof(w32_perllib_root));
+    *(end = strrchr(w32_perllib_root, '\\')) = '\0';
     if (stricmp(end-4,"\\bin") == 0)
      end -= 4;
     strcpy(end,"\\lib");
@@ -109,12 +117,12 @@ win32PerlLibPath(char *sfx,...)
       sfx = va_arg(ap,char *);
      }
     va_end(ap); 
-    return (szPerlLibRoot);
+    return (w32_perllib_root);
 }
 
 
-BOOL
-HasRedirection(char *ptr)
+static BOOL
+has_redirection(char *ptr)
 {
     int inquote = 0;
     char quote = '\0';
@@ -187,24 +195,75 @@ my_pclose(PerlIO *fp)
 }
 
 static DWORD
-IdOS(void)
+os_id(void)
 {
     static OSVERSIONINFO osver;
 
-    if (osver.dwPlatformId != Win32System) {
+    if (osver.dwPlatformId != w32_platform) {
 	memset(&osver, 0, sizeof(OSVERSIONINFO));
 	osver.dwOSVersionInfoSize = sizeof(OSVERSIONINFO);
 	GetVersionEx(&osver);
-	Win32System = osver.dwPlatformId;
+	w32_platform = osver.dwPlatformId;
+    }
+    return (w32_platform);
+}
+
+/* Tokenize a string.  Words are null-separated, and the list
+ * ends with a doubled null.  Any character (except null and
+ * including backslash) may be escaped by preceding it with a
+ * backslash (the backslash will be stripped).
+ * Returns number of words in result buffer.
+ */
+static long
+tokenize(char *str, char **dest, char ***destv)
+{
+    char *retstart = Nullch;
+    char **retvstart = 0;
+    int items = -1;
+    if (str) {
+	int slen = strlen(str);
+	register char *ret;
+	register char **retv;
+	New(1307, ret, slen+2, char);
+	New(1308, retv, (slen+3)/2, char*);
+
+	retstart = ret;
+	retvstart = retv;
+	*retv = ret;
+	items = 0;
+	while (*str) {
+	    *ret = *str++;
+	    if (*ret == '\\' && *str)
+		*ret = *str++;
+	    else if (*ret == ' ') {
+		while (*str == ' ')
+		    str++;
+		if (ret == retstart)
+		    ret--;
+		else {
+		    *ret = '\0';
+		    ++items;
+		    if (*str)
+			*++retv = ret+1;
+		}
+	    }
+	    else if (!*str)
+		++items;
+	    ret++;
+	}
+	retvstart[items] = Nullch;
+	*ret++ = '\0';
+	*ret = '\0';
     }
-    return (Win32System);
+    *dest = retstart;
+    *destv = retvstart;
+    return items;
 }
 
-static char *
-GetShell(void)
+static void
+get_shell(void)
 {
-    if (!ProbeEnv) {
-	char* defaultshell = (IsWinNT() ? "cmd.exe" : "command.com");
+    if (!w32_perlshell_tokens) {
 	/* we don't use COMSPEC here for two reasons:
 	 *  1. the same reason perl on UNIX doesn't use SHELL--rampant and
 	 *     uncontrolled unportability of the ensuing scripts.
@@ -212,59 +271,75 @@ GetShell(void)
 	 *     interactive use (which is what most programs look in COMSPEC
 	 *     for).
 	 */
-	char *usershell = getenv("PERL5SHELL");  
-
-	ProbeEnv = TRUE;
-	strcpy(szShellPath, usershell ? usershell : defaultshell);
+	char* defaultshell = (IsWinNT() ? "cmd.exe /x/c" : "command.com /c");
+	char *usershell = getenv("PERL5SHELL");
+	w32_perlshell_items = tokenize(usershell ? usershell : defaultshell,
+				       &w32_perlshell_tokens,
+				       &w32_perlshell_vec);
     }
-    return szShellPath;
 }
 
 int
-do_aspawn(void* really, void ** mark, void ** arglast)
+do_aspawn(void *vreally, void **vmark, void **vsp)
 {
+    SV *really = (SV*)vreally;
+    SV **mark = (SV**)vmark;
+    SV **sp = (SV**)vsp;
     char **argv;
-    char *strPtr;
-    char *cmd;
+    char *str;
     int status;
-    unsigned int length;
+    int flag = P_WAIT;
     int index = 0;
-    SV *sv = (SV*)really;
-    SV** pSv = (SV**)mark;
 
-    New(1310, argv, (arglast - mark) + 4, char*);
+    if (sp <= mark)
+	return -1;
 
-    if(sv != Nullsv) {
-	cmd = SvPV(sv, length);
-    }
-    else {
-	argv[index++] = cmd = GetShell();
-	if (IsWinNT())
-	    argv[index++] = "/x";   /* always enable command extensions */
-	argv[index++] = "/c";
+    get_shell();
+    New(1306, argv, (sp - mark) + w32_perlshell_items + 2, char*);
+
+    if (SvNIOKp(*(mark+1)) && !SvPOKp(*(mark+1))) {
+	++mark;
+	flag = SvIVx(*mark);
     }
 
-    while(++pSv <= (SV**)arglast) {
-	sv = *pSv;
-	strPtr = SvPV(sv, length);
-	if(strPtr != NULL && *strPtr != '\0')
-	    argv[index++] = strPtr;
+    while(++mark <= sp) {
+	if (*mark && (str = SvPV(*mark, na)))
+	    argv[index++] = str;
+	else
+	    argv[index++] = "";
     }
     argv[index++] = 0;
    
-    status = win32_spawnvp(P_WAIT, cmd, (const char* const*)argv);
-
-    Safefree(argv);
+    status = win32_spawnvp(flag,
+			   (really ? SvPV(really,na) : argv[0]),
+			   (const char* const*)argv);
+
+    if (status < 0 && errno == ENOEXEC) {
+	/* possible shell-builtin, invoke with shell */
+	int sh_items;
+	sh_items = w32_perlshell_items;
+	while (--index >= 0)
+	    argv[index+sh_items] = argv[index];
+	while (--sh_items >= 0)
+	    argv[sh_items] = w32_perlshell_vec[sh_items];
+   
+	status = win32_spawnvp(flag,
+			       (really ? SvPV(really,na) : argv[0]),
+			       (const char* const*)argv);
+    }
 
     if (status < 0) {
 	if (dowarn)
-	    warn("Can't spawn \"%s\": %s", cmd, strerror(errno));
-	status = 255;
+	    warn("Can't spawn \"%s\": %s", argv[0], strerror(errno));
+	status = 255 * 256;
     }
-    return (statusvalue = status*256);
+    else if (flag != P_NOWAIT)
+	status *= 256;
+    Safefree(argv);
+    return (statusvalue = status);
 }
 
-int
+static int
 do_spawn2(char *cmd, int exectype)
 {
     char **a;
@@ -272,13 +347,11 @@ do_spawn2(char *cmd, int exectype)
     char **argv;
     int status = -1;
     BOOL needToTry = TRUE;
-    char *shell, *cmd2;
+    char *cmd2;
 
-    /* save an extra exec if possible */
-    shell = GetShell();
-
-    /* see if there are shell metacharacters in it */
-    if(!HasRedirection(cmd)) {
+    /* Save an extra exec if possible. See if there are shell
+     * metacharacters in it */
+    if(!has_redirection(cmd)) {
 	New(1301,argv, strlen(cmd) / 2 + 2, char*);
 	New(1302,cmd2, strlen(cmd) + 1, char);
 	strcpy(cmd2, cmd);
@@ -294,7 +367,7 @@ do_spawn2(char *cmd, int exectype)
 		*s++ = '\0';
 	}
 	*a = Nullch;
-	if(argv[0]) {
+	if (argv[0]) {
 	    switch (exectype) {
 	    case EXECF_SPAWN:
 		status = win32_spawnvp(P_WAIT, argv[0],
@@ -308,19 +381,21 @@ do_spawn2(char *cmd, int exectype)
 		status = win32_execvp(argv[0], (const char* const*)argv);
 		break;
 	    }
-	    if(status != -1 || errno == 0)
+	    if (status != -1 || errno == 0)
 		needToTry = FALSE;
 	}
 	Safefree(argv);
 	Safefree(cmd2);
     }
-    if(needToTry) {
-	char *argv[5];
-	int i = 0;
-	argv[i++] = shell;
-	if (IsWinNT())
-	    argv[i++] = "/x";
-	argv[i++] = "/c"; argv[i++] = cmd; argv[i] = Nullch;
+    if (needToTry) {
+	char **argv;
+	int i = -1;
+	get_shell();
+	New(1306, argv, w32_perlshell_items + 2, char*);
+	while (++i < w32_perlshell_items)
+	    argv[i] = w32_perlshell_vec[i];
+	argv[i++] = cmd;
+	argv[i] = Nullch;
 	switch (exectype) {
 	case EXECF_SPAWN:
 	    status = win32_spawnvp(P_WAIT, argv[0],
@@ -334,16 +409,19 @@ do_spawn2(char *cmd, int exectype)
 	    status = win32_execvp(argv[0], (const char* const*)argv);
 	    break;
 	}
+	cmd = argv[0];
+	Safefree(argv);
     }
     if (status < 0) {
 	if (dowarn)
 	    warn("Can't %s \"%s\": %s",
 		 (exectype == EXECF_EXEC ? "exec" : "spawn"),
-		 needToTry ? shell : argv[0],
-		 strerror(errno));
-	status = 255;
+		 cmd, strerror(errno));
+	status = 255 * 256;
     }
-    return (statusvalue = status*256);
+    else if (exectype != EXECF_SPAWN_NOWAIT)
+	status *= 256;
+    return (statusvalue = status);
 }
 
 int
@@ -352,6 +430,12 @@ do_spawn(char *cmd)
     return do_spawn2(cmd, EXECF_SPAWN);
 }
 
+int
+do_spawn_nowait(char *cmd)
+{
+    return do_spawn2(cmd, EXECF_SPAWN_NOWAIT);
+}
+
 bool
 do_exec(char *cmd)
 {
@@ -683,7 +767,7 @@ win32_getenv(const char *name)
 #endif
 
 static long
-FileTimeToClock(PFILETIME ft)
+filetime_to_clock(PFILETIME ft)
 {
  __int64 qw = ft->dwHighDateTime;
  qw <<= 32;
@@ -700,8 +784,8 @@ win32_times(struct tms *timebuf)
     FILETIME dummy;
     if (GetProcessTimes(GetCurrentProcess(), &dummy, &dummy, 
                         &kernel,&user)) {
-	timebuf->tms_utime = FileTimeToClock(&user);
-	timebuf->tms_stime = FileTimeToClock(&kernel);
+	timebuf->tms_utime = filetime_to_clock(&user);
+	timebuf->tms_stime = filetime_to_clock(&kernel);
 	timebuf->tms_cutime = 0;
 	timebuf->tms_cstime = 0;
         
@@ -716,8 +800,53 @@ win32_times(struct tms *timebuf)
     return 0;
 }
 
-static UINT timerid = 0;
+DllExport int
+win32_wait(int *status)
+{
+#ifdef __BORLANDC__
+    return wait(status);
+#else
+    /* XXX this wait emulation only knows about processes
+     * spawned via win32_spawnvp(P_NOWAIT, ...).
+     */
+    int i, retval;
+    DWORD exitcode, waitcode;
+
+    if (!w32_num_children) {
+	errno = ECHILD;
+	return -1;
+    }
+
+    /* if a child exists, wait for it to die */
+    waitcode = WaitForMultipleObjects(w32_num_children,
+				      w32_child_pids,
+				      FALSE,
+				      INFINITE);
+    if (waitcode != WAIT_FAILED) {
+	if (waitcode >= WAIT_ABANDONED_0
+	    && waitcode < WAIT_ABANDONED_0 + w32_num_children)
+	    i = waitcode - WAIT_ABANDONED_0;
+	else
+	    i = waitcode - WAIT_OBJECT_0;
+	if (GetExitCodeProcess(w32_child_pids[i], &exitcode) ) {
+	    CloseHandle(w32_child_pids[i]);
+	    *status = (int)((exitcode & 0xff) << 8);
+	    retval = (int)w32_child_pids[i];
+	    Copy(&w32_child_pids[i+1], &w32_child_pids[i],
+		 (w32_num_children-i-1), HANDLE);
+	    w32_num_children--;
+	    return retval;
+	}
+    }
+
+FAILED:
+    errno = GetLastError();
+    return -1;
 
+#endif
+}
+
+static UINT timerid = 0;
 
 static VOID CALLBACK TimerProc(HWND win, UINT msg, UINT id, DWORD time)
 {
@@ -991,6 +1120,33 @@ win32_strerror(int e)
     return strerror(e);
 }
 
+DllExport void
+win32_str_os_error(SV *sv, unsigned long dwErr)
+{
+    DWORD dwLen;
+    char *sMsg;
+    dwLen = FormatMessageA(FORMAT_MESSAGE_ALLOCATE_BUFFER
+			  |FORMAT_MESSAGE_IGNORE_INSERTS
+			  |FORMAT_MESSAGE_FROM_SYSTEM, NULL,
+			   dwErr, 0, (char *)&sMsg, 1, NULL);
+    if (0 < dwLen) {
+	while (0 < dwLen  &&  isspace(sMsg[--dwLen]))
+	    ;
+	if ('.' != sMsg[dwLen])
+	    dwLen++;
+	sMsg[dwLen]= '\0';
+    }
+    if (0 == dwLen) {
+	sMsg = LocalAlloc(0, 64/**sizeof(TCHAR)*/);
+	dwLen = sprintf(sMsg,
+			"Unknown error #0x%lX (lookup 0x%lX)",
+			dwErr, GetLastError());
+    }
+    sv_setpvn(sv, sMsg, dwLen);
+    LocalFree(sMsg);
+}
+
+
 DllExport int
 win32_fprintf(FILE *fp, const char *format, ...)
 {
@@ -1267,7 +1423,18 @@ win32_chdir(const char *dir)
 DllExport int
 win32_spawnvp(int mode, const char *cmdname, const char *const *argv)
 {
-    return spawnvp(mode, cmdname, (char * const *) argv);
+    int status;
+
+    status = spawnvp(mode, cmdname, (char * const *) argv);
+#ifndef __BORLANDC__
+    /* XXX For the P_NOWAIT case, Borland RTL returns pinfo.dwProcessId
+     * while VC RTL returns pinfo.hProcess. For purposes of the custom
+     * implementation of win32_wait(), we assume the latter.
+     */
+    if (mode == P_NOWAIT && status >= 0)
+	w32_child_pids[w32_num_children++] = (HANDLE)status;
+#endif
+    return status;
 }
 
 DllExport int
diff --git a/win32/win32.h b/win32/win32.h
index 1b1f64adac..5a7c89bf97 100644
--- a/win32/win32.h
+++ b/win32/win32.h
@@ -91,6 +91,8 @@ struct tms {
 #define USE_FIXED_OSFHANDLE
 #endif
 
+#define ENV_IS_CASELESS
+
 #ifndef VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS	/* VC-2.0 headers dont have this */
 #define VER_PLATFORM_WIN32_WINDOWS	1
 #endif
@@ -159,15 +161,17 @@ extern	char *	getlogin(void);
 
 DllExport void		Perl_win32_init(int *argcp, char ***argvp);
 DllExport void		Perl_init_os_extras(void);
+DllExport void		win32_str_os_error(struct sv *s, DWORD err);
 
 #ifndef USE_SOCKETS_AS_HANDLES
 extern FILE *		my_fdopen(int, char *);
 #endif
 extern int		my_fclose(FILE *);
-extern int		do_aspawn(void* really, void ** mark, void ** arglast);
+extern int		do_aspawn(void *really, void **mark, void **sp);
 extern int		do_spawn(char *cmd);
+extern int		do_spawn_nowait(char *cmd);
 extern char		do_exec(char *cmd);
-extern char *		win32PerlLibPath(char *sfx,...);
+extern char *		win32_perllib_path(char *sfx,...);
 extern int		IsWin95(void);
 extern int		IsWinNT(void);
 
@@ -217,6 +221,9 @@ struct thread_intern {
 #    ifdef HAVE_DES_FCRYPT
     char		Wcrypt_buffer[30];
 #    endif
+#    ifdef USE_RTL_THREAD_API
+    void *		retv;	/* slot for thread return value */
+#    endif
 };
 #  endif /* !USE_DECLSPEC_THREAD */
 #endif /* USE_THREADS */
diff --git a/win32/win32iop.h b/win32/win32iop.h
index 5e03f952f2..e71bf3865e 100644
--- a/win32/win32iop.h
+++ b/win32/win32iop.h
@@ -112,9 +112,9 @@ DllExport  char*	win32_getenv(const char *name);
 DllExport  unsigned 	win32_sleep(unsigned int);
 DllExport  int		win32_times(struct tms *timebuf);
 DllExport  unsigned 	win32_alarm(unsigned int sec);
-DllExport  int		win32_flock(int fd, int oper);
 DllExport  int		win32_stat(const char *path, struct stat *buf);
 DllExport  int		win32_ioctl(int i, unsigned int u, char *data);
+DllExport  int		win32_wait(int *status);
 
 #ifdef HAVE_DES_FCRYPT
 DllExport char *	win32_crypt(const char *txt, const char *salt);
@@ -140,6 +140,7 @@ END_EXTERN_C
 #undef times
 #undef alarm
 #undef ioctl
+#undef wait
 
 #ifdef __BORLANDC__
 #undef ungetc
@@ -239,6 +240,7 @@ END_EXTERN_C
 #define times			win32_times
 #define alarm			win32_alarm
 #define ioctl			win32_ioctl
+#define wait			win32_wait
 
 #ifdef HAVE_DES_FCRYPT
 #undef crypt
diff --git a/win32/win32sck.c b/win32/win32sck.c
index a6e7a990b8..5ac2ef6c65 100644
--- a/win32/win32sck.c
+++ b/win32/win32sck.c
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ win32_getsockopt(SOCKET s, int level, int optname, char *optval, int *optlen)
     return r;
 }
 
-DllExport int
+int
 win32_ioctlsocket(SOCKET s, long cmd, u_long *argp)
 {
     int r;
diff --git a/win32/win32thread.c b/win32/win32thread.c
index 3ea73c32a5..44f32e27fd 100644
--- a/win32/win32thread.c
+++ b/win32/win32thread.c
@@ -84,11 +84,40 @@ int
 Perl_thread_create(struct perl_thread *thr, thread_func_t *fn)
 {
     DWORD junk;
+    unsigned long th;
 
     MUTEX_LOCK(&thr->mutex);
     DEBUG_L(PerlIO_printf(PerlIO_stderr(),
 			  "%p: create OS thread\n", thr));
+#ifdef USE_RTL_THREAD_API
+    /* See comment about USE_RTL_THREAD_API in win32thread.h */
+#if defined(__BORLANDC__)
+    th = _beginthreadNT(fn,				/* start address */
+			0,				/* stack size */
+			(void *)thr,			/* parameters */
+			(void *)NULL,			/* security attrib */
+			0,				/* creation flags */
+			(unsigned long *)&junk);	/* tid */
+    if (th == (unsigned long)-1)
+	th = 0;
+#elif defined(_MSC_VER_)
+    th = _beginthreadex((void *)NULL,			/* security attrib */
+			0,				/* stack size */
+			fn,				/* start address */
+			(void*)thr,			/* parameters */
+			0,				/* creation flags */
+			(unsigned *)&junk);		/* tid */
+#else /* compilers using CRTDLL.DLL only have _beginthread() */
+    th = _beginthread(fn,				/* start address */
+		      0,				/* stack size */
+		      (void*)thr);			/* parameters */
+    if (th == (unsigned long)-1)
+	th = 0;
+#endif
+    thr->self = (HANDLE)th;
+#else	/* !USE_RTL_THREAD_API */
     thr->self = CreateThread(NULL, 0, fn, (void*)thr, 0, &junk);
+#endif	/* !USE_RTL_THREAD_API */
     DEBUG_L(PerlIO_printf(PerlIO_stderr(),
 			  "%p: OS thread = %p, id=%ld\n", thr, thr->self, junk));
     MUTEX_UNLOCK(&thr->mutex);
diff --git a/win32/win32thread.h b/win32/win32thread.h
index 1a16c78b67..acb136c690 100644
--- a/win32/win32thread.h
+++ b/win32/win32thread.h
@@ -100,8 +100,39 @@ typedef HANDLE perl_mutex;
 
 #define THREAD_CREATE(t, f)	Perl_thread_create(t, f)
 #define THREAD_POST_CREATE(t)	NOOP
-#define THREAD_RET_TYPE		DWORD WINAPI
-#define THREAD_RET_CAST(p)	((DWORD)(p))
+
+/* XXX Docs mention that the RTL versions of thread creation routines
+ * should be used, but that advice only seems applicable when the RTL
+ * is not in a DLL.  RTL DLLs in both Borland and VC seem to do all of
+ * the init/deinit required upon DLL_THREAD_ATTACH/DETACH.  So we seem
+ * to be completely safe using straight Win32 API calls, rather than
+ * the much braindamaged RTL calls.
+ *
+ * _beginthread() in the RTLs call CloseHandle() just after the thread
+ * function returns, which means: 1) we have a race on our hands
+ * 2) it is impossible to implement join() semantics.
+ *
+ * IOW, do *NOT* turn on USE_RTL_THREAD_API!  It is here
+ * for experimental purposes only. GSAR 98-01-02
+ */
+#ifdef USE_RTL_THREAD_API
+#  include <process.h>
+#  if defined(__BORLANDC__)
+     /* Borland RTL doesn't allow a return value from thread function! */
+#    define THREAD_RET_TYPE	void _USERENTRY
+#    define THREAD_RET_CAST(p)	((void)(thr->i.retv = (void *)(p)))
+#  elif defined (_MSC_VER)
+#    define THREAD_RET_TYPE	unsigned __stdcall
+#    define THREAD_RET_CAST(p)	((unsigned)(p))
+#  else
+     /* CRTDLL.DLL doesn't allow a return value from thread function! */
+#    define THREAD_RET_TYPE	void __cdecl
+#    define THREAD_RET_CAST(p)	((void)(thr->i.retv = (void *)(p)))
+#  endif
+#else	/* !USE_RTL_THREAD_API */
+#  define THREAD_RET_TYPE	DWORD WINAPI
+#  define THREAD_RET_CAST(p)	((DWORD)(p))
+#endif	/* !USE_RTL_THREAD_API */
 
 typedef THREAD_RET_TYPE thread_func_t(void *);
 
@@ -131,12 +162,22 @@ END_EXTERN_C
 #define ALLOC_THREAD_KEY Perl_alloc_thread_key()
 #define SET_THREAD_SELF(thr) Perl_set_thread_self(thr)
 
+#if defined(USE_RTL_THREAD_API) && !defined(_MSC_VER)
+#define JOIN(t, avp)							\
+    STMT_START {							\
+	if ((WaitForSingleObject((t)->self,INFINITE) == WAIT_FAILED)	\
+	     || (GetExitCodeThread((t)->self,(LPDWORD)(avp)) == 0))	\
+	    croak("panic: JOIN");					\
+	*avp = (AV *)((t)->i.retv);					\
+    } STMT_END
+#else	/* !USE_RTL_THREAD_API || _MSC_VER */
 #define JOIN(t, avp)							\
     STMT_START {							\
 	if ((WaitForSingleObject((t)->self,INFINITE) == WAIT_FAILED)	\
 	     || (GetExitCodeThread((t)->self,(LPDWORD)(avp)) == 0))	\
 	    croak("panic: JOIN");					\
     } STMT_END
+#endif	/* !USE_RTL_THREAD_API || _MSC_VER */
 
 #define YIELD			Sleep(0)