jdavidb writes "The latest release of the Linux From Scratch book (4.0) includes perl 5.8.0. Linux From Scratch is a book that teaches you how to compile what I would call a 'distributionless' GNU/Linux. Using an existing installation, you bootstrap a statically linked compiler and set of build tools, then recompile everything needed for a basic GNU/Linux system. Additional 'hints' provide tips for building other things you might want for a server or desktop system: X11, GNOME, PPP, or whatever. It's kind of a vendor-neutral default distribution. It could even be construed as a set of instructions for aspiring distribution makers."
If you have never built an LFS system, I can highly recommend it. It's very educational. Not to mention just plain fun!
